"Amoore100" (amoore100)
08/14/2015 at 19:39 • Filed to: Used Car Face-Off, Mitsubishi, Expo, Nissan, Axxess, Isuzu, Oasis
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"Amoore100" (amoore100)
08/14/2015 at 19:39 • Filed to: Used Car Face-Off, Mitsubishi, Expo, Nissan, Axxess, Isuzu, Oasis | 1
| 15 |
This week’s used car face-off is a bit different. Instead of sedans or wagons, we have a set of mini-MPVs from the 90’s, all a bit different but designed to fill the same niche. That niche is nearly gone today, with only the Mazda 5 (to be pulled in the next year) left in the segment. Therefore, if you want a mini-MPV, used is the only way to go, at least in the states. Here are the options:
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First up is this relatively clean looking Mitsu wagon...it has a few quirks, like the skeleton shifter knob, but at 150K miles it has the lowest mileage of the bunch and the seller says it just finished a 20K trip to Alaska and around the US so we can assume its reliable...
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Here we have a clean looking and incredibly rare Nissan Axxess for sale at the bargain price of $700! Sold for only a year stateside, this 158K mile Axxess is probably one of the rarest MPVs in America. This one has many new parts but still needs a clutch for its 5 spd manual. Is the price worth it to grant the desperate seller his precious driveway space back?
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Instead of the more common first gen Honda Odyssey, here we have its Isuzu counterpart, the Oasis. At 246K miles and $1995, it has the highest mileage and price of the bunch, but the first gen Ody had a bulletproof reputation, so make of it what you will. This example is clean and sold through a dealer, but is it worth the price premium, especially with an automatic trans?
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dogisbadob
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 19:45 |
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The Oasis has VTEC so it’s the fastest. It was also sold an additional year after the Ody switched to a new platform (1999, but the Oasis kept the old version). Also, Bilstein makes shocks for them.
The Axxess was only sold here in 1990, but Canada got them all the way through 1995. It also kind of looks like a Scion XA (and the 90s Tracker/Sidekick 4-door looks like a first-gen XB)
Too bad none of your examples have a sunroof, but it was available on all three. If any of them had the option, it’d be the winner by default.
jkm7680
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 20:01 |
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I didn’t even know that the Nissan thing existed.
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Amoore100
> jkm7680
08/14/2015 at 20:20 |
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I didn’t either. I only knew of the original Stanza Wagon , not the sold-for-only-1990 Axxess...
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Amoore100
> dogisbadob
08/14/2015 at 20:21 |
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I don’t usually consider the sunroof too important, but the Oasis’s Honda underpinnings and more professional presentation make it a deal for me. VTEC is always a plus as well...
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jkm7680
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 20:21 |
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Same, I knew about the Stanza and that horrible Eagle thing but never the Axxess.
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Amoore100
> jkm7680
08/14/2015 at 20:23 |
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Horrible Eagle thing? You mean the Eagle Summit, the Expo LRV’s rebadged cousin?
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jkm7680
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 20:28 |
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That’s the one. I was trying to think of the name, if I’m not mistaken I think Mitsubishi did something similar also but the name also escapes me.
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Amoore100
> jkm7680
08/14/2015 at 20:29 |
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I think you mean the Expo LRV, the short wheelbase version of the Expo shown above...
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jkm7680
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 20:41 |
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Yeah that’s probably the one.
Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 21:38 |
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You’re missing a couple:
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Amoore100
> Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/14/2015 at 21:42 |
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Different segment. I’ll probably compare the WagoVan with the Tercel 4WD Wagon and Nissan NX Sportback while the MPV will be against a Previa and a GM Dustbuster...
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Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 22:20 |
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As a Mazda5 (6MT) owner I see that vehicle placed in different categories, usually either minivan or wagon. I figured that these two had similar segment-straddling identifications, somewhat like the original three in this post. The Honda is pretty close to the Tercel, but I chose it because of the name (Wagovan). The MPV, yeah, those two might be a little closer in size to it.
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Amoore100
> Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/14/2015 at 22:23 |
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Yeah, it’s all very blurred in this segment...who even knows anymore...
boxrocket
> Amoore100
08/14/2015 at 23:50 |
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These are among the predecessors to the mini-SUV craze that’s begun with the Juke, HR-V, CX-3, etc. They're overlooked in the segment that includes the AMC Eagle SX-4, Suzuki SX4, Geo Tracker, Suzuki Sidekick, original Kia Sportage, Bronco II, etc.
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Amoore100
> boxrocket
08/15/2015 at 00:48 |
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I feel like these are more the predecessors to the Kia Rondo and Opel Zafira, whereas the original CR-V and Rav4 were about the size of the HR-V and CX-3 today...the new CR-V and Rav4 have kind of created a new category of medium crossovers...whatever you say though, I will always think all sizes of the crossover segment are a stupid idea...why do you want something that is smaller inside, more prone to rolling over, has no off road credentials, gets worse gas mileage, is harder to park, and has no obvious improvements over a comparable sedan just so you can “sit higher over the road”?
