The 323F is a Miata with Five Seats #mazda
Finally, the time comes for me to review my daily driver.
Blurry Origin Story
It’s based on the CB platform, but for some reason it was called the BA in Europe, even though it has little or nothing to do with other B platform models. The difficulty in tracking the origins of the 323F doesn’t end there. Rumor has it that this was originally a concept for Mazda’s own Lexus: the Amati brand, but the project was ultimately passed on to MRE (Mazda Research Europe). It was originally announced in Japan as the Mazda Lantis, while it was sold in Europe as the 323F. The branding strategy was very similar to that used by Toyota, that is using a reference that was already established in the market and the 323 was one of the best sellers in Europe. While the Lantis was by no means a success in Japan, it sold quite well in European and British territory.
Love or Hate Styling.
It’s very green, it has 4 pillarless doors, so it’s the same as a Tesla Model S! It’s very aerodynamic and you can really notice this when travelling at high speeds: the car will move effortlessly, using very little petrol. The headlights look really odd, but they light the road in a very standard way. Not too bad, but also nothing special. Since single rear fog light is mandatory in Portugal, we only got one backup light and, asides from the aesthetic aspect, it really impacts the visibility doing reverse maneuvers in the dark.
The pillarless doors look great, but require more maintenance than most people will like.
Regular Car Reviews, I love you guys, but you got it wrong! The E30 isn’t the 4 door Miata. This is! At least in Europe, the E30 is getting on a bit and it’s starting to pick up value as a collector’s item. The 323F is cheap to buy, easy to fix and has all the commodities you’ll ever need.
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Comments
Is it fwd?
Yes, but you’d never guess while driving. The handling is very neutral and it oversteers when you really push it.