ANOTHER seven seater has joined the 50-plus club with Mazda launching its latest MPV.

Powered by a 1.6-litre diesel engine the new look Mazda5 is capable of averaging 54 to the gallon.

Emissions are down to 138g/km dropping the vehicle down a couple of tax bands for business users and costing private motorists £120 a year in duty.

Compared to the petrol versions of the latest Mazda5 which went on sale late last year the diesel is some 14mpg more economical.

In Sport trim the Mazda5 diesel becomes the flagship of the new line up, priced from £21,950.

It is fully kitted including leather upholstery and heated seats and comes with power operated sliding side doors.

Realistically all that is missing is sat nav which will be available from later in the year in the form of a dashboard fitted TomTom system.

As a compact people mover the Mazda5 faces stiff competition from the likes of the Ford Grand C-MAX, Peugeot's 5008 and the well established Vauxhall Zafira.

While it is not quite as economical as some of the others - the Grand C-MAX uses the same 1.6-litre engine and can average 57 to the gallon - the Mazda's strength is its standard specification.

The diesel will be available only in mid grade TS2 and high level Sport trim but even in its basic set up it comes with automatic climate control, Bluetooth voice control, automatic wipers and lights plus parking sensors.

Like its 1.8 and two-litre petrol engined counterparts the diesel handles and rides well. Stability and traction controls are part and parcel of the set up.

At 115PS the diesel engine is not the quickest of the bunch but it is up to the job. Top speed is a claimed 111mph and 0 to 60 is just under 14 seconds.

Under acceleration there is no doubt there's a diesel under the bonnet and compared to the petrol versions it is noisier inside.

Nevertheless the newcomer is a definite step forward from the two-litre diesel which powered the previous generation Mazda5.

Mated to a six speed gearbox the car is a good cruiser and overall fuel economy is 17 per cent better than the old two-litre. And despite being smaller in capacity the 1.6 diesel is almost five per cent more powerful.

The cheaper TS2 costs from £20,650 - £2,500 more than the entry level 1.8-litre petrol engined Mazda5 which itself features plenty of equipment. Pound for pound the extra cost of the diesel is only going to benefit high mileage users.

As with all versions of the new Mazda5 the diesel has a user friendly 6+1 seating pattern which allows it to be converted to a variety of configurations quickly and easily.

When carrying seven there is just about enough room in the back row of seats to accommodate adults and with the centre middle seat folded away it's a comfortable 2+2+2.

Fold the back seats and the luggage space rises from 112 litres to 426 and there is a maximum of 1,485 litres available with all seats folded and loaded to the roof.

Mazda makes great play of its karakuri fast folding seating system and it is a strong point of the car. The seats can be collapsed with one hand and it takes only a matter of seconds to fold away all five back seats if necessary.

A lot of thought has gone into the way the middle row centre seat folds away into the seat next to it to create a through space to the rear and it is an arrangement Ford has adopted on the Grand C-MAX.

Both the Mazda5 and its Ford counterpart benefit from sliding side doors which realistically are a ‘must have' feature on cars of this size to make getting in and out easy, especially on car parks where space at the side can be tight.

Mazda's emphasis on sportiness and style sees the new Mazda5 feature the company's Nagare design which involves flowing crease lines along the body.

The effect may not be to everyone's liking and it best suits darker paint finishes.

With the two new diesel models the Mazda5 line up is now increased to five, all of which are now on sale.