Faults:

Overall the car has run well and given very little trouble. The trouble began last week when the engine became very sluggish and I had to bring it to a main dealer in Killarney Ireland. The car was connected to the computer and hey presto I'm told that the air flow sensor is faulty and needs replacing.

OK, its gone so how much a replacement... ah well its one thousand four hundred euro... I kid you not..it's a small little box sitting on the air intake and that's what Mazda charge for it.

General Comments:

I was told in another Mazda garage that a similar unit for a Passat only cost 250 euro so why the big HIKE MAZDA.

I don't believe this price is fair or reasonable in any way and that's the last time I'll buy another Japanese Mazda, so short time yes you make a big killing from me... and long term no you won't get any more money from me... pity really because the car was quite good otherwise... any other similar experiences would be interesting to hear about...Russell.

Faults:

Front offside headlight bulb needed changing.

Driver door plastic strip came off.

That's it!

General Comments:

This car is frighteningly fast! I'm no boy racer, but I've put this car up against a variety of hot hatches and they've all been left behind. The only thing that outpaced me the other day was a 911 turbo and I'm certainly not going to complain about that !

It isn't the best handling car on the road, but point it in a straight line and it goes like it's got space shuttle boosters strapped to it.

The extras package that comes with it is outstanding too, for your money you get E/W, E/SR, heated E/WM, dual air bags, A/C, and ABS.

The ride is a little stiff, but at the end of the day it's a sports car after all!

I picked my model up for a very reasonable 4 grand. The only downside on it was the high mileage (118,000) but after extensive research on the 'net I've found that this car is very reliable and I really have no reason to worry about much for the next 50,000 miles.

Coming up is the 120,000 service which involves a cam belt change and I've just been quoted £450 for a Mazda service (eek). Planning on robbing a bank to find that right now.

Sadly Mazda stopped making this car in '98 and theres no equivalent currently in production, and personally I think they've shot themselves in the foot there. Still it makes my car quite rare on the road now and keeps the price up. For example a very impressed Mazda salesman at my local garage offered me 6 grand in part ex the other day which I happily turned down, no MX5 could ever replace my 323 !

In conclusion this is the best car I've ever owned and I'm going to keep her until she finally dies on me, and if your wondering what that red streak that just passed you was, it was me :)