Some friends had the 2 wheel drive version and averaged 27mpg around town, 30mpg loaded on long journeys.
We're a 1 car family and couldn't afford the running costs (mpg-tax-tyres) to use the car every day. Versatile motor though.
http://www.bongofury.co.uk/
Useful website, lots of info....
"Purchase Costs. Well, they are expensive compared to (admittedly smaller) MPV of comparable year and condition (but maybe not miles), but cheap when compared to things like VW based day vans. And ridiculously cheap when compared to VW campers. Like for like, a lovely converted Bongo camper costs way less than a VW - but it is a bit smaller. Expect to pay around £4,500 for a low-top 8-seater, £5,500 for an MPV with elevating roof, and anything from £8,500 for a campervan.
Fuel consumption. Expect somewhere between 23 and 27 mpg and be well pleased if you get better than this. Forget allegations of 35 mpg - no chance! You should get about 320 miles from a tankful, and a tankful will cost you around £60. That's around 18p per mile.
Servicing. If you don't do any DIY servicing then this can be expensive. Service parts are reasonable for this type of vehicle and easy to get hold of, but it needs an oil change every 3,000 miles (yes really - and it's nearly 7 litres) and you have to do the filter too every 6,000. Most of us put it in for a service every 6 months. Any competent mechanic or DIY'er should be able to do basic servicing. Expect to pay around £120 - £150 for a full service including filter changes at your neighbourhood garage.
Parts availability. No real problem here, except perhaps with windows. Most parts seem to be unique to the Bongo (!) - but there are a couple of vehicles that have some common parts. Many parts are really easy and cheap to get, others are quite expensive and trickier to obtain, a few are prohibitively expensive and/or all but unobtainable. A few Bongos do turn up in breakers, and this club is pretty good at pointing people in the right direction. So there's always a risk of getting stuck with a repair bill that's almost as much as the value of the car - but hey we take a risk when we cross the road! And Mazdas are generally pretty well put together after all.
Insurance - should be no problem - eg £250 - £300 fully comp.
