1996 Black Mazda Precidia V6

Description

The Mazda MX-3 Precidia came and went from the marketplace in something of a blur for most people. But if youre looking for a used sporty coupe at a fair price, look for a V6 version of this front-wheel-drive sporty hatchback. You could do worse and many have. The front-wheel-drive MX-3 Precidia, based on the 323 sub-compact platform and unveiled at the New York International Auto Show in the spring of 1991, hit showrooms that September as a 1992 model. Mazda Canada continued to sell it until 1996, although V6 versions were phased out before that, and only an over-matched four-cylinder (upgraded in 1994) was available. For the record, from that era the used car buyer does have plenty of choice. There was Nissans NX, Hondas CRX Si, Fords Escort GT and the Toyota Paseo. Of them, the V6-powered MX-3 is my personal favourite. Why? The 130-horsepower 1.8-litre V6 with double-overhead cams and 24-valves was willing to rev smoothly to 7000 rpm and is well matched by the five-speed manual transmission. (The 88-hp. four-cylinder with the optional four-speed automatic is a poor pairing because of less power and slow downshifts; a later 105-hp four was better). The V6 available in the top-of-the-line MX-3 was unusual for two major reasons. First, it made the MX-3 the first vehicle in its class to offer a V6 engine. And second, the 1.8-litre was at the time the smallest displacement V6 in mass production. Why such a small V6 anyway? At the time, Tadayuki Hayashi, the head of the <b>...</b>

Keywords

1996, Maxda, Precidia, V6, automatic, Honda, Nissan, MX-3

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