Home >> Edwin's World
The Descent into the Abyss of Suburban
Transporation
(or a review of the Mazda MPV Minivan - originally written in early
2002)
If you want to bypass my introductory
and largely irrelevant rant below click on the link and go directly
to the actual MPV review.
Transportation in Greater Vancouver
is in an abysmal state so far as the driving experience and mass transit
infrastructure are concerned. The geographic locale of Vancouver that
provides the citizens with the splendors of nature is at once a wonder
and yet a curse for traveling in and around the city centre.
Vancouver is truly one of the most
beautiful cities in the world and I’m not just saying that because
I live in it, however, the proximity to an ocean, river way, and mountains
make for limited land area use. With all of Vancouver proper already
developed to a high degree and with the cost of Vancouver real estate
being so high due to this lack of available land, people in search
of affordable housing must look east towards the outlying suburbs.
My own suburb of Burnaby is still astronomically
expensive to live in because it is right beside the City of Vancouver.
Get out of Burnaby and head farther east to Coquitlam, New Westminster,
or head south to Surrey and Delta and you start seeing real estate
prices that a young family might fathom being able to afford. For
the truly destitute (and destitution is all relative, for Vancouver’s
working poor are another city’s middle class) then they must head
into the boonies where farms and wild animals can still be found in
good numbers. Pitt Meadows, Langley, Mission, Haney, Abbottsford and
Chilliwack are located along the Fraser River valley and there are
a number of people who will commute from these distant outlying areas
to work in the city.
In these suburbs (Chilliwack is actually
too far away to be considered a suburb) housing prices resemble a
normalcy usually found well outside of British Columbia’s major metropolitan
area. A future brother-in-law and I are both from the small town of
Kamloops, in the interior of BC, otherwise known as the “hole”, and
we both shake our heads at the crazy prices found in the Vancouver
area compared to what could be had for similar money in Kamloops.
My house in Burnaby would easily buy
me a house in the tony areas (yes, there are some) of Kamloops with
money left over for the requisite SUV and boat in the driveway and
a giant screen TV and home theatre in the rec room. Head into the
outlying areas of Kamloops and the same money would allow one to live
the lifestyle of country gentry. Of course, one actually has to find
good employment in the “holes” of BC to actually live the good life.
Lack of meaningful employment was the prime reason why I did not move
to a small town or even be able to live the city of my choice, Victoria
on Vancouver Island. And quite frankly, I am not one for blue collar
living as a logger, miner, or any other resource based occupation
that is the backbone of the small towns in the BC interior.
So, I and two million other people
make our livings and homes in the greater Vancouver area. Mountains
to the north, Georgia Strait to the west, and the US border to the
south, leaving one direction only for expansion, east.
If I had my druthers I would actually
be living in the newish development of Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam,
the next suburb over from Burnaby. Westwood Plateau seen from a distance
is the type of development that would give tree huggers the shivers
with the manner in which the forests have been razed from the lower
portion of the mountains to make way for the brand spanking new houses
lined up along all the cul-de-sacs. However, take those young twenty-something
environmentalists out of the universities and colleges and put them
in the real world of having to earn a living to support their families
(instead of living off of mommy and daddy’s bank account) and the
neighborhood they would want to raise their families would be…Westwood
Plateau.
It is a development that is only about
ten years old so all the surrounding elementary schools and one high
school are new. Close proximity to various amenities such as shopping
and kid oriented activities including soccer fields and ice rinks,
makes the Plateau a great middle to upper middle class haven with
a sprinkling of rich neighbors, as there are several pockets of million
dollar homes beside the golf course. You know whom your kids will
be hobnobbing with. Yet despite the huge houses and good neighborhoods,
the Plateau actually offers the prospective buyer good value for the
money compared to Vancouver, Burnaby or any part of the North Shore.
Good value is relative only to the Vancouver area, as Westwood Plateau
prices would still strike the fear of God and bankers in the hearts
of small town residents.
I may eventually make my way up there
in a few years when my own kids have reached school age. By then other
family members will probably be firmly ensconced in the Plateau, easing
the way in for us. The big factor to consider is distance to the city
centre that I work in. The best part of the Plateau is the upper section
and mass transit has not reached beyond the lower Plateau. Some means
of accessing either the bus or the commuter train would have to be
worked out.
Ah, yes, transit. The “bone-shaker”.
The forty seat limo. The “loser mobile” and any number of other derogatory
comments to describe the bane of people’s daily commuting life.
In the greater Vancouver area, there
are over one thousand buses and several thousand transit employees
who keep the buses, sea buses, Sky Train, and West Coast Express running
every day. During impending transit strikes, fear flows through the
public and something akin to mass hysteria grips the media who pump
up the story and sensationalize it. Last May (2001), a transit strike
did indeed occur but the mass hysteria failed to show up much to the
chagrin of the transit workers who needed public opinion as leverage
and to the media that had egg on its face from the Chicken Little
ranting leading up the strike.
On the Monday of the strike beginning,
the transit users found new ways to get to work and adapted to the
change. It was no big deal at all and many commuters found the roads
much better flowing without the buses clogging up the lanes. The transit
strike did affect many people though. The old and working poor who
could not afford alternative means of transportation did suffer and
unfortunately for them, they meant little to the government of the
day. The NDP government was in the final act of its reign of tragic
errors and spendthrift ways of wasting taxpayers’ money on one big
mega project after another. Nobody bothered to tell them that Keynesian
economics fell out of vogue decades ago and God forbid that these
rabid socialists should wake up to the smell of capitalism stoking
the economic fire of the western world. Now BC suffers and is on the
borderline of requiring federal welfare handouts known as equalization
to ensure that national standards in education and healthcare are
met. Thankfully a new government based upon free market principles
swept the detritus of the NDP out of Victoria and BC may once more
have an opportunity to shine.
One of the first actions by the new
provincial Liberal government (very little in common with the same
name federal party that is also governing Canada – incompetently I
might add) was to deal with the transit strike before the fall semester
began for university and college students. A deal was struck at the
last minute with the government sword of strike ending legislation
hanging over the heads of the strikers and transit authority.
When the strike finally ended, I was
actually happy, as I am a transit commuter. The benefits of transit
outweigh the inconveniences for me since my wife does not work in
the downtown core anymore. During the strike, we drove into town together
and based upon gas and parking costs we were ahead by a tiny bit from
not paying two fares for the bus ride. However, it meant parking well
away from our offices to save on parking costs and given the traffic
in Vancouver, we did not save that much time over a bus ride.
My ride into Vancouver from Burnaby
is not bad, as the morning ride is never more than twenty minutes
and I always get a good seat from where I get on. The ride back home
is a little bit longer and more crowded but I still manage to get
a good seat from where I get on. Most days I nod off during the middle
parts of the commute, like many other tired office workers wanting
to get out of the city as quickly as possible.
My Burnaby commute is a better experience
than when I first started taking transit to get into downtown. For
about a year and half, I was taking transit from within Vancouver,
riding on the ubiquitous trolley buses found in the City of Vancouver,
as opposed to the diesel buses used everywhere else. Trolley buses
use electricity, provided by the hundreds of miles of ugly electrical
cables strung overhead of all the major roadways and streets of the
city. They are relatively quiet and emit no pollution in the city
but a ride on one of the “scum runs” can be quite an experience.
I had to travel on one of the scum
run buses when I lived in the city. A few of the buses have to travel
along the Main Street and Hastings Street junction and anyone familiar
with Main and Hastings in Vancouver will know exactly what I write
of. Main and Hastings is the epicenter of the poorest neighborhood
in all of Canada and is the Mecca of the drug trade for Vancouver.
Vancouver has the largest western port in Canada is the ideal place
to smuggle in large quantities of drugs and other contraband for distribution
to the rest of Canada and the US. Much of the drugs, heroin being
the overwhelming favorite, will make its way to the mean streets of
Vancouver where the drugs will be smoked or injected.
Gangly thin junkie bodies with ravaged
faces and arms move in and out of the area. Chinatown is right there
and it is a strange juxtaposition to see elderly Chinese buying groceries
for dinner walking by the passed out bodies on the street. Strangely
though, there does not seem to be that many problems with the two
vastly different cultures of conservative Asia and deviant drugs and
alcohol.
Everyday I have to travel through this
area by bus because Main Street was the bus I took when I lived in
Vancouver and the New West Station bus I take now uses the Hastings
Street corridor to travel into downtown Vancouver. Every second Wednesday
I see the welfare recipients lining up outside of the Four Corners
bank, waiting to get their cash in order to buy the necessities of
life. A lot for rent, a little bit for food and often more than what
the check is worth for their fix be it drugs or drink. Crime and prostitution
are the methods used by many of the Downtown Eastside residents to
make ends meet, or rather to sustain them from one fix or binge to
another.
The route through this area differs
a bit though depending upon which bus you travel on. The Main Street
bus is imbedded in my mind, as a foul body odor experience given that
many of the bus riders have a tenuous grasp of personal hygiene. When
it rains, the experience is strengthened doubly. A co-worker of mine
use to ride the Granville Street bus into downtown and he mentioned
the well-dressed women on the bus with their pleasant perfumes making
the ride more bearable. He gets Chanel No. 5 and I get Eau D’Toilette,
literally. There is nothing like having to stick your face in close
proximity to someone else’s armpit and most days, the Main Street
bus is packed like a third world vehicle with a mass of humanity packed
like canned fish inside. I shudder to think what would happen if an
accident occurred with one of those buses but thank those union men
and women, they truly are superb drivers with an uncanny ability to
navigate those behemoth boxes in and out of traffic with the ease
of Schumacher on a Formula 1 track.
I use to ride the Main Street bus to
Terminal Street Sky Train station and ride the corporate welfare train
into downtown (Sky Train cars are built by Bombardier, a bastion of
federal corporate welfare thanks in part to high level government
contacts and also thanks to its Quebec location). A short ride and
if you miss one, no worries, another is only five minutes away but
as the Main Street bus approaches and then stops at the Terminal Street
stop, 75 percent of the bus riders get up in a mad dash up the stairs
of the Sky Train station in order to be among the lucky few to be
able to squeeze into the already crowded cars.
The first time I saw this I was shocked,
being the naïve small town boy working in the big city, I just didn’t
understand what the rush was all about. Like I said, you miss one,
another will be coming very quickly after. I rode the Sky Train for
a few months until one incident put me off the Sky Train commuting
experience.
A typical day getting off the Main
Street bus and walking up the stairs to the Sky Train station. I missed
the train that had come by and plucked up the running masses of the
urban Olympics. So, I waited for the next one to come. I was essentially
the only one waiting at the downtown side of the station but as I
saw the next train approaching I could see some more buses stopping
below and the next rush of commuters running up the stairs. No matter,
I was the first in line or so I thought.
As the Sky Train approached for the
stop, the mad dash of commuters has reached the top of the stairs.
I step up to the doors of one of the cars and I see that there is
enough space for one more person and thus, I prepare to step in. As
this sequence is happening, one of the leading bus riders happens
to be an obese woman who moved far more quickly than one would have
thought possible. Now keep in mind that all of this occurred in a
few seconds from the time the Sky Train has stopped and opened its
doors. The obese woman literally jumps and throws herself into the
car I was about to enter, pushing all those near the door farther
inside, most likely sandwiching the poor people unlucky to have been
the ones to bear the brunt of her Olympic worthy exercise. The Sky
Train doors close and I’m standing at the station once more by myself
with a look of shock and my mouth was probably gaped open as the bewildering
experience of what just happened. Survival of the fittest in the urban
jungle and I just got trampled on by an elephant and turned into wildebeest
doo-doo.
I decided to ride the Main Street bus
all way into downtown after that incident and a few more similar ones
with Sky Train for the rest of my days in Vancouver before moving
to Burnaby and commuting with a more upscale group of riders. Incidentally,
I saved all of ten minutes by using the Sky Train instead of riding
the bus all the way through.
Transit is in a state of flux right
now as it requires an enormous amount of operating capital that is
incapable of being self funded. Every homeowner in the lower mainland
and perhaps the rest of BC faces a transit levy on their BC Hydro
utility bill. This levy subsidizes BC Transit to keep fares at a reasonable
cost. I suspect that if we commuters had to pay the real cost of transit
without subsidies, we would all be driving into downtown and paying
ten dollars a day for parking and putting up with one-hour traffic
jammed commutes to and from work.
It would be nice if the transit bosses
had the balls to stand up to the union and cut the bullshit services
that see full-size forty seat buses do short local routes that are
used by a tiny handful of people throughout the day. Forty seat buses
that could be used to ease the crowding on the major transit corridors
instead of providing a senior union bus driver a slack route. I think
there are enough runs and routes to keep all the drivers gainfully
employed but resources must be allocated to ease the mad rush during
the mornings and afternoons given the hundreds of thousands of transit
users every working day.
Transit in the big city is also inadequate
for coverage. Sure buses access all of the major and minor outlying
areas but buses run circuitous routes that take too long to get from
one stop all the way into downtown. What is needed is a rapid transit
system that will move people in and out of the core suburbs quickly
and efficiently. Sky Train only runs from downtown to Surrey and while
certainly needed, it is far from enough.
A new Sky Train line is being built
to run from Lougheed Mall in Coquitlam to connect with the existing
line to downtown with further plans to expand the Lougheed Highway
line all the way to Coquitlam Centre, farther northeast. This would
not be bad at all and it would greatly ease the commuting experience
for the residents of the eastern burbs, however, a line running south
to north from Richmond to downtown is also needed.
A route for the north/south line would
ideally run along the old Arbutus Street train tracks since the right
of way already exists but in Vancouver, where the mayor is an old
money boy who has ears only for people living on the western, rich
side of the city, the squawking from the moneyed people will prevent
logic from being dictated. Heaven forbid that all those rich doctors,
lawyers, and other professionals should have to suffer the indignity
of having a commuter train run in their side of the city. Why commuter
trains are for the working class and poor don’t you know? So goes
the argument and explanation provided by one of those rich, west side
neighborhood organizations sprung up to lobby the city not to allow
the use of the Arbutus rail line.
I suppose I should not be too hard
on the attitudes by the nose in the air crowd since Sky Train has
brought certain problems with it since its inception back during the
Expo 86 days of the World’s Fair in Vancouver. The Sky Train has made
it quite convenient for drug traders to travel into the city and sell
their goods. Needles and condoms are regular finds around certain
Sky Train stations and truthfully, one does not want to be out on
the route during the late hours. However, I do not see a Sky Train
approach (basically an above ground subway) to a Richmond to Vancouver
link. I see a West Coast Express approach, which is a real train that
only stops at major destinations and only runs during the Monday to
Friday rush hours and not the almost 7/24 times of Sky Train. This
should prevent the bad elements from flowing into the west side of
Vancouver but given how protective the people are of their land values,
a truly hard sell and I suspect that it will be decades before anything
will be done, if ever.
For many people, mass transit just
does not work out due to geographical location or timing for work
and travel times required. For these people, driving themselves to
work is the only workable approach and the major decision is which
vehicle to do it in.
The
Mazda MPV
The False Start
for an SUV
 Mine
was once a two-car family. Two four-door sedans, one a compact import
and one a regular size domestic. Two cars are imminently convenient
but once my wife started working in the downtown core, two cars made
less sense in terms of maintenance and insurance cost. We sold the
import and kept the domestic, well actually, we had to keep the domestic
since it is actually my father’s car and my parents live with us to
provide us with daycare for our kids.
My father’s car can fit six people
in a pinch but it is really uncomfortable and with two baby car seats
in the back, an adult is cramped if forced to sit there. My pop has
been quite generous in allowing us the use of the car when we need
it but there has been more than a few times that he would have preferred
having his car back for his own use. There had been plenty of hints
indicating the time was near for my wife and I would to buy our own
car.
With subtle and not so subtle hints
in our minds, my wife and I began the research into a new vehicle
suitable for our young family. Right away, practicality reared its
despicably pragmatic head in our way and screamed minivan to us. The
little white angel showed up on the right shoulder imploring me to
do the sensible thing while the little devil poked me to give in,
to my longstanding desire to own a 4x4 SUV.
 Since
I had recently been rebuffed at trying to move the family out of Burnaby
and into Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam, I decided to console myself
by not giving into the pressure of a minivan and holding out for a
SUV as my reward for giving up the good life in the hills of Coquitlam.
My father, who holds not an inconsiderable amount of influence in
the family, and my wife knew of my dislike of the minivan option and
I do think that a bit of guilt ran through them for the thorough trashing
my moving plans that they relented and agreed that an SUV wouldn’t
be such a bad vehicle to own. The search was on.
My wife and I looked through various
magazines and newspaper articles on the compact class of SUVs for
their size and pricing, to see which ones should be short-listed.
The Nissan X-Terra was tossed out right away as being wholly unsuitable
as a family car. A nifty and very sporty little truck that would be
perfect for you and your best bud to head out into the bush with all
your gear, it is marketed as the perfect truck for the active crowd
and it shows in the way the truck is built and equipped. The front
seats are not so bad but the back seat is cramped and really a piece
of crap if you’re going to be sitting in it for any length of time.
 The
Jeep Liberty seemed promising and it too is an attractive looking
truck but Jeep has a pretty spotty track record for long term reliability
and most of the older Jeep Cherokees I see on the road look like doggy
doo and I don’t mean that to mean that they were actually used hard
for off-roading purposes, I mean the ones driven by the yuppies when
the whole SUV thing got going back in the early 1990s. I did not think
the replacement for the long running Cherokee would be all that much
better since the bigger and more expensive Grand Cherokee also has
a spotty mechanical reputation.
A little bit more reading led us to
two choices, the Mazda Tribute and the Ford Escape, which it turns
out are actually the same compact truck made in a Ford factory with
only the name badge and interior trim and amenities being different.
Otherwise same chassis and exterior body and same Ford motors available.
After checking out both versions and reading the brochure carefully
for the differences in features, I came to the conclusion that the
Ford was the better deal and that Mazda was using its Japanese name
as a cachet for charging more money for the same truck.
The key feature that made the Ford
Escape the version to buy is ABS brakes being available as a standard
feature on the Ford model we were interested in whereas the Mazda
Tribute required the purchase of an upscale model, for which we did
not have the money for in our budget. The Ford Escape was it for me
so my pop and I went to our local Ford dealership to see if we could
wrangle one up for our little posse back on the range.
To make the frustrating story short,
my dad and I returned empty handed and I learned why car salesmen
are so reviled in western culture. After the schmoozing from the salesman
was through all the dealer ended up offering us was the same price
that another dealer farther away offered right away without any negotiations.
The problem was that there was not one Ford Escape with the feature
set we wanted available in the lower mainland. I wanted the XLT Base
model, the beginning model of the upscale Escape that would give me
all the minimum features I wanted without all the costly extras that
would be superfluous. The dealer did find one XLT Base in Squamish,
an hour outside of Vancouver but in black color, which neither my
wife nor I desired, but we either take it or wait two-months for the
XLT Base that we would want.
My father and I had a private moment
and agreed that we should not pay extra money for this black Escape,
since the dealer was offering a new factory ordered one at the same
price. The dealer saw things differently and would not budge on their
final, which was also their first, discount offer. My father and I
walked out sensing the lack of movement and lack of desire on our
part to have to pay the same money for a demo model car as for a factory
ordered unit.
Unfortunately, for me, that was my
only window of opportunity to purchase my beloved SUV for that same
day my pop is gently suggesting that I reconsider the minivan since
there was an abundance of the ones my wife and I would be interested
in. My wife has also been making subtle hints that although she would
enjoy the SUV too, the minivan was just so much more practical when
the whole family went out, including my parents. The writing was on
the wall. The testosterone-led urges would be beaten into submission
and I would succumb to suburban conformity and act like the thirty-something
dad that I am with a child about a year away from being able to participate
in his first organized sports league. Oh those 5am hockey practices
are going to hurt. Dear God, please build a 24-hour Tim Horton’s doughnut
shop close by.
Minivan Choices
 During
the run up to deciding between an SUV and minivan, my wife and I had
a look at the Honda Odyssey a couple times. Expensive, big, comfortable,
big, convenient, expensive…oh, did I mention it was big and expensive.
We test-drove it on two different occasions, me the first time and
my wife the second. I did not mind it, as I figured we would just
get use to it over time but my wife was very nervous driving something
so big when she was so small. She was quite uncomfortable in it and
the price tag asked by Honda put us both off. My dad was totally against
the Honda because of its expense, which would have amounted to a $40k
CAN on-the-road price tag. Since he was providing some of the funding
for the car, his opinion carried weight, like I said, my pop holds
considerable influence in the family.
If my dad could have chose, he would
have had us buy a Chrysler magic wagon but the Chryslers are just
as big and worst off for long-term reliability than the Honda. No
way was I going to pay big bucks for an American built minivan no
matter what the brand be it Chrysler, Ford or Chevrolet. That did
not leave much of a field left and in truth there was always only
one choice for us but of the remaining brands to look at, there was
the Toyota Sienna and the Mazda MPV.
These minivans, the Sienna and MPV,
were competitive in size and cost at one point, with both being considerably
less than the Honda Odyssey, the minivan that we compared all others
to. The Sienna had a nice outline to it but it took a lot of its ergonomic
cues from the American minivans, meaning bench seats that are a pain
to move in and out when extra space is required. If Toyota had not
done the ridiculous and jacked up the price of the Sienna about a
year ago, it might still have been the one we would have bought given
some of the attractive financing options available to purchasers.
Now, the Sienna is in Honda Odyssey money territory and frankly, it
is wholly inferior to the Odyssey. What made Toyota think that it
could take a minivan that was priced about right, $5k less than the
best minivan available in the Odyssey and then suddenly raise the
price without improving anything or adding any comparable features
as the Odyssey? There was not a hope in hell that I would pay five
grand extra for the Toyota nameplate.
The Only One for Us
 So,
like I said, that only left one real choice for us to go with, the
Mazda MPV. The MPV can be considered the Honda Odyssey-Lite. Many
of the great things that Honda had put into their redesigned Odyssey
were available in the MPV save for a few potentially crucial items.
The most important of these features is the magic seat, the rear bench
seat that can fold into a space in the cargo well and provide a large,
flat storage space, without the hassle of removing the bench seat
out and then trying to figure out where to store the thing. The middle
seats are captain’s chairs that can slide together to create a smaller
bench seat or moved apart for an individual ones.
Dual side doors make for moving people
and cargo in and out wholly convenient and the only difference between
the MPV and Odyssey for these doors is that the Odyssey has the option
for powered sliding doors. The 2001 MPV we bought does not allow for
this feature but the 2002 model will. Chances are if we had bought
the Odyssey, we would not have power sliding doors anyway since they
are only available on the expensive top model.
My wife and I were initially thinking
of going totally basic since even the base MPV offered a generous
amount of features but thanks to a contact at the Mazda dealership
we bought from, we were able to get a good price on the mid-level
LX model with the Sport Package options included. Leather seats are
also an available option but that was a cost we could not justify
despite the superior feel of leather on the bum. The Sport Package
gave us the following key features over the standard LX:
 16
inch alloy rims and larger tires over the base 15 inch steel rims
and smaller tires- 9 speaker stereo with 6-disc changer
built it
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Incidentally, there are three MPV models
to choose from,
- The base DX
- The middle LX
- And the top ES that generally comes
loaded with leather, moon roof and all the other good stuff that
one would pay extra for over the lower models for obviously much
more money
With all three models, there can be
a dizzying amount of options that can be ordered so that there are
in fact around nine or ten different types of Mazda MPVs that could
be bought instead of the on paper three DX, LX and EX models.
We had a choice of a few LX Sport Package
minivans but we chose one in a blue/green color tone because it was
the one with the least amount of kilometers racked up on the odometer.
It has a blue/grey interior trim and it is not unattractive to the
eye if I say so myself.
The Ride
 One
of the key reasons to go with this minivan besides the many Odyssey-like
features available at a much lower price is the ride and handling
of the MPV. The MPV is among the smaller if not the smallest minivan
available and that allows it to drive the most car-like of any minivan
available. The width is not much bigger than my father’s 1994 Plymouth
Acclaim and roughly the same length too but with of course, much more
space available for hauling people and cargo around.
The size of the minivan as a whole
still takes a little getting use to but the higher seating perspective
is fantastic. It is great to be able to look around the cars below
you and see what is coming ahead more clearly than if driving a regular
car. The higher seating allows better visibility when coming to a
stop along residential back streets in which the cars are parked tight
to the corners (illegal actually) and one has to start looking down
the street well before the intersection to see if any cars are about
to enter too. Low riding sports cars offer horrible visibility in
this regard.
- The suspension of the MPV seems
well damped, superior to that of a car, so bumps and uneven roads
are not a problem for a comfortable ride.
- The powered steering is very easy
to turn and not tight at all
- The brakes feel slightly spongy
in that you need to apply pressure to the brake pedal and push nearly
half way down before actually feeling the MPV slow down but it is
more of just getting use to this style of braking, as compared to
Honda style braking in which slight pressure on the brake pedal
screeches you to a halt
- The instrument panel is not cluttered
and all controls are easily accessible once you get use to where
everything is, as would be the case for any new car one drives
- The only tricky thing was the windshield
wiper control, it took me a few minutes and hands hand playing to
understand how it works and what controls what (this is what happens
when one does not read the instruction manual). This control offers
intermittent wiping and rear fluid access for the rear wiper, which
is on the far side of the wiper control. The inner ring controls
the main front wipers for intermittent wiping and moving the whole
wiper control up or pulling it to you provides the full range of
controls.
- All other controls are self-explanatory
and do not require the manual to operate. I was able to figure out
the buttons and controls for the 6-disc CD changer quite easily
- I should note that in reality, the
size of the MPV to other minivans is relatively small, we're talking
inches in width and length but those measurements do make a difference
in the overall feel of the van on the road
The Amenities
 My
MPV is not a high priced luxury version with leather seats or sunroof
but it is satisfactorily equipped with cloth-covered seats and powered
door locks and windows.
- One great feature of the MPV is
that it is the only minivan to offer side windows that roll down,
just like four-door sedans. This offers the passengers with more
options for airflow and cooling down during the summer months. The
windows can be locked off by the driver when kids are riding in
the back. The rear windows are tinted for greater privacy from outside
Peeping Toms.
- The rear most passengers also have
the ability to dial in their own air conditioning or heating conditions
via a rear control panel – dual zone heating or cooling, way cool...or
hot. The driver can also control the rear fan via the front panel
but does not control the heating or cooling except on a global level,
meaning the whole car
- The rear most side windows can also
be opened up slightly for more air flow - riders will never want
for more airflow options with this minivan
 The
rear magic seat is one of the best features of the MPV and is wholly
ripped off of the Honda Odyssey, which was the first minivan to
offer this type of seat. The rear seat can fold flat into the cargo
well or be reversed for a rear facing bench for picnics or other
types of socializing – obviously when the car is parked only.
- Dual sliding side doors means access
is available even in tight parking spots and both are of course
child-lockable so that they can only be opened from the outside
and not the inside when kids are riding in the centre seats
- Built in car alarm and keyless remote
entry with immobilizer. The immobilizer works in conjunction with
the microchipped key that is specific to the MPV one owns. Anyone
else attempting to gain access to the car without the proper key
will find the car stalling out and this includes keys cut by your
local locksmith. Only your Mazda dealer can supply you with additional
keys with a microchip.
- The alarm has a flashing light in
the dash to warn of the system being active and a panic mode is
available that also doubles as a car seeker feature - the car horn
and lights honk and flash for a few seconds to scare away people
or help you locate the car in a mall parking lot
- Cruise control is standard on the
LX (not sure about the base DX) but can only be used when the MPV
is traveling faster than 25 km/hr
- ABS brakes are standard on the LX
(not on the base DX)
The Stereo
 I
use to be an avid audiophile some
years ago, before I did the silly thing and got married and had
kids (all of which necessitated the purchase of the MPV) but like
most audiophiles, I labored over the home stereo sound while ignoring
the car sound. I never bothered to get into car audio for a few reasons,
- The preconceived notion that the
car environment is too compromised with bad acoustics and ambient
noise levels to make quality audio meaningful
- I never had money left over to do
anything worthwhile with the car after blowing it all on the home
system anyway
- My cars previously were just too
“uncool” to spend big bucks on a car stereo – I use to drive a Toyota
Tercel hatchback, which is eminently functional as a cheap commuter
car in the city but never had the shape or curves of the trendy
Honda Civic hatchback. I knew the Tercel would not be a long-term
car for me so I did not want to waste time and money by trying to
install a good car deck and speakers in it. My first car was an
ancient Volvo 173, for which I did install a Sony deck and a couple
of 6x9 speakers in the back but this car was a write off after a
year of ownership (write off as in selling for a huge loss, not
as in crashed). My wife’s previous Nissan Stanza had a CD changer
installed but it was played through the stock deck’s radio – as
in finding an unused FM station to play the CDs, not the best way
to listen but certainly usable
All the MPV models come with in-dash
CD players but the specific models differ in the type offered.
- The base MPV comes with a single
CD player with four speakers
- The mid level MPVs come with an
in-dash 6-disc CD changer with four speakers but the Sport Package
will add five more speakers
- The top level MPVs come with the
6-disc changer and 9 speakers as standard
- None of the MPVs come with a tape
deck and as far as I know, none is available. A sign of the times
as to how passé the cassette tape is with only a CD player and radio
being available.
My Sport Package LX has the better
stereo and although I was not concerned about the stereo deck at first,
I am quite glad to have the better system built in. This dealer equipped
stereo is still not going to give any car audio enthusiast pangs of
guilt for spending so much time and money on custom equipment, but
for most consumers, it will be more than adequate to enjoy tunes on
the road.
 Four
speakers are located at the front with two separate tweeters located
on the top of the dashboard near where the windshield starts and two
mid range speakers are located in the front door wells. Two additional
tweeters and mid range speakers are located in the rear most seat
section and in the cargo well, where the tire jack and tools are located,
is a small bass woofer, about 5 or 6 inches in diameter. No, this
is no boom box unit but there is usable bass if you like Bach’s Fugue
and Toccata.
The sound is crisp and well defined
as a CD based system should be and the overall impression is one of
conservative refinement in that nothing is going to jump out at you
and dominate the sound. Car noise aside, this stock stereo should
provide good quality sound for everyone riding inside the MPV. The
only thing that is missing is a rear seat volume control so that passengers
can control the music level to their liking instead of having to live
with what the driver desires to listen at.
The radio is surprisingly good at pulling
in my favorite radio station from Victoria over on Vancouver Island.
This is my test to see how sensitive a radio tuner is, if it can pull
in 100.3 The Q in Victoria, it's a good tuner. Previous car tuners
have only intermittently been able to pull in The Q during the best
of climates but usually with static. The Mazda MPV's stock tuner does
an admirable job at pulling in a clean signal. Even my home tuner,
a cheap Teac, is not able to equal it.
Speaking of radio stations, why is
there so much formulated crap on the airwaves? In Vancouver there
are four radio stations that cater to the vast majority of listeners
who don't care for all news, all the time or sachrine soft pop that
would give a person cavities after 15 minutes of listening to Kenny
G or Whitney Houston.
- Z95.3 or whatever it's called now,
which is the teenager oriented station playing pop schlock such
as Backstreet Boys and Brittany Spears
- 99.3 The Fox for hard rock and alternative
- 101.1 Classic Rock, which is the
stale album oriented rock station playing baby boomer youth music
but does have the best morning crew of all the stations - Bro Jake
is the baddest and lewdest DJ this side of Howard Stern
- 104.9 XFM another hard rock and
alternative station that caters to the hard edge twenty something
crowd
Unfortunately, none of these stations
really satisfy my listening needs on the road. 101.1 comes closest
but I need a little bit more modern rock injected into my system and
really, who the hell is the idiot music programmer that considers
Elton John to be classic rock? 100.3 The Q was quite a good, balanced
radio station, one that I took for granted would be available in the
big city, but alas not so. Enough ranting. (May 2003 Update - the new JACK FM 96.9 is quite decent with a nice mix just like Victoria's
100.3, but way too many commercials in between music sets)
Caveats
I like the MPV and it is pretty much the only minivan that
I would likely continue to buy into so long as Mazda keeps the size
of the car in check and not balloon it out like Honda did with the
Odyssey back in 1999. However, that does not mean the 2001 MPV I bought
is perfect.
 The
biggest concern I had with the 2001 model is the lowish power of
the motor. Although a six cylinder motor made by Ford, the current
MPV only outputs about 170 ponies and while 170 hp is pretty good
for a regular sized sedan, it is not so good for a larger car such
as a minivan. The one common concern that we came across in researching
the MPV is that the motor is underpowered for the size and weight
of the minivan. Now keep in mind that for city driving the 170 hp
of the MPV is adequate and I have yet to try it out for highway
driving but I would have concerns about how much power I would have
available for passing if I had a full load of people and cargo inside.
Acceleration is a bit hesitant from a full stop to reaching cruising
speed, as in red traffic light stopping moments. I can certainly
hear the motor work to accelerate the minivan up to speed. Mazda
(and Ford, which owns almost 35 percent of Mazda) has heard the
criticisms and will be offering a much more powerful engine for
the 2002 model. This new motor appears to be the same 200 hp, 6
cylinder motor currently available for the Ford Escape and Mazda
Tribute and having test driven both SUVs, I can definitely say that
this motor has better pep and response when power is needed.
 No
power sliding side doors in the 2001 and previous models. This is
not a concern for me since I would not likely have paid the money
for it even if available. Power sliding doors are generally only
found in the top models of minivans and for the budget conscious,
not something that is required but some people will want this feature
and they will have to wait for the 2002 MPV (available in early
spring 2002).
- Fuel consumption is going to be
more than your typical fuel-efficient family sedan and more trips
to the local gas bar will be required. A typical day’s worth of
driving on the weekend in which the minivan could log a few kilometers
going from one part of Vancouver to another is going to easily use
up a quarter tank of gas. Par for the course for minivans and SUVs,
as the larger vehicles simply expend more fuel. Another hit to the
wallet is the fact that the MPV manual recommends only premium grade
gasoline with minimum octane levels of 91. As workmanlike as the
minivan is, the MPV likes to be treated like European nobility.
 The
rear bench is outfitted with three seatbelts but this is highly
optimistic for anyone larger than a pre-teen child. There is enough
space for two large adults to sit comfortably, meaning my two brothers-in-law
who are 6 feet and 6 feet and 2 inches, could actually be comfortable
but three small adults would find it quite cozy. The center captain’s
chairs are comfortable enough for just about anyone though. So,
despite the nominal seven-seat configuration, I would consider the
MPV to be more of a six adult vehicle.
- The overall build and quality seems
no better than my former 1990 Toyota Tercel, which was worth $12k
CAN new. This is especially apparent in the rear cargo well where
the molded plastic panel does not appear to be braced as well as
it should be, leading to too much flexing when pushed or pulled.
A few extra braces would have done wonders for the overall quality
of the MPV here. I suppose you could say that the Japanese are quite
egalitarian in producing cars from the lowest priced model to the
mid range being quite similar in fit and finish but I thought the
extra $20k the MPV costs over that old Tercel would have gotten
me a little bit more. Incidentally, the MPV is the only minivan
manufactured in Japan as the Hondas and Toyotas are manufactured
in North America. This should not be a big point, as the Japanese
maintain strict quality control in all of their offshore factories
but the salesman we bought from did use it as a selling point. I
could have cared less, as the Honda Odyssey is the best minivan
available and is built in Ontario, Canada.
 With
a full vanload of people occupying all three rows of seats, there
is actually not a lot of cargo space left for trips. Not an issue
or concern for city traveling but some though is required for out
of town trips with a full van. Overnighters? No big deal. Weekenders?
Doable for a vanload of six people. Week long excursions? Not a
chance unless you opt for the roof rack and storage containers to
haul the gear and luggage. No, the minivan (and I mean all minivans)
is still only good for one family of four with their gear for extended
road trips but at least the space offered by the minivan is still
far superior to all but the biggest SUVs.
- Although I knock the American minivans
for longterm reliability, there is one cool feature available with
them, a built in TV and video tape machine to entertain the kids
in the back for long haul trips. Looking through the Canadian Tire
catalogue sees such accessories available but at a pretty hefty
cost of $600 CAN. However, it may well be a small price to pay to
keep kids occupied on an otherwise long and boring trip to see the
grandparents way out in Timbuktoo.
- A full minivan with people in the
rear most seat is going to obscure rear viewing and in certain conditions,
such as backing up at night, this will present slow going for parallel
parking.
Conclusion
 I
have a family of six including my parents and I do not rule out adding
one more member to the family down the road (Update February 2003 - that one more member has come to past), so a minivan is indeed the
right vehicle for us to purchase, never mind all the other family
members we are close with that would appreciate being able to move
around town in comfort. The four-door sedan seems so useless after
purchasing the MPV with its low viewing perspective and tight quarters
after fitting in two child car seats. In the 1970s the ubiquitous
family vehicle was the station wagon. Station wagons lost favor in
the 1980s but really all they did was evolve into the minivan of today.
For those people with families, the
minivan just makes much more sense than the other vehicle de jour,
the very trendy SUV. The Ford Escape that I would have bought instead
would comfortably handle five people for short trips but would be
pushing the limits of its internal cargo area for even a family of
four going on a week long holiday. The other SUVs that are a little
bit bigger than the Escape would still not have offered much more
space (Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Four Runner, Ford Explorer). Only
the biggest SUVs such as the Expeditions and Yukons would be able
to haul five people and all their gear for extended trips, but sheesh,
the gas costs and hassles with parking for city driving would drive
me nuts.
This need for a city friendly minivan
led me to the Mazda MPV and overall, it is a fine vehicle. So fine
that my brother-in-law who is expecting baby number three is set to
buy his own MPV in 2002 after seeing ours and trying it out himself.
The 2002 MPV should be killer with its looks and external dimensions
being unchanged but with the bonus of the larger 200 hp motor to give
it the extra balls for acceleration on the highways. Hopefully Mazda
won’t pull a Toyota and price it beyond reason.
The current MPV is priced just right
and Mazda is selling them very quickly, as seen by the numbers of
MPVs on the Vancouver streets. For me, it offered the best value for
features and quality. Minivans in general are very popular with Canadians.
A recent National Post article indicated that Canadians are the most
friendly to purchasing a minivan with Americans preferring the SUV
instead. Perhaps because of all of the soccer moms and hockey dads
quite happy to haul their kids and their friends kids around and all
their gear to all the playing fields and ice rinks that the minivan
is such a popular choice for us in the Great White (Wet) North.
My desire for the Ford Escape has not
been abated though and perhaps in a few years when we need to retire
the Acclaim, I will have another opportunity at a 4x4 SUV ;-)
A note to the photographers reading
this, though seemingly uncool looking, a minivan will haul you, your
equipment, your assistant or two and just about anything else you
can think of needing for a shoot. If you're a wedding photographer,
you can haul around the wedding party yourself if the limo breaks
down :-)
Comments from readers:
From:
"R Beothuk"
Subject: mazda review
Date: May 28, 2002
the
best one i've read. thanks
____________________
From:
"Bennett, Cheryl L"
Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2002
Subject: mazda review
I
just read your review on the Mazda MPV and can not believe how much
we
think alike. We
are in the process of choosing a mini-van, and we too
would
not consider buying American. Our first choice has been the Honda, and we
have considered the Sienna. Like you, we felt the Sienna was way
overpriced. The Honda is just
not in our budge, and used Odyssey's seem
to cost more
than new. We just saw the Mazda
for the first time last night,
and were impressed that
it included so many Odyssey-like features for
several
thousand dollars less. We are trying to determine whether there
is enough cargo space for us. We camp, but only have 4 people, so we can
lower
the back seat and have that space for cargo.
Our
only other concern is
reliability. Your comments were really useful, and I appreciate the time
you took to write them up (pictures were nice too). Thanks for the
information.
____________________
From:
La Diva Vita
Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2002
Subject: Your Mazda MPV review - THANK YOU!
Hello.
What
a great and long and comprehensive review!
We are about to purchase an MPV, we do wish for a 2002 MPV ES, but
the dealer has a new, UNUSED 2001 on the lot, which we can buy for
$5,000 less than the sticker price.
Hmmm....and of course, like everyone else and her mother-in-law and
his cousin, we really are tight in the budget region.
So I surfed the net for advice, and found your wonderful wonderful,
review... more an ESSAY than a review, and clearly written with the
intention to reach out and to teach.
Am still not sure whether we will buy the cheaper 2001, or grind our
teeth, brace ourselves and go for the 2002 ... it's close to midnight
now and hubby is in no mood to read yet another review I've fished
out of the great worldwide net, so we shall reach the decision tomorrow,
or day after.
Meanwhile,
thank you for your enthusiasm and prolific pen!
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