1989 Mazda MX6 GT review from Australia and New Zealand

Water leaks into the jack compartment in the boot.

Dash board cracks, flimsy interior design.

Gearbox is too advanced for its time and needs to be cared for.

A real late 80's sports car.

This was my 2nd car ever, and it was a huge step for me.

The car had everything you could imagine; sunroof, cruise control, aircon, 4 wheel steering, ABS brakes, and a V8 killing 4cyl turbo motor.

This car was amazing. Sure things would go wrong, but it would never not get you home. The car was simply too advanced for its time. Even the aesthetics of the vehicle were ahead of the style of that era.

This is not a top end hungry racer, but more or less a piece of motoring art. When pushed, the vehicle would engage Sports mode automatically to ensure the engine and box were not damaged. The 4WS system is tweaked and only allows for minimal rear wheel turning to ensure stability. The box engages Sport mode and power shifts gear changes, and changes at peak torque/power range without hitting unnecessary rev limiter, which is of course 7500! The ECU enables better fuel consumption and increases the injector rate, and the throttle body opens up a fraction more.

The car is amazing and almost seems to get more stable the faster you go. It's a real speed hungry car no matter how responsible you are. I have had the car pulling 190km/h at around 5000rpm only to realise it hadn't even shifted into final gear, where it went down to an unbelievable 3800rpm.

The car is completely unpredictable though, and I knew my life would be cut short if I continued to drive it like I did. But if you're responsible enough to own a car like this, then it is a purchase you will not regret. Drive to the coast with your sunroof pulled back and your windows down.