Faults:

CV joint - Drivers side outer.

Headlight blew - bit fiddly to get into, also watch when tightening the screws you don't strip the thread.

General Comments:

Very nice car, handles so well for something of its size. Its not a sports car, but compared to a Ford of the same size, it runs rings around it.

The 1.6 Carb. SOHC unit is fairly fast, it's not going to scare some of the hot hatches away, but it'll give saloons a good run of equal size.

It's a very nice ride for longish runs, or sitting in traffic on the M25. Everything is very well screwed together.

The sound system is rather poor, speakers are very good, but the head unit is a let down from Clarion, and it's not easy to replace as half of the dash needs to be taken off. Rather than use standard DIN fitting, Mazda have opted for a bolt in attachment.

Faults:

Electric windows, central locking, shocks & springs at the back, antiroll bar, brake pipes, wishbone bushes, exhaust.

QUITE A LOT REALLY.

General Comments:

The engines in these cars are faultless no matter how you abuse them - 131000 miles and never a bother and believe me it gets driven. A lot of the parts that have been replaced can probably be put down to the west of Ireland road conditions, but unfortunately before you buy a Mazda be aware of the extremely high cost of parts. eg. The section of the exhaust with the 1st bend at the manifold in EIRE costs £125 + VAT punts.

The handling of this car is excellent and it corners very well, however the brakes are quite a let down

Insurance is also very expensive.

Faults:

CV boots split on a regular basis. At about 70,000 miles a plug lead went, causing a misfire.

General Comments:

A superbly reliable car, which I felt to be a little slower than I'd expected - it needs revving like mad to get the best from it BUT it likes revs ie very smooth engine. I sold my car at 100,000 miles and it felt perfect, having only ever had 1 exhaust, 1 new battery and a set of brake pads, BUT lots of CV boots. Parts prices are the only real drawback - an outer CV boot was £70, however I did manage to find some Ford ones to fit and these lasted longer than the originals! The car never let me down - even when the plug lead went I drove it home!

Faults:

Not much.

Exhaust needed replacing. (8 years old, not bad)

Dashboard can be a bit rattly at times.

Dodgy headlight switch. (Switch cleaner sorted that out).

General Comments:

In nearly 3 years of ownership it has only not started once, and that was due to me not checking my battery fluid and running it flat. An excellent car and highly recommended. Great fuel economy. Parts and servicing can be expensive but, touch wood, not much has gone wrong that needs replacing.

Faults:

Blown ignition chip.

Bearings on CV joint.

General Comments:

A comfortable and reliable economical car. It won't set the world on fire, but it has got enough oomph for overtaking and cruises easily at 85+.

Low maintenance. Easy to live with.