Faults:

Quite a lot, but mostly wear and tear, and those parts got replaced cheap enough. Never had any major breakdowns or really expensive problems. Kept up with servicing.

In my final year with the car, the radiator fell apart, engine was starting to blow blue smoke, electric windows failed, driveshafts were noisy, and basically it was 20 years old with high mileage and time to go so I scrapped it. Surprisingly had very little rust for a Mazda!

General Comments:

When I got this 626 in 2011 I was not impressed, just needed a reliable car for work. Dull, slow, boring, firm ride, not great to drive; I knew it was nothing special, but to be fair it grew on me over the years and never let me down.

Not bad to look at in black with rear spoiler and multi spoke alloy wheels.

GXi model had decent electrics, seats were comfy enough, just a shame about the firm ride. Plenty of space.

The car handled OK. 2.0 petrol was not fast nor economical, averaged about 32 mpg, not great today and not great years ago either. I believe the auto-box let the car down; a manual transmission on the same engine would have undoubtedly had better performance and economy.

Still, for a car I got cheap at already 10 years old and lasted another 10 years before being scrapped at 20 years old and never let me down... you cannot say fairer than that.

Faults:

Lots of wear and tear (brakes, exhaust, suspension, timing belt, etc) items over the course of my 10 + year ownership. Too many to list. But no major faults. A few minor electronic irritations but nothing major.

ABS sensors light came on and got that fixed at last MOT.

Rear electric windows jammed/failed but they never get used.

Cosmetically looking rough now, but it is over 20 years old.

General Comments:

Last of the 626's before the Mazda 6 was introduced. This car has all the simple design ingredients that make it a very reliable car.

Sharp enough looking in silver with alloy wheels, but this car is nothing special. GSi SE is a good spec. Inside is again nothing special and a bit boring, but as are all Japanese cars from this time. Fiddly climate control I have never gotten used to, other than that no complaints.

Boring to drive, ride slightly firm. But the 2.0 petrol has good performance. 35 mpg is not great nowadays and one of the reasons I sold it, but was acceptable at its time.

Moved on to a diesel Ford Mondeo from 2013 and love it so far. Decided against getting a Mazda 6 as I had doubts about the newer version of this car's reliability. Also they certainly had rust issues. But, the 1990s Mazda 626 will be remembered as a reliable car. In the UK they are anyway. Negative reviews seem to come from the USA on here about the 626.

Faults:

Nothing failed. New brakes at last service.

General Comments:

I went to a dealer to look at a 2004 Mazda 6. I left with a very late 2001 registered 626. I must be mad you may think? Well I think not the car cost me less than a third the price of the 6.

Don't get me wrong the 626 shows it's age when compared to the 6 in comfort and refinement however it is still a very good car. One bonus of buying a car at the end of it's production life is most of the bugs have been ironed out. The 6 would have been the opposite.

The engine is smooth enough all be it not that powerful. It is adequate and works OK with the auto box. Fuel economy is good and reliability is faultless. Cabin has everything I need and is well laid out. The brakes are amazing and the traction control is very comforting.

It is a bit dull to look at, but that isn't really what I bought it for. The cabin is spacious and the boot is huge.

The car spends more time on the road due to it's 9000 mile interim service and 18000 full. Cam belt is done at 50k and wasn't expensive. Spark plugs were a little pricey however it has only ever needed one set.

The auto box is another matter. It is the Ford CD4E in disguise which has a diabolical reputation. With no clear service schedule I took it to an engineering company for a check over. They advise changing ATF every 20k and putting the car in park during long traffic queues. Most of the problems are due too bad fluid and overheating.

Great car that should last for ages. Last of the true large Mazda's.