Well built car that will last forever
Nothing has gone wrong with this car.
It is over 20 years old, and has only done 31,500 miles. There is slight rust on the wheel arches, but mechanically sound.
A solid car, reliable, fun to drive, quite nippy.
The interior is basic but comfortable, plenty of cabin storage space.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th August, 2010
Probably better than the 10 valve Audi quattro and certainly cheaper
Nothing has gone wrong since I have owned the car I've done 5000 miles in 5 months.
The car does have a few niggles. The central locking doesn't work and the drivers door lock is very stiff. Most annoyingly the hatch back will not stay open and regularly crashes onto my head when I'm unloading the boot.
Rust is looking like it may be a problem in the future on the underside of the car. It has been wax oiled in the past. The bodywork still looks good with very slight rust bubbling around the back wheel arches, sunroof and ariel. I suspect the bonnet has been resprayed at some time in the past.
It doesn't burn any oil and drives more or less like new.
This car was cheap to buy and seems very reliable although I've only owned it for 5 months. It is a homologization special for the 1987 world rally championships. I've been told it is one of 500 made, but this seems very unlikely.
The car has plenty of power and is quiet fast.
The handling is poor despite the four wheel drive. The suspension is very soft and the car is terrible when braking with loads of under steer leading to the back end quickly and uncontrolably giving way. Under power the car is much better, the four wheel drive compensating for the hopeless suspension. With power the car still feels front wheel drive. Only severe abuse under power will cause the back end to move. I think a better driver than myself would be able to get a lot out of this car. I suspect it wants to be on a pot holed gravel road. I prefer a hard suspension and more oversteer on normal dry roads.
This is a good car specifically made to be rallied. I intend to keep it a while and believe it to be a classic.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 2nd April, 2003
Front off side spring snapped. Had great difficulty finding parts. Mazda wanted over £120 per spring. Eventually I purchased a pair of springs from a specialised Japanise car parts shop £130 for the pair. They were easy to fit.
The car sits a little lower now, but there is no noticable difference in the handling.
Everything else is running fine. Plenty of power still and no blue smoke! 84,000 miles 17/11/03.
I've still yet to see another on the road.
Go out and buy one now!
Nothing has gone wrong with the car so far.
I did have a bit of a mare replacing the front pads because the retaining pins were stuck and I needed to hacksaw them off. Replacement parts were easily found and cost £4.95 for a set of 4 (enough for both front brakes).
The ride is very comfortable considering how low the car is, but it can be a little bouncy on some of the larger bumps.
The 4x4 system with floating planetary mid differential for full time 4 wheel drive does not slow the car when cornering, round corners you have the sense that the tires are glued to the road, even in the wet you have to be pushing hard to lose traction.
The servicing and running costs are no more than you would expect to pay for the average car even when taken to a Mazda dealer.
Warning, if you drive any car like a racing car you have to expect it to brake down as much as a racing car.
Forget all your kids modified monstrosities, Novas, Fiestas and even 5 turbos, this car is already eat your pants fast with an in-line 4-sylinder, 16valve, Double Over Head Cam with inter cooled turbocharger and weighing 1110kg will propel you to 60 mph in around 7.5 seconds and at 75mph will run at a respectable 28.8mpg.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 1st November, 2002
I also own this car. It's great. However, I've never seen another and know next to nothing about it. Could anybody tell me if it is a rally homologenization job.
There are several different versions of this car with subtle, but different looks; the car I have is the Rally version with the old style front end. Other versions include the Lux that has all the added extras the Rally did not have, electric windows, central locking, air con and a body kit. Then we have the full on Homologation rally versions with no interior and basic spec, but to include Mazda speed mechanicals, seem welded shell and roll cages.
21st Aug 2003, 03:30
Just replaced front discs on the above car. Surprisingly difficult job. The discs are attached to the back of the hub and so the drive shafts, bearings etc need to be removed. The sliders on the calipers were also siezed which caused the discs to wear more on the inside. Everythings running fine now, but what a headache for just a routine service item. Parts from mazda were very expensive and I don't think Kwik fit or National tyres could cope with a job like this. Cost of ownership of this car is higher than I first indicated when writing this review. The car doesn't go wrong often, but when it does it'll hurt.