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http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-10/416151/MPV_03_vs_04_s.gif
Here are stearing wheels for
04MPV / RX-8
MZ6 / MZ3
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-4/167987/04_MPV_wheel.jpg
Tuesday nights - 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET.
my faith has been restored! It looks nothing like the Frankfurt show pics.....if you could morph the headlights and body-coloured grill from the new Mazda3 GT version onto the front of the MPV, you'd have a pretty good idea what it looks like.
Quite "zoomy", in fact. I hope that's the look on all levels of trim and not just the ES. If nothing slightly smaller and more fuel-efficient comes along in the next few years (to seat 4-5 comfortably + a couple of kids in a pinch), then it looks like the MPV is the one for us.
(BTW......checked the Consumerguide.com website and the 2004 pic is not available....have to check out the mag in person).
Sylvia, we all thank you!
Re: the 2004, if you want some pictures, I will post them for you. I do believe that the body and front end is the same for all market regions, be they EU, NA or JDM.
We are considering buying a pop up camper and towing it with our '03 MPV. The owners manual states that with towing packing we can tow up to 3000 lbs. We do have the tow package and are planning on having the dealership install the hitch and wiring.
Can anyone who has been towing a camper with their MPV let me know their experiences.
Thanks!
Leslie
P.S. We are looking at the Coleman Popups probably a 10 ft. to 12 ft. box.
First, here's a PDF of a towing weight guide for '03.
http://www.trailmanor.com/Camping-Towing/03towingguide.pdf
My thought would not be to go much over 2000 lbs with an MPV, although I'm aware of people who do push the envelope on tow weights and do so successfully. You'll need electric brakes on the pop up, and these are available or standard on most in that weight range. By the time you've loaded the pop up with stuff, you'll be close to the 75-80% of tow weight many use as a rule of thumb for safe operation.
BTW, if you're buying new, there are no more Coleman pop-ups. They had a falling out with Fleetwood, who makes them, and those pop ups are now branded as Fleetwood. If you are buying used, there have been some significant problems with the roofs on certain Colemans. You might want to check out Starcraft, which has a few models in the 2000 lb and under range.
The older version of the MPV (pre-2000) had higher tow capacity in some trim levels than the revised design (2000+ model year). I suspect that's where your dealer got his info mixed up.
The problems with the roofs on the Colemans were limited to a few models with the molded plastic roofs, and are covered by warranty (lifetime if I'm not mistaken). They are now being built across the line with aluminum roofs.
Starcraft is also a good make, and you won't go wrong with either. Personally, I think the Coleman/ Fleetwood campers are among the very best mechanically, although there are others with more updated floorplans.
Hope this helps,
-brianV
AutoWorld does a minivan roundup/comparo in their latest issue....new Quest #1 with the kids, new Sienna #1 with the adults....Odyssey a distant 3rd. MPV was lumped in with the rest in no particular order which included Chrysler, the new
Freestar/Montery, Venture and Sedona. The adults picked the MPV as the best to drive and the kids didn't even consider the MPV a minivan (which is good, I guess, in a way)
Any one else have this problem or suggestions.
Apologies if it hoses you dialup-folks.
...No...Homelink has not been mentioned in any literature or MazdaCorp leaks.
[quote]The VS, Aeroremix and Sports grades are equipped with 15-inch ventilated disc brakes on both front and rear wheels to deliver top class braking performance. The suspension has also been improved to complement the enhanced braking ability.[/quote]
'Mazda MPV' Receives Stylish Upgrade
- Exterior and interior enhancements, improved handling, comfort, and emissions performance -
http://www.media.mazda.com/news_release/product_info/2003/1007_e.- html
pb17, the information that I have is gleaned from a variety of sources, a great number of those are from Mazda employees, as well as over very informed MPV owners (some frequent TH, but I won't embarrass them).
The 2004 MPV Spec sheets have been out actually for quite a few months (since June actually), and a dealer should have known this. In fact, the dealerships should have been emailed the spec sheets. If you click on the MPV link at mazdausa.com, you'll see in the lower right-hand area a link to the 2004 pricing, if that helps you out any. The 2004 brochures aren't in print yet, or you could look at one of those... the brochures will be available in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I can't actually tell you where to find the specs, because Steve would have to delete my post almost immediately, followed by me receiving a requisite sternly written email... sorry, them's the rules here at the Cirle-E Ranch. Rest assured, the 2004 MPVs do have rear disk brakes.
Steve, Host
[quote]The VS, Aeroremix and Sports grades are equipped with 15-inch ventilated disc brakes on both front and rear wheels to deliver top class braking performance. [/quote]
I guess I'll wait to see some stopping numbers before complaining too much though.
Steve, Host
Right, Steve... it's not really needed... but a marketing gimick. See how I played by the rules tho?
Steve, Host
Sadly a couple of weeks ago my wife (really) totaled the 03. It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for bushes blocking the alley exit view but it was still our fault. I'm still waiting for Farmers to revise their first bid, tough for them because no used 03's for sale! You can view the damage below or scroll down fast if you can't stand to look. While you can't see it here the transmission housing was cracked, among other things. They are proposing $3300 in depreciation for 14,878 miles.
My dilemma now is buy or wait? I bought the first two in mid November, just after the new model's came out. Right now 03 inventory is very low and I can't find a duplicate, plus this time I will be buying "last year's model". The 04 sounds and looks great, but if I wait for the 04 it will be another 4 weeks in the rental car. I have driven the Quest and Sienna. Like Quest styling but not the 2nd row seat skirts or heavy 3rd row flipper. Sienna's not bad on the outside but the elec windows on the sliding doors and 40/60 3rd row flipper doesn't save the otherwise ugly interior.
This forum was responsible for my 00 purchase. Your thoughts on my present situation and recommendations would be most welcome.
The owners manual states the MPV can tow up to 3000 lbs. with tow package which we have. We are planning on staying within 200 lbs. of that. I like the Colemans/Fleetwoods but want to look at a few other makes. Palomino, Starcraft etc. One of the things I noticed about the Coleman/Fleetwoods is that they seem to be heavier then the others. The heaviest being Jayco. I like Jayco as our 5th Wheel is a Jayco Designer Series and it's fit and finish is really awesome. Oh well, I am rambling. Thanks again.
Leslie
Thanks again.
Leslie
http://response.jp/issue/2003/1007/article54507_1.html
click on the pics themselves for a larger version.
Any info on rebates?
So while you can tow a trailer that weighs 3000#, you basically have to do so with an empty van, by yourself. For real-world use, 2000-2500# is a more realistic range.
I can explain how this works in more detail if you like.
FWIW, "inflating" (strong word, maybe, but accurate in my opinion - what good is a tow capacity figure that ignores people and cargo ?) tow capacity numbers is common - almost all the vans I looked into suffered from the same thing, as do at least some SUV's.
One request I have for Mazda is to add at least 500# to the gross weight limit, without changing their tow capacity claim. And then publish 2 numbers, 1) maximum tow capacity as today, and 2) maximum tow capacity under full cargo load.
To be fair, Mazda is actually pretty clear in the owner's manual that the 3000# figure is for the trailer, people and cargo, if you read the text.
hth,
-brianV
If I extrapolate this to be the case in North America and judging purely on styling while everything else being equal, I'd say:
- If you want the low cost trims, buy a 2003 model before they run out.
- If you want the high end trims, it might be worth to wait for the 2004 model if pricing risk is not a sole stopper.
Steve, Host
So, regarding the chat, apparently I'm going to have to ghost into my home machine to bypass the office firewall for next time. They're weekly, no?
Yeah, the chat is going to be weekly. I have to turn off Zone Alarm for the java version to work here, so the firewall is probably your problem too.
btw, the missus went to KK this am and promised to save me one....
Steve, Host
Any ideas out there?
Steve, Host
Now if I saw a camper that had a dry or unloaded weight of 2500 lbs. I would stay away. As it stands, the camper we are looking at has a dry weight of about 1800 lbs., a CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity) of 610 lbs. These days, the campers come standard with electronic brakes. When we had our Starcraft, our towing vehicle did all of the braking.
Leslie
Dinu
BTW, I think we have found a second vehicle replacement. We really like the looks and specs on the Mazda 3 2L Hatchback (due in November??)
This should make a good Urban vehicle...
The 03 MPV stays in the barn and we seldom drive it(we pamper our PEEVEE). It is our summer traveling vehicle...
Tj
Sorry to hear about the car accident, hope everyone was ok. My wife (really, no kidding!) also totaled her 03 white MPV a couple of weeks ago, it was bought in June 03 and we merely put 3500 miles on the odometer. We decided to buy another MPV right away since apparently its crash rating is excellent (my wife and daughter walked away unharmed). My quick research on the rebate of 03 and 04 models was as followed:
Model year:--------------------03----------------04
Consumer cash rebate-------$2500-------------NA
Dealer Cash----------------$500(10/1-10/31)--$1500
College graduate rebate----$500--------------$500
In our case, we decided to go for the 03 model since we need a van immediately and there is no major change in the 04 model. Depreciation is not a main concern for us since we decided to keep the van for years to come (knock on wood, knock, knock, knock), besides, the cash incentive also plays some factor. We went to mazdausa.com website to do an inventory search around our area in New York area. We were basically looking for an all sports or GFX package and were able to find around 10 available MPVs within 100 miles distance. On Monday I e-mailed an offer of invoice less all cash rebates ($3500) to Orange Motors in Albany NY. The internet sales manager wrote back to me within a couple of hours and counter offered at invoice less $3000. Back in June we paid $2500 below invoice ($2000 dealer cash+ $500 college graduate) for our MPV so we were happy to take his offer, though I was quite sure with a bit more effort we could drive the price down further to earn the bragging right on this board:-)
So here is the deal we got:
Sale....................................................$23487.00
Black LX with all sports, rear AC, SAB & Traction, rear bumper step plate, roof rack, wheel lock
Sales Tax..@ 8.25%.................................$1937.68
Motor Vehicle...............................................$30.00
Total Before Rebates..............................$25,454.68
Less Rebate & College Grad......................$3,000.00
Total....................................................$22454.6- 8
We drove 80 miles to the dealer the next day with a bank check and left with a brand new 03 MPV and big smiles within 20 minutes. It was a very pleasant buying experience for us.
Hope the information helps. Good luck on your decision. We will post our pictures on this board later.