1986 Mazda 626 GT | Retro Review

I bought a well worn out '86 626 coupe non GT in 1998. I had to give up my '95 Pontiac TA 6MT because my wife was pregers with our son. I learned to love that car because it had a 5 speed and was fun to drive and sipped gas. If not for the broken AC and a move to Florida I may have kept a few more years. Brought back memories seeing the interior. Better quality than most cars of that era IMO.

Yeah, had access to interstate southbound 795 while under construction, thanks Beth and Martin for your appearance and work here...

These were great cars. I wouldn't drive a modern Mazda if you gave it to me. Or Nissan. Or Mitsubishi. Maybe a Honda or Toyota. But no garbage crossovers

Had this as a sedan, turbo was reliable to 188k mileage until the engine finally ate a head gasket…amazing car.

These videos always make me appreciate my '85 Fiero GT more - and reminds me of how fast my '82 Corvette was for its day.

If he only knew, then that 2024 would be all turbo everything 😅

Had a ‘90 LX 5 door with 5 speed manual. Great car. Could swallow a load of cargo, cruise in comfort on the highway and still get 40 MPG. To this day, not sure how it managed that kind of fuel economy.

That thing is hideous. More cars should have headlight washers.

Compare to American cars of this era, this was an absolute gem…way ahead of its generation. Way better then any domestic car. Reliable, confortable, roomier, better consumption, very descent speed. All better then the American cars. Very very close to European style.

At least in Europe this was the first japanese car that really was on par with its european rivals. It was an instant success and at least in Germany the 626 became the best selling import car.

This car always looked more hunkered down and sporty than its chief rivals, although the Accord of this era with flip-up headlights was a very good car too. I always like Mazdas though, and this era was no exception. This car was looked great, drove well for its day, was full of modern tech and accessories, and was extremely reliable. The hatch may not have been preferred by Americans at the time but it made the utility of the 626 unmatched compared to traditional sedans - only the LeBaron GTS/Lancer could match this sort of practicality. (They were comfy cars with excellent performance but they didn't have anything close to Mazda's track record of reliability.)

I had one of these as a coupe, and I loved it.

From this review, this seems like an EXCELLENT car. Just wish they were still around and/or sold more. The only vehicles I see from this era still on the road in Michigan are B-Body GM's and various US made pickup trucks.

These were comfortable as well, seats were very soft

15.7 1/4-mile was pretty quick back in 1986, a Mustang with manual was maybe .3 to .4 seconds quicker although maybe 2 seconds quicker to 60. The turbo lag must have been epic and once spooled up it came on like a freight train.

I haven’t seen one of these in over a decade

Bringing back memories. I had a 1983 626 DX coupe. Replaced that with a 1987 636 LX sedan. Put almost 500,000km on that car with almost no issues.

How will the owner ever change the oil - he forgot that in his rant lol

Man I loved those 80s cars back then! Everything was built to look European back then! They would put a turbo in just about anything with wheels!

In 1986 a 2-litre turbo should have been putting out at least 120kW, not 120hp…

I had the 1990 626 GT (bought mine around 1998). It was an excellent car. Fast (for it's time) and very practical. Great handling.

Love the styling on this 626 five door.
BMWesque rear lights

🇹🇳🇹🇳🇹🇳

My all time favorite mazda, was the 1988 mx6 gt turbo 145 horsepower & 194 torque

Also known as a 'Combilimousine' in the UK.

Ahead of its time. Now even Honda turbocharges all of their 4s.

This brings back memories. My dad had a small Mazda dealership in the 80s when I was a kid. The 626 5-door hatchback was one of my favourites. I remember being mesmerized by the different music chimes when you either left the lights on, key in the ignition, opened the door, etc. I still remember and can hum those music chimes.

Equipment levels were peak 80s here...😍

Adaptive dampers and oscillating vents in this car and the year is 1986!!!

My friend had a 2000 626 and it has them swinging AC vents. I wish more cars had that!!

Imagine if it was 2.0 liter turbocharged AWD...

0-60 and 1/4 mile times are a smidge quicker than an Audi 5000 CS Quattro of the same era. Pretty impressive.

It's amazing how influential Audi was on other car companies in the 1980's, from exterior styling to those iconic headrests.

The ventilation featuenwas not in Europe. Mazda is a brand that lives of crumbs shark mouths. This was for people confronted with boredom after long times of subst use..indeed, the gordon gekko's and bud foxes of the world. No Europe just lets people figure it out themselves no aa here. Oscillation vents cewl.

50k back then. Damn. That was a ton of money. LoL. Beautiful car though

My dad had two of these 2.0 L, 4 doors 626 Mazda's growing up. Great quality cars. He later bought a newer 95 model year.

Great cars. My 2014 3 has 200k. Runs great.

I’m waiting for John to snap with expletives the next time he reviews a car without voltmeter and oil pressure gauges…

This model 626 was replaced by a newer model in the UK by late 1987. Sadly the Mazda 6 ,a designation which succeeded the 626, is no longer available as they have mad way for SUV models.

Really like Mazdas.

in Europe the 5 door was called a Combi Coupe of some strange reason

A 1986 mazda 626 has too many gimmicks.........😂😂😂😂 Oh the good old days 😭

I used to have a 93 626 dx 4 door hatchback with the five speed transmission i loved it 😊

What a review!! Straight to the point, and covers all the important details. Amazing to see Mazda has always been a solid brand.

In 2024, everything has an I-4 turbo. Even pickup trucks. Yuck. Give me a pushrod V-6 or V-8.

"These days everything is a turbo this and a turbo that."
John, you have no idea.

its all the engineering with these, and that's pretty cool. being more preoccupied with how something looks, the squared very-80s look appeals to me so i can better-appreciate the engineering feats.

It is interesting when they are "impressed with 9.1 sec 0-60 time". That would be bashed, these days.

What’s crazy is 30 years later my 2016 Mazda6 averages 30mph just like this one

Mazda should still have turbo-charged models. Imagine how fun a Mazda 2 would be with a turbo variant.