Mazda 323 Reviews

• October 2008 Reviews
• September 2008 Reviews
• May 2008 Reviews
• February 2008 Reviews
• December 2006 Reviews
• October 2005 Reviews

Mazda 323F/323 5dr review covering 1989 - 1998

Monday 10 October 2005

Mazda spent most of the Eighties creating a range of adventurously styled cars that failed to sell well enough. The company went into the last recession in very poor health and had to be rescued by a Ford takeover. Some say its range of late-Eighties cars were too striking for the market, but the handsome 323Fs certainly deserved far more than the limited success they have enjoyed. The 1989 323F is a classic example of a great car that never realised its potential. Only ever available in the UK with two engines and one body style, it was bought mainly as a second car. The importers tried to turn it into a GTi competitor with the introduction of the 1.8-litre GT in 1991, but buyers shunned this version in favour of the more sedately-performing 1.6-litre models. The replacement model was again a good-looker but seemed to have been unfairly overlooked by new car buyers. The latest, more conservatively styled models launched late in 1998 are also quite rare.