In 2005, Mazda was still connected to Ford Motor Company, and it developed a minivan based on a jointly developed platform.
While it shared some parts with the Ford Focus or the Mazda 3, the 5/Premacy aimed at a different market segment, it was a compact MPV that tried to offer a car-like behavior and still carry up to seven passengers inside.

At the front, the 5 resembled the same grille design as its compact sibling 3. The egg-shaped minivan featured a raked front area with a tall windshield. On its sides, the rear sliding doors were unusual for its class. For instance, the Ford C-Max, which was built on the same platform, featured hinged doors. In the back, the 5 featured an almost vertical tailgate, with a slightly raked rear window.

Inside, Mazda engineers succeeded in installing three rows of seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Due to the long roof, there was no problem with the headroom for the last row of seats for the average-sized passengers. The instrument cluster featured a similar design with the Mazda 3 and a high center stack with the gear-stick or gear selector, depending on the transmission option. A sat-nav system was offered as an option, while the standard trim-level offered a CD-stereo.

Under the hood, Mazda installed a choice of gasoline and diesel engines. Depending on the market, the 5 was offered with an automatic transmission.