Mazda MPV or Nissan Quest?

[golfgal]

Anyone have either of these. We going to be purchasing a van soon, like this week, and have narrowed it down to these. I wanted a Toyota Sienna but we rented one for our last trip and the seats were too uncomfortable. There aren't any used Hondas that we found in our area with the features we want. The Mazda is small but has a nice ride. The Nissan is a bit bigger and has more features but doesn't get as good of ratings as the Mazda. Any real life reports from either of these?

 

[tekmom]

We have a 2003 MPV and I love it. We were originally going to get a Quest also, but decided on the MPV. It's big enough for us and small enough to not feel like I'm driving something huge. It's great to park and I get pretty good gas mileage. I like how the captains seats on the 2nd row push together for a bench seat as needed. I also enjoy having my stereo controls on the steering wheel. We got a silver one because it always looks clean, even when it not. The third row folds flat...I think the newer models have the split-flat fold, which would also be great.
We just paid ours off and we're gonna keep it...it's really a great van.

 

[nannerbadnanner]

They no longer manufacture the Mazda MVP. It has been replace with the Mazda5. I am not sure if that means you would have a problem with replacement parts. I personally love Mazda, but I have several friends who drive Nissan Quest and they rave about them.

 

[Nikel]

I have an 00 MPV. It's okay. I mean no complaints or anything, aside from it being a minivan. We thought we needed a van, but we so don't. The small size was what made it tolerable for me.

 

[disykat]

We bought a Mazda MPV last November because of the price/ratings. The fact that it was it's last year of production helped with the price, I'm sure. We've been pretty happy with it -no problems yet.

When I'm driving it, I definately feel like I'm driving a mini-van. However, I'm pretty happy with the looks of the ones I see driving by. The best feature IMO is visability. For some reason I feel like I can see everything - no blind spots.

 

[golfgal]

They no longer manufacture the Mazda MVP. It has been replace with the Mazda5. I am not sure if that means you would have a problem with replacement parts. I personally love Mazda, but I have several friends who drive Nissan Quest and they rave about them.

We asked about that and state law requires them to carry replacement parts for a minimum of 10 years so not an issue.

I am glad to hear all the good reviews about the car. I am going over shortly to pick one out. They had 10 of them on the lot, all 2006's with basically the same mileage (all lease returns) just different colors. I want to find the cleanest one in the best shape I guess. He is going to bring over a Nissan Quest for me to test drive to compare but the price on the MPV is SO good right now it will probably be worth the smallness. The BIG test is to see if it will hold my GOLF EQUIPMENT. I am bringing that with me .

 

[punkin]

I have a 2000 MPV. They redesigned the entire model the year after I bought it and the newer models have a 6 cl engine while I have a 4. Mine is somewhat underpowered, but you shouldn't have that problem in a newer one.

The back seat is VERY small, which is fine for me. The tires seem to wear out very quickly. I have had to replace the O2 sensors several times. Other than that it is a very good car. I have 118K miles on it and it is going great.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I have a 2003 Mazda MPV, I just cracked 60k miles on it (see my siggy below and you'll know why!) I really, really love it! We call it "goldilocks" because it's not too big, not too small, but just right. We were also looking at the toyota sienna at the time, but Toyota had just come out with the new model and they were asking a huge premium over the sticker price for them. My loaded MPV was 10k less than a stripped Toyota. While I love toyotas and our second car is a corolla (bought before the energy crisis, aren't we smart!), I couldn't justify the difference in price.

A con; the 2003 models have had some issues with transmission shock, where the transmission computer has faulty data that causes it to shift improperly when accelerating. It took the dealership about 4 tries to finally figure it out. To give them credit, they gave me a replacement mpv while they were figuring out what was going on with my mpv at no charge. I believe this issue was cured with the 2004 and later models since it was a programming problem, not a physical defect.

I agree with the others who've stated the visibility is very good on these cars-besides not liking Nissan's for their undersized brakes, I found that I couldn't see out of the Quest nearly as well.

The new Mazda 5 is MUCH smaller than the MPV. It's a microminivan, it's very, very cool, but you have to be in the market for that kind of car because it's really not the same. We looked for fun at the new Mazda CX-9's because they're 7 passenger, but we cracked our head on the roof getting in because the front doors are so steeply angled, and the cx-9 REQUIRES premium gas. Uh, buh bye for that.

We like that the second row seats are captains chairs and that the one on the right can slide from side to side to let people in the back row out easier. That being said, I wouldn't put anyone but kids in the back row. The seat is tall enough for grownups, but the tumble down style of the rear seat means their knees are up around their chins when grownups sit in the far back.

The windows also roll down on both sliding doors, which is awesome. All minivans may have this now, but back in 2003 it wasn't that common.

 

[golfgal]

Well, I picked up the MPV. I went over there at lunch to pick one out, color, condition, etc. and ended up doing all the paper work, etc. there and drove it home (well to work). It is a 2006, gold with tan/black interior. It is just going to be so much more practical then our Blazer and I think I will end up saving about half the cost of the car just in better fuel economy . I have missed having a minivan, mainly for kid carpools so I will be happy again!

 

[Mommy2SandB]

I *LOVE* my 2006 Nissan Quest! We were one of the first people in our area to have one and we still get comments about how "cool" it is. We have the S model that has one automatic sliding door and the automatic lift gate which I love. We also have the DVD player that my kids love. I also love that the van drives very peppy and powerful and I can beat anyone off the line... LOL I give the Quest 4 stars!!

 

[swilphil]

I have an MPV and have been very happy with it. The Nissan minivan wasn't as nice in 2003 when I bought mine and the ratings weren't as good, but I think it's improved.

Enjoy your MPV.

I'm surprised they aren't making it anymore. It seemed to be a big seller around here. Not as pricey as the Toyota and Honda, but rated very well.

 

[elizke]

Well, I picked up the MPV. I went over there at lunch to pick one out, color, condition, etc. and ended up doing all the paper work, etc. there and drove it home (well to work). It is a 2006, gold with tan/black interior. It is just going to be so much more practical then our Blazer and I think I will end up saving about half the cost of the car just in better fuel economy . I have missed having a minivan, mainly for kid carpools so I will be happy again!

Good choice! We have a light green 2003 MPV and love it for all the reasons already stated. It's just right. Hope you enjoy yours too.

 

[tekmom]

congratulations on your new MPV!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Congrats! Ours is gold and tan as well. Well, gold, tan, and covered with Disney stuff....

They stopped making the MPV because it was too small for many US buyers. People either wanted a microminivan (like the mazda5) or a giant, like the Nissan Armada. At least, that's what Car & Driver said.

I LIKED that it's smaller and narrower, I never have trouble parking anywhere with it-it fits in the "compact cars only" spots because it's so narrow

 

[sm4987]

I have owned both vans and I loved them both. It just depends on what you want. Smaller and more cozy, or a great ride in the quest. I would recommend either.

I didn't help did I?

 

[jesszac610]

I LOVE LOVE my MPV! Its my second one had a 01 and this one is a 04. Have had 0 problems with it except tires did wear out below 20k. I hope you have lots of good years with your Mazda!