I owned one in Canada. A few thousand bucks worth of HKS goodies brought the horsepower over the 200 mark. In summer I'd autocross it on shaved sticky tires. In winter I'd install four skinny steel wheels with super knobby tires and could run circles around the SUVs in deep snow. It never gave me a moment's trouble and I miss it to this day.
+John Techwriter I bought one of these for $300 when I was 16 (In 1999)... out of a scrapyard. Swapped an alternator from another 323 onto it, and drove it home, not really knowing what I had purchased but I thought it looked cool and had nice seats. Was I ever pleasantly surprised... what a blast to drive, even in stock form with over 300,000 km on the clock!
I wished that more American people would appreciate the presence of Mazdas and their designs. Mazda is one of the most underrated car companies in my opinion. They have made some of the best cars to come out of Japan and have even won Le Mans in 1991. Never forget your Mazdas.
@@fread51 Always so many Mazda fans in the comments, yet this company is seeking $4 billion in loans. Same with Mitsubishi fans in comments. Their dealers are empty of foot traffic and they are on life support.
@@tedschmitt178 Personally I love both. Though analog looks SLIGHTLY better in SOME cars. My fear is what it'll cost to Fix a digital display. I heard nightmares about it from mechanics AND car owners.🧐😕
It's probably because we are looking at it in modern days. The nostalgia undoubtedly adds quite a lot of extra points. I'd be very happy to have that digital gauge if I owned a GTX. But I think the car itself is hard to find, not to mention that digital cluster.
....only 330.000 miles?!? Anything broken under 500.000 miles for that particular model is because of abuse and neglect. My dad had one, (1.5 engine) 900.000 miles today under the third owner.
+dfissell Good to know, as it seems that there are multiple variants (SOHC, DOHC, 8 v, 16 v) of the B6 that go back to 1985. But for clarification I was referring to the fact that the DOHC 1.6 L B6ZE used in the 1990 Miata included a few remnants that were also found in the turbocharged DOHC 1.6 B6T, (which was introduced in 1985), such as the cooling oil spray found at the bottom of the pistons.
wow, this video brought back memories of the GTX I had. I loved that little car with its turbo engine. Sadly, it was destroyed in a house fire. It was a great car.
I think the complaints about the radio being too low and/or not being easy to use while driving has brought us to where we are today: HUGE tablets tacked onto the dash. Automakers are like, "Are ya happy now???"
I saw a girl driving this around my school in 2019! Was shocked to see something like it still being used as a commuter. Testement to the engineers that designed it.
Growing up in South America, I always enjoyed watching rally cars. As a result, I wanted a Mazda GTX or a Golf GTI. I stuck with VW's for years until one year I bought a Protege5! That is as close I got to owning a GTX. Those Mazdas are probably very rare now if you can find one. Love these retro reviews, please keep them coming...
There was a Rallye Golf built in the late 80's that never made it to the U.S. market for street driving, but did make it to competition. There were only 5,000 Rallye Golfs built and sold, they are now very rare cars. There were no 3rd generation Golfs with all wheel drive until the R32 (4th generation).
@@x-man4702 My comment was about the handling of the AWD Golfs, not the class-leading FWD Golfs. The AWD Golfs were not considered, for the price and performance, to have the more neutral handling sometime associated with good AWD cars like the 323GTX and the Lancer Evo.
@@snowrocket The Lancer Evo was not produced until 1992, that's years later after the GTX and the Rallye Golf were built and raced. The GTX did have a "better" AWD system than the Rallye Golf, but it was significally underpowered compared to the competition. The Rallye Golf was no better, even though it had an additional 26 bhp over the GTX.
My best buddy had this exact car in non turbo for many many years, we always dreamed of the ellusive and rare GTX and ooohed and ahhed we we did see one on occasion!
great little car. here in europe it was the "affordable" japanese turbo 4x4. both nissan sunny and toyota celica were much more expensive. i loved the GTR with the bigger bumpers and bigger turbo
Wow, this was the dream car for me back in high school. My first car was a 1.5 litre FWD version, but it had the same spoiler kit as the GTX! Quite rare to find now, most of them were ruined by boy racers. It didn't help that the gearboxes were notoriously weak.
Starting in winter 1988/89, Motorweek would begin braking tests from 60 mph, rather than 55 mph. Also, the interior sound level would be tested at 60 mph. Rural interstate speed limits had been raised to 65 mph almost two years earlier, in most US states.
Mazdas have long been hidden gems, even the Miata to some degree. They make good cars and parts; my 88 Ford Ranger had a Toyo Kogyo (Mazda) 5 speed transmission and it worked like a charm.
with an exhaust, a tune, an intercooler and a manual boost controller, my 323 GT front wheel drive sedan with the same engine ended up running a 13.5 in thr quarter mile. while this awd version ran a 16.3. Point being, with minimal bolt ons and some decent tuning, these cars can wake up and run really good times as well as putting really good power to the ground.
@@trekinseattle super cool little car! I loved mine. The awd hatches were prone to synchros going in the trans. Mine was beaten up but held up nicely. Just head gaskets were my only issue
An unique feature is the hydraulic E-brake. It gives the car the ability to lock up the rear wheels with much less effort. On the analog gauge cluster it has A green turbo light that turns on while under boost. A similar light can be found on the Suzuki Cappuccino Ect. as they were both designed by A freelance designer that is still unknown to this day. He also designed all RX-7s, RX-8, Mazdaspeed cars, Skyactiv vehicles Ect. His brother has A modified 1988 626 GT that can burn rubber in three gears and has beaten Corvettes, M5 Ect...
I bought a well-loved example of one of these as my first car in 1995. Tremendously expensive to maintain, but I loved it regardless. I wish I didn't have to sell it.
I really like this GTX - in some ways, it is better than the same period GTI and it is certainly more rare than any GTI today. The interior looks just like any Mazda 323 from the period, albeit with the optional digital gauges and different seat patterns. I think I'd prefer the analog package, but otherwise this car is straightforward, pure and simple, which is definitely in keeping with the GTI tradition. 132hp in a small, light car means this car is zippy, even by today's standards, and that's not something you can always say about these Retro Reviews. A well-made, well-engineered little hot hatch...I wish this had been my first car (or second car or third car!)
We also had the Mazdas, I still have one in perfect condition I purchased new in 89. The Ford Lasers were copies built on the same design but nowhere close in quality! ;)
I'm daily driving an 89 Sydney assembled Ford Laser sedan in 2021. Bought in 2010 with only 115K kilometres. Just reached 190K and still running like a clock. It has EFI 1.6 8v B6f engine with the four speed overdrive auto. Managed to achieve 6.7l/100km with 80% freeway driving by not exceeding 100km/h and sitting (safely!) behind trucks to cut wind resistance. Best I've achieved with this car.
My first car was a 1988 Mazda 323. Black paint, nylon gray seats. No power windows, no power locks, no power antennae, no power steering, no AC and no tachometer. But to me it was the bees knees! Only $7700 brand new.
I had this car and remember it being a disappointment at SCCA autocrosses in SE Michigan. The understeer was incredible the review mentions it. Sold it after one year.
I dearly miss mine. Should have never sold it, or my Milano Verde, 400 HP 1st gen SHO, Contour SVT or 1st gen Civic Si... So many automotive regrets. However, the GTX was my favorite to drive, but the Verde was my favorite sounding, but then again the Busso V6 is one of the best sounding engines ever put in road cars.
OMG!!!!! You sold a First Gen. Taurus SHO?!?!? Dude!!! You're gonna Hate me. According to last June's Motor Trend "Back to the 90's" edition, First and Second Gen. Taurus SHO's in excellent condition are going for...Sit Down Now...$20,000.00 American!!😎😎
+Skyline Fever, the 1st gen (or would've gone to the Jeep dealer to get the similar Eagle Talon TSi w/either (~195hp T-2.0L) FWD or AWD) ). Also a couple of steps more expensive (the base Eclipse and Talon were in the GTX's price neighborhood) than the GTX.
i once pulled one of those digital dashes out of a junkyard car. didnt have the car but i figured someone would want it. sold on ebay for much more than i paid for it.
I had money and waited for a used one. Never happened. Lost my job, one popped up for sale , mint with adjustable suspension and digital dash. 5 miles away. Kept my 89 323, Limited production run for the GTX. Approximately 1200 Cars int the US and Canada over 2 years. A weird collectible. The four door version , 10 or so in North America. All numbers are close based on what I remember. Or check out RoadRace Engineering.
I had one of these..a set of Koni shocks and a set of Nexen all seasons made it handle like it should.I got way faster 0-60 times vs what they had here. 7 -7.5 second 0-60 times. I don't think they were really giving it the beans.
Yeah I agree a gd driver should get this car to maybee 15.9 16 second quarter mile my 1983 ford Telstar 2.0 non turbo lol carb not injected only mods were exhaust and extractors and a reasonable driver 16.1 quarter mile so this 4wd shd be quicker than this
Did the "boy racers" tear 'em up?? I hear this is why you shouldn't buy a used Charger/Challenger with Any v8 because They've been drifted into the ground!
I'm really surprised that the gas mileage is so poor, especially how light the car is and how small the engine it. My first car was an 88 mercury tracer 3 door hatchback. It had the 1.6 OHV engine with only 80 hp, no ac, no power steering & a 5 spd. The way it was geared it was quite peppy around town. But on the highway it got amazing gas mileage. The car only weighed about 2,200 lbs. The best I ever averaged on a tank of gas was 44 mpg! Granted that was only driving 65 mph, the car was geared to drive from 55-65 on the highway. At 70 or more the mileage would plummet because the rpms were so high. In fact at 85 it was at 4k rpms!
I'm surprised, too! I have a 1991 Escort Pony 3 door based on this car with a 1.9 and 4 speed auto overdrive. Though I drove like a madman, I consistently got no worse than 25 m.p.g.
The extra weight of the Awd system and being a turbo probably really hurt the mpgs. I'm surprised this sport version had such tall gearing, maybe for improved mpg on the highway. My 88 Tracer had a very aggressive 3.86 final drive ratio. It made for very fun acceleration, but you had to keep the speed down on the highway or the mpgs would plummet
@@BrownBomber92181 The AWD hardware! Duh. Of course! And I know for a fact that fuel economy drops; as one expert put it, exponentially; over 60 m.p.h. At least with 4 speed automatics it does. I don't know about todays' 6 and 8 speed automatics.🧐
Learned to drive fast in the base model 323 hatch with SOHC 1.6 4-spd manual and 4:10.5 final gear ratio. Not a highway fighter but plenty of get-up for such a basic car. That engine revved pretty high but no idea how high because the base model had no tach.
dudeeee, I have one!!! not a gtx of course, but its a 323, got it last year from the 2nd owner, only complaint is that the front struts never last, that's it, nothing else
It's just an 87/88 Mazda 323/Mercury Tracer hatchback but with alloy wheels and turbo DOHC. easy oil change, easy to reach spark plugs, 13" tires. A very reliable 1.6 engine when 10W-40 conventional oil used. Synthetic is too thin. You'll never find a more simple car to maintain ever again.
Absolutely right. My first car was an 88 Tracer 3 door hatchback. When I sold it it had 160k miles, and they were a lot of hard miles. When my dad had the car, he drove the shit out of it and rarely services it. I got it with 125k miles and I checked the oil and it didn't even register, and the oil pan was only a 3.5 qt pan!!! You're right about synthetic oil being too slick, I changed the oil and put in synthetic the first time and it sounded like marbles were in the engine, lol. I immediately dumped it and put in conventional oil
I had a 1987 Mazda 323 when I was a kid. It broke down and got scrapped. I’m looking to restore one now. If anyone wants to sell theirs I’m looking to buy. I prefer white.
Never knew they had a gtx version of the 323 until I saw one for sale a couple years ago. I was surprised of the low hp rating with it being 16 valve dohc. Must was a very small turbo.
Yeah, the horsepower numbers were disappointing, but when you look back on that era, all the horsepower figures tend to pale in comparison to today's performers.
I owned one in Canada. A few thousand bucks worth of HKS goodies brought the horsepower over the 200 mark. In summer I'd autocross it on shaved sticky tires. In winter I'd install four skinny steel wheels with super knobby tires and could run circles around the SUVs in deep snow. It never gave me a moment's trouble and I miss it to this day.
+John Techwriter I bought one of these for $300 when I was 16 (In 1999)... out of a scrapyard. Swapped an alternator from another 323 onto it, and drove it home, not really knowing what I had purchased but I thought it looked cool and had nice seats.
Was I ever pleasantly surprised... what a blast to drive, even in stock form with over 300,000 km on the clock!
I had a 1991 323gtx...
I miss it too...🙄😏
U win
@@crashbandi53 u win more
I wished that more American people would appreciate the presence of Mazdas and their designs. Mazda is one of the most underrated car companies in my opinion. They have made some of the best cars to come out of Japan and have even won Le Mans in 1991. Never forget your Mazdas.
Ford sold plenty of them. Mazda today is pretty bland though.
@@halohunter5217 you have it completely backwards my friend
It's not the 90's any more
@@lukerinderknecht2982 Mazda is back baby! New Mazda 3 Turbooooo! And the interior... omg. But the red paint... wow
@@fread51 Always so many Mazda fans in the comments, yet this company is seeking $4 billion in loans. Same with Mitsubishi fans in comments. Their dealers are empty of foot traffic and they are on life support.
I think the digital dash looks awesome! Definitely not a minus for me at all.
Different times new ideas seem off lol
Analog gauges should have disappeared from all cars at least 35 years ago.
The similarly sized 1.5 and 2.5 would throw me off, but the general design of the dash looks nice for its purposes.
@@tedschmitt178 Personally I love both. Though analog looks SLIGHTLY better in SOME cars. My fear is what it'll cost to Fix a digital display. I heard nightmares about it from mechanics AND car owners.🧐😕
The digital gauges are fine, come on...
It's probably because we are looking at it in modern days. The nostalgia undoubtedly adds quite a lot of extra points. I'd be very happy to have that digital gauge if I owned a GTX. But I think the car itself is hard to find, not to mention that digital cluster.
How good this looks in 2023..it's beautiful.
My Dad had a standard 323 sedan when I was a kid. I loved that car to death. Thanks for the nostalgia, MW!
Danny Carlin-Weber do you still have it, see my profile pic it's a 323 sedan
Denver Cayle Ong Oh no, unfortunately. My dad put about 330,000 miles on it before it died on him. I think that was in 1999 or 2000.
Love the car!
....only 330.000 miles?!? Anything broken under 500.000 miles for that particular model is because of abuse and neglect. My dad had one, (1.5 engine) 900.000 miles today under the third owner.
This, the scarlet turbo, and the pulsar gtiR are the awd hatchbacks of underrated cars
A fun bit of trivia about the 323 GTX is that its turbocharged engine was later adapted for the 1990 Miata, although it lost the turbo in the process.
+Eric Shea b6 and b8 were killer blocks but fyi they made non turbo version prior to that they but bigger cams in the non turbos
+dfissell Good to know, as it seems that there are multiple variants (SOHC, DOHC, 8 v, 16 v) of the B6 that go back to 1985. But for clarification I was referring to the fact that the DOHC 1.6 L B6ZE used in the 1990 Miata included a few remnants that were also found in the turbocharged DOHC 1.6 B6T, (which was introduced in 1985), such as the cooling oil spray found at the bottom of the pistons.
+Eric Shea Refresh my memory, was the fwd 323GT sedan turbo or NA?
nlpnt The 323GT had the turbo, but was even rarer than the GTX.
Don't forget it was put in the Capri too. Though nowhere as fun as the GTX.
wow, this video brought back memories of the GTX I had. I loved that little car with its turbo engine. Sadly, it was destroyed in a house fire. It was a great car.
I think the complaints about the radio being too low and/or not being easy to use while driving has brought us to where we are today: HUGE tablets tacked onto the dash. Automakers are like, "Are ya happy now???"
my favorites are the tape cd combo units of the early 2000's
I had one of these. Dialed the boost up to 14psi, made fuel delivery adjustments to match, and harassed all the WRXs in town.
Harassed or molested?!? LOL!!!😁😆😅
I saw a girl driving this around my school in 2019!
Was shocked to see something like it still being used as a commuter. Testement to the engineers that designed it.
Growing up in South America, I always enjoyed watching rally cars. As a result, I wanted a Mazda GTX or a Golf GTI. I stuck with VW's for years until one year I bought a Protege5! That is as close I got to owning a GTX. Those Mazdas are probably very rare now if you can find one. Love these retro reviews, please keep them coming...
That digi dash...so...so...EIGHTIES!!!!!
"The GTI is still not available here with AWD..."
The Golf R32 finally showed up to the party, 12 or 13 years late though...
+bandi53 Yeah, and with handling STILL not as fun as the Mazdas was at the time! Remember folks, it's largely about the AWD torque split.
There was a Rallye Golf built in the late 80's that never made it to the U.S. market for street driving, but did make it to competition. There were only 5,000 Rallye Golfs built and sold, they are now very rare cars. There were no 3rd generation Golfs with all wheel drive until the R32 (4th generation).
@@snowrocket
Not at all, the VW Golf GTI was the best handling hatch in the 80's and early 90's. It was the benchmark for all hatchbacks at the time.
@@x-man4702 My comment was about the handling of the AWD Golfs, not the class-leading FWD Golfs. The AWD Golfs were not considered, for the price and performance, to have the more neutral handling sometime associated with good AWD cars like the 323GTX and the Lancer Evo.
@@snowrocket
The Lancer Evo was not produced until 1992, that's years later after the GTX and the Rallye Golf were built and raced. The GTX did have a "better" AWD system than the Rallye Golf, but it was significally underpowered compared to the competition. The Rallye Golf was no better, even though it had an additional 26 bhp over the GTX.
Just donated our 5-speed manual 1989 323 SE today to charity. Had since 1998. Going to miss it.
My best buddy had this exact car in non turbo for many many years, we always dreamed of the ellusive and rare GTX and ooohed and ahhed we we did see one on occasion!
Best car I ever owned. Roomy, reliable and 38plus MPG😊
When Mazda made simple and fun cars... This was my first ride in high school... Loved it and miss it
My Portuguese friend taught me how to drive manual in one of these back in the day. It was n't a GTX model, but it was fun times regardless. 😄
Before WRX there was GTX! Just try and find one unmolested!
first i had a gtx... now i have an sti... i do still have my 323 gt though (fwd counter part to the gtx)
I like to see your 323 kenneth. Do you have a vid?
I've looked at five over the years; all of them were rotted to shit. NY is not kind to these cars... :(
I had one for about 3 years :)
Evo*
I loved these back in the day. So cool.
I still have and love mine
Soca Nick it is reliable?
Still have it?
great little car. here in europe it was the "affordable" japanese turbo 4x4. both nissan sunny and toyota celica were much more expensive.
i loved the GTR with the bigger bumpers and bigger turbo
I love this little car 💖
Wow, this was the dream car for me back in high school. My first car was a 1.5 litre FWD version, but it had the same spoiler kit as the GTX!
Quite rare to find now, most of them were ruined by boy racers. It didn't help that the gearboxes were notoriously weak.
was the gearbox bad even on the GTR?
I really wanted one of these back in 1989 when I graduated college.
And to think in 30 years, the 323 morphed into a sexy Mazda 3.
Starting in winter 1988/89, Motorweek would begin braking tests from 60 mph, rather than 55 mph. Also, the interior sound level would be tested at 60 mph. Rural interstate speed limits had been raised to 65 mph almost two years earlier, in most US states.
I think in Nebraska our highway speed limits didn't raise until the early 90's.
Mazdas have long been hidden gems, even the Miata to some degree. They make good cars and parts; my 88 Ford Ranger had a Toyo Kogyo (Mazda) 5 speed transmission and it worked like a charm.
"Prissy". John sure knew when to lay down a slur.
with an exhaust, a tune, an intercooler and a manual boost controller, my 323 GT front wheel drive sedan with the same engine ended up running a 13.5 in thr quarter mile. while this awd version ran a 16.3. Point being, with minimal bolt ons and some decent tuning, these cars can wake up and run really good times as well as putting really good power to the ground.
Most don't even know about the 323 GT, 4 Doors, same 1.6 Turbo Front wheel drive and available with a digital dash.... Great car !!
@@trekinseattle super cool little car! I loved mine. The awd hatches were prone to synchros going in the trans. Mine was beaten up but held up nicely. Just head gaskets were my only issue
What a sleeper! I cant believe I have never seen or heard of these
that gauge package is so cool! I wish you could still find unmolested versions of these available
An unique feature is the hydraulic E-brake. It gives the car the ability to lock up the rear wheels with much less effort.
On the analog gauge cluster it has A green turbo light that turns on while under boost. A similar light can be found on the Suzuki Cappuccino Ect. as they were both designed by A freelance designer that is still unknown to this day. He also designed all RX-7s, RX-8, Mazdaspeed cars, Skyactiv vehicles Ect.
His brother has A modified 1988 626 GT that can burn rubber in three gears and has beaten Corvettes, M5 Ect...
this little mazda is my ultimate dream car and I want one very bad. not even just the gtx, any 323 hatchback
awesome little hatchback!
OMG I love that digital dash
Yes me too, I love all those digi-dashes from the 80's and early 90's. Much more character then todays boring Lcd/Oled screens.
Aight I just discovered this car on fb marketplace today, and I’ve never wanted a vehicle more
That little Mazda can fly! Whhhheeew! 😊
An excellent car to find today, if you can.
Quite a few in nz
I bought a well-loved example of one of these as my first car in 1995. Tremendously expensive to maintain, but I loved it regardless. I wish I didn't have to sell it.
Then along came Subaru.
@@jamesbonomy42 My brother [above] replaced it with a more family-friendly Escort wagon (albeit the uncommon 5-speed manual version).
I really like this GTX - in some ways, it is better than the same period GTI and it is certainly more rare than any GTI today. The interior looks just like any Mazda 323 from the period, albeit with the optional digital gauges and different seat patterns. I think I'd prefer the analog package, but otherwise this car is straightforward, pure and simple, which is definitely in keeping with the GTI tradition. 132hp in a small, light car means this car is zippy, even by today's standards, and that's not something you can always say about these Retro Reviews. A well-made, well-engineered little hot hatch...I wish this had been my first car (or second car or third car!)
In Australia, this package was sold as the Ford Laser TX3. Very cutting edge for the mid 80s!
We also had the Mazdas, I still have one in perfect condition I purchased new in 89. The Ford Lasers were copies built on the same design but nowhere close in quality! ;)
I'm daily driving an 89 Sydney assembled Ford Laser sedan in 2021. Bought in 2010 with only 115K kilometres. Just reached 190K and still running like a clock. It has EFI 1.6 8v B6f engine with the four speed overdrive auto. Managed to achieve 6.7l/100km with 80% freeway driving by not exceeding 100km/h and sitting (safely!) behind trucks to cut wind resistance. Best I've achieved with this car.
My dad learned how to drive a stick in one of these. Same color too!
My first car was a 1988 Mazda 323. Black paint, nylon gray seats. No power windows, no power locks, no power antennae, no power steering, no AC and no tachometer. But to me it was the bees knees! Only $7700 brand new.
Im still driving my Mazda familia TURBO 1989 coupe ...! Some X I drive my MMC , and Volvo 940 turbo ...! 🎉
I had this car and remember it being a disappointment at SCCA autocrosses in SE Michigan. The understeer was incredible the review mentions it. Sold it after one year.
Classic. Hard to find and still want one.
I didn't even know they made digital gages like this in the 80's! Cool!
You should see the ones in the Ford T-Bird/Mercury Cougar and Chrysler's extended K-car platform luxury cars!!!!!
Still in year 1999 my un-charged 323 GTI was pretty. Now those ones are not - quite ugly. But I loved my GTI, good to drive on curved roads
I think I'm in love!!
It's amazing that cars with 1.4 liter turbos nowadays have 200hp plus sometimes
I dearly miss mine. Should have never sold it, or my Milano Verde, 400 HP 1st gen SHO, Contour SVT or 1st gen Civic Si... So many automotive regrets. However, the GTX was my favorite to drive, but the Verde was my favorite sounding, but then again the Busso V6 is one of the best sounding engines ever put in road cars.
Chris S As a GTV6 owner , I concur 👍
OMG!!!!! You sold a First Gen. Taurus SHO?!?!? Dude!!! You're gonna Hate me. According to last June's Motor Trend "Back to the 90's" edition, First and Second Gen. Taurus SHO's in excellent condition are going for...Sit Down Now...$20,000.00 American!!😎😎
4 X 4 Turbo? lol, I never knew these existed. Awesome.
+olskoolnewpaint subaru wrx sti and mitsubishi evolution?
Back in '89...
+olskoolnewpaint I think You could buy a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX back then and get an AWD Turbo car.
+Skyline Fever, the 1st gen (or would've gone to the Jeep dealer to get the similar Eagle Talon TSi w/either (~195hp T-2.0L) FWD or AWD) ). Also a couple of steps more expensive (the base Eclipse and Talon were in the GTX's price neighborhood) than the GTX.
i once pulled one of those digital dashes out of a junkyard car. didnt have the car but i figured someone would want it. sold on ebay for much more than i paid for it.
My dream car.
It would have been nice if Mercury could have had a clone of this and named it the Tracer XR3
Getting closer. But I still would like a Ford Festiva review please!3
I had money and waited for a used one. Never happened. Lost my job, one popped up for sale , mint with adjustable suspension and digital dash. 5 miles away. Kept my 89 323, Limited production run for the GTX. Approximately 1200 Cars int the US and Canada over 2 years. A weird collectible. The four door version , 10 or so in North America. All numbers are close based on what I remember. Or check out RoadRace Engineering.
I had one of these..a set of Koni shocks and a set of Nexen all seasons made it handle like it should.I got way faster 0-60 times vs what they had here. 7 -7.5 second 0-60 times. I don't think they were really giving it the beans.
Yeah I agree a gd driver should get this car to maybee 15.9 16 second quarter mile my 1983 ford Telstar 2.0 non turbo lol carb not injected only mods were exhaust and extractors and a reasonable driver 16.1 quarter mile so this 4wd shd be quicker than this
I had that exact car. What a blast to drive and easy to work on. Unfortunately the underside rusted out on me and I had to sell it.
damn, all that gravel at pikes peak is paved now ☹
The last vehicle that I saw trying to stop on rails, took about half a mile!
LOL. I'm like, "What the hell is he talking about!?!?!"!
This was a great hot hatch back in the day. Too bad that they are hard to find now.
dwilsonjr78 yes the version with a strong engine,but the city version engine is easy to find in my country
always wanted one of these, every one i ever find is beat to hell
Did the "boy racers" tear 'em up?? I hear this is why you shouldn't buy a used Charger/Challenger with Any v8 because They've been drifted into the ground!
wow. i think this thing was ahead of its time for hatches in 89, no?
They were really rolling in tht snow
I loved my GTX my first new car
Damn! I'd love to buy one of these in good condition
Comparing this car to an Audi Quattro seems fair....
oh my god I want one of these right now
I'm really surprised that the gas mileage is so poor, especially how light the car is and how small the engine it. My first car was an 88 mercury tracer 3 door hatchback. It had the 1.6 OHV engine with only 80 hp, no ac, no power steering & a 5 spd. The way it was geared it was quite peppy around town. But on the highway it got amazing gas mileage. The car only weighed about 2,200 lbs. The best I ever averaged on a tank of gas was 44 mpg! Granted that was only driving 65 mph, the car was geared to drive from 55-65 on the highway. At 70 or more the mileage would plummet because the rpms were so high. In fact at 85 it was at 4k rpms!
I'm surprised, too! I have a 1991 Escort Pony 3 door based on this car with a 1.9 and 4 speed auto overdrive. Though I drove like a madman, I consistently got no worse than 25 m.p.g.
The extra weight of the Awd system and being a turbo probably really hurt the mpgs. I'm surprised this sport version had such tall gearing, maybe for improved mpg on the highway. My 88 Tracer had a very aggressive 3.86 final drive ratio. It made for very fun acceleration, but you had to keep the speed down on the highway or the mpgs would plummet
@@BrownBomber92181 The AWD hardware! Duh. Of course! And I know for a fact that fuel economy drops; as one expert put it, exponentially; over 60 m.p.h. At least with 4 speed automatics it does. I don't know about todays' 6 and 8 speed automatics.🧐
pretty cool.... managed a 13.8 with a front mount intercooler and exhaust... was a quick street car
1991 Ford Escort, same chassis. I want the BP, turboed too.
cad5359 I had the 1991 escort GT awesome car, wonder how much better in could have been with a turbo engine?
Eric Henry I want to see lol
cad5359 interesting That the 0-60 for this with a turbo is the same as the 1991 Escort GT non turbo
Nope
Escort GT is bigger, it's a different generation altogether.
My first car was the 1989 Mazda 323 hatchback. When I traded it in for my first truck (2001 Chevy Silverado), I got $500.
Dealers Always low-ball you.
I had a Mazda 323 wagon and it was pretty dreadful. This car looks way more fun :)
Learned to drive fast in the base model 323 hatch with SOHC 1.6 4-spd manual and 4:10.5 final gear ratio. Not a highway fighter but plenty of get-up for such a basic car. That engine revved pretty high but no idea how high because the base model had no tach.
dudeeee, I have one!!! not a gtx of course, but its a 323, got it last year from the 2nd owner, only complaint is that the front struts never last, that's it, nothing else
I'm on to my second 323 bf now ;)
Don't rag it out. Get KONIs because the front end is a bit heavy in turns.
It's just an 87/88 Mazda 323/Mercury Tracer hatchback but with alloy wheels and turbo DOHC. easy oil change, easy to reach spark plugs, 13" tires. A very reliable 1.6 engine when 10W-40 conventional oil used. Synthetic is too thin. You'll never find a more simple car to maintain ever again.
Absolutely right. My first car was an 88 Tracer 3 door hatchback. When I sold it it had 160k miles, and they were a lot of hard miles. When my dad had the car, he drove the shit out of it and rarely services it. I got it with 125k miles and I checked the oil and it didn't even register, and the oil pan was only a 3.5 qt pan!!! You're right about synthetic oil being too slick, I changed the oil and put in synthetic the first time and it sounded like marbles were in the engine, lol. I immediately dumped it and put in conventional oil
@@BrownBomber92181 WOW!! I've Never heard of using conventional over synthetic oil.🧐
Hi had one , this the best car I had, and I had few over nice cars (Honda CRX, Colt CZT, Mazda RX8)
+inferno66750 Same here.... less than 1200 were in the US back in the day.
beast mode
I had a 1987 Mazda 323 when I was a kid. It broke down and got scrapped. I’m looking to restore one now. If anyone wants to sell theirs I’m looking to buy. I prefer white.
digital gauge is aesthetic af
Beautiful car
What a great car.
132hp out of a turbo 1.6L twin cam 4 cyl... was the factory boost really set that low? what happened? Did i miss something?
Yes. You missed the 80's.
Here's a MotorWeek Retro Review of the 1989 Mazda 323 GTX from 1988.
Looks super awesome.
Same turbo engine is in the mercury Capri of the early 90s.
I'd love to see the golf mk2 review!! :)
Hey MW, got a test of the Celica All-Trac? The first generation? I wonder how much more expensive it was than this.
Motor Trend Rewind / Toyota All-Trac Turbo... they have the episode you're looking for, and as for price...heck its almost twice the price.
They would periodically show up in the classified section of the paper for sale in the mid 90s. Very expensive
132hp Turbo AWD for a very small car for '88 is amazing
$12K for all that isn't bad :3
12k in 1989 is about 24k today. No idea if that included the turbo/awd system. The fully loaded was 15k or $30,000 in today's money.
@@richr161 ooh I see 😶
People had higher wages then too, you can't go by price alone.
Pretty slow in stock form, but some basic mods can really wake these cars up.
much appreciated film
Those were the days...
Never knew they had a gtx version of the 323 until I saw one for sale a couple years ago. I was surprised of the low hp rating with it being 16 valve dohc. Must was a very small turbo.
Yeah, the horsepower numbers were disappointing, but when you look back on that era, all the horsepower figures tend to pale in comparison to today's performers.
One mischievous Mazda!!!!!!!
There was also a front-drive 323 GT sedan.