Faults:

Brake fluid leak (corroded pipe).

Suspension mounts.

Timing belt replaced (wear and tear).

Radiator leak.

General Comments:

I bought this 626 saloon years ago for reliability and it did not disappoint.

My car was a black saloon with alloy wheels and looked great.

Inside however was a different story - dull grey plastic everywhere. Not very refined, noisy and bumpy on the move. Comfortable enough though for daily use.

2.0 engine was great, no major problems and did 35 - 40 mpg.

Practical car, lots of room.

When it was 15 years old and approaching 150K, I sold it, I doubt it is still out there, but who knows. I do miss Japanese cars from this time period, they were simple and reliable.

Faults:

Radiator started to come apart.

Locks can be sticky.

Occasional blue smoke from the exhaust when cold.

Usual wear and tear - brakes, exhaust, suspension, oil and belt changes.

General Comments:

This car was about 9 years old when I acquired it. I got it for a good price and it served me well for 10 years.

To look at it stood out due to very nice alloy wheels and the fact it was a saloon in a very dark metallic green, looked almost black in anything but direct sunlight (most 626's you see were hatchback models with wheel trims in a dull color).

Interior was nothing special with black plastic everywhere, but it was nicely laid out and comfortable with all electric equipment. My only complaint was the ride was a little too firm, and I hated the fiddly climate controls. To drive it handled good and acceleration was decent while doing 40 MPG.

To sum up, at nearly 20 years old and approaching 200,000 miles, I suppose it won't last forever and I will likely scrap it soon, as that smoke isn't getting any better and neither is the radiator, but I think I got my monies worth out of this car to say the least, and will likely replace it with something similar. A mate of mine has a Honda Accord from the same year and says this review can be pretty much copy and pasted for his car. The late 90s was an incredible time for cars of this type - all family saloons and executive cars have high ratings in reliability from this era.

Faults:

Nothing!

General Comments:

Excellent car, all the negative reviews for the Mazda 626 on here seem to come from the USA, and those cars are built somewhere else I'm sure...

This car is 10 years old and nearly done 100,000 miles and it's still going like new.

In the UK, we have Japanese built Mazda 626's, and they are very reliable, well equipped cars.

Handles very well - bit of a bumpy ride though, better at speed, unrefined around town.

Lots of space. Nice interior.

Looks good - I have saloon with alloys not the usual hatchback ones you see.

Very reliable so far. Economical 2 litre engine (about 35 MPG) and goes well when you need to.

Overall a nice car, can't fault it. Shame you guys in the USA got badly built versions of them.

Faults:

Bought second hand. Been a dream car. Will be very sad to replace it.

Poor rear visibility makes it easy to bump into obstacles.

Front electric window motor burnt out at 146,000 miles. Rust damage only just starting to appear, but it has been routinely garaged.

General Comments:

Utterly reliable - has never failed to start first time.

Good performance.

Very poor rear vision, e.g. when reversing.

Faults:

The clutch needed needed adjusting and is still very heavy.

General Comments:

It does not feel very steady on the road and especially when cornering.

The acceleration is disappointing.

It was the same price as a 1.6 Astra, a year younger and had many more extras on it, so good value for money.