Figures that I find this 1993 Mazda XM-6 LS for sale after I made a recent "cheap car" purchase. Just as well as my wife and I are quite happy with our friend's 2009 Toyota RAV4 I took off his hands about six-weeks ago. It ain't perfect but for four-grand, these days, it's the buy of a lifetime. Still, kind of stinks this popped up now because as much as we love our "new-to-us" RAV, nothing beats the way a good car rides and handles. And this car is a very good riding and handling car. Dare I say great.
It's got the Mazda V-6 too albeit it their teeny, tiny 2.5-liter, DOHC, 24-valver that makes all of 164-horsepower. Ford used this engine in their Contour\Mercury Mondeo twins and their version of this car, the Probe GT. While a smooth runner, it's got nothing on the pot-whoppin', 269-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 in our RAV that hauls it like a fighter jet off an aircraft carrier. Gas mileage with our RAV is better too - EPA estimates for this engine were 21-city, 26-highway, I'd hedge the actual number closer to the city number. Our RAV gets a consistent 25-27 miles per gallon highway. I've pulled down 28-mpg on occasion too; around town it's a different story but I don't do a lot of "city" driving.
Oh, man, it's a got Mazda's sweet 5-speed too, that ups the fun factor ten fold for me. Clutch on these things is sublime as well. Steering is "right now" responsive and the brakes are hard wired to your brain and right foot. Damn, where was this thing when I was looking?
Only thing I can ding this car for is it's just not the most handsome thing in the world. Ford's Probe of this vintage was a better looking car, in my opinion, they did a terrific job of making it look like a whole lot more than this is. And it's red. Red's might be my favorite color but not on a car. That's ironic since I've five red cars in my life. The dark belt line molding does the lines of this car no favors either. Yuck.
Mazda's first MX-6 debuted in 1987 and it was rumored at the time that Ford was going to use it as a replacement for their Mustang. That's always seemed like a publicity stunt to me but I get why and how Mustang fans got their hoofs all up in a pinch. Styling wise anyway. Behind the wheel, the circa 1979 Fox-body Mustang couldn't hold a candle to it. Especially the updated 1993-1997 models. The Mustang rode and handle like a crummy truck, these handled so well they made you a better driver.
As much as I want this, I can't do the mental gymnastics necessary to make this work for my wife and I. Especially with an asking price of $6,400. Although it's only got 76,000-miles on its thirty-year-old ticker, it still is a thirty-year old car albeit a Japanese one. Seriously, I think Japanese cars age but one-year for every year an American car ages two, or three. Good luck finding parts for it too and since it's OBD-I, best wishes to you finding a mechanic who can work on it.
If I've learned anything, luck and timing are as important or more important than anything else in life. When we're young, we don't realize that. Which is a good thing otherwise we'd all sit around waiting for things to happen. It's said the harder you work the luckier you get and I've found that to be true. Sometimes it just doesn't work out and thing's just aren't meant to be and that's fine. Someone else will get a dandy of a little car here.
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