Mazda MX-3 - Japanese expression

First, you need to deposit more than PLN 1000. Then - to drive rules and signs into your head and learn that the clutch pedal is not the brake pedal. After all, all you have to do is go to the test center, shine your light on the road, give the examiner a little smile, and head to the fat driving test party. Now all you need is a car. And most of the young guys most of all would like to go in for sports.

That's it - the problem with used sports cars is that they are either expensive or worn out. Or both. A young driver usually doesn't have any extra cash in his account, and if he's craving a cheap sports car, he usually has an invention like a tuned Opel Calibra, or if he likes to experiment, perhaps a Fiat 126p. With Porsche engine. And why is the Mazda MX-3 forgotten?

It's simple - because this manufacturer has not had an official representative office in our country for a long time, and for many, its cars are as exotic and mysterious as what the Japanese eat. The difference, however, is that if you eat one of them, you can wake up with an uninteresting face in the hospital, and if you buy the MX-3, you get a lot of pleasure. The catch is that all you have to do is hit well.

It would not be very profitable to build such a car from scratch, so the engineers put a compact 323 model in the workshop, modified it a little, changed the body and began to sell at a higher price. It used to be like this. The MX-3 can now be bought for the equivalent of a Rolls Royce front fender, and virtually all wear parts are readily available for the base model. However, this does not mean that they are cheap - unfortunately, in Japan, a regular piece of rubber with a brand logo has always competed with the market price of gold. But at least it was constant. While there are no problems with consumables, they already exist with bodywork - it is better to avoid examples with an uninteresting tinsmith. And what is the failure rate after so many years?

The main problem with this car is that it's just old. The first copies entered the market in 1992 - then everyone went with a poodle haircut, and people with visual impairments had to wear plastic bumps that covered half their faces - this perfectly illustrates how much time has already passed, today someone would be locked in zoo. That's why you have to forgive Mazda for breaking down. But in fact, we are mainly talking about the suspension, because there are no more electronics in this car than in the average mixer, although you can count on nice equipment in the style of power windows, central locking or power steering. Then what needs to be repaired? The suspension is mainly rubber and metal elements. In addition, the exhaust system may have already dealt with rust, and most of the rubber elements, including gaskets, will have to be replaced with new ones, because they are crushing. Brakes work very well if the system is well looked after and cleaned from time to time. In case of untimely maintenance, the drums jam with self-adjusting cams and the calipers can already leak. It is difficult to attach to other elements, because the machine is simply durable. There is one good news for this - the MX-3 was discontinued only in 1998, which means that you can still buy copies of the times when people walked not as "poodles", but as "recruitment". As a result, such specimens are much younger and can be much more pleasant to use. However, it all depends on how "crazy" the previous driver was - and what he has under the hood.

Diesel is better not to look for. Firstly, the Japanese at that time probably saw them as the work of Satan and were not very interested in them, and secondly, this is a sports car and there are simply no diesels in it. Gasoline units have only two power. The 1.6L has 4 valves per cylinder, but initially only got 89 miles. Is this enough for dynamic driving? If over 13 seconds to “hundreds” can be considered a substitute for sports, then yes, but why wind yourself up if children running around the yard accelerate better? After 1994, the engine was modified and, in addition to torque, its power was also increased to 107 hp. The car is light, so it was enough to accelerate in less than 10 seconds, although its maneuverability remained negligible and the work culture was poor. However, this version is really a good choice - in addition to the ignition system, it practically does not break down at all, endures huge runs and is easy to maintain. Only the fact that when riding it, no one gets wet from unnecessary emotions. Unless to the second unit of an extremely strange design - it has 1.8 liters and as many as six cylinders, in a V-shaped configuration. After all - 6-cylinder BMW engines had a volume of 3 liters and continued to work in a row, Mazda probably had a vision of creating such an engine and it turned out quite well. Excellent sound, palpable power from these lowest revs and smooth operation - that's what it begs to push the "gas" into the floor. And this is the problem with this bike - it often just clogs up and can take up to 1 liter of oil per 100 km. So is such a car suitable for everyday use?

Of course. There are a few restrictions though. The trunk will pass for a sports car - it is 289l. However, its high loading threshold means you'll either have to play Michael Jordan and throw everything from the triangle at him, or buy a platform. The large body line dictated another limitation - a maximum of children will fit in the back. Possibly a Rottweiler if someone breeds it. In addition, the back of the sofa is quite vertical and easily strains the spine. The front is completely different. The armchairs must have been designed exclusively by a fluffy Japanese, because surprisingly they are “tailored” to European sizes. Not only that, they are comfortable to sit in and perfectly keep the body in corners. The cockpit itself was a perfect example at a time when the Asians didn't want to produce dashboards cloned from the VW Golf. Now the whole thing still looks specific, although it tingles a little that it is gloomy, in places tasteless and archaic. However, the interior is not without a sporty style - it is set low, the central tunnel hugs the driver, and the soundproofing is so bad that you can hear every movement of the piston in the engine. And this is a big advantage in the case of a V-shaped unit.

If the MX-3 is pretty good, then why is it of little interest to anyone? Because he's too old? Because it's a Mazda and you don't know what it is? I don't know, but the inquisitive looking for a cheap, sports car will take the MX-3 - the rest will surely be seduced by the tuned Caliber. Or Fiat 126p with Porsche engine.

This article was created thanks to the courtesy of TopCar, who provided a car from the current offer for a test and photo session.

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