1984 Mazda 323 Familia 1.5 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Cheap and cheerful

Faults:

The head gasket blew at 115,000km, accidentally filled it with diesel instead of petrol; instant smoke bomb for three weeks until the last of the diesel had flushed out.

That's all.

General Comments:

I bought the car at auction; it was a good little car, reasonably reliable and economical. I actually regret selling it, as it was one of the best cars I have owned.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th July, 2008

4th Jan 2013, 16:59

I own a 1984 Mazda 323 Limited (second owner). Had this vehicle for 11 years, and apart from tyres and brakes, no other problems with it. For its age it's looking very good. Had several offers, but declined.

Goes better on premium fuel (95); it's no good on 91 octane.

Colour Mazda White. NZ assembled.

1984 Mazda 323 1.5 four cyclinder from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

An under-estimated little terror, whose economy is only surpassed by its reliability

Faults:

The front engine mount has cleanly snapped twice, but this is not due to the vehicles quality, rather, what it was trying to achieve at that moment in time.

Interior items such as the seats, and door trim have started to wear quite badly.

General Comments:

Driven with the right skill, the manual version of the Mazda 323 can be a silent assassin, being able to surprise many with its acceleration off the line. Finding the red-line in the first 3 gears has helped this car to easy victory's over many Holden Commodores in the VB - VL series. This is not to claim the car is powerful, but rather very under-estimated on first glance. After all the extremes I have taken this engine to, it remains un-breakable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th November, 2002