Faults:

The Hatchback is stained under the rear window when I bought it.

Seats have started to be not comfort.

The rear suspension is weak and may stain from the upper shock absorber connection.

General Comments:

The car is very reliable.

It is not costly to keep it.

Today is January the 15th of 2007 and I still driving Mazda 626 LX 1983 hatchback!

Yes it is twenty four years old!

The 1.6 engine is still standard!

Faults:

The biggest problem I had with the car is its rear hatch door which started to rust. I found it to be a common problem with many 626 hatchbacks of this year because water tends to sit around the rear windscreen for long periods of time.

The windows are becoming slightly hard to wind up or down.

The plastic on the handbrake handle and is harder than most of the interior trim and has started to wear out, most likely due to the strong sun.

General Comments:

I love driving this car. My parents have driven it for about six years and when I got my license it became my car. I have been driving it for about six months and it a beast in the right hands. For a small engine and a relatively heavy car it has surprising acceleratation and speed. It is a very smooth car and very stable through corners.

This car is an amazing piece of machinery. Me and my dad have been doing the maintenance on it since the day we got it and it hasn't aged a bit. The cylinders are immaculate, piston rings are also good and the transmission has seven year old fluid in it which looks like new.

The driver's seat is by far the most comfortable of all. There is plenty of space at the back, but only if people at the front are willing to compromise a bit. Overall the seats are tilted back a bit and that way the acceleration is harder to feel, but it's there.

Another great feature is the massive space in the boot. By taking out the parcel shelf, the boot becomes big enough to transport just about anything and for even more room, you can drop the rear seats. this almost turns the car into a station wagon.

I love driving the car because it is heavy and stable, fast and also strong. I have pushed the RPM past the red line, well past 6,000rpm many times and it's still fine.

Faults:

The oil pressure sending unit gave out at 310,000 km.

The dimmer for the dash lights wore out at 260,000 km.

The plastic on the drivers seat above the tilt handle broke and badly cut my finger at 305,000 km. This was by far the worst thing that went wrong with car during the 9.5 years my family owned it.

General Comments:

I was the fourth owner of this car, the third person in my family to own it, and if my knees still worked properly I would still be driving it. We put on almost 200,000 km on this car with almost no problems and almost no maintenace except brakes twice and new tires twice. The 83hp engine was not the fastest, but it would get up to 125 mph after awhile and was very comfortable at speed. One of the last trips I took I was cruising at about 115 mph for close to three hours and still got 27mpg in it. I traded it for a '90 929 three months ago and really do miss my 626, it was the best car I have ever driven. I would trade the A/C, power windows, locks, seat, sunroof, heated power mirrors and all the other luxury features of my 929 to be able to drive that 626 again.