1992 Mazda 121 review from Australia and New Zealand

Nothing. Previous owner serviced it well. Got their full service record, nothing seems to have gone wrong/worn out other than the general maintaince items. Drivers door lock seems to have worn out, and has been replaced with another lock from a Ford Laser. Body panels are quite thin and dent easily, just look around your neighbourhood to see the "acne" scars on 121 doors.

Absolutely awesome. Honestly, I thought this car would handle OK at best, and like cheap rubbish at worst. But boy was I wrong! The handling is fantastic for a car this small, very enjoyable to drive. Engine power is actually pretty good, I have a auto, and the car feels quite zippy. On extremely steep hills it benifits from low gear, but even my large 6 cylinder car struggled almost as much on those same hills.

Car is deceptively fast, as the engine doesn't make much noise until its in the higher rev range. I often felt as if I was accelarating slowly, but when I looked at the speedo, I saw my speed rising quite impressively. I think I was used to my old cars almost V8 like thunder when I accelarated.

Steering is very light in the power steering model, but the steering is very direct and precise. Steering feel could be slightly better, but it doesn't stop this car being fun to drive! The ride is fairly firm, especially if you've been driving an american style car like me, with marshmellow suspension, but after a while I ot used to it and even like it now.

Seats are comfortable, leg room good for a car this size, boot space enormous for a small sedan. Quite wide, but I can imagine the passengers arm might get in the way in a manual car (you might've experianced this in other small cars)

I don't have aircon, but without it the engine bay looks roomy, and looks easy for the home mechanic to work on.

Compared to the 1.3 litre Toyota Echo I learned to drive in, I'd say the 121 is the better car. More power, much better handling, more fun to drive, engine not as noisy on hills. However, I felt the Echo had a bit better steering feel, but it didn't have the handling to back it up. No doubt too the Echo is a safer more modern car. But I'd take the 121 any day, its just too much fun to drive!