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I'm with you on that...once I found out someone finally had windows that go down in the 2nd row, I was determined that my next van would have that feature. I never liked that those windows only popped open a bit on the one side on our previous van.
Sharon
As for that storage thing for the well behind the 3rd row....Again, not that my memory is that great...but we did GLANCE at it, once, when we were still shopping for our new van.
My first impression was - what a dumb option. (IMO) If I recall correctly, it's a plastic box with 2 lids that will cover the contents of the box. It is a thick-ish plastic so in essence, by placing this large plastic box in your well, you are diminishing your actual storage space by quite a bit. Also, I had this quick mental picture go through my head of how similar it would be to our previous van, to have to take this lunky thing out and find a place to store it in our garage should we ever want to put the seat down. I say similar to our old van quite loosely, but it did seem like a large, awkward item to pick up and store somewhere else just like our bench seat my husband would sometimes have to remove if we wanted extra storage and yes, the bench seat would have been much, much heavier!
I don't remember if you've said why you're maybe interested in the storage box but for me, I find my stuff seems quite nicely contained in just the well. When we have odd loose stuff or toys (like balls), we just put them in brown grocery bags to keep them more contained and then they are also easy to grab and bring to where we're going. (On the 4th of July we had a grocery bag with chips that went straight to the kitchen, a grocery bag with water toys that went straight down to the boathouse....)
Anyway, if the storage thing was some sort of collapsible material, I could maybe see it as being something worth considering but since it's not, it just seemed to me that it would be in the way.
Hope things are going well for your dog....Sharon
After reading your recent posts about the logic of having power sliding doors, I wish I'd had the chance to read your opinion on that issue prior to our getting our new MPV in early June.
I had never considered how important sliders could be for safety. I only looked at them as something extra to pay a lot for, and as some other thing that could go wrong. I remember someone else once writing a post with similar thoughts about the more options you have, the more stuff that can go wrong.
Anyway, I hope other potential buyers of the MPV are reconsidering their position on having sliding doors because you make a very valid point about their being important for safety. (And I can't get that picture out of my head of that child and their fingers nor you and your sliding door and how you were prevented from being cut in two.)
Thanks for the great info on that particular item and I wish we'd gotten power doors now!
Sharon
The slider vs. child story was pretty awful and I will probably never forget it. I've seen kids get their fingers closed in a regular car door and that's bad but the force of this slider and it's sheer size....... =*( To the best of my knowledge the child is ok.
Take care.
Leslie
The box itself is not heavy, you can easily pull it out, flip the seat down, and set it behind the 2nd row seats if you need to. If you need a bit more space with the 3rd row up, you can fold the 3rd seat's back forward so that it's flat. That's what we do to store her training balls (large inflatable balls for doing various exercises).
Not for everyone, but useful just the same.
We carry a fairly complete emergency kit in the cargo box - it's our "trunk" so to speak. Jumper cables, flashlight, rain gear, bungee cords, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, small tool kit, sunscreen, etc. Keeps the clutter down. There's still plenty of space behind the third seat for groceries and such on top.
It really depends on how often you think you need to put the 3rd row down. You can still tailgate with the cargo box in place. The only thing you can't do is store the 3rd row in the floor without moving the box.
-brianV
I believe the DW and DH are in that dictionary (I don't have one, a friend does. I can't remember the publisher. There are probably several out there though.)
Thanks to everyone about the safety point with the power doors...I think even if my kids were older, I would have to still consider it. Most kids just don't pay attention, and I could just imagine the bruising it would cause when (hypothetical) 14 year old brother slams the door on 12 year old sister's hand.
Oh well, it makes for a good justification since our 2002 model came standard with the power doors.
Leslie
Leslie
For manual sliders, how hard is it to open a sliding door when van is pointing downhill ? I assume it would take a fair amount of muscle-power .. Once they reach fully open, do they stay that way ? And while closing them, it would take equal amount of force to stop the door from slamming shut !
Can anyone give this a try and report the findings ?
Hope this helped.
Leslie
thanks
MJ
any help would be appreciated--tia
2002 introduced the suspension tweaks and carried over to the 2003's. 2003 ES's now get standard foglights. Wood trim in the 2002's is now a carbon fiber trim in the 2003's. Other than that, the 2002's look identical to the 2003's.
Chances are that the leftover 2002's are barebones LX models that they can't get rid of. Depends on what you're looking for - do you want a nicely equipped LX or ES? Power doors or not? DVD, moonroof? They aren't making 2003's anymore either (switching over to 2004's now). So, what your dealer has is likely all that's available.
If you opt for the 2002, they should be discounting it heavily, as the 2003's are going for invoice minus the rebate ($2k).
-Brian
So where are the '03s going for invoice? Should I just say we'll buy it for invoice (before the rebate) and see what happens?
(besides - the volumes of your own personal prose that I've read seems to annoint you as "Mom of the Year") ;-)
Libertycat - the carbon fiber trim is not really an issue with me. It's fine AFAIK.
Just took my "peevee" to Trenton, NJ to see the Thunder play some AA ball. The van handled beautifully. The AC works great. I'm still getting used to the sliding door roll down windows. Where to set them when I don't have the AC on. It's a very nice feature.
Oh, and to steal from the new Sienna ad campaign - "raise your juice boxes". ;-)
My response: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I am, after all, a mere mortal who fell off her pedestal due to uncontrollable laughter! The trip back up is hell compared to the flight down in which I hit my head and imagined dave_h2 stating that I should be annointed as "Mom of the Year". Perish the thought!
bleck~sputter~zzzZZZOOOOMMMM!
I must go, the climb is difficult. }=o p
Leslie
Zoom, Zoom!
Knowing that 2005 is just around the corner, I'm wondering if we should wait on the purchase to see what they come up with. I mean, if they can make the p5 and the rx8, I'm thinking they'll do one mean minivan redesign to compete with the quests and such...and buying an MPV now would just make me bite my lips with jealousy come 2005...
So any news?
Knowing that 2005 is just around the corner, I'm wondering if we should wait on the purchase to see what they come up with. I mean, if they can make the p5 and the rx8, I'm thinking they'll do one mean minivan redesign to compete with the quests and such...and buying an MPV now would just make me bite my lips with jealousy come 2005...
So any news?
So 2006. But still, my end-of-year buying question still remains--is there something to encourage folks to buy the 2004 MPV when there are the Quest and Sienna on the market?
tia
the different cat
Again... not for my personal gain, or promotion, or violation of TH TOUs... >:-$
Or it's a transmission problem.
Do you know of any of those looking for owners?
thanks in advance
Carolyn
Steve I fear we're treading on the dangerous side here so please let me know if we're exceeding the limits...but it would be *really* helpful if someone did know of a 2002 ES--that would make our decision a lot easier, because of price.
Steve, Host
gear selected = 2. O/D on. Only uses 2nd gear
gear selected = 2. O/D off. Only uses 2nd gear
gear selected = 3. O/D on. Uses 2nd and 3rd gear
gear selected = 3. O/D off. Uses 2nd and 3rd gear
gear selected = D. O/D on. Uses 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, locks up 4th at ~35mph, locks up 5th at ~45mph
gear selected = D. O/D off. Uses 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, locks up 4th at ~35mph
in '3', 40mph is at about 2600 rpm
in 'D', O/D on, 40mph is at about 1700 rpm, 50mph is at about 1500 rpm
Note: the '~' symbol is being used to represent 'about' or 'roughly'
-Brian
I had gone to a dealer near my home to test drive the van but he didn't have a van with the options I wanted. He said he would look around at the other dealers in town and came back to me saying no one had the vehicle I wanted, but he would gladly sell me one of his. So I went home and looked at the MazdaUSA web site.
You select the search inventory link, enter your desired vehicle, trim level, color, etc. and can search dealers between 50 and 150 miles away. The actual cars (w/ list of installed options) then come up. I live in Houston and there were a ton of vehicles available with all different options on them. You can then request a quote (via e-mail) from the dealer with the particular vehicle you are interested in. I received a response within a couple hours. When I went to pick up the van (from a dealer only 30 miles away), the internet sales guy said the inventory on the web site is very accurate.
I had a good experience using this site. I'm not sure if others have had similar. Perhaps javadoc could shed some additional light on this method of finding and purchasing a Mazda vehicle.
We then went for a test drive on the selected vehicle and got the vehicle the next day in our garage :-)
So, what did we get ? A 2003 Mazda MPV ES, Coastal Blue exterior (which, BTW, kicks [non-permissible content removed]!), Gray leather interior, moonroof (HUGE), Dual power sliders, 4-seasons pkg (Rear temp control included), Security pkg (Auto-dim rear view and fogs included), 6-CD changer, Cassette player, roof rack, rear step plate, mud guards, cargo net, wheel locks - All for $25.5K !! No hassles, no haggles with S-plan :-)
So, the best bet is to search the inventory via MazdaUSA and give the dealer a call to verify.
-Brian
Is there a redesign in 2005/2006 ?
Is MPV going to be replaced by Washu ?
Did I ask you enough questions ?
Am I still on the green side of the fence, Steve?
I'm not a salesman (which Steve knows), but just a fellow MPVer trying to help ya locate the right MPV... but still play by the TH rules in the process. No, I don't get anything in the process.
There are about exactly zero 2002 ESs around. I'm sure there might be a couple hiding around, but you'd be very lucky to find one. Now, if you want that particular van, you'll need to go to your dealer (see, I'm not naming a dealer...) and tell them that you know there's one at Tacoma that needs to find a home. And, there is only one there.
Also thanks to this forum I was able to purchase the zoomer for $2000 below invoice. (includes rebate).
audia8q Apr 1, 2003 7:55pm
Steve, Host
(106 °F but only 11% humidity this afternoon)
Now that I know how it works, I think this is a great feature. Usually, rush-hour traffic in the Denver area just crawls. Putting the transmission in "3" reduces the amount of shifting that takes place and makes for smooth driving in stop-and-go traffic. It's also really useful for starting in the snow and ice, even with traction control engaged. It definitely should be added to the list of things that Mazda dealers tell new owners, though.
You probably shouldn't drive starting out in '2' all the time, it'll likely heat things up too much, even with the tranny cooler. YMMV...
Usually, the MSRP sticker doesn't reflect any 'discounts' the dealer will give you. That could appear on a seperate sheet next to it, or while in discussions of pricing. I initially thought it was the 'destination charge', but that is $520 IIRC.
-Brian
It's interesting too that on trips I can never keep my MPV under 80 mph. The only way I can is to place it on cruise. Maybe I'm just a lead foot?
Leslie
Re colors changing for 2004--I predicted a few months ago that Mazda would offer red again on the MPV for 2004, to generate some interest. I hope I'm right--I'd like a red one, preferably like the candy apple red that Dodge used to offer.