1987 Mazda 626 LX review from North America
"A workhorse"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Driver's door power window regulator (x3).
Lost some speaker connections (blew one of the 2 channels on the amplifier).
New clutch at 275,000.
Power locks stopped working somewhere in the low 300,000's.
By the end it needed new struts - going through front tires every 30,000 km's.
General comments?
Besides the above minor details, I loved this car. Originally my dad bought it, it became the kids car in 1995 and we drove it until 2000. Ultra reliable, only once did it ever 'die' on me, and that's when it needed a new ignition coil.
To date it and the new (2000) Mazda Protege are the only cars that are still comfortable after a 6 hour drive. Everything important still worked at the end, sun roof, cruise control, radio, transmission was great.
One warning to the do-it yourselfer though: The front rotors for this model are pressed on, not bolted on. This makes them very difficult to remove and replace, especially after 200,000kms. We ended up having to take it into a shop and they removed the entire drive shaft from each side and then stuck them in a hydraulic press to get the rotors off.
I loved this car. Not too sporty, but very reliable, comfy, and practical. I was sad when I had to let it go.
Recommended Reviews:
  | 1987 - 626 LX 2 litre non-turbo We like it well that we bought a Mazda 6 |
| 1986 - 626 GT 2.0 liter turbo gas A great value with sleeper appeal |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| First year of ownership | 1987 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2000 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0i L four cylinder Manual |
| Performance marks | 7/10 |
| Reliability marks | 9/10 |
| Comfort marks | 10/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 0 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 330000 kilometres |
| Date of Entry | 19th April, 2001 |