Enter the Wagonist

You might have seen a few of the crappy photos I posted of my NA8CE Miata project which I'll be posting more details on later, but right now I want to introduce the latest addition to the fleet and the first "new car" I've ever owned.

For the past several months I've been spending countless hours researching possible choices for a daily driver/road trip mobile that will be used to get me to events all over the place. Kaori and I considered several different models, and for a while we were heavily leaning towards the Honda Fit after having a good experience owning one in Japan.

I love the Fit, but in my opinion the price of the Fit on the US market was a bit high for what you get. Another car I've always liked is the Mazda5, which is sold as the Mazda Premacy in Japan. We went and test drove one about a week ago and basically fell in love.

We ended up finding a lightly used '08 Touring model in the bay area, and last Friday we got up early and drove up to San Jose to pick it up. After a road trip down to LA on Saturday for the Formula D tech day, we couldn't be more happy with it.

In the end the 5 turned out being the same price or even a bit cheaper than a Fit for what is in my opinion a bit more "substantial" and roomier machine.

Even before leaving for Japan, I'd always had a strange to attraction to station wagons and vans, dating back to my first car which was a '72 Ford Torino wagon. Seeing all of the customized minivans and hatchbacks in Japan just made my addiction even worse...

Every Japanese automaker makes several of these "mini-minivans" for the Japanese market, but Mazda is the only one that said "hey, what the hell" and decided to import one to the United States. Fortunately it's built on the same chassis as the Mazda3, so it's actually pretty entertaining to drive (for a six-seat minivan of course).

Inside there's room for six or you can fold the seats down and fill it with car parts or camera gear...

Yep, that's a five-speed auto. The wife wasn't down with using a clutch and to be totally honest I actually prefer an automatic  in this type of car. I still have the Roadster for when I want to be fully involved in the driving experience. (Don't mind the pink Ipod cable there)

On this car there were just a lot of little things that really appealed to me. For example, projector headlights. (HID's are one of the first things on my to-do list for this thing.)

LED taillights...

I have no intention of turning this thing into some "VIP show car", but I do plan on doing the basics. Luckily there are no shortage of modified examples to be found on sites like Minkara or in the Style Wagon and Wagonist magazines I've acquired.

My goal is to have a stylish highway hauler that is comfortable, good on gas and can be built on a budget. I have a few ideas in mind that I'm really looking forward to trying out, and I plan to document my progress on this blog, along with my Miata project which will be "started" soon.

Is it strange to be this excited about a minivan?

Stay tuned...

Comments

[Linhbergh]

Dannnng, gettin' all growed up on us!

[Big B]

Agreed about the prices on the Fit - and dealer markups are stupid high on that car right now.

I like the Mazda 5. What I remember from seeing it for the first time was noticing, "Hey that van there, looks kind of... LOW. Like it's SLAMMED..." It's not, of course, but there's something about it that just seems low-down to me. And for a minivan, this is a Good Thing.

[kurisu]

Not strange at all, I enjoy working my Honda S-MX just as much as I do my E30 BMW 325 and my NA6CE Roadster!

[Johnny Rumble]

I've always loved the Mazda 5. I keep hoping that it will sell in enough numbers that Mazda will import the next-gen. I should have enough money by then to buy a brand spanking new one...

[Rob]

Nice choice, always thought the 5 would make a awesome cool looking daily

auto exe makes some good stuff for it

http://www.autoexe.co.jp/SozaiTopPage/indexSyasyubetsu.html

[leongsoon]

Of all the modern Japanese "normal everyday" cars, Mazda probably makes the best-looking ones and it shows in their current lineup, on par with other European "normal" carmakers like Alfa Romeo, Citroen, & Peugeot! Looking forward to see how your cars turn out!

[Geoff]

I used to have a soft spot for the Toyota Sienna.

[hushypushy]

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/soccer-moms-revenge/

;)

[vitrium]

hey your in the same area as I am? I pass by Capital Mazda all the time

[Vince]

Cool choice! I was egging you on into getting a Mazda6 wagon but this is a nice choice and it looks like a really good car.

[eve isk]

Of all the modern Japanese "normal everyday" cars, Mazda probably makes the best-looking ones and it shows in their current lineup, on par with other European "normal" carmakers like Alfa Romeo, Citroen, & Peugeot! Looking forward to see how your cars turn out!

[Bry]

I was thinking of buying one of these for my next car. You'll have to let us know how you like it!