I love my Mazda 323. It’s the second one I’ve had since 1989. It is so reliable and rarely needs repair, just brakes and oil changes. And I get 43 miles to the gallon around town and on the highway mixed. It’s simple, so if I do have a repair, it’s cheaper to fix than larger, more complicated cars. Anyway, my poor baby is getting old at 152,000 miles and I may have to replace her sometime in the next couple of years. Mazda doesn’t sell the 323 in the U.S. anymore (sob). Does anyone know what kind of car is as reliable and gets the great gas mileage the 323 does? I just like a plain vanilla, smaller, car. What is your favorite everyday car (I know, I know, you always wanted a Jaguar).
The “replacement” for the Escort/323 is the Ford Focus.
I’ve known many people who adore Honda Civics, despite their escalating price (they start at about $13,000 US). In the same price range, there’s also the Toyota Corolla. If it was me looking at cars in this price range, I’d stick with Hondas or Toyotas. They hold their value better than most cars, and they routinely top the “initial quality” surveys (i.e. they tend to have the lowest number of defects found in brand new cars).
But, and I hope you’ll pardon the pun, YMMV.
Plenty of wheels in that slice of the market, but if you want the reliability and low maintenance of your 323, you have to stick with Japanese cars. The Toyotas and Hondas mentioned are excellent suggestions. Subaru might be interesting as well, although I don’t think they sell anything smaller than the Impreza in the US. The Ford Focus is an excellent car that is great fun to drive - in that respect, it beats all the Japanese counterparts hands down. But it’s more costly to maintain.
I’d suggest going with the model that replaced the 323, the Protege. I’ve got a '94 with 127,000 on it and, other than a few small things, it still runs like a champ. The new ones have gotten great reviews and the Protege 5 looks real interesting. Again, YMMV.
I just looked up the Protege, because I’d never heard of it. That car is being sold in Europe as the Mazda 323. So yeah, go for it, if Mazda’s your thing.
Here’s a good description of the Protege 5. I’m telling you, station wagons are going to be THE next big thing. Hell, SUVs are basically station wagons anyhow. Just about no one takes them off road.
Well, the Mazda Protege was Consumer Report’s highest rated car in it’s class last year, IIRC. They liked the Ford Focus a lot too, but it has had a lot of recalls here in the states.
FWIW, I’ve driven a Mazda pickup for 11 years, and just bought a Mazda 626. I think Mazda makes a pretty good car. I’ve seen a couple of Protege 5s on the road in the last week and they do look interesting. I guess I’m seconding Tommy, definitely have a look at the Protege.
My Dad has owned a 323 for over ten years, and may be getting rid of it this year. I also like Mazdas. But I changed over to Saturns, and am very pleased. I have a '96 SL1 that gets about the same performance as my Dad’s car.
Thank you all so much for your insights and esp the info about the Protege. Now my only problem is where to store my 323 because I could never sell or give her to a stranger. I gave my last one to my daugher-in-law. I feel so much better. The thought of having to decide what kind of car to buy was really stressing me out.
If you’re inclined to buy another Protege like the ones you’ve known and loved (and I see no reason you shouldn’t be), you will probably want to do it in the next year or two. Eventually, the existing Protege platform will be phased out, and new models will be based on the Ford Focus platform. Whether that’s good or bad in the long run remains to be seen, but it’ll definitely be a different car after that.
In that case, I’d suggest you better wait. I’ve driven both the Focus and the 323 (i.e. European Protege), and the Focus’ roadholding and comfort are MUCH better than the Mazda’s. If you could buy a Focus platform with Mazda reliability (which is what rackensack seems to be saying), I’d go for it in a heartbeat.
Which is not to say the current Protege is a bad car: but the Focus IS an excellently handling car.
Ah, but that’s the rub. It’s an open question how much of that reliability will be left once the vehicle’s components are mostly Ford-designed and Ford-manufactured, and only the assembly is done by Mazda.
I don’t really mean to slam Ford – though the Ford Tempo I bought from my girlfriend when she went overseas served her pretty well for the four years she had it, then fell apart on me almost immediately. But others swear by Ford where I only swore at it. My point really was that if suziek wants a car with the same feel and character as the 323s she’s had, she should get one before the platform shift.
I’m a devoted bare-bones Japanese compact driver (my vehicular history: 1974 Datsun B210 hatchback, 1980 Datsun 210 sedan, 1980 Honda Accord sedan, 1988 Ford Tempo sedan, 1995 Honda Civic sedan, plus my wife’s 1993 Mazda 626 and our current 2000 Mazda MPV minivan). My main experience with driving current American marques comes in the form of rental cars on business trips. But there’s something qualitatively different about all of them that I just don’t care for. I worry that that distinction will be lost in Mazda models as Ford exerts more influence over their design and production (though the 626 my wife had was manufactured in Michigan, and was an extrememly reliable, well-made car).
FWIW, the Focus is designed by Ford’s German team. In Europe, it’s built in the UK and Germany. Is it built in the US as well, or are they imported? The European ones are known as pretty reliable, I assure you.
According to cars.com, the American Focus models are assembled in Wayne, Michigan.
I used to be a devoted fan of Aussie / US V8 metal. Now I’ve discovered the joys of high quality 4 cylinder twin cam Japanese cars.
I’ve currently got a '96 Corolla. Only a 1.6 litre engine, but couple that with a smooth manual gearbox, and the thing flies. The quality overall is excellent. It’s also a conservative-looking car, so the cops leave me alone. I really like it.