Seldom-Seen Stickshift Stuff-Haulers: 1986 VW Quantum vs 1991 Mazda MPV

Good morning! Today we’re going to look at a couple of rarities, with plenty of room for people, or stuff, or some combination of both. Even better, they both feature manual transmissions. Sounds good, right? We’ll get to those in a minute.

Yesterday, we checked out some sketchy ads for cheap, abused luxury cars that had several of you crying out for a “Neither” option in the poll. Not gonna happen, folks. That’s not how we play the game. You don’t have to actually buy one of these; you get that, right? It’s all make-believe. So come on; play along! It’s fun!

Those of you who did elect to play chose the Mercedes by a narrow margin. I think that would be my choice too. I don’t dislike Infiniti, nor the VQ35 engine, but a V8 Benz is hard to pass up. Just drive it home at night so no one sees you, and don’t let it out of the garage until it’s presentable.

Well, maybe those of you who sat out yesterday will find one of today’s choices more to your liking. They’re both big enclosed open spaces, one with an unusual number of cylinders, and the other with an unusual number of doors. Let’s take a look.

1986 Volkswagen Quantum Syncro – $3,750

Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter overhead cam inline 5, five-speed manual, AWD

Location: Elko, MN

Odometer reading: 169,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

In case you aren’t familiar with it, what you’re looking at here is no ordinary frumpy mid-’80s VW wagon. This is the Quantum Syncro, America’s version of the second-generation Passat, but sporting the entire driveline from an Audi 80/4000 Quattro. Yep, five-cylinder engine, locking diffs, and all. And, just like all the early Audi Quattro models, it was available only with a five-speed manual gearbox.

The Quattro drivetrain makes for a weird underhood layout, with that long engine sticking out ahead of the front axle, canted over at an angle for hood clearance, and the radiator sitting next to it instead of in front like most cars. It works brilliantly, though, as evidenced by Audi’s dominance of Group B rally racing for a couple of years. In the Quantum, Audi’s famous five is not turbocharged, but if you guess that plenty of them have been retrofitted with a turbo engine, you’d be right. Not this one, though. It’s stock, and runs just fine, and both differential locks (for the center and rear diffs) work.

The seller does say that the exhaust system is trashed, but that it “sounds cool.” Hopefully their neighbors feel the same. We’re also told that the air conditioning is inoperative, but some parts needed to get it going again are included. And, in true ’80s VW fashion, three of the four outside door handles are broken. On the plus side, it comes with a full set of extra wheels with snow tires.

It’s currently in rural Minnesota, but the seller says it came from Idaho, where they don’t salt the roads, so it’s not rusty underneath. A photo or two to confirm that would have been nice, as well as a couple interior shots, but I’ll let it slide because of the cat photo.

1991 Mazda MPV – $3,700

Engine/drivetrain: 2.6-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Auburn, WA

Odometer reading: 92,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

I’m not sure if you could ever call a minivan “exciting,” but back in the late 1980s and early ’90s, it was kind of fun to see all the manufacturers’ different approaches to designing one. These days, everyone has settled on the transverse FWD layout of the first Chrysler minivans, but for a while automakers were just throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. Mazda’s approach was a car-like vehicle, rear-wheel-drive, with one door on the driver’s side and two on the passenger’s side. But no sliding doors here: The passenger loading door was a big, but conventional, hinged door.

Most MPVs were powered by a V6 engine and an automatic transmission, but the standard equipment was a 2.6 liter four-cylinder and a five-speed stick. You don’t see too many of them; I only recall seeing a couple of them back in the day. This one has only 92,000 miles on it, and just had its clutch replaced. There are varying degrees of “can drive a stick,” and some people are just hard on clutches. At least you know it’s new.

It looks well-kept inside, and refreshingly simple. I don’t know what it is about a true “floor” shifter, with no center console around it, but it really appeals to me. It makes the interior look so much more spacious, and I like the honesty of it. Though, I suppose you might feel differently when you go looking for a place to put your coffee and discover there are no cupholders.

MPVs may have been rare with manuals, but damn near all of them, as far as I can tell, were painted in this sand beige color. I think I saw a green one, once, maybe, but like red Miatas, these are what you see most often. This one looks pretty well-preserved, but the paint is a bit faded, and there are a few battle scars here and there. It doesn’t have any rust, however, which is something.

As for me, I think these are both pretty cool, for different reasons. I’m honestly not sure which one I like better. Luckily, it’s not up to me, not really. You all get to choose – and choose you must.

(Image credits: sellers)