1998 Mazda 626 LX 2.0i 16v

Summary:

Very good Japanese built, but not USA!

Faults:

Nothing!

General Comments:

Excellent car, all the negative reviews for the Mazda 626 on here seem to come from the USA, and those cars are built somewhere else I'm sure...

This car is 10 years old and nearly done 100,000 miles and it's still going like new.

In the UK, we have Japanese built Mazda 626's, and they are very reliable, well equipped cars.

Handles very well - bit of a bumpy ride though, better at speed, unrefined around town.

Lots of space. Nice interior.

Looks good - I have saloon with alloys not the usual hatchback ones you see.

Very reliable so far. Economical 2 litre engine (about 35 MPG) and goes well when you need to.

Overall a nice car, can't fault it. Shame you guys in the USA got badly built versions of them.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th March, 2008

23rd Jun 2008, 13:13

I'm looking for a 626 and have been recommended it. Good to know that we in the UK have different cars than the US otherwise I would be reconsidering.

24th Jun 2008, 06:16

I'm not so sure that the cars are different. I think it's just a case that people in the U.S. run up more miles because things are farther away. In the U.S., people drive an average of 12,000 miles per year and commonly 15,000-20,000 miles. A 10-year-old car with less than 100,000 miles would be considered relatively low mileage, which means that things have not had a chance to break down yet. Probably your test will come in the next couple of years when you approach 120,000 miles.

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1998 Mazda 626 2.0

Summary:

Excellent, except the rear vision

Faults:

Bought second hand. Been a dream car. Will be very sad to replace it.

Poor rear visibility makes it easy to bump into obstacles.

Front electric window motor burnt out at 146,000 miles. Rust damage only just starting to appear, but it has been routinely garaged.

General Comments:

Utterly reliable - has never failed to start first time.

Good performance.

Very poor rear vision, e.g. when reversing.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st November, 2007

1998 Mazda 626 GXi 2.0

Summary:

Good value in the second hand market

Faults:

The clutch needed needed adjusting and is still very heavy.

General Comments:

It does not feel very steady on the road and especially when cornering.

The acceleration is disappointing.

It was the same price as a 1.6 Astra, a year younger and had many more extras on it, so good value for money.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 13th January, 2002