Mazda MPV

The Mazda MPV (also sold as the Efini MPV in Japan) is a minivan. It was introduced in 1989 as a rear wheel drive model and was replaced in 2000 with a more modern front wheel drive version. As of March 31, 2005, 950,051 MPV models had been sold worldwide since introduction.

1989-1998

The minivan boom of the 1980s caught the Japanese car makers by surprise. Each maker had its own response: Toyota was first with an adaptation of their mid-engined Van, based on the Japanese Town-Ace in 1984. Nissan and Mitsubishi quickly followed suit with conversions of cargo vans in 1987. None of these were particularly successful, since all were small and only offered 4-cylinder engines.

The 1989 MPV was radically different. It was designed from the ground-up as a minivan for the American market. Mazda started with the best platform they had, the 929's HC, to develop the MPV's LV platform, and equipped the MPV with a V6 engine and optional all wheel drive. Like the later Honda Odyssey, it featured traditional hinged doors instead of sliding rear doors, though the original MPV only had a single rear door.

The van was a hit with the press, being named to Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1990 and 1991 and featured as one of their "vehicles for the coming (fuel) crisis". Initial sales were strong as well, but rapidly fell off once other makers introduced all wheel drive and V6 engines. However, Toyota's 1991 Previa, Nissan's 1993 Quest, and Honda's 1995 Odyssey all featured purpose-built platforms and eroded Mazda's lead.

Although the Mazda MPV was well-received by the press and public, crash testers were less impressed. The MPV recieved one star out of four in the Australian ANCAP crash tests and a "Marginal" rating in the American IIHS crash tests.

The van was refreshed in 1996, with the I4 engine retired for the United States, though it was replaced with a similar 2.5L unit for the rest of the world. The all wheel drive MPV was now marketed in the United States as the All Sport. Although similar to most minivans on the market, the All Sport was mildly restyled and marketed as a crossover SUV. This provided a brief sales bump, but the entire minivan market had turned against rear wheel drive by that time. The original MPV was retired after the 1998 model year.