Faults:

Clutch judder, brakes, exhaust, engine misfire.

General Comments:

A very simple and reliable car I had a while ago.

People say the Mazda 626 was boring - yes it was, but it was by no means a bad car.

My LX 2.0 model had plenty of electrics, nice interior materials, and looked the part on the outside in black with alloy wheels.

OK to drive, nothing exciting, but did the job. Ride was a bit firm but never uncomfortable. Decent performance and did 35 - 40 mpg. From a 2.0 petrol car from this time, it does not get any better than that.

Plenty of space inside. Very cheap to run and insure.

In short, it was a solid reliable car, and I miss it still to this day. Only sold because I changed jobs at the time that required a newer car, otherwise I'd like to have kept it, it was still going strong at 14 years old with over 130K on the clock, due to the fact I looked after it and never missed a service.

Faults:

Brake fluid leak (corroded pipe).

Suspension mounts.

Timing belt replaced (wear and tear).

Radiator leak.

General Comments:

I bought this 626 saloon years ago for reliability and it did not disappoint.

My car was a black saloon with alloy wheels and looked great.

Inside however was a different story - dull grey plastic everywhere. Not very refined, noisy and bumpy on the move. Comfortable enough though for daily use.

2.0 engine was great, no major problems and did 35 - 40 mpg.

Practical car, lots of room.

When it was 15 years old and approaching 150K, I sold it, I doubt it is still out there, but who knows. I do miss Japanese cars from this time period, they were simple and reliable.

Faults:

Radiator started to come apart.

Locks can be sticky.

Occasional blue smoke from the exhaust when cold.

Usual wear and tear - brakes, exhaust, suspension, oil and belt changes.

General Comments:

This car was about 9 years old when I acquired it. I got it for a good price and it served me well for 10 years.

To look at it stood out due to very nice alloy wheels and the fact it was a saloon in a very dark metallic green, looked almost black in anything but direct sunlight (most 626's you see were hatchback models with wheel trims in a dull color).

Interior was nothing special with black plastic everywhere, but it was nicely laid out and comfortable with all electric equipment. My only complaint was the ride was a little too firm, and I hated the fiddly climate controls. To drive it handled good and acceleration was decent while doing 40 MPG.

To sum up, at nearly 20 years old and approaching 200,000 miles, I suppose it won't last forever and I will likely scrap it soon, as that smoke isn't getting any better and neither is the radiator, but I think I got my monies worth out of this car to say the least, and will likely replace it with something similar. A mate of mine has a Honda Accord from the same year and says this review can be pretty much copy and pasted for his car. The late 90s was an incredible time for cars of this type - all family saloons and executive cars have high ratings in reliability from this era.