Faults:

One major tune up after 65000 miles of driving and that is all I have ever had to do to this car.

General Comments:

This was my first car and I could not have wished for a better one.

Even with sporadic maintenance, never had to do repairs or replace parts.

Great on gas; I drove from Colorado Springs to Santa Fe on one tank.

If you are looking for a vehicle for your high school or college student, buy this car.

Faults:

An exhaust bracket came loose in the engine compartment and rattled in a specific RPM range at 50000 miles and had to be tightened back down.

The windshield wipers drive belt rotted away around 70000 miles and had to be replaced.

The air compressor clutch seized up, and eventually the compressor itself did too. At 90000 miles the belt that drives the compressor and power steering gave out. I chose not to replace it as highway mileage increased; the car now gets an incredible 44 miles per gallon at 75 MPH.

General Comments:

The 1.5L engine doesn't produce a whole lot of power, but coupled with a manual transmission and decent tires, respectable acceleration can be had if desired.

Unless, that is, your 6'4" 320# brother-in-law is riding shotgun.

I'm 6'2" myself, and any air fresheners had to be hung in the back seat because they were just too close and overpowering off the rear-view mirror.

Faults:

The switch plate on the driver's side door broke.

The battery needs jump started often. Even with a new battery I cannot leave the dome light on for more than a couple minutes.

General Comments:

The seats aren't very comfortable. The padding is stiff and I often hit my elbow against the center console.

The car does not like to accelerate when taking off from traffic lights or merging onto the interstate. Once it gets going though, it will move alright.

I am happy with the CD player. That was an unexpected bonus when I purchased the car.

Faults:

The EGR valve failed.

The exhaust manifold cracked.

Both items were listed under TSBs from Mazda. There is no fix for the EGR so you just have to wait for it to fail again. The exhaust manifold is available on the aftermarket, but with an improved design that prevents the same stress cracks.

I have replaced the timing belt/water pump, clutch, brake shoes/rotors and shocks... all due to age. The axles were replaced when the clutch was done, but the worst part was that they were frozen to the wheel hub. I had to take it to a machine shop to be pressed out.

The check engine light is also a bit of a pain. I bought a code reader because the cost of getting the code read each time got too expensive. Several codes have popped up once, but never again, leading me to believe the ecu is overly sensitive.

General Comments:

This car was purchased as a daily driver/work commuter. I didn't expect very much from it, but it has grudgingly earned my respect.

The 1.5l motor is grossly underpowered off the line, but once moving, it is responsive enough.

The stock 13" wheels should be replaced immediately. They howl in protest at anything more than gentle driving. A set of 14" alloys from a Miata make a good replacement.

The car has responded very well to suspension modifications. Aftermarket performance springs, struts and a OEM rear sway bar from an Protege ES have gone a long way to making it handle like a much more expensive car. I also installed a strut tower bar for good measure.

The interior IS cheap. I picked most of the parts from a LX in a junkyard. The higher quality parts (seats, trim options) make for a much more comfortable car.