Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
PF Flyer
Host
News & Views, Wagons, & Hybrid Vehicles
The Mazda Mania Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
Do the Falkens give a "softer" ride? I was wanting a bit softer ride(willing to sacrifice some performance) and was considering the Michelin Hydroedge when my OEM 17 Dunlops wear out.
Click here to see the Reliability Survey
The U.S. arm of Warranty Direct seems to get regularly slammed on the Edmunds extended warranties forum primarily because they are not affiliated with the auto manufacturer. Mazda's EasyCare extended warranty service contract that our dealer offered was outrageously expensive for so-so coverage, but EasyCare is owned by Ford. I'm considering a Warranty Direct policy on my new 2005 MPV to get comprehensive coverage out to 7 years/100,000 miles for about $1,200. Anyone had long-term experience with Warranty Direct for their MPV?
http://www.edmunds.com/future/2007/mazda/mpv/100531777/preview.html?mktcat=vans&kw=HTML&mk- tid=NL990385&DARTmail
">link title
<a href="http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102428"
There are NO changes other than color.
deleted colors....black mica, titanium, razor blue, sand mica
added colors....brilliant black, bronze metal, strato blue, galaxy gray.
The sand mica(tan) color is currently called Cosmic Sand. Which I assume will be called Bronze Metal for 2006. I don't know about calling a color bronze metal...that denotes third best. Maybe, Gold Metal.
Have put a little over 7,000 miles on it during this time. MPG has been good...what we expected. Fit and finish excellent. Interior and exterior styling tops...sporty...very elegant and sophistacated lines. I do wish low end torque was a little better...but midrange and higher is excellent. Is lighter than bigger minivans...so handles more like a car.Parks a lot easier. Perfect for the family of 4 who doesn't need the extra space of the larger minis. With rebates and incentives available now...easily the best value for the money. :shades:
By the way...you get anything for my MPV for its birthday? Which is today!
Already got a nice hood deflector for it. How about a nice windshield sun delfector for that sunny Florida trip we're getting ready to take? :shades:
There are several things affect the gas mileage.
profile, weight, size of engine, engine technology, numbers of peopele carrying, tire pressure, alignment... As far as talking about efficient Japanese engine design, American had never been good at building 4-banger. No mini-van out there can offer the gas mileage like the Camry with 4-cyl, period.
I have not taken a long highway trip with my 04 MPV so far. The worse I got was 19-20 mpg and the best was 23-24 mpg. Winter(using heater) and summer(using A/C) both hurt the gas mileage a bit. Also check the tire pressure and keep them above 35 psi will help.
If it does, I will be buying a Mazda MPV within the next month! Anyone hear about this :confuse:
Elsewhere on the 'net, I've read of others getting decent highway mileage (>24mpg) and those getting 17-18mpg city.
FWIW, real-world MPG figures of those with the new Ody are a bit lower than expected too.
-Brian
Reading reviews on Tirerack and here, it looks like the Yokohama Avid Touring, the Yokohama Avid T4, and the Kumho ECSTA HP4716 might work out well. The T4 is a "T" rated tire (higher speed) and a bit softer. All are between $53 and $65 each.
Anyone have thoughts? We are in a HOT climate, no snow, minor winter rains.
John
Listen, I'm no expert on tires...but...I'm under the impression that one should replace their old tires with ones that have at least equal speed ratings. The OE Dunlops are H rated, which only the Kumhos can match. Probably, a better place to ask would be the "Ask Connor..." thread in the Tires board.
I noticed the Tire Rack customer reiviews on the Dunlops were less than favorable. How did they do for you?
Good luck.
-Brian
oddly enough the AVP and lease rates for July increased tremendouly on mazda products. This is due in part to not enough product on the ground. example, MZ6 base went up $70 per month.
so I took my first HIGHWAY ONLY trip on the 4th of july weekend. I put 178 miles on highway, from 8am to 11 am in a 75 F temperature, using AC 80% of time. I was cruising between 70-80mph.
Much to my surprise, I got terrible gas milage: 15.67 mpg... (i filled the vehicle up before entering higway, and after puting 178 miles filled it up again - i got 15.67 mpg...)
What is the probable cause?
I take very good notes on my fuel economy.In the last 6 month, which translates to 5610 miles driven, my average mpg is 20.89. This is combined city and highway driving in chicagoland area.
What is your opinion?
2000 Mazda MPV LX 2.5 v6 with 76k miles on it.
Thanks
No real complaints with the Dunlops here, we have 32K on them. But the new ones are "V" rated and cost over $100 a pop at Tire Rack. If the Yokos are cheaper, and according to many, in all ways an improvement over the Dunlops, that holds some weight with me.
John
-Brian
First off, the tires are very noisy and will only get worse as the tread wears down. Second, the ride will be rough, particularly with the 17” tires from what I understand. Third, the tread will wear down very fast no matter how much you rotate the tires. If you research the Dunlops you’ll find that you can expect 35K at the most. The tires on my ‘02 wore out at 20K. Finally, when you do have to replace the tires you’ll find that the OE specs are unusual. So, unless you buy another set of OE’s you will probably have to make some compromises.
Oh, and to answer your question: I did put a touring tire on the car and it did calm things down, but again, because of the unusual size I had to spend an hour talking tires with my mechanic before deciding on what to buy. We essentially wound up re-spec'ing the car pretty much the same way a company would spec' out their work trucks. But that’s another lengthy post.
I hope this helps.
Thanks!
Ford, GM, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, etc. engines do NOT provide the high gas mileage of Toyota and Honda engines. However, all of the engines produced by any of these manufacturers will be more reliable and last longer than engines built by Volkswagen, Fiat or Trabant.
What is the deal? Is this a maintenance-free item? Fluid good for life? What have any of you done regarding the auto tranny?
John
-Brian
John
Personally, brake fluid, coolant, and tranny fluid should be changed after a couple of years at least. Of course, you don't have to, you can leave these as-is. But, why when they're simple enough to change?
You figuring on DIY with the AT fluid?
-Brian
IIRC if the auto tranny fluid doesn't get too hot (is it over 300 degrees?) it doesn't break down. I expect it gets contaminated though.
It just frankly surprises me. Subarus get their drain and flush every 30k.
I am all for less maintenance, but not for lack thereof that leads to equipment failure.
John