Best Minivan Value

My wife demanded a larger vehicle. I'm not a big Minivan fan nor am I a SUV fan. I am more of a sport sedan type of person.

We have owned a Mazda 929 S for about 12 years and the car has been very reliable. But we have out grew it and the kids have pretty much trashed the interior.

I test drove several SUV and they all drive like trucks. DW agreed, she did not like any of them. So we test drove the Windstar, Sienna (2003), Oddesey in that order. All 3 vehicles drove better than any of the SUVs. My father owns an Oddesey and I have driven it quite a bit. The MPV was not on my list of candidates during the initial test drives.

I did quite a bit of research on the Minivans and the MPV became a candidate because of the consumer reports reliability report, the new larger engine and transmission, and the hiding 3rd seat.

I removed the Windstar from the list because of the poor reliability.

I then went to test drive the MPV to compare to the Sienna and Oddesey. Wow, what a difference. The MPV drove much more like a Sedan. It has better acceleration, braking, cornering and a stiffer sportier ride. Parking and maneuvering in the city traffic is excellent. I could not fit my father's Oddesey in the garage but the MPV fitted well.

I test drove the Sienna again and then removed it from the list of candidates because the handling was not as good as the Oddesey or MPV. The MPV by far has the best handling.

We were still interested in the Oddesey because of the resale value and the additional storage. However as I thought about the storage, the MPV does carry a lot with the 3rd seat down, more than any SUV and almost as much as the Oddesey. I asked myself how often would I need the extra storage that the Oddesey provides. My answer was never. I expect that I will never completely fill the MPV with the 3rd seat down. So I eliminated the storage factor from the equation.

Resale value is important to me but I have a tendency to keep my cars for a long time. I also like luxury in a vehicle, so I wanted leather, power doors, and rear AC. The sticker price between the Oddesey and the MPV with similar options were about equivalent. However, the Oddesey was selling at MSRP while the MPV was selling at invoice. Due to this there is a 2K difference in the price of the vehicle. In addition the MPV has 2K factory cash back. So now the difference is 4K. The MPV also had a better warranty, 4 years, 50K bumper to bumper. Because of these factors the MPV initially comes out ahead of the Oddesey and I save considerable amount of money. With tax and licensing I saved about 5K.

We bought the ES version, Sage green with tan interior. The interior finish is tight and looks luxurious. The 9 speaker 6 disk CD stereo is excellent. Great Sound. The only drawback of the dashboard is the gear selector covers the radio volume. However, the volume is also on the steering wheel.

I have no problem with the driver seat. I tend to sit with my butt lower than the knees (1" to 2" inches). For me this is comfortable. The driver knees and legs do not hit the center console or steering wheel. The only thing they touch is the seat and the pedals. This holds true for the passenger side (except the pedal part). During long distance driving I like to fully extend my left leg to relieve cramps. This can be easily done with the MPV.

The second row of seats folds together easier than the Oddesey to form a bench seat or separate bucket seats. The person can actually sit in the seat and it can be moved sideways. Very nice feature. Perfect for mother and baby. If the kids misbehave in the back, separate them. Although not advisable, the seat can be easily moved while the vehicle is moving. The seats are as comfortable as the front. However there is less legroom than the front.

The folding rear seat is excellent and I give props to the Oddesey for the creation of it. This should be a standard feature on all Minivans. It is so convenient and significantly increases cargo space in 10 seconds. I am constantly changing the seat arrangement depending if I am traveling with extra passengers or if I need extra space. I use to own a custom full size Ford Econoline Van. When the rear seat is down, I have more storage space then that Econoline Van.

The leather interior on the ES is first class. It looks and feels great. I have received many nice compliments on it.

The power row down windows on the second row is a strong plus and no other mini van has this. Why? I do not know.

One of the things I really liked about the Mazda 929 was the gauge illumination at night. It was a soothing green. This included the instrument cluster, the radio and the temperature controls. I was delighted to find that the MPV had the same color. I think this is classy.

With regards to the exterior, The MPV came with a roof rack and the GFX package. Both of which makes the MPV look sportier. Like the caravan, the MPV hides the door hinge lines under the window. This is not true for the Windstar, Oddesey and Sienna. Because of this, the MPV vehicle side profile is much cleaner. However, I do like the Oddesey back lights better. If you put all the minivans together side by side, I would have to say that the MPV is the best looking of the pack.

At 1000 miles I have not had any problems. I will update later.