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2. No static problem after getting in and out of the car with silk dresses and some suits. I HATE getting out of a vehicle and having my dress "stick" to me. It may sound prissy, but ask any woman about "static cling" and they'll say the same thing. (I know bottgers, you don't wear dresses too often (joke!), but how about your passengers?
We live in Colo Spgs, so hot/cold seats or humidity (sticking to the seats) is not a problem that it might be in warmer/colder climates.
We've had the MPV about 1 month (1K mi) and love it so far. Like that back well for grocery bags, it's perfect. I have noticed three minor things that I feel Mazda should consider for future models:
1. Power rear vent windows
2. Cargo cover so people cannot see what's down in the 3rd seat well.
3. An extension on the sun visor. The sun visor does not extend to cover all the glass, so when the sun is setting, it can sneak in the side on you. (This may not be a problem for taller people)
Other than that, we really like the van and will be taking it to TX for spring break. A little fun in the sun. Happy spring break everyone!
You pretty much guessed it, there isn't much dress wearing going on in our family, so the static problem isn't an issue. Some friends of ours have a vehicle with leather which we've ridden in several times. We live in Cheyenne, so our weather isn't a lot different from yours. Even with milder weather, leather is cold in the winter, and miserably sticky in the summer. Our family does a lot of shorts wearing in the summer, and leather is absolutely horrible for shorts! There obviously seems to be a lot of folks who like leather, but I'll never have it.
I didn't opt for the rear climate control because I don't ever plan to have passengers back there, but optional rear heat sounds like a good idea for those in warmer climates who don't need it. I agree Mazda should go ahead and include it with vans shipped to cooler climates.
BTW, where are you getting your resale figures? Personally, I rather take a $3,000 savings at purchase, than wait years later for just slightly more at resale.
I bought a 2002 MPV in Sept:
I was told that the ^ button on the steering wheel radio cntls would advance thru the preset radio stations. I have not been able to make it work as advertised. I have found that the ^ arrow button works like a scan button rather than a cntl that will advance to my preset stations. How is it suppose to work?
Also, I thought the rear air cntls also worked for delivering heat. Is this not true.
Thanks
Can't help you on the heat though, I live in South Florida and haven't had the need..
However, based on what other people have stated here I think the rear air is only cooling unless you got the 4 seasons pkg.
That radio toggle on the steering wheel is only a scan as far as I know...and have seen so far.
I too wished it would key in the preset channels! Especially with that darn 3 foot long shifter! But, I knew about that stupid thing going into this vehicle. So far, so good.
On the need for a rear power vent window. I had them on my two previous Chrysler mini's and did like them...HOWEVER, with the rear power slide down windows, I don't miss them. As you may know, on other minivans, you either pop open the second row manually or have that power rear vent window. The MPV configuration works for me and my kids who like the windows open.
Today we almost hit 70 here in the Twins Cities; my first chance to open the sunroof and windows since I got this thing. It was a great ride! I really like it so far...500 miles on her now. Zoom-Zoom.
I am disappointed that the ^ button on the steering wheel does not work as my sales person told me. I swear I saw her use it to advance to the preset stations while she was giving me the sales pitch. When I went back for the 1st oil change and check-up she could not figure out how she got it to work the day I bought it. The guys in the service dept were no help. Oh well, I'm still happy with the vehicle.
I have the 4 seasons package so I assume the rear heat cntl is enabled. At least I hope so since we've had a fairly cold winter here in the Midwest and I use it for the kiddies. Hopefully I have not been sending cold air to the back.
I think your right with the stopping on preselect stations...but I'm a little dense as to how the scan works. Mine seems to stop on any station that has a pulse...not just the preset ones. This is using the steering wheel scan. If there's another method to use, let me know.
ALSO I HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING THE STEREO SYSTEM:
I have the in dash 6 cd changer with cassette. I was told that this was the top of the line stereo for the MPV...the same as it would be in the ES (Mine is an LX). I can only locate 4 speakers in this thing! Two in front and two by the third seat. There are a a couple acoustic hollows in the back end with grids on them...but no speaker inside them! Also, I have two little round covers on my dash up near the windshield; one on each side. I thought they were tweeters...but they are just covers and nothing comes out of them. Did I get mislead by my dealer when I ordered or are there speakers somewhere else?
They told me I had 9 speakers with this system!!
On long trips I run a Rshack CB radio with weather news. Listening to the poor old truckers is great entertainment and good for a lot of laughs.. Amazing how many women drivers there are. Plus they will save your life by keeping you updated on dangers you are headed into. Like when I80 Iowa was closed and one guy said follow him. He took us around on the local roads and we lost very little time. Plus they saved my bacon more than once. Like the police chasing a car going the wrong way heading right for us on Houston I10. (I pulled over and stopped..) Weather alerts across the Texas Pan Handle are very handy... If you are heading into a tornado or hail stop under an overpass and climb up under the bridge and pray...
By the by does anyone have any ideas on temporary mounting a CB in the MPV? On the mitsy I have a wallymart mag antenna mount on the back of the van. Cable is run through the rear door and a temp dash mount. Works great.
As for the stereo, the way I understood it, the 9 speaker system with subwoofer is one of the three differences in the ES, besides power seat and leather.
All in all it took about the same as mine did.
Guess I got burned and bummed on the speaker system. I thought I was confused or it sounded confusing when I ordered the top of the line 6 cd indash, etc. and thought I WAS getting the top of the line all the way. There are so many exceptions and 'small print' to these things, you never know if you hit the mark. It still sounds fine, but paying the extra for the stereo was the idea to get the PREMIUM setup! Especially, since when I did the run through with the sales guy I mentioned; now this has the full speaker system setup right? And he said, oh yeah...RIGHT!!
Mileage after 500 miles is running at 19.5 combo town and country. So far, no stinky smell yet...knock on plastic.:-))
I would have liked to have gotten the All Sport Pkg on our LX, but we wanted the Power doors more.
I too wanted the power doors, so that would have been a dead point.
Another thing I noticed; I don't have that little compartment on the side of the third row seat area (fender well). I remember seeing that on the ones on the showroom floor and kinda forgot about it. Chrysler mini's have that and I had it in my previous two minivans. This is the storage area that had the flip up hatch door on it....now it seems to be gone.
Another pitfall that changed on the fly....?
Geez, am I starting to whine and dislike something here already or what. Just things to be aware of for future buyers I guess.
There is a small storage area where the jack goes, but not as convenient as the arm rest one.
-Brian
We ended up sitting in an ES and listening to the sound. I tell you I could not tell THAT much difference to mine. Volume drive was the same. The one difference is in the rear speakers (with that sub-woofer speaker in the compartment area) adds a big booming to the sound. Those little tweeters on the dash don't do much to the high end that we could tell. Anyway, I'll survive with my mediocre sound system. I had an Infinity system in my old DC van which really rocked! It had 6 speakers with two tweeters and could boom pretty good. So I've actually downsized my sound system to that effect. As you may ascertain, I get into my music while I drive.
Dealer guys suggest an after market sub woofer be put in that compartment...there's room for it there, obviously. We'll see. Live, shop, and learn I guess.
2003 MPV LX, Silver with gray interior
Winter Package (aka "4 Seasons package"), Rear A/C, Traction/Side Airbags, Rear step plate, roof rack -- out the door (plus tax, tags) for $20,802, including the $2k deduction for dealer cash).
Can I do better? Or is this pretty good?
does it ahve power sliding doors, 6 cd changer , power moon roof too?
bcos with all the options u had mentioned, and with the options that I had mentioned, i paid 24500.
thanks for the feedback. The $20,802 price I got quoted above is for a 2003 MPV LX with the following options only:
4 Seasons Package
Traction Control and Side Air Bags
Rear A/C
Roof Rack
Rear Bumper Step Plate
It does NOT include: CD changer, power doors, moonroof. I decided to live without those luxuries.
It also includes taking the full "$2000 dealer dollars" credit rather than any special financing.
I did not use an S-plan -- Just good old fashioned negotiating, but using emails to create a little competition between dealers. With the new '04 Sienna out there now (looks like a winner, although more expensive than an MPV), I think MPV sales will slow down and there could be even better deals out there in a few months...
Hear, Hear.... Couldn't agree more...
Mazda has a low finance deal (not zero) I wonder if anyone has really looked at it? Just curious.. I will probably take the 2K deal....
TJ
-Brian
-Brian
Steve, Host
Question: If anybody knows how to program the "zone" into the self dimming mirror gizmo, and specifically what zone is Southern California....Id appreciate the tip.
There are some other non-Edmunds sites too, one specifically that I frequent as do some others from here. Email me if you'd like more info.
-Brian
It boils down to using either 5W20 or 5W30 oil changing every 5K miles or 7.5K miles depending on your driving conditions. There is a TSB from Mazda specifying that using either 5W20 or 5W30 is OK for 2001+ MPVs. 2000 MPV had 5W30 oil specification from the day one.
Steve, Host
Steve, Host