Like its style and design. Great interior. Nice seat especially in the back, the folding seats. It is better than a Dodge because it is well built and it is priced better.

Head rest for the back seat and some lack of power.

It is a nice wagon, look more like a mini-van with sedan type of handling and driving. Engine is smooth. Interior is nice with an okay stero system. Probably more power would be a plus. It price is very nice, affordable and okay for an mini-van. This van can go through a lot of tough experincen for a long time.

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Dodge Carvan

Great look for a 4WD model. Not good look for a 2WD model with small tires and low clearance. Although design in 1996 (5 yrs ago), still looks sexy on the road. Mine has All Sports Package with 2-tone paint. Great reliability, no problems at all in near 5-year driving. 4 WD drive system is very useful even in North Carolina. Great seating capacity, once drove 10 people to a football game with only one parking fee.

4 WD system is not sophisticate enough. Stuck in Sand twice on Carolina Beach. Fortunately people there were friendly enough to help me pull it out. Worked well on Outerbank beaches and definitely snow or mud. Plus a bit more power will be great.

Mazda makes great cars with great handling and style. But there problem is the marketing in US. Take MPV as an example: in early 90, Mazda had a vision to combine Minivan and SUV, so they came up with the MPV 4WD. Look now, every other manufacture is doing the samething but with greater success: Lexus RX300, Acura MDX, Toyota Highlander, MB ML320, BMW X5, you name it. Indeed, Mazda invented this idea with its MPV - Multiple Purpose Vihecle, but now everybody is making there big bucks off this idea except Mazda!!! I wish they could patent this idea back then.
Also look other great car mazda built, RX-7, Millinium, and of course Miata. Except Miata with good success in US (not now anymore), other great cars died out through the years. They need to refocus on their strategy. I know Ford's influence may cause the short-life of all-sprots MPV 4WD, Since Ford don't want MPV to compete the market shares of their successful Explore. Still, other manufactures will compete sooner or later. And eventually, Ford will not only lose its sales of Explores (too many of them on the street now), but will lose all the loyal Mazda customer. I will not buy another MPV now since it is too much MIni-van look. I will keep my 1996 as long as it is still sexy looking, and move onto other great SUV with 4WD and three-row seats. There are way too many choices now. Not like in 1996, only Landercruiser, Montero, and Mazda MPV 4WD were the only three choices. MPV 4WD should be a very successful product by now. Too bad for Mazda, they need to have a more visionary leader, to take their great idea and great products into market place. Just my opinion.

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Landcruiser: tried it before buy my MPV 4WD. Honestly, I feel these two are very much the same car in riding and handling. Mazda should rebadge its MPV to a different name and double the price (leave MPV for its Mini-Van). Then this vehicle will do well. Grand-Cherokee: engine is not as smooth as MPV, plus much smaller in size. Mishubishi Montero and sports: riding is not as stable as MPV.

I have only had it for a couple of weeks but I really enjoy the handling, comfort, styling, stereo quality and I don't see a problem with the acceleration.

None yet but I am sure some will surface.

I am looking for other 1996-1998 MPV owners to write or email and talk about their experiences so far with the Van. Pros? Cons? Any advice on maintenance. Any info provided is appreciated.

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Test drove Villager, Windstar, Venture and Sienna - liked the MPV the best.

Only Van in North American that is "Made in Japan", interior like a mid class sedan, nice control panel, hard seats, good looking exterrior. And mroe

Arm rest too low for all the seats........Mine is a LX, it got full arm rest, but seems too low compare to Sienna, and other vans.Ford engine......and safty rating is not as good as Sienna and Odeyssey, but compare to other american or nissan. Mazda is more safe.

go for it, even it's the first year car, but think. It's made in Jap, plus next year or next next yr they might Made it in US or Canada. So go for it, best choice.

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Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyessey

Excellent handeling for such an inexpensive car. Great fuel mileage. Great look inside and out. Reliable, absolutely no problems in 28,000kms. Pepy little engine. Standard CD.

None

I paid 15,000 for my Mazda. What a value. It has everything I need in a car. Great on gas (especially with prices today). The handleing is fantastic. When I drive, I need to have some sense that I am on the road. A good suspension will do that. I would definetly recomend this car to anyone you lives in an urban environment.

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2000 Mazda 626 - Too large with alot less pep. 2000 Dodge Caravan - Too large. Can't feel the road.

Handling, utility, ease of driving, reliability.

needs more power, one sliding door.

We like this vehicle, only my wife and myself. It is nice enough to drive anywhere, and if we want to take friends, it has enough room with ease of egress.
This was a corporate lease return with low miles. A water pump, the rear shocks and sway bar bushings replaced as well as the electric door locks had to be fixed in the last 18,000 miles, all under warranty. Other than that it has been cheap to keep, and very reliable (starts and runs well every time). Brakes were relined before we bought it, and I had to buy my first set of tires at 45,000.
It has enough power for just us, and the limited amount of cargo we sometimes carry.
Overall paint and quality is quite good. Added a CD changer, K & N Air Filter (helps power too), and a rear spoiler which helps keep the rear window clean.
Overall, a nice all around vehicle.

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None

Dependability....dependability...and yes, dependability. Ah, did I mention serviceability, roominess, clean design, multi-use, good performance...oh..did I mention dependability.

If equiped with the towing package, you can depend upon having to replace the air shock/leveler system at regular intervals of approximately 50 to 100 thousand miles...depending upon usage demands.
The paint job flakes if exposed to high-pressure washes.

We paid just under 19,000 dollars for our MPV. At the time I had reservations about the air shock system...(haven't we all as youngsters fooled with air shocks?) I was amazed by this van. No other van, that we've owned, has had so many miles (currently going on 260,000 miles) with so few problems. And yes...we've driven the 'hell' outta this van. Plenty of room for two children, two dogs, and all your camping supplies. (especially with a luggage rack on top)
We average an honest 24 MPG no matter how or where it's driven...even at highway speeds in excess of 85 or 90 MPH! Our MPV is working on 260,000 miles and still using it's original equipment...with the exception of a replaced rack and pinion (at about 100,000 miles). Yes, that's right...everything else is still as it came from the factory; engine, trans, A/C, radio, fuel injectors, radiator, alternator, water pump...everything except the rack and pinion.
I would recommend anyone interested in a van to take a close look at Mazda...especially if you are like me and hate dealers. Geez, this van makes trips to the dealer almost an extinct notion.

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Caravan, Voyager...to name a few other vans owned by my family and I.

The hideaway rear seat and the sliding middle seats are great. The power windows in the sliding doors are great also.

The gear shift can be knocked out of gear too easily. It should lock into place. The cruise control shifts into a lower gear too much.

Great riding and stylish mini-van. We love the seating options and the great 9 speaker stereo system. The van handles well and is not a garage hog.

Comfortable ride, easy to drive, inexpensive and good looking.

Probably engine, but this is not a race car. I din't feel that I need more power.

Nice minivandrives like car have all futures. I lease this car, but if I want to buy- my choice will be Odyssey.

Tightly built, no squeeks, versatile seating arrangements, dual a/c, very effective 4wd, spacious interior, small footprint but feels large, heavy and solid, handsome non-van look,good for pulling a trailer, doors open wide, never had any maintenance issues, now at 54,000 km, nice vehicle for long drives (I drive several hundred km a weekend to a cabin and it's a pleasure to use) The "load leveling" package equalizes the van so that if you are carrying a lot of stuff it handles better. Seems like a good idea although it occasionally holds me up while it balances out who knows what?

Harsh ride! can shake your fillings out sometimes, wish 3.0l engine was 3.8 like Windstar, labors going uphill and has to kickdown to lower gear, wind noise, mediocre fuel mileage

I paid $35,000 CDN for a fully loaded model. It fits my needs well because occasionally I need lots of interior space for hauling trees and equipment, or carrying extra people etc, and the seats move easily and create a huge space. I need a 4WD for my back country property and it has lots of ground clearance. The issue of a hard, noisy, underpowered ride is fatal though. I love all it's features, but these are always in your face. This unfortunately will be the first and last MPV I'll ever buy.

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Replaced a Ford Windstar, better trailer pulling and 4WD but poorer ride and comfort, better serious 4WD than other SUVs but with WAY better seating and interior space options, smaller "Feel", feels substantial comparted to rinky dink CRV and RAV4 which seem "toyish" in comparison