Adjustable suspension, turbo, 4 wheel disk brakes, digital dash, moon roof, and power windows.

5 speed , rotors from the dealer are expensive.

Seemed like a good deal at first, the car worked well. But this was arare find.....once parts started braking it got expensive. The tranny went in the end.

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The quickest car I have owned, compared to a Corsica and Monte Carlo.

This car has a nice interior and a decent amount of headroom probably one of the best in it's class. The handling and brakes seem to be pretty decent.

Transmission. Transmission and Transmission.

Transmission. Transmission. There is obviously a BIG problem with Mazda's auto tranny's on these cars it's a shame they have not fessed up and addresed this problem. O/D light comes on a off at times. But the worst part is the dealer fails to take some responisbility. I have already replaced it twice and I have not even hit 100K yet. I am getting rid of this crap. Mazda's are know for the sub par transmissions. Have they fixed it on the ones. Hmmm.. only time will tell. I personally will not buy another Mazda. It's bad becuase I like this car, it handles quite well but when you have to replace a transmission....damn.

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Honda Accord

Nice Engine, Good Looks, 5spd availability in V6, nice interior, quality feel and build quality, good power.

Cupholders in a bad spot for the 5spd. When you shift, anything in the cupholders gets in the way. 5 speed although nice, revs a bit too high. 65 mph in 5th makes the rpms hit over 3000. Geared like a 4 cyl. Has lots of tire noise especially over 40mph. I only averaged about 23mpg so far which sorta sucks and it was mostly highway miles.

With its few shortcomings, this is still a very nice car. It definitely has an overall quality feel to it and a nice engine and good power. I would stay away from the 4 cylinder unless you really just want the room.
I would recommend this car to anyone in the market for a mid-size sedan and is considering the Accord or Camry.

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Was going to get a Protege ES instead but got the 626 with 11,950 miles on it for the same price as the Protege. Protege ES might be a more fun choice but it's definitely a smaller, less torquey car.
Looked at Camry and Accord. Both more expensive and no manual available with V6 plus EVERYONE has one and 626 is better looking than both I think and more affordable.

Heater works well.

Where should I start? I bought the car new, and about one month later the paint started cracking. I wanted a new car, because, I paid for a factory paint job not a dirt filled body shop paint job. Mazda's regional director did not see it my way. Car was repainted(dirt in paint). Air conditioner insufficient for southern climate. Cup holders in poor location, if in use, tall cups block radio controls and ashtray. Automatic trans shifts hard sometimes. Leaking coolant at 100000 miles. Leather seats seperating at seams, despite being properly maintained. Sunroof buttons do not always work. V6 has decent power but still seems slugish. Brake rotors warped causing vibration at low speed. Valve noise started shortly after purchase.

I would not recomend a Mazda to anyone. Would not recomend any car that has any affiliation with Ford Motor Company.

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Honda Accord(Less room inside), Toyota Camry(Cost more)

sunroof, overall style and color, power doors and locks, stereo, rotating/swivel middle vents (air conditioning), heating vents going to back seat, driver side floor release for gas tank and trunk, wiper intermittance

transmission, hold feature on shifter, shift lock on shifter, mfg warranty, paint

I purchased this vehicle in 1996 with estimate 34000 miles, at 51000 miles I had to have my transmission replaced (1000 miles after the mfg warranty expired), after driving my car home after getting the transmission repaired the transmission fluid exploded all over my engine ect. at 68000 miles my transmission was replaced again. After being repaired less than 500 miles my transmission was replaced again. My car still has transmission problems, jerking, shifting, hold light occasionaly flashes on and off, each and every time before having my transmission repaired the hold light flashes on and off, severe jerking, sometimes doesn't shift into reverse, only able to drive in 1st gear, car only stayed in first gear, also when air conditioner is ran car does not accelerate well, engine light comes on and off. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAR. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING THE BRAND NEW 626 WITH WARRANTY, SELL OR TRADE IN RIGHT BEFORE MFG WARRANTY EXPIRES. ALSO CONSIDER BUYING 92 OR OLDER 626. MAZDA IS HALF FORD (AMERICAN) AND HALF FOREIGN. STICK WITH EITHER ALL AMERICAN OR ALL FOREIGN. Paint is chipping, fading and cracking. This is a 1994............................................

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n/a

Handling. I put KYB gas struts and some wider tires and the car really hugs the road, even at high speeds. I love the cruise control on the highway too. It works really well and just purrs along with no problems. I think the '95 body styling is very attractive too. The year after Mazda started adding chrome trimming to the car and just destroyed the simple elegance the design had. Engine hums great. Gets me where I need to go every single time.

Interior noise is annoying. There's a howling sound from the windshield when I hit 75 mph. Plastic interior parts rattle and squeak. Attention to detail in the craftsmanship is rather shoddy. Things like the rubber seals along the windows aren't straight and work themselves loose. The wheel covers are pealing the coating off and the inner clips have somehow broken. I don't see other cars with the same problems. Mine has only a 4 cyl. and it's ok, but it lags in 3rd (probably a gas-saver feature) and it could use a little more power. I'll probably get the V6 next time.

I've heard all the nightmare reviews about the trannies, etc. and I did in fact replace mine at 75k. I bought the car at 72k, so I guess the owner was dumping it before the major expense. It cost me $2,600 and it's been solid ever since. The car now has 110,000 and seems to be just fine. I also had to replace the hydraulic lifters on the valve assembly. They were ticking really bad and now the car is as quiet as it will ever be. My mechanic is constantly commenting on how clean the engine is, so they must have done something right. I do enjoy driving the car quite a bit. I don't think I would buy another Mazda since I now know I want to pay a little more for the refinements in other vehicles, but if I did I'd get a '95 with a V6 and a manual trans. I've heard those are rockin' cars.

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Cheaper alternative to Accord, Camry, etc.

IIS GOT A GREAT DOHC V6, NICE POWER AND TORQUE, RIDE IS VERY NICE

NONE

I HAD AN ACURA, WHICH WAS THE BEST CAR IVE OWNED, BUT GOT TIRED OF IT
AFTER 10 YEARS, MAZDA BUILDS GREAT CARS, BUT THEY DONT ADVERTISE ENOUGH.
I WOULD BUY AOTHER ONE...

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MITSU, HONDA, TOYOYA

Strong engine, alhough i have some modifications. Comfortable seating.

well, i had to replace the engine 2 times since i had the car, 1 year and 3 months ago. the transmission died on me at 150,000 miles. the new engine is having problems with lifters, leaving it impossible to add the turbo it needed. the Mass Air-flow sensor really puts a damper on adding an intake, the exhaust is really restictive. the headers do a double turn adding to a real loss of power. The suspension is starting to wear out again, after 1 full year of driving. the engine is too tempermental. almost impossible to upgrade this car to gain power. only been able to have to 120 mph. too slow

I would not recommend this car, it looks like a bubble, but i needed a car bad. i have put a total of $20,000 into a car that is only worth $8,000 just to get it running right. Such a joke. Mazda needs to make a major recall on this P.O.S. that and my car seems to require premium gasoline in order to actually run right, otherwise the injectors clog up in the first couple of tanks, i have had them cleaned 4 times. It sucks

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None

Clean, solid interior. Standard CD player - sounds great (even reads audio CD-R). People love the inside. Leather feels good!

Transmission feels crazy sometimes in lower gears. It slams into gear. RPMs are too high - especially around 75 - 80 MPH.

I recommend the newer models 1998 and newer. Older models had a lot of rough places.

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1995 626 - Piece of CRAP!!!!!

Reliability, Ride, Steering, Handling, Transmission

Brakes, paint thickness, standard tires

This car has given me and my fiance great service since the day we leased it. It's been completely trouble free. We've never taken it to the shop other than for routine maintenance. We have a 626 LX 4 cyl, with the 5 spd manual transmission. The car looked fresh when we bought it, and the model year 2000 re-styling makes it look even better, in my opinion.

The car is very quiet at speed, but it could use slightly revised gear ratios - the rpms are at about 3000 rpm at 60 mph. The engine noise gets even louder going about 70-75 mph (around 3600 rpms). A sixth gear would be really cool, but would also make the transmission much more expensive.

The car is well built, and feels solid. The door close with a reassuring thud. The controls are very legible, and well placed. The swing feature in the climate control system is unique to the 626, and is quite useful. The standard CD sound system is more than adequate. The interior materials are of very pleasing quality, and have a good lustre to them. The carpets and floor mats are plush.

The car rides very well, and handles even better. The steering is responsive and communicative. The standard tires are very small, probably the one aspect holding the car back. Mazda obviously wanted to save money, but realized their mistake by their year 2000 models - all models now at least have 205/60/15 tires, with the upgrade bringing 16 in wheels. The standard tires for our car were economy size 185/75/14. They're cheap to replace, but a tire/wheel upgrade made the handling much more sporty.

The car has very good acceleration even with the 4cyl engine when mated to the 5 spd transmission. The automatic would sap a lot of power, and from the sound of things, Mazda automatics are neither very good or very reliable. Our transmission has been flawless, with crisp shifts. The clutch engages cleanly, but the pedal travel is a bit too much. The fuel economy is very good, around 26/34, very efficient for vehicles in its class. The brakes could use some help. They work well, but the disc/drum combo needs more power. Bigger rotors would help. Hopefully Mazda has rectified this in the newer models.

We have enjoyed driving our 626 lx for the past 2 1/2 years. We are probably going to buy the car after the lease is due, because we love the car and find it easy to maintain and operate.

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Subaru Legacy, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry