The turbocharged 1986 Mazda 626 GT debuted to rave reviews but how was its little brother, the 323? In 1987 Motorweek tested North America’s version of the BF Mazda Familia in both hatchback and wagon body styles. Mazda’s successor to the GLC debuted stateside in 1986 and would eventually spawn the excellent 323 GTX but the ordinary commuter subcompact received plenty of praise as well.
The 323 was fairly basic transportation. Its $6,200 starting price didn’t even include a passenger side door mirror. But it could still be fun, and its 1.6-liter four featured more power than other Japanese subcompacts and fuel injection when even the almighty Toyota Corolla could only be had carbureted. Motorweek‘s testing clocked a 0-60 time of 11.1 seconds at a time when competitors would often take 14.
In typical Mazda fashion, the 323 boasted handling that was judged positively. However, its narrow econobox tires were its weak point, giving up the grip before the four-wheel independent suspension. Still, Motorweek praised the 323 for its minimal body roll, good road feel, and tight turning radius. It was also a comfortable freeway cruiser, with a relatively quiet cabin, returning 28 mpg city and 34 highway.
Also tested was the 323 Wagon, which could ring up as high as $10,000 when well equipped. Impressively, it could hold 25 cubic feet of cargo behind the rear seats and more than 50 cubic feet with the second row folded. Compare that with a much larger modern Mazda CX-30, which has only 20 cubic feet in the very back and 45 cubic feet with the rear seats down.
The 323 of this generation is almost nonexistent today, sadly. In hindsight, it didn’t have quite enough, as the 626 did, to differentiate itself from the competition. And that competition included cars like the brilliant EF Honda Civic. Also, Mazda’s sales network simply couldn’t compete with that of Toyota or Honda. These days, we struggle to find any examples, even at shows like JCCS. Hopefully there’s still a few out there waiting to be found and cared for.
I saw a later BG 323 recently at the grocery store not in the best shape. Things don’t rust in TX so I’m sure it was a survivor that’s going to be driven until the wheels fall off.
These definitely weren’t as loved as Civics of the same era.
Had a 323. It died an inglorious death. First, gauges were failing, odometer, speedo, about the only one working was the fuel gauge. Then the motor was so tired and smoking, we even got letters from the California Highway Payroll that someone complained about the smoke.
The coup de grace came while parked at the Richmond BART station, where someone threw a car battery through a window, landing on the shift level, breaking it and mechanically totaling the car in 1998.
Used the insurance money for a down payment for a brand new and highly popular…
New Beetle 😎
Those “normal” cars like 323s, base model Corollas (and, if we’re not talking solely about JNCs, then also Golfs and Astras) really need to be more appreciated.