1997 model. even though its old. it drives absoloutly fantastic.

If you travel a lot driving then this is the definitely the one of the best cars.
The engine is powerful enough for most occasions. Enough space for 5 passengers. What else do you want for this car??

Drive one with the 5spd

I bought a Mazda5 Touring last year.  I found a rare Touring-level model with a manual transmission.   I loved the perfect size of the car, the peppy performance, the economy, and the flexible interior.  We had one child who was 2 when we bought this car.  Thus, we didn't need a "full-sized" mini-van or SUV... have you noticed that these things are getting huge?  But, we did want the flexibility of a third-row and the ease of use of a minivan for day to day driving.  
So far my wife and I have been very happy with this car.  It's easy to drive and very easy to park.  It's extremely roomy and can carry real people in the third row (though cargo space becomes pretty limited when the back row is up).  
Downsides - Not as much cargo capacity as real minivans when the third row is used, but this is definitely the exception for us.  It's normally used as a four-seater with a huge cargo area.  It's not the quietest car on the open road but it isn't noticeably bad, either.  Fuel economy is decent but not THAT much greater than if we had a V-6 powered van like a Mazda MPV.
Positives - Easy to drive, easy access to the interior with the sliding doors.  5-speed manual gives peppy acceleration and it's surprisingly fun to drive.  Very nice handling.  Lots of standard features for the money.  Our touring had a 6-cd changer, moonroof, power everything and we paid under $18k brand new.  I think it looks good as well.  Fit and finish in the interior is very nice.  We've experienced no warranty issues in a year save for a remote control key fob that stopped working.