Mazda MPV 4WD? - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

gravitylover · 11-23-2014, 10:02 AM

Now that I have this car both cars in the house are manuals and my twin daughters will be getting their permits in a few months I'm thinking we should have something with an auto. I know you are all going to say ehh, just teach them to drive stick but they are 4'10" tall and cant see over the dashboard and put the clutch all the way in so ... no go. Does anybody have any experience with a 98 MPV All Sport? Tell me your stories both good and bad.

A few of the other things I was thinking are we have two dogs that like to do things with us. We mt bike, ski and all the other things an active modern family does and I want a truck for around the house type stuff but a pickup doesn't quite work on several levels and I don't think a typical sport ute covers it either.

Thanx.

hmong337 · 11-23-2014, 10:39 AM

My parents bought a brand new mpv in 92 and a few years ago I bought a 97 for a work van. Not sure what you wanna know but they both were great vans. The engines in them were bulletproof. The 92 had close to 400,000kms before getting too rotted and I had nearly 300,000kms on my 97 before getting rid of it. Never did anything to them outside of regular mainenance. Both were RWD models though. I heard the awd model was a real gas hog.

My wife is tiny and she learned on my 97. When I was a kid, I learned on my parents 92. It actually is a pretty good vehicle to learn with. It's not as large as some of the vans of today, the power is adequate, and it's got good visibility. We got my wife a Toyota Echo after the van and funny enough, she liked the van more since it had better power and it sat higher up.

You'll be fine with your mpv. Especially if it's an awd.

gravitylover · 11-23-2014, 10:43 AM

^ That's what I'm looking for, thanks. Reliability is obviously key with the kids, don't want them stranded. I'm not too concerned with mpg's especially if gas stays "cheap" for a few years and I don't expect it would do a lot of miles anyway.

hmong337 · 11-23-2014, 03:20 PM

As long as maintenence is on top, you're laughing. Even moreso since your van is awd and you live in a northern state like NY winter will be easy peasy. I learned in the dead of a Canadian winter, rwd van, and all season tires on our parents MPV. Your kids will be fine. Mpv's were a solid van. The generation after were junk! 89-98 mpv's, I believe, were that last cool stylish van. Rwd or awd too so they even had good towing capacity.

Rampage · 11-23-2014, 11:37 PM

I had two of them back around 95. They rode great but they were a bit thirsty. The automatic transmission went out on the one that I used to tow my racecar to the track and Mazda fixed it free of charge despite the fact I bought it used with 70K on it. Other than that they were totally reliable. I traded one in on my 94 Supra. I should have kept the van.

One weird thing. They have a 60K maintenance light that comes on. I did my own maintenance but then you have to take the instrument panel apart and move a screw from one hole to another to reset it. I thought that was strange but it may not be like that on the 98.

They were also good in the snow, rain and light off-roading. Good experience for me all around.

strat61caster · 11-24-2014, 09:23 PM

Why do you need AWD? Why not similar era Subie Outback/Legacy?

I think height is a silly reason not to teach someone to drive a manual transmission. I understand them not fitting in a car well and that is certainly a bad idea, but buy the car you want, they can suck it up and buy the car they want whenever they please.

The seat raises up just fine in the Toyobaru and the wheel sucks up to the dash in a snap, I struggle to imagine a 4'10" driver being unable to drive this car.

/internet tough guy

xia · 11-24-2014, 10:36 PM

My wife is 4"10. She drove my 91 MR2 Turbo, Celicas, 94 Supra TT, and 2013 FRS just fine.

On the subject line of MPV, my parents bought 2 MPV's in the 90's (both I believe were 1992 MPV's). Reliability was "OK" as I remember my dad fixing those damn things all the time. He did eventually junk both but I did enjoy driving it to see my gal (now my wife) :P

gravitylover · 11-25-2014, 12:25 AM

Ehh, it seemed like a good idea because I found a good one but ... the wife hates minivans so much I got shut down on the idea. Oh well. She likes pickups and sport utes so back to looking.

Strat asked why awd and why not a Subie. We already have an Outback but I want something more trucklike and bigger for toy hauling and household duties and I worry about using my BRZ when the weather gets like that because people are stupid and I would be bummed when some dippy doo wrecks my car for me. Not to say I won't teach them to drive a stick at all but in the beginning it really is easier with an auto.

11-23-2014, 10:02 AM	#1
gravitylover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Drives: 2013 BRZ Premium 6MT White Location: SE NY Posts: 1,503 Thanks: 1,218 Thanked 669 Times in 474 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	Mazda MPV 4WD? Now that I have this car both cars in the house are manuals and my twin daughters will be getting their permits in a few months I'm thinking we should have something with an auto. I know you are all going to say ehh, just teach them to drive stick but they are 4'10" tall and cant see over the dashboard and put the clutch all the way in so ... no go. Does anybody have any experience with a 98 MPV All Sport? Tell me your stories both good and bad. A few of the other things I was thinking are we have two dogs that like to do things with us. We mt bike, ski and all the other things an active modern family does and I want a truck for around the house type stuff but a pickup doesn't quite work on several levels and I don't think a typical sport ute covers it either. Thanx. Last edited by gravitylover; 11-23-2014 at 10:40 AM.

11-23-2014, 10:39 AM	#2
hmong337 Emperor JDM Join Date: Jun 2013 Drives: '91 MR2 Gen3 3SGTE, '13 FRS Location: Onterrible, Canada Posts: 1,750 Thanks: 3,498 Thanked 909 Times in 495 Posts Mentioned: 20 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	My parents bought a brand new mpv in 92 and a few years ago I bought a 97 for a work van. Not sure what you wanna know but they both were great vans. The engines in them were bulletproof. The 92 had close to 400,000kms before getting too rotted and I had nearly 300,000kms on my 97 before getting rid of it. Never did anything to them outside of regular mainenance. Both were RWD models though. I heard the awd model was a real gas hog. My wife is tiny and she learned on my 97. When I was a kid, I learned on my parents 92. It actually is a pretty good vehicle to learn with. It's not as large as some of the vans of today, the power is adequate, and it's got good visibility. We got my wife a Toyota Echo after the van and funny enough, she liked the van more since it had better power and it sat higher up. You'll be fine with your mpv. Especially if it's an awd. __________________

11-23-2014, 03:20 PM	#4
hmong337 Emperor JDM Join Date: Jun 2013 Drives: '91 MR2 Gen3 3SGTE, '13 FRS Location: Onterrible, Canada Posts: 1,750 Thanks: 3,498 Thanked 909 Times in 495 Posts Mentioned: 20 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	As long as maintenence is on top, you're laughing. Even moreso since your van is awd and you live in a northern state like NY winter will be easy peasy. I learned in the dead of a Canadian winter, rwd van, and all season tires on our parents MPV. Your kids will be fine. Mpv's were a solid van. The generation after were junk! 89-98 mpv's, I believe, were that last cool stylish van. Rwd or awd too so they even had good towing capacity. __________________

11-23-2014, 11:37 PM	#5
Rampage Senior Member/Old Fanboi Join Date: Nov 2011 Drives: 2000 2ZZ-GE MR2 Spyder HT Location: Back home in Ohio now Posts: 2,446 Thanks: 1,931 Thanked 2,014 Times in 915 Posts Mentioned: 16 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I had two of them back around 95. They rode great but they were a bit thirsty. The automatic transmission went out on the one that I used to tow my racecar to the track and Mazda fixed it free of charge despite the fact I bought it used with 70K on it. Other than that they were totally reliable. I traded one in on my 94 Supra. I should have kept the van. One weird thing. They have a 60K maintenance light that comes on. I did my own maintenance but then you have to take the instrument panel apart and move a screw from one hole to another to reset it. I thought that was strange but it may not be like that on the 98. They were also good in the snow, rain and light off-roading. Good experience for me all around. __________________ So many modders have more cents than sense!

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11-23-2014, 10:43 AM	#3
gravitylover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Drives: 2013 BRZ Premium 6MT White Location: SE NY Posts: 1,503 Thanks: 1,218 Thanked 669 Times in 474 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	^ That's what I'm looking for, thanks. Reliability is obviously key with the kids, don't want them stranded. I'm not too concerned with mpg's especially if gas stays "cheap" for a few years and I don't expect it would do a lot of miles anyway.

11-24-2014, 09:23 PM	#6
strat61caster - Join Date: Nov 2012 Drives: '13 FRS - STX Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 10,383 Thanks: 13,790 Thanked 9,502 Times in 5,013 Posts Mentioned: 94 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	Why do you need AWD? Why not similar era Subie Outback/Legacy? I think height is a silly reason not to teach someone to drive a manual transmission. I understand them not fitting in a car well and that is certainly a bad idea, but buy the car you want, they can suck it up and buy the car they want whenever they please. The seat raises up just fine in the Toyobaru and the wheel sucks up to the dash in a snap, I struggle to imagine a 4'10" driver being unable to drive this car. /internet tough guy

11-24-2014, 10:36 PM	#7
xia Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Drives: 1995 Supra TT & 2013 FRS Location: Black Hole Posts: 247 Thanks: 220 Thanked 63 Times in 45 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	My wife is 4"10. She drove my 91 MR2 Turbo, Celicas, 94 Supra TT, and 2013 FRS just fine. On the subject line of MPV, my parents bought 2 MPV's in the 90's (both I believe were 1992 MPV's). Reliability was "OK" as I remember my dad fixing those damn things all the time. He did eventually junk both but I did enjoy driving it to see my gal (now my wife) :P

11-25-2014, 12:25 AM	#8
gravitylover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Drives: 2013 BRZ Premium 6MT White Location: SE NY Posts: 1,503 Thanks: 1,218 Thanked 669 Times in 474 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	Ehh, it seemed like a good idea because I found a good one but ... the wife hates minivans so much I got shut down on the idea. Oh well. She likes pickups and sport utes so back to looking. Strat asked why awd and why not a Subie. We already have an Outback but I want something more trucklike and bigger for toy hauling and household duties and I worry about using my BRZ when the weather gets like that because people are stupid and I would be bummed when some dippy doo wrecks my car for me. Not to say I won't teach them to drive a stick at all but in the beginning it really is easier with an auto.

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