I have now owned my 1992 Mazda MX-3 GS for close to 5 years. Yes that means that I bought it used. With this in mind I did not expect much more out of it but to be a to and from work car since it had over 140,000 Km on it already. For an 8 year old car that is about average, but still getting ... Read review
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A review by fun2night4us on Mazda MX-3 October 6th, 2004
Author's Car rating:
Road Handling
Excellent
Security
Satisfactory
Looks
Excellent
Fuel consumption
Excellent
Advantages:
fuel friendly
Disadvantages:
Tight engine area, little rear seat leg room
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full car review
I have now owned my 1992 Mazda MX-3 GS for close to 5 years. Yes that means that I bought it used. With this in mind I did not expect much more out of it but to be a to and from work car since it had over 140,000 Km on it already. For an 8 year old car that is about average, but still getting up there for wear and tear purposes. After driving it about 4000 Km I realized that I was having problems, when it started overheating. My headgasket had blown. I took it to the mechanics to have it diagnosed to ensure that nothing else had gone wrong, and also to have them repair it. After the repairs, the vehicle was up and running again. Soon this to and from work car had turned into a major mode of transportation for me. I had a change in job locations that required me to drive a little over 1000 Km, and a month later had to move again with a drive of over 1500 Km. Yet again a month later I had to make another change in location which was again another trip of over 1500 Km. After finally relocating to this last change of venues I would constantly drive my car an average of 10,000 Km a month to see my family that I had left from the original job location. With every now and then getting up to 15000 Km monthly. Why am I telling you all of this, you might ask. Well all of this traveling is done so on the original engine. Yes a new head gasket, exhaust manifold and timing belt, but the original everything else. It is a very dependable car with very decent gas mileage, a little over 30 miles per gallon. And this is a vehicle that now has well over 300,000 Km on it.
Now for the important part of the review. What is special abuot this vehicle. The 92 Mazda MX3 GS comes with a 1.8L V6 24 valve DOHC (Dual OverHead Cam), manual 5-speed transmission, power steering, ABS braking system, powered windows, electric moon roof, automatic seatbelts, 3 doors (including hatchback), rear spoiler, halogen headlights, and alloy wheels with low profile tires. Okay now lets get into the suspension. The MX3 comes with an "all-independent" suspension, this gives it the ability/agility to corner marvelously. It comes stock with MacPherson struts. Now for a little more information of each item:
1.8L V6 24 Valve engine- For a little engine this has alot of get up and go power. From a dead stop it can throw you back in your seat when taking off. In optimal conditions it reaches 0-62 MPH in just about 8.5 seconds. Its top speed is appoximately 126 MPH from the factory. And yes, even with as many miles and as much wear as I have on mine, it has reached close to that speed still. ( Not that I do it very often.) Now for you DIY people, the engine compartment is a mighty tight squeeze. The engine takes up every inch of working space there is.
5-speed manual Transmission- Shifting gears is an ease. I have never slipped out of a gear or had problems getting into or out of a gear.
The rear spoiler- The rear spoiler adds a sleek look to the car. I have seen many MX3's without it and it just is not the same. It adds the racing character to the car.
The Alloy rims- This is the disadvantage to the 92 MX3 GS. This is the only year that they made the 16 inch rims for this type vehicle. All other models use the 15 in rim. You are looking to pay an arm and a leg if you need a new one, your best bet is to haggle with the junk-yard man.
Macpheroson stuts-These struts are oil filled but provide extreme smoothness in handling. They are very expensive to replace. Even aftermarket parts can cost upwards of 300 GBP.
Last but not least the interior. As with every thing else about the MX3, the interior is gorgeous. Its lush cloth front bucket seats are as comfortable as a sports car's seats get with plenty of leg room for both driver and passenger. The drivers side is equipped with a manual lumbar support. The Rear seat will seat 2 people comfortable and 3 people if need be, but does not provide much leg room at all. The rear seat back will also fold down doubling the storage space given by the hatchback. I often use this feature when storing my road-racing bike when I don't want to go through the trouble of attaching my bike rack. The front dash is a little bit long. It takes some getting used to when driving, compared to many other compact cars, but is in line with most other sports cars. The dash houses the speedometer, rpm gauge, fuel gage, and dummy lights right behind the steering wheel, with with 4 seperate vents for the A/C and heater. It comes with an AM/FM cassette radio that outputs approximately 45 watts per channel with two 5 inch speakers in the passenger and drivers door and two 5 inch speakers in the rear compartment. The glove box is located right in front of the passengers seat, towards the bottom of the dash. Between the passengers and drivers seat is the handbrake, with a storage compartment directly behind it. The storage compartment is divided into two seperate sections. the first section is a shallow dish type that allows for small items to be placed in it then opens up into a deeper section with strage room for coins ect. When the top section is opened individually from the bottom section the lid will fold back to expose 2 cup holders. These are not much use for the driver, but can be used by those in the back seats. There are two more storage compartments in the doors. One on the drivers side and one on the passengers side. But beware, if you don't have petit hands please do not put anything in them that would go directly to the bottom, for it is almost impossible to get them out without removing the entire cover from the door. The steering colum houses a multi-function switch that has the blinkers, lights, cruise and the cruise control master switch on it. On the steering wheel itself the controls for the cruise control speed settings are available, ie speed up, cruise, and setting along with the horn. On the overhead you will find the contols for the moonroof, these controls allow you to just pop the top, open it to your liking or open it all the way.
All in all I would have to say that I got my full moneys worth out of this vehicle. Paying only around 2000 GBP for this vehicle plus approximately 1000 GBP for repairs, and getting over 150000 Km out of it. This is a strong tough minded car that can provide reliable transportation, and have an added bonus of power and sleekness at an innocent cost.
Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I have this vehicle.
Advantages: Good looks, brilliant to drive Disadvantages: insurance expensive
...big problem as the main Mazda dealers are very helpful and will always ship parts in if necessary as soon as they can. I have found that local garages are slower to order parts than the main dealers and I also found that if I ordered the part from the main dealer through the local garage the cost was cheaper as the local garage got the parts on a trade price and it seemed to speed the process up a bit- Its worth bearing in mind.
I have tried to ... ...car as my own was in Japanese with odd cartoons thoughout but so far havent been successful. To be honest, when you look under the bonnet you dont really want to touch anything yourself anyway as it all looks very hi tech! You should get a tool kit with the car but I strongly suggest you get another tyre iron as the one they provide you with is useless. Also note that the spare tyre is one of those skinny space saving ones, which can be a bit daunting ...
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average helpful
Advantages: great sounding engine, good performance for <2 litre engine, looks great too Disadvantages: thirsty 30 mpg, slightly cramped in back
i bought this car when it was 12 years old and had 96k on the clock, it cost me £1400 which is about the same as a used fiesta!
it has a fantastic 1850 V6 engine with FOUR (yes 4) overhead cams (which are hollowed out for weight reduction!).
this car has some real good thinking gone into the engineering to provide the driver with one of the most enjoyable driving experiences ever.
The brochure tells you that it has trapezoidal linkages in the ... ...a little when cornering!
this must be racing car technology??!?!?!
anyway, i have owned other mazda's and lots of other cars and this is by far the best to drive, everytime you get in it you feel like doing a few laps at high speed round the local race circuit!
if i was buying again, i'd go for this car without a doubt.
had it 2 years, only thing needed was a new timing belt (second time its been changed) got a local garage to do it for just ...
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average helpful
Advantages: Sporty, fun, good looks and huge boot Disadvantages: Back seats designed for dwarves, thirsty
My Mazda MX3 was my first sporty car. I'd had a Renault Clio before, and this was a whole step forward. It was a car that stood out in the car park, was so much fun to drive, and yet the boot was big enough that it swallowed a big rabbit hutch, paving slabs, bags of compost, five people's luggage - pretty much anything!
You wouldn't want to travel long distances in the back seats. You can get three six-foot blokes in the back (honest, we did!) The ... ...very comfortable and supportive.
Mazda make a justifiable fuss about the MX5 (my husband has one - great car!) and the RX7 is undeniably gorgeous. But most of their range is - well - a bit dull. But if there was ever an affordable, practical car that deserved the 'zoom zoom zoom' tagline, it's the MX3. In the end I sold mine to buy a Subaru Impreza - it's a lot faster, but I still sort of miss the good looks of my MX3. ...
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average helpful
Advantages: Great V6 engine Disadvantages: Cramped interior for four
...about so be wary. Found Mazda dealers very helpful and friendly. Engine could be thirsty but unburstable. Mine had 17inch alloys which looked great, turned heads, transformed the looks of the car but gave a hard ride. They do look a lot better with after-market alloys though. Mazda often under wheel ther cars so that the wheel and tyre look lost in the wheel arches. ...
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: SLEEK SPORTS 2+2 V6 Disadvantages: UNWANTED ATTENTION FROM THEFT
I bought this 1997 mazda mx3 a few months ago and have found it to be a great little run around. My experience of this has so far been nothing but pleasure, it has the ability to bring a smile to my face when I drive it, on motor ways it easily has the abilty to keep up with other road users and put a few of the modern cars to shame. The only thing I didnt like about the car was the standard wheels which were 15" I upgraded them to 17" but found ...
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: purchase price, drivability, looks Disadvantages: too soon to tell
...of the MazdaMX3.
Even the Yellow color works well on this car. Mine is Green, but you cannot choose when you buy second hand unless you shop around.
Inside
A few other reviews mention space/headroom.
Coming from an MGF - it's massive, but there is the a lack of space for the verticaly challanged.
The inside is still based on the Megane 5 door and the seating position is a bit upright and it looks exactly the same from the drivers seat.
However it's comfy enough for long trips and has a good sterio/cd sytem and speakers (some I looked at had the boot mounted 6disk changer but I find them inpractical - but if you want one shop around as there are plenty out there).
The back seats are realy a token seating space - I have a 2yo niece, so she'll fit OK (untill she's 3 that is). I don't realy drive more than myself about so this wasn...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great Price for a great car. Disadvantages: A little noisy.
...The MGF 1.8i VVC, everthing you could want from a car and a little bit more. What other car comes close to the exciting drive, stunning looks and great handling at this price. The MazdaMX5 does come closish, but it still lags a long way behind.
The 1.8 VVC engine packs a real punch, it will do 0-60 in around 7 seconds, which is enough to leave the BMW Z3, mazdaMX5, Toyota MR2 and others standing. In fact the only car of similar spec that will beat it is the Lotus Elise (Poor handling and very pricey.) The top end is also good, although unless you take it onto a race track, you will never meet it true potential.
Forget the bad image that Rover have had in the last few years, the MGF is a cool and stylish looking car. The finnishes are great and if you can afford the full leather interior then it is money well spent.
It is worth...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: So much more style than an MGF, MX5... Disadvantages: Left hand drive
...A year ago, I was looking for a convertible two seater, but just couldn't get excited about the MazdaMX5, MGF, Z3 and the like, all of which were a real disappointment to me - I think that a sports car should make the driver feel good even when sitting in a traffic jam. I initially avoided the barchetta because it is front wheel drive (and left hand drive), but once I had tried one, I was hooked! It handles beautifully, with little understeer, and the position of the steering wheel is only a problem on country lanes stuck behind an HGV, but the overtaking performance means that you won't be stuck there for long.
The design of the exterior is stunning, and the care and attention to detail is carried over to the interior. The comfortable seats are perfectly placed for the wheel and pedals (unusually, for an Italian car...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
14.11.2004
13.09.2000
