It's a special review today as we come to one of the favourite cars that I ever drove, my "cousin" Jim's 1998 Mazda 626 2.0 GSi. Bought from a lady in Orpington in February 2017 to use for drag racing at Santa Pod's Run What Ya Brung event for my Stag Weekend last summer, it proved to be a tough, hardy companion for many more months of motoring than originally intended. In fact, it was so good, that Jim kept it for almost a year (although I had custody of it for the first six months).
The Mazda 626 was never the most exciting or luxurious family car from the 1990s, but it has gathered a reputation in certain circles for being pretty much indestructible. The model was first sold in the 1970s, but when it came to its last generation (sold from 1997 to 2002), it was seen as quite pedestrian, not fitting in well with Mazda's new sporty image. Still, it sold in reasonable numbers, and certainly these days provides reliable family transport at a low price.
For the princely sum of £370 (bearing in mind we had to pay the same again to get her into a fit state for 14 runs at Santa Pod), the car came with fully functioning climate control, a 12 disc CD changer, an electric sunroof, four electric windows and (non-working) remote central locking. On longer journeys, the car would get a respectable 35 mpg, the engine pulled well enough and there was plenty of room in the boot. The work which needed doing, including an MOT, was mainly minor things such as a new ABS wheel speed sensor, a brake hose and some new tyres. She never failed to start or let us down, and towed my friend's Skoda Octavia back to our hotel when its clutch went on the start line at Santa Pod after a full day's racing.
The engine used a very small amount of oil, and she eventually needed a new timing belt (which Jim duly changed), but throughout the winter she just kept on going. Admittedly, with a new clutch in 2016 and a full service history with two careful lady owners from new, the provenance was exceptional, but it is a testament to Mazda that the basic car is so fundamentally strong that it kept running with no problems. The handling may have been wallowy, the gear shift a bit worn and the fake applique wood on the dashboard tasteless, but the car had a real strength of character which is hard to explain.
Smoothly, but anonymously styled and able to blend into the background in most situations, I used the Mazda for all sorts of trips, both long and short, and although the climate control and radio buttons were annoying and fiddly, and there was no cruise control, I enjoyed driving it. It was ideal as a spare car for both me and and Jim, but eventually she had to go, as we both had multiple other cars, and it was not necessary to keep her too.
