Cargo spa

From page 33

A deep well in the cargo ares
(where the rear seat rumbles
into) provides as much space
as the trunk of a Buick Park
Avenue. With the rear scat
folded into the floor, cargo
space triples, and with both
centre bucket seats removed,
cargo area increases by seven
times — great for hauling fur-
niture, home improvement
supplies, sports equipment, or
what-have-you. The only _.
drawback is floor-mounted
release levers for the second--

_ row seats that protride from
the floor.

The MPV has a stylish
interior with walk-thru accessi-
bility from front to rear.. The

dashboard has extra-large
numerals, buttons and dials,
and features a centre-posi-
tioned volume knob. A one-
disc CD player is standard but
LX and'ES models offer a
unique 6-disc, in-dash CD
player. Front and rear air con-
ditioning, woodgrain trim and
leather upholstery are available _

“on up-level models, but rear-

remains : .
spacious’ interior and. standard seven paesen-
ger seating.

ce triples

mounted stereo controls and
headset jacks are not offered.

Under the sculpted hood is
a new 170-horsepower 2.5-
live DOHC 24-vaive V6
engine which replaces the pre-
vious 155-horsepower 3.0-litre
V6 engine. The 2.5-litre V6 is
a derivative of Ford’s Duratec
V6 engine used in the
Mercury Cougar sedan — it’s
not the same 2.5-litre V6 used
in the Mazda 626. A brand
new 4-speed automatic trans-
mission developed by Mazda
for the 2000 MPV does the
shitting chores.

My test-drive over city and
country roads and highways
revealed that the 2.5-litre
engine provides quick acceler-
ation from a standing start,
good mid-range torque, and
adequate high-speed passing
power, although it is a little
weak with a full load on
board. The transmission shifts
smoothly under most condi-
tions but I found second to
third shifts under hard throttle
to be a bit jerky.

See MPVs page 37

“a1 Mereedus-Benz 196 | E 2.6:
smoke siiver/grey, 49K; $21,960

: 97: Merczdes-

enz ¢ 26 a

..”“ Biack/black feather, 8K, $38,860 :
98. Merzced2s-Benz E326 4Matic
smoke. silver/parchment., 17K $63,469

- 98 Mercedes-Benz € 220
; blue/grey, 5K $2 2.820

” sliver/saiea | jeg Be 4% $54,900
me) Merced 28-Benz E.220

. _ silver/biack, 4

a ‘Ask us abe
” Mercedes-Ben.

“1375 Marine.Dr. .

f° North Vancouver

8K $43,860

wt leasing.
¥ Canada Inc.

984-9351

wrw.vancouver. er.mercedes-benz.ca

Regency GM

a

d

4 Dr, spoiler & more.
. Was $17, 165

1 Bay Gn

-< Demo, loaded 28 options.
Was 696.265 .

8 a van, a/c, power iocks & more.
Was $26,159

A; ate, 4,8 Litre ¥V8 & more.
Wes $30,335.

92, SMC ¥ ukon SET

y | Day Only

Friday, October 1, 1999 ~ North Shore News — 35

Power locke, tilt, spoller & more.
Was $23,086 ° :

Firehawk adition, & spd. trans, Tt
. loaded with all sation

Loaded, leather, autotrac system, runing boards
cu changer, all ontions. Wea $58, 340