Faults:

Bad corrosion!!! After 2.5 years, small rust bubbles started to show on the rear arches. I thought it was from stone chips etc, so I didn't rush to sort it. It turned out that the rear arches were corroding from the inside out due to a design fault. In the end, because I like to have a car right, I paid £500 to have the rear arches cut out and repaired/painted.

Most recently I discovered that the inside of the front suspension turrets, at the top on both sides, had rusted through, which also led to large holes in the inner wings (having found this by accident when removing the front suspension struts, I feel that a lot of Premacys out there will have this problem, as the area can't even be seen for MOT inspection, only when the struts are removed). The inner wing around the where the engine stabiliser bar bolts too had also rusted through. This resulted in myself learning to weld, buying a MIG welder and having the car off the road for 5 weeks to weld repair the 5 areas that needed it. As most of these problems probably started when the car was only 3-4 years old, I feel it is a bad indictment of Mazda quality as a whole. I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER MAZDA!

Mechanically there has been very little that has gone wrong over the 9-10 years I've had the car. I've had to replace 3-4 anti-roll bar links (through knocking). The cat, after I drove the car a few miles on only two cylinders, after one of the ignition coils packed up. Just in the last week, when you come to a stop in traffic, the revs drop to 100-200 like it is going to cut out, but it doesn't, and after a few seconds the revs pick back up again to the 600-700 mark. I'll be looking into this problem this weekend... (edit - the problem turned out to be a faulty ignition cable...)

General Comments:

I won't buy another Mazda as mentioned above, but this actual car I will keep going as long as possible, as it offers everything I need.

The cavernous load space (carp fishing).

Reliability.

Reasonable running costs.

Looks smart (hand washed from new using Autoglym).

To be fair, if this car wasn't just my everyday runner/work car, I would have replaced it some years ago for something newer. The fact I have a 4.6 V8 Range Rover to play in/enjoy, means that as a cheap/reliable car, the Premacy suffices.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

A great, roomy car with 5 seats and a massive boot where a further 2 seats can be added.

Mazda reliability and quality, and very versatile with load carrying, as all the seats can be either removed or folded flat.

I expected a sluggish drive as it is after all a mini people carrier - I was surprised how quick it was, and even more when I switched the traction control off.

Easy to drive, great visibility and quite a looker too.

Flip down DVD in the roof to keep the kids quiet. Seat backs have airline style drop down tables and cupholders.

Faults:

The indicators have stopped flashing when you lock and unlock the car; they should flash obviously, but at the moment they do not. I plan to sort it out myself, as I'm a master technician on cars.

General Comments:

What can I say! It's an all round perfect family MPV with plenty of power from its Mazda 1.8 petrol engine! Here are some good points I find about my Mazda Premacy GXI.

1. Quick car - quick acceleration from its 1.8L engine.

2. Very reliable - Japanese reliability.

3. When all 3 rear seats are removed, you are left with a huge amount of space! Just like a van!

4. Sound system is very good, cool built in stereo radio cassette!

5. Nice looking MPV! I'd much rather have the good looks from the Premacy than from a Renault Scenic!

6. Interior is of a good quality, very hard wearing.

7. Decent size windscreen for excellent visibility.

8. Driving position is good.

9. Each individual rear seat can recline (my kids love that!).