1998 Mazda 323 LXI 1.5

Summary:

The best car ever made - the full package

Faults:

Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this car despite 173000 miles on the clock.

General Comments:

The car is absolutely gorgeous. It was a real head turner when it was new, but I still think it's stunning. Reliability is fantastic & the car isn't expensive to run. I understand Madza parts are expensive, but nothing has gone wrong with the car. It is extremely comfortable and fast when pushed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th January, 2006

1998 Mazda 323 LXI 1.3

Summary:

Reliable, perky little, smooth looking runner

Faults:

One of the exhaust brackets has slowly come loose, causing it too rattle with a tinny sound (and embarassment at this)!

There is recently some sluggishness when pulling away in second at the lights up hill.

General Comments:

This car is quick off the mark and gets me out of a tight spot when I need to.

It handles quite well, though I do feel I'm going to lose it on wet corners.

It has never let me down yet, no problems with ignition on cold damp mornings.

Comfortable with many driver seat options.

My only disappointment is I can't seem to move the front seat head rests, even though the spec states they are adjustable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th May, 2004

1998 Mazda 323 ZXi 2.0 V6

Summary:

Reliable cheap pocket rocket

Faults:

Boot hatch pistons needed replacing and it was difficult to get replacements (discontinued parts and all that).

Absolutely nothing else!!!

General Comments:

Below 4,000 the car gently purrs around town. Above 4,000 just hang on!

By slightly over inflating good Z rated tyres you can really annoy caterhams by keeping up with them on country lanes in a five door practical hatch. It is that cart like! So funny pulling away in second. The car gently pulls away and your passengers carry on chatting. When it hits 4,000, most cars are ready to change gear. All of a sudden the V6 wakes up and 60mph comes and goes before you need to change again. Funny, passengers go quiet for some reason.

The cabin though is at best compact. It does have decent legroom, but headroom is limited.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th April, 2004

24th Jan 2005, 15:28

This is a very useful review. I'm just looking to buy a Mazda 323 ZXI after only finding out about them about 2 weeks ago and I think I've fallen in love... well certainly within the sort of price range I can get this kinda power for anyway. Thanks for the helpful comments.

13th Dec 2006, 08:03

Just bought one and they are superb though becoming very rare. Enjoy the fun and speed. No real issues so far.

1998 Mazda 323 Fastback 1.8

Summary:

Good value pocket rocket

Faults:

Front ball joint worn.

General Comments:

Very quick little car.

However, you need to give the engine some high revs to get the best power from it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th April, 2004

1998 Mazda 323 GLX 1.5

Summary:

Good Inexpensive Alternative to a BMW Z3

Faults:

If the car does go wrong it will cost a lot more to repair than most cars.

General Comments:

I have just bought this car and I just adore it. This car most be one of the best looking cars on the road.

I will say that dealers recognise this and put a hefty price tag on the cars even though other cars of the same year would be much cheaper.

If you can't get hold of one then maybe try the very similair Toyota MX100 (i think), same year. But I love my Mazda and the colours are superb! (Thank you Japan)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th March, 2004

1998 Mazda 323 GXi 1.5

Summary:

It's a great car. Mazda really got the design right

Faults:

The steering wheel grip feels like it has unglued itself from the metal, so it twists in your hands.

When in neutral (briefly) approaching a roundabout (for example) it very occasionally cuts out.

One of the parcel shelf clips has broken.

Not a lot wrong with it at all.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd October, 2003

9th Jul 2005, 12:34

I've just bought a 323 and was interested in your comment about it cutting out. It seems, as you say, to drop low on the revs when, for example, when in neutral and coming to a stop. I was wondering if this is a fault or are they all the same?Any feedback would be most welcome.Thanks.

14th Feb 2009, 12:31

My '96 model did this same thing near the end of it's life (though that was due to a separate incident.. silly person at a junction). I had allowed my water pump to fail and the engine overheated badly. It was never quite the same after this.

I also think the alternator or battery was going. This I suspected was part of the cause of this rev-drop. I'm no expert but it seemed the power supply problems I seemed to get slightly preceded this rev-loss problem.