Mazda Xedos 6

...miles and had a full Mazda service history. It was dark green in colour.

The "Buy it Now" price was 1600 shekels. I immediately thought that there must be a problem here. What possible reasons might there be for this ridiculously low price? At the time, book price for one of these unusual beasts (from a dealer) was around 6 monkeys.

Perhaps the seller had had a visit from Luigi and the boys enquiring as to ...
...has been previously maintained by Mazda dealers.

Two new tyres had been fitted on the front in order to pass the MOT the day before. The only minor faults were a scuff to the front bumper (which does not notice that much) and a couple of small dinks here and there.

I was so impressed with the vehicle that we did the deed there and then. The chap was selling this car as he had just bought an automatic Xedos 6 SE. He ... more

I purchased this car 18 months ago, having spotted one down the road from where I was working at the time. I was immediately intrigued by it, having never seen one before and upon my return home I did some research on the web.

All of the many (over 100) owner reviews I found reported good things. Build quality was very good and reliability appeared to be top notch. However, many stated that when these cars do go wrong, it's time to warn the bank manager that you will be taking him up on his kind offer of a low-rate overdraft.

I spent a few months looking for a decent example, in which time I test drove 3. All of them drove well, but dealer prices were a few hundred sheets higher than I was willing to pay.

Eventually I found one on a well-known auction site that was relatively close me. It was a 1997 on a "P" plate. A Sport model (no leather or air con) but had only covered 47,500 miles and had a full Mazda service history. It was dark green in colour.

The "Buy it Now" price was 1600 shekels. I immediately thought that there must be a problem here. What possible reasons might there be for this ridiculously low price? At the time, book price for one of these unusual beasts (from a dealer) was around 6 monkeys.

Perhaps the seller had had a visit from Luigi and the boys enquiring as to the whereabouts of their money? Or maybe the car had been carefully stitched together on wet Sunday afternoons from half a dozen insurance write offs? It was, however, possible that the seller just wanted it off his driveway as he had purchased another one of these cars!

As the chap who had listed this automotive bargain on a well-known auction site lived just 30 miles down the road, I emailed him and asked if it would be possible to view the vehicle. He was amenable and I travelled over the next day to view the car.

After taking it for a test drive (it drove beautifully) and having a good look over the vehicle, checking tyres, engine bay, exhaust, oil, lights, play in steering rack and looking for leaks, etc, I begin to examine the paperwork and service history. Both were in order. As stated in the auction listing, it has been previously maintained by Mazda dealers.

Two new tyres had been fitted on the front in order to pass the MOT the day before. The only minor faults were a scuff to the front bumper (which does not notice that much) and a couple of small dinks here and there.

I was so impressed with the vehicle that we did the deed there and then. The chap was selling this car as he had just bought an automatic Xedos 6 SE. He needed an auto as he had started to suffer from arthritus in his "clutch" knee and the manual was aggravating his condition.

Overview

The Xedos 6 was produced between 1992 and 1999 and was designed to complete with the other luxury models of the day, such as the BMW 320i and Audi A4. I understand that just over 101,000 were manufactured world-wide, so you won't see one blocking your driveway too often.

Three Xedos 6 models were produced: a 1.6, 2 litre V6 Sport and the 2 litre V6 SE, which had leather seats, air conditioning, electrically adjustable drivers seat and cruise control fitted as standard. I believe some optional extras were also available at the time of purchase, such as folding mirrors and a rear spoiler.

Styling

All 3 models share the same body shell, interior layout and instrumentation. To my mind, the car has classic body lines and looks that set it apart from many other vehicles built at the time to complete in this market sector. From the rear, it is reminiscent of the older style Jaguar XK8 (if perched a little too high for my liking) and the front view is similar to…err, well…nothing I can think of really!

The interior is functional, with perhaps a little sparse feeling on the Sport model due to the cloth seats. The instrumentation is well designed and layed out, with good adjustable night time illumination. Each gauge is easily readable, with none being obscured at the steering wheel at the angle at which mine is set.

Engine

Probably the cars best feature, the 2 litre V6 is silky smooth and beautifully refined. For the first few days after buying the car, I continually went to restart the engine when pulling up at traffic lights (thinking the engine had cut out) only to be met a by a loud rasp as the starter motor complained.

The buyers tip here is that if you can hear the engine at idle from inside the car, with the doors shut and the windows up, then walk away. Even under heavy acceleration, the engine note with a standard exhaust system in good condition is never intrusive at anything other than approaching maximum revs.

There is not a great deal of bottom-end torque and to launch the car with any degree of rapidity requires at least 5,000RPM registering on the tachometer. This is also true when in overtaking mode. Don't expect to put your foot on the go pedal at 50MPH in fifth and the reaction to be instant - it won't be. The secret here is to work the gear box a little and get the revs into the higher figures on the scale.

Expect to see around 28 - 32MPG during combined urban and motorway driving. If the figures are worse than this (and you have been judicial with the use of the go pedal) then suspect a fault and have it examined by an expert.

I must admit, initially I was a little disappointed. I had expected the engine to have been a little more of a grunt master, with a bit more up the top end of the rev range. However, this car was tuned by Mazda for refinement and you don't get that with big bore exhausts, forced induction systems and hairy cams.

I still maintain, however, that the Xedos 6 is a tad on the underpowered side and that Mazda should have fitted the 2.5 litre V6 unit found in the MX6 and Ford Probe. This would have given 20 or so extra ponies and some more silky-smooth torque. A little too late now, as only expensive transplant surgery will remedy this one.

Handling

For a medium size car the first thing I noticed was how long it felt. I came from a 1990 Honda Civic 1.4GL and the Xedos initially felt like I was commanding an oil tanker. Don't get me wrong here, the Xedos corners very well for a car of its size (there is a little pitch and roll evident) but to be fair, this car was built for refinement not for street racing.

I soon got used to the length, although fore and aft parking sensors would have been a nice touch. Parking is still a little perilous, as it is difficult to gauge exactly where the front and rear bumpers are.

Build Quality

I think I realised from my first test drive that this car had been screwed together well. The doors close with a satisfying "thunk" only heard on more expensive models and virtually nothing rattles or squeaks, even when traversing the poorest of our congested road networks.

Everything feels solid. From the leather bound steering wheel to the petrol cap release lever. The doors and door frames have a "double" type of seal arrangement that translates into quiet cruising speeds at our legal motorway limit and, I'm told, beyond.

The paint work looks good and thick, with only some slight peeling of the lacquer on one of the doors pillars starting to become a little bit of a concern. I looked at a couple of 1992 models prior to purchasing this one and neither had any rust evident.

Practicality

If you do the occasional booze cruise, you won't be left feeling cheated by the amount of boot space. It is, in fact, rather large. Add to this the fact that it also possesses 40/60 split folding seats and you have a space that could sleep two medium sized adults. However, the parcel shelf is of the static variety.

There is plenty of room for front seat occupants, but if you have a couple of six footers in situ with the seats moved back, then expect rear leg room to become a bit of an issue. Headroom is also limited in the rear if your passengers are of the taller variety.

Servicing and Spares

I won't beat about the bush here. Mazda are not cheap when it comes to spare parts or servicing, but to be fair if you take your car to a franchised dealer, then you will always be looking at top prices whoever the manufacturer.

With a little research, spares for this vehicle can often be found new for half of the price you would pay from Mazda. The same is true of servicing. If you go to Mazda, expect to pay top dollar prices.

Aftermarket Tuning

As this car was originally designed for the upper-mid end of the market, there is little available for the Xedos 6 with regard to adding lots more ponies. Don't expect to go to your local tuning store and drive away with a boot full of aftermarket bolt-ons. Sadly it won't happen.

However, it's not all bad news. There are replacement high performance panel air filters, forced induction systems, lowering springs and super chips available if you hunt around. I even found an exhaust manufacturer who was willing to custom-build a new stainless steel exhaust system with a high-flow catalytic converter for around a 1000 squids fitted.

£1500 might indeed get you around 15 - 20 extra horses. This would be at the expensive of the cars refinement and in all likely hood, add not only to you insurance premium but fuel consumption as well. The upshot is if you're looking for easy power, then maybe a Xedos is not for you.

Conclusion

I like the Xedos. Admittedly, I'd have liked it a little better with more BHP and torque, but like it I do all the same. Somehow, it makes me feel a little special. People look at it and you often see a perplexed expression start to unfold upon their faces as their brain trawls through successive images of cars, trying to find one that "fits". Suffice to say, rarely many do...

I recently visited some relatives who I had not seen for a couple of years. As I slowly drove away, waving out of the open window (as you do) I heard my cousin turn to her husband and say "What IS that car?"

If you have found this review interesting and informative, I'd appreciate it if you would please rate it for me.
 

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