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Mazda MPV
8223 messages, Last post on Dec 14, 2011 at 1:46 PM
You are in the Mazda MPV Forum.- Your Host is kcram
What is this discussion about? Mazda MPV, Van
#2223 of 8223 3 month review by rutger3
Oct 17, 2001 (7:05 am)
We have owned our 01 Sand Mica LX for 3 months and 5000 miles,here is a brief review:Positives:
-Ride
-handling
-looks
-interior design and layout
-initial dependability,no problems
-convienence (3rd seat, rear windows)
-sound system very good
-comfort
-availability of side air bags
-availability of ABS
-pricing and incentives
Negatives:
-engine power(about 10% of the time)
-engine noise (about 10% of the time)
-Trans shifter blocks some radio controls
-no rear (3rd row)power windows; we had this on our 94 Villager for crying out loud.
-no 3rd row middle head rest or 3 point seat belt;no seat belt pretensioners which are available on most cars and all of competitions vans now.This was a real miss for Mazda on fairly inexpensive items.
Overall,I am happy with our MPV. My wife the primary driver is very happy and that is very important.(I probably would have gone with the Sienna for its better resale,but the MPV is a fine choice).
The only real complaint quite frankly is Mazda's choice of engine when compared with the competition. It is okay most of the time and I do not agree with what has been written by critics like Car & Driver.The engine seems to have to work pretty hard when going up hills with four passengers. However,with all the other options available to Mazda (and Ford) they should have done better, even if they just 'tuned' the existing engine some to get more torque and hp which could have been done easily. At least this will be corrected with the 2002 model. I just hope it doesn't hurt us owners of 2000/2001 models come resale time. I think I know the answer to that one.
P.S. For those new to this board,please keep in mind that I generally fall on the critical side of issues and that this is only one persons opinion.
#2224 of 8223 Engine noise by billmckinley
Oct 17, 2001 (4:26 pm)
Rutger3, don't worry, nobody's going to jump down your throat for expressing your opinion [he said as he prepared to jump down your throat
]. First of all, I'm pretty much in agreement with everything you and Jacksonian wrote. I thought you were even a little nice not mentioning out quirky
#$%#$#&^%xx transmission. You guys must live in the flatlands. The one place I disagree with you is about the engine noise. The more I hear that sexy little growl on acceleration, the more I'm falling in love with it. Sort of reminds me of a very contented cat. [Have I ever mentioned that I have no real life?]
Anyway, glad you both have more likes than dislikes. Pretty well sums up my feelings about the President McKinley.
RJ
#2225 of 8223 Bill by tboner1965
Oct 17, 2001 (6:39 pm)
I'll have to take you for a ride in my SVT Contour if you like the faint growl of the MPV, I'll bet you love what the Contour does. Especially now that I've replaced the exhaust with an aftermarket Borla.The acceleration of the SVT is a bit different as well 8^)
TB
#2226 of 8223 Where's the spare? by lockidge
Oct 18, 2001 (6:31 am)
We have been looking at the MPV for a while, there are some good deals here on leftover 01's.One question I have not remembered to ask when I have been at the dealer is where is the spare? Anybody know?
Steve
#2227 of 8223 Where's the spare by tboner1965
Oct 18, 2001 (7:31 am)
Passenger side, under the vehicle. Roughly wherethe sliding door is located.
TB
#2228 of 8223 re: where's the spare? by brmuda
Oct 18, 2001 (7:43 am)
It's immediately behind the pass front seat (underneath the vehicle). There is a bolt under the carpet behind the pass front seat that when turned counterclockwise, it will lower the spare to the street level.#2229 of 8223 Finally..... by scarter7719
Oct 18, 2001 (8:06 am)
Hello all...well, I'm new to the board and the MPV as well. After a year and a half of looking at Ody's, I finally decided to get into an MPV. Actually, I had given up on getting any van at all and thought I would just keep my '99 Honda Accord LX forever. We also have a '00 Accord SE. I wanted to dump the '99 since I drive it for business and had almost 50K miles on it. My wife had the '00 SE (which is a much nicer car) and we really needed a van for our two kids, ages 8 and 2. I've used Edmund's and the town hall to keep up on the Ody, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much money. I always liked the styling of the MPV, but after reading about the under-powered engine and wierd tranny, I was turned off. The one thing I noticed, though, was the loyal following I saw on this board. Last month, I happened to notice a used 2001 MPV Teal LX in the local Mazda dealer ad for $20,990. Well, the rest is history. They took me out of my '99 Accord for the balance of my loan - $12,700 (Edmund's fair trade was $10,800) plus they came down to $18,990. The van had 12k miles and had been used by Enterprise rent-a-car (I did a Car-Fax report). The Mazda dealer certified it and raised the warranty up to 4 yr/62,000 miles, although 1 yr and 12k miles had already passed. So basically I got the standard new warranty. BTW, I also looked at the brand new '01s while at the dealer and inquired into getting an ES at invoice. They said 'no problem', so if anyone's thinking about buying now, there's some really good deals available. We decided to stick with the used one and my wife and kids absolutely LOVE their new MPV!#2230 of 8223 Scarter7719...... by pjd58
Oct 18, 2001 (10:35 am)
congrats, glad to hear your family is enjoying your new MPV. You don't see many Teal MPVs.Many happy and safe miles.
Pete
#2231 of 8223 Scarter7719 by javadoc
Oct 18, 2001 (11:09 am)
Welcome to the fold Scott! I'm impressed, seeing a Honda owner jumping over to the Mazda, WTG! Hope you have many happy adventures!/Javadoc
#2232 of 8223 Congrats to you... by maltb
Oct 18, 2001 (11:19 am)
but two Scotts on here? Hopefully you have better manners than Javadoc.To POST a message, please
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