Have located a Stickshifted Minivan.

"Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer" (dash-doorhandle-and-bondo)
01/24/2018 at 17:12 • Filed to: None

Would Happily dump the chevy panel wagon for it. Will keep you posted.

DISCUSSION (17)

SmugAardvark > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/24/2018 at 17:20

Make it so.

For Sweden > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/24/2018 at 17:22

If it’s not a Previa don’t buy it

LOREM IPSUM > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/24/2018 at 17:23

The first gen Dodge Caravan was available with a manual. Drove one, briefly, while working at a car wash when I was in high school.

BREADwagon > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/24/2018 at 17:43

vondon302 > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/24/2018 at 17:44

Turbo Chrysler?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > For Sweden
01/24/2018 at 18:17

Kinja'd!!!

As much as I like the Previa I must politely disagree with your statement.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > BREADwagon
01/24/2018 at 18:17

wait, is that a thing?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/24/2018 at 18:25

I had a Plymouth-badged minivan for a while that had a five-speed manual and (I think) a 2.2L engine. Not lots of power, and not enough air conditioning. I don’t even remember selling it.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
01/25/2018 at 12:38

winner! going to look at it this weekend.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/25/2018 at 14:49

Congrats! Let me know how you like it. I’ve had mine for over five years now and love it. I can do my best to answer any questions you may have. What year is the one you’re looking at, and is this in the US or Canada? Big difference in equipment on MT models depending on what side of the border you’re on.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
01/25/2018 at 14:53

it is a 2010 gt. in canada.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
01/25/2018 at 14:59

sunroof heated seats etc. how is the mileage? are Manuals as rare as I think? what else should I know, it’d be my first mazda

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/25/2018 at 16:09

Well, maybe I’m going to be less helpful than I thought. My body of knowledge is based on the 2012-2017 US model. The chassis of the last two models are almost identical, so they should handle about the same, which is actually pretty good since we’re talking about what is essentially a longer, taller Mazda3.

Mileage on mine is OK, but nothing to write home about. 21 MPG city / 28 MPG highway; those will probably be as confusing to you as the Celsius readout on my new thermometer/hygrometer is to me. I rarely achieve those numbers because the MZR engine loves to rev and I enjoy zipping up to redline on a regular basis. On my last tank I did OK at 19.3 MPG, but that was mostly commuting back and forth 2 miles to work, barely getting up to peak operating temperature.

Manuals were more common on the model you’re looking at as compared to the later models. In Canada, even on the later models, you could still get a manual with the top trim level, whereas in the US we were limited to just the base Sport model, and that was only for three years before it was discontinued. I had to give up most of the toys and luxury goodies that I had in my German cars in order to get the manual, something that not too many people were willing to do. Thanks to eBay, YouTube and local scrapyards I’ve been adding back the pieces that they removed. I believe that less than 5% of the later ones in the US were sold with a manual, and I have a one-year only color on this bodystyle making mine even more of a unicorn. I have found that this transmission doesn’t like to be rushed from 1st to 2nd, like if you were drag racing, but under normal conditions it’s just fine. Every time I try to hurry that shift I get that awful grinding, but I have to remind myself that this is a minivan, not the Porsche.

I don’t know about heated seats, but chances are that a GT model will have a sunroof. Just last night I was looking at an ad for a mid-range Touring model ( https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/cto/d/2006-mazda5-mazda-5-touring/6414330513.html ) and it had a sunroof. I’d guess heated seats would be a little more common up north; on the later one they were standard on the GT down here.

The stereo isn’t going to be state-of-the-art, but at least you have inexpensive options to add an auxiliary input via a simple cable that plugs into the CD changer slot. I think there are some pretty affordable Bluetooth modules that you can get as well. My 2012 has the aux input standard, but I made a cool little box with the guts of a pair of headphones and a factory switch to control play/pause, next and previous track, right from a factory button on my dash. The rear speakers are in a horrible location and you can’t really hear them unless you set the fader mostly to the rear. I plan on adding some tweeters in the back mounted higher up so that I can hear the sound from the rear more clearly. I did replace the head unit on my car with one from a GT so I could have the CD changer ($10 on eBay) and put in some killer Polk Audio front speakers.

Two things to look out for on that model. From what I’ve read, they’re more susceptible to rust around the fenders and rocker panels than the next generation. Wear in the multi-link rear suspension is also more common than on the later models. When test driving listen for any odd noises or behaviour coming from the rear end.

This is my first Mazda, and the first Japanese car I’ve ever owned. I’ve mostly driven German stuff (VW, BMW, MB, Porsche) with a freebie Ford Windscar minivan tossed in (gawd, that thing was dreadful), so I was unaccustomed to this thing I think they call ‘reliability’. In 5+ years I had to have a motor mount replaced (under warranty). That’s it.

I was using DashCommand on my phone via a WiFi OBD2 adapter I have hidden behind the dash. I’ve been looking at The Autool X50 as a cheap and simple way to add a few of the instruments mine doesn’t have, like a temperature gauge. I never push my car or even turn on the heater until the low temp light goes out, and this means I’m freezing for a good portion of my commute in the morning. But since I’m planning on keeping this car until I can no longer drive I want to make sure it lasts.

Well, there you go. Waaaay more information than you thought you’d ever need. Let me know how the inspection goes.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
01/25/2018 at 18:11

Found out it sold on the way to see it. Now I know it was a good deal. And yeah, given the chance they’ll rust out pretty quick. Wouldn’t get the chance becuse I’d mile it out in 2 years. oh well, next time.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
01/25/2018 at 18:20

Keep searching. It’s a great, highly underrated vehicle that can be had for next to nothing. I keep seeing these great deals on ones near me and then question my sanity as to why I would possibly need another one - it would just take away the money being set aside for a Miata...

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
01/25/2018 at 18:31

I also have my eye on a 94 miata.

functionoverfashion > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
02/01/2018 at 21:20

I grew up with many manual minivans. My grandfather ordered them that way, because it was the most economical way to get himself and his wife, and all their stuff, from Ohio to New Hampshire several times a year.

Never mind the fact that they owned two houses in states many hundreds of miles apart. They were getting good mileage on the trek between them. Anyway... we inherited these when they bought new ones, so it was never weird to me that minivans would be manual. Every car was a manual as far as I knew.