I might be getting back to Ciao sometime soon as I am quitting my job the last day of August and sta...
I might be getting back to Ciao sometime soon as I am quitting my job the last day of August and starting school in September, and now 2 sons to occupy my Ciao time instead of just one.
Member since:16.09.2004
Reviews:33
Members who trust:26
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-racingbike 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.
Cheers Dave
Pictures of Mazda MX-3
not mine but a pic I found on the web
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Excellent review! I have a black 96 model and I think I'm in love with it! I love it when the boyracers think they can out race a woman on the motorway and i can leave them standing! Chel xx
Oct 6th, 2004
exceptional by (3%):
very helpful by (97%):
