Here is a car we suggested to a young adult on a tight budget
Very often you read about young Malaysians starting their first job and after earning 3 months salary rushing into a new car showroom to buy a shiny new car to show-off and then a month later complaining they don’t have enough money to eat. Common sense missing.
We had a young adult ask for our opinion and this is what we suggested based on his salary and monthly expenses shared with us.
This Mazda was introduced in 1990 by Cycle & Carriage as the four-door sedan version of Mazda’s very popular 323 hatchback (pictured below).
Both were redesigned for 1990, with the Familia getting remakes again in 1995 and 1999.
Right now there is a shortage of used 323 sedans in the market for sale. This ultra-competitive corner of this market is filled with at least 5 possible rivals, which are the Nissan Sentra 1.6 twin cam, Toyota Corolla SE 1.6, Proton Wira 1.6, Honda Civic 1.6 and the Ford Laser 1.6. The 323 Familia is our pick for solid build and relaibility.
Interestingly, the Familia and the Ford Laser share many of their under-skin mechanical components. Indeed, at that time Ford had farmed out its small-car development to Mazda. The product of that arrangement was the 1990 model 323 Familia and the then-new Ford Laser was to have identical mechanicals. So underneath the skin of every 34 year old Ford Laser 1.6cc lurks the heart of a 323 Familia. This arrangement has followed with many other later models like the Ford Lynx and the Mazda Lantis.
For the buyer this arrangement and its responsibility for a “global” car meant that Mazda’s people burned a few light bulbs creating a refined, fun-to-drive compact sedan.
In the 323 sedan you will find that front and rear legroom is particularly good. Headroom is adequate, however seats are too low and the spongy interior fabric needs some getting used to.
On the practical side, the rear bench seats split and fold down 60/40 to allow easy access to a very roomy boot. The boot lid is large and opens to the bumper, making loading of such things as groceries a snap.
Instrumentation is clean and functional, with dials plainly readable between the thick sports like, three-spoke steering wheel. All the instruments fit in a nicely sculpted dash, which is slightly higher than that of, say, the Honda Civic of the day. The car comes equipped with a host of power options, from electric windows, mirrors, central locking and 13-inch alloy wheels from the showroom.
Cycle & Carriage offered only one engine choice, a 1.6-litre of displacement with single overhead cam. This relatively spirited four-cylinder engine could easily take you from 0-100 km in about 10-plus seconds. The 105-brake horsepower engine is smooth and very economical. 30+ miles to a gallon is easily obtained from the car.
Transmission choices included the standard five-speed manual and an electronically controlled four-speed automatic with overdrive.
As for handling, the fully independent suspension in the Familia delivers reasonably tight and predictable responses. Steering on all models is power-assisted rack-and-pinion type. The braking, which keeps it all under control included four-wheel discs for the newer models [1994 onwards], while on the earlier models [post 1994] discs were up front with drums in the rear.
Our young adult had made a good choice, however his decision was not based on the above but on the simple fact that of all the cars mentioned in its class, the Mazda Familia 323 was the cheapest to buy where it had depreciated the most from new.
He had shopped around and a 1990 manual model with 400,000 plus kilometers on the clock was selling for about RM3,200. The other cars in this year and class with similar features were going from RM3,500 for the Corolla to as high as RM4,500 for the Honda Civic.
Some say the Familia of 1990-94 looks a bit like the smaller Mercedes-Benz sedans, the 190 series of that time. Such comparisons fit with Mazda’s stated styling theme in 1990: tradition and quiet dignity blended with aerodynamic sportiness.
Our young adult had made a purchase decision based on price, depreciation and maintenance. A very wise way of buying a car that all of us should follow. However many of us, like myself do not!
