When we had a baby we discovered that the only place the carseat would fit was the middle of the backseat of our Jetta (it's actually the safest place to put the carseat, so no complaints there). This is true for most small cars, but it becomes a problem in that the rest of your backseat becomes virtually useless. Cramming in next to the bulky carseat is uncomfortable at best. Our five seater car suddenly became a three seater.

When we took a weekend trip with our two small dogs we had to wedge their kennels into the backseat next to the carseat and we realized this just wouldn't work.

So we went car shopping. We hoped to keep the price under $20,000, and hopefully well under. That meant small SUVs and wagons. But both types of vehicles had the same problem--you put the carseat in the middle of the bench-like backseat and you lose all your room.

Then we looked at the Mazda5. It has three rows--like a minivan--but of only two seats in each row. It's also built on the frame of a small car (the Mazda3), so it's not a beast of a car and actually drives just like a car.

The middle row of seats are two bucket seats that can actually adjust forwards and backwards like a front seat. Since they're independent bucket seats, plopping a car seat into one of them doesn't crowd the other seat. Or as kids get older, they're not making lines in the seat as a challenge to their sibling.

The back row of seats are defintely small. They'd be fine for kids or adults on short trips. The adjustability of the middle row makes it the back row a little more usable. Plus, since the middle row are separate buckets seats with space in between, an adult in the back can stretch their legs up between the middle seats.

The back end is admittedly small, big enough for a duffel back, but not shaped right to line up your groceries (the angle of the back seats cuts off your vertical room). If you're carrying six people you are lacking cargo space. But each rear seat folds down independently, meaning you can carry four people with loads of cargo space or five people with a decent cargo capacity.

When the rear seats are both down the cargo capacity is about the same as a small wagon (Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Jetta, etc.) or a small SUV (Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Toyota Rav4, etc.).

So bottomline, you have the same storage capacity as a wagon or small SUV, but you have the option of carrying six people

5) Sliding doors. Easy in, easy out.

4) It still drives like a car, has a tight turning radius and isn't some overbearing vehicle.

3) I can cram six people in if I need to, one more than most similarly sized cars.

2) I can get my daughter's carseat in and out without bending over and awkwardly climbing halfway into the car.

1) Flexibility. I can cart six people around or a ton of stuff or something in the middle.