Get working on the 2002 Toyota Sienna and get the mileage up on that - I did 29mpg in a Dodge Caravan automatic driving it carefully without any acetone. The thing sucks 0.6gph at idle!

I just parted with a Camry with the rear jumpseats, would have been good? I always wondered if removal of the 5S-FE and replacement with the 3S-FE with a manual would have made a bit more MPG out of it, but I was at 30 MPG average on most trips.

What did the Volvo 740 diesels return?

JanGeo -

We split the difference. My sister has had two kids, but we are not going to have any (we're too old and it costs too much $$).

CarloSW2

We actaully had a quote to streatch the wagon and add a third row. The problem was the insureance company would charge a lot more for insurance and the traction control and ABS wouldn't function correctly.

I joked with my wife about adding a kids seat way in the back, she didn't think it was funny.

We did consider the sprinter but themileage is very similar to the Sienna. Granted it's larger, but costs a lot more. But does use a lot of the same parts as the wagon since the engine is really a VW engine.

Same sort of thing with the diesel sub's

As for mileage, if I drive it I can get 29-30, if my wife drives it, she get about 24-25. She drive ok, better then most, but won't take the time to drive to get 30 mpg.

So we are stuck

Woah! Phil I just looked, I didn't realise the Mazda 5 had a third row and a stick to boot! We will ahve to go take a look at one of those. We had Mazdas in the past and liked them.

Brock -

That car always fools me because I think it is a small car like a Honda Fit, but it turns out to be longer, and only then do I realize it's a minivan.

I always think of Mazda's as cars that lean toward higher HP, which caters to American tastes. I'll bet you could lean it out a bit and make it an MPG champion in it's class.

CarloSW2

5
 

I examined the 5 at the Auto Show last year, and was actually impressed. A manual transmission in a cross-over/van? Yup...Mazda wanted to stick to their "Zoom Zoom" mentality and offered the MT. It's smaller than the CX-7 and should drive like a car -- plenty of room to boot.

RH77

a freind of mine had a VW golf that was streached, and he said they got in the high 30's on gas with it, and it seated 7 with two rows of bucket seats, and a bench seat.
I don't see a problem with putting another childrens seat in the back cargo area, other then having to open the lift back to let them out, I bet they would argue about who get's to ride in that seat.

Too bad we can't get the diesel version of the Mazda 5.

Get one of the Merc LWB 240s in the W123 platform.....there was one of these in my hometown when I was about ten, a strange car. Supposedly a lot of them went "east".

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...23_4_v_sst.jpg.

The East German top officials also had stretch Volvo 264s and Citroen CXs. The DDR government would not be caught dead in their own cars, so they had to go to other socialists for cars.

The Mazda5 looks good, wonder if you could put 15" steel wheels on it and ditch those expensive 17" ones? A friend may look at these to replace an old Honda Odessey that has as many miles as McDonalds has sold sandwiches.