Sure, we’ve got the Mazda5 here in the
States and that’s nice and all, but everyone’s talking about the Minivan being back in vogue and here
Mazda’s left with nothing but a crossover to offer in the U.S.
Enter the MPV, which just went on sale
in Mazda’s homeland of Japan. It’s a minivan done Mazda’s way with plenty of zoom, zoom from the same
direct-inject 2.3L turbo set to be sold in the CX-7. The little four-banger will pump out 244 hp in the CX-7 and Mazda
says in the MPV it will be classified SU-LEV. Mazda hopes to sell about 3,000 MPVs a month with a pretax asking price
starting at 2,266,667 yen, or below $20,000 US.
What we like about the MPV is that the range-topping AWD
model tips the scales at less than 4,000 lbs. Compare that to a top-of-the-line Honda Odyssey EX-L with a V6 producing
the same 244 hp yet weighing 4,537 lbs.
To bad Mazda has no plans to bring the MPV stateside, as we think
many moms would enjoy driving around a turbocharged minivan.
[Thanks Glenn for the tip]
[Source: Mazda]