EDIT: I'm seeing a lot of comments saying this is the 1.5L, not the 1.8. According to the owner, and previous owner this car has the 1.8L, however here in the states information on this car is limited, and not easily accessible since they were never sold here. Regardless of the engine's displacement, I still stand by my thoughts on its "miata like handling" and how fun it is to rev out!

Wow! 30 years later and that design still looks up to date! Truly amazing!

These cars weren’t that rare outside of the states. They’re pretty cool and many of us who grew up or traveled know what they are. Mazda did a survey for peoples favorite car and this was voted as the favorite over the Miata, rx7 etc, so yeah, America missed out. It’s also technically a 4 door coupe before that term was popularized by mercedes. Some of the evidence for this were the frameless windows. It was designed by a chief Porsche designer who did cars like the 924 and i believe 928, which is why it looks like that. The only thing this one needs is a spoiler, it looks much better with it. Also, it was pretty common (still was in the 2010s depending on brand) for mainstream hatchbacks in Europe to have power front windows and manual rear windows, that’s not really a cost saving Mazda thing. Its a great little car and I’m glad I know what they are

Thanks to Gran Turismo 2 I not only heard of this car but also loved it. That game was so excellent.

The frameless side windows were the reason i bought this car in the first place. The most reliable and cheap to maintain car i ever had.

This was the car I wanted when I was 16 and first started thinking about getting a car some day. People think the spaceship civic was futuristic, but this is pretty much the same idea... in the 90s!

I had one.. Same colour even. Owned one between 1999 and 2004.. Living in Ireland. I can tell you... 100%. That engine is a 1.5. About 90 BHP, but a nippy quick little 1.5. Felt alot quicker than the what's said on paper about them. The 1.8 had a much bigger DOHC head on the engine block and a different fuel injection manifold. The 1.8 was around 118 BHP.. 2.0 L V6 Euro spec about 145 BHP.. JDM Type R V6 about 175 BHP. . These 323Fs were a beautiful car in there day. Kinda timeless. I modded mine with a few simple mods. TSW Imola 16 inch rims on Yokohama tyres, Jetex twin exhaust box, K&N cone air filter, Cobra lowering springs, Side skirts & Renault Laguna front splitter, Sony X pod stero and boot kitted with sound system. Standard Mazda rear boot spoiler, It also had all the extras like sunroof, all electric windows and mirrors.. It made rival Civics look bland... I loved it. It just stood out. I later sold it and bought an MX-3 V6.. But the BA 323F was more comfortable to drive and more practical over the MX-3. I was trying to source a 323F 2.0 V6 GT /ZXi or JDM Lantis Type R at the time off the MX-3 purchase... But could not find one.. Its a shame the 323F never was sold in the US. It would have been a very good alternative to the Civic. There was also the previous model BA with the Pop up lights... Another good looking Mazda that never hit the US market. Also had that model. It was a 1.6 SOHC 16 Valve. Again about 90 HP. The only mod I gave that was a set off StilAuto 5 spoke 15 inch rims. Owned it between 1997 and 1999 before I traded it for the BA. Both models were very reliable. Never once gave any issues.. Currently still Mazda loyal with a GH Mazda 6..

the facelift version of the 323f (96+) has a lot of improvements in interior and other components. For example, two cup holders, digital odometer better cluster positioning, better interior colors, nicer dashboard buttons, improved BOSCH headlights, etc. Also, there was options like 4x electric windows, ac, rear wing (the Type R version had an awesome big wing), fron lip, small rear side skirts and other tidbits

I found this car on the internet a couple months. It's a dream car 🤤😉

LOVE THE 323F! I have the first gen of 323f. those with the popup headlights, great little reliable car

I visited Turkey a while ago and these were everywhere, from where I am from I only can spot rarely the pop up headlight ones but never these so it was pretty cool to see

I remember when these were new in Australia. They sold a lot but they were called the 323 Astina. They had 2 reverse lights , all power windows and were considered more high end then a corolla and they looked so classy for the time and I still love the shape and the color of this example is great.

I have one from 1997 and I love everything about it, especially how unique the design is for its time

My family still owns one of these, a 1998 black. In my market, they all came equipped with a 1.6 DOHC 16 valve engine (B6D), and 4 speed auto, although there are a few grey-market ones with this 1.8 engine, and even a couple of the V6 powered ones, albeit not the rare Type R version. They're badged 323F here as well, although on all official registration documents, it is called 323F Sport. The sedan version was simply 323F. Ours is a facelift model to this, with the only exterior changes I recall being the front bumper indicators. Pre-facelift had amber lenses, while the facelift have clear lenses with orange bulbs within. The major differences with the facelift are in the interior. The door cards are the biggest change, with traditional cup style door pulls instead of those storage cubies, and instead the front doors have lower storage pockets. That teal interior colour was discontinued on the facelift, making black the only interior colour available. Seat fabric is a different pattern as well. All that came to my market are fully powered, ie the back windows are powered as well. The lack of cupholders is a sore point, so a lot of people installed aftermarket single DIN units, since the space under the radio head unit is in fact a full single DIN slot. Lastly all that were supplied to my market have a rear spoiler. There were two grades, no options, with the only difference between the grades being the addition of front foglights and a sunroof, on the higher grade. They really are fun cars, very reliable, and like you said, easy to maintain because they share all the mechanical bits with the regular 323. We got ours when it was 9 years old and 54,000 miles. It's still going strong, and has about 110,000 miles on it now

So many similarities with my dearly departed '94 Mazda Protege sedan...same exterior blue/green color, similar interior...this 323F had a DOHC while my car was SOHC, so it was less peppy...still a trooper. What a great deep cut find for here in the United States. :)

Super happy you enjoyed the car! It looks much more blue through the camera. Very surprised at that!

I have one of these, in Noble Green with a Turqiose interior, a 2.0 v6 145hp + 7800rpm and 5spd manual. I love this car, and actually went out of my way to buy one! The engines arent super powerful, but every part of the driving experience is smooth, linear and rewarding. A few basic mods can make these things keep up with modern cars day-to-day

8:44 Front end reminds me of a cross between a Nissan NX2000, a Geo Storm, and a little bit of Mark IV Toyota Supra. Long live the 90s.

the predecessor is very cool too (pop-up headlights)

If anyone growing up playing the 1st Gran Turismo game, this car is one of the default cars in the game! We Indonesians get the previous gen of this thing named the astina with the fancy pop-up headlights!

It was very popular in Greece and also the previous model with the pop up lights

I have a 1991 323 hatch that I am swaping a '98 Ford zx-2 engine and trans. So many variations of these BG chassis. With the 323 so rare now, there is some real charm and value as so few on the road. My ZX-2 has serious rust issues, but only 98K miles. Found a 323 hatch, with no road salt exposure, fully equipped with a weezy 1.6 8v and a totally blown auto trans. Previous owner was over the moon when I offered $400 for it. With only 88k on the clock, the 323 hatch body is solid and will now have the zx-2 engine and trans.

My favorite is the predecessor of it, the BG 323F with pop up which just looks super sick

I indeed had seen this car, but just because of wikipedia and pinterest. You seem to get the videos out at the right time every tme [at least for me!]

what a blast from the past! my family lived in Australia between 1995 and 2004 (Canadian by birth and moved back in '04), and my parents had one of these in navy blue around 1999-2000. In Australia It was sold as the "Astina" and I forgot how different the styling was. Ours had very 90s aftermarket alloys to boot. We only had it briefly as my parents quickly realized it was too small for family life. Would have never even thought of that car again if not for this video! Thx Zack!

I'm glad that I checked this video out. Definitely a car you don't see every day. Pretty cool though!

We did get the MX3 with a small displacement V6 that if tuned sounds absolutely amazing.

Best car I have ever owned, here in Australia it is called Mazda 323 Astina. You are showing the 4 cylinder version, mine was Mazda 323 Astina SP with a V6 engine, bigger wheels, fog lights, different seats front and back, different stereo built-in single CD player, electric antenna, same colour as the car your demonstrating, . The car was as fast as a V8 turbocharged car. Before this car I also owned the previous Mazda with the pop up head lights.

First saw one in Gran Turismo 1. Tuned it to 350hp lol and gave it "racing modification". Started seeing them round the streets here in UK, too, once it started to stand out to me. Always thought these were ahead of its time with styling.

Really like these, I rarely see them on the road here in the UK, it's always cool to one driving around.

I put 100K miles on a 1994 Protege. Loved that car. 1.8 DOHC, 124 hp engine, 5 speed, 4-wheel independent suspension. It was a hoot. gearing like a Mk1 GTI (i.e., low!) meant the thing turned around 3500 rpm on the highway. But on the back roads it was great. The clutch was the weak spot. Otherwise, totally reliable. I'd rather have a hatch than a sedan. I'm the type of driver the 323F was made for.

I saw one literally last weekend at Gridlife and proceeded to wonder what it was for the past week.

My father had one one this back to 1995 and I drove it many times. Such a cool car! Drivability was insane. He had the 2 liter engine. What a blast from the past this video is!

I had one of those in Australia. I had the 2L V6 and 5 speed manual. It's was called the Mazda Astina. Your test car has a 1.5L engine (z5).

Those were super popular here (Israel) back in the 90s, along side with the regular 323, but most of them were either totaled or just junked due to old age and bad maintenance... Here they had a 1.6 engine usually if im not mistaken. The previous gen 323F had pop up headlights btw... The next gen of the 323 was called Lantis here also...

Hi... I think the unit that you tested was using a 1.5 Z5 engine. I owned a 28 years old 600k km (375k miles) mazda 323C 2 door version. Man i telling you these 90s car really built like a tank. Fuel consumption easily at the 38mpg region . I'm a Malaysian and been using this car travelled to northern Thailand for more than 5 times. Each trip easily at 5000 kilometres . Very robust engine and manual transmission. love it so much.

Awesome car to own and absolutely love mine. I still reckon Japan and Australia got the best versions of these, with all power windows, colour-coded trim all around, and lots of optional extras. Mazdaspeed also released an A-Spec model which is incredibly rare too, and featured a Cosworth-style floating wing.

I've just discovered your channel and love it you do a fantastic job with your review's and I'm enjoying the mini documentaries keep up the good work 👍

it looks like it's from a burnout game, one of my favorite designs ever

Saw these when I went to the UK. Saw quite a few in 2003, a few in 2006 and none in 2013.

The first gen 323F was even cooler, with its pop-up headlights and wedge shape styling. There was also the 323C, which was rarer and smaller (3-door) The fact that the rear windows are crank is pretty normal for a 90s economy car in Europe. Some automakers even charged for the front ones

Great job reviewing this before Doug!! That is one rare Mazda vehicle

Wow, that's really cool! That intake looks insane. Your description of the driving experience sound similar to my Mazda 2.

Have one and absolutely love it!

Correct me if i am wrong but i belive thats 1.5 z5 engine under the hood.I got both 1.8 and 1.5 and 1.8 is a bit bigger,it has different intake headers and rev limit of 7000rpm.

I have one! And finally I see a video who someone talk about this car, thanks you!

I have one of these in the same colour.. I bought it off an old lady who only drove it to the shops.. It had low Ks. I can say it has really good driving dynamics when polished up in this colour looks like a gem stone.. The shape really cuts a figure.. Because it has low ks and never been worked hard she's great to drive

very cool to see a good video on this car ! thanks mate good job ❤️

I got one 323f when i got my drivers license. Car is bought in 1994 and still a great machine. Good control on the road, comfie and gives you a lot of opportunities to upgrade it. I did my exhaust, bought bigger wheels, did my lights xenon, and about to do a lot of other things.

I'm now the proud owner of a 96 1.5l 323F. Mostly rust free. MOT'd and ready to rock.

I have a grey one im fixing up. I love these cars!

Doug DeMuro, eat your heart out.

btw, we have 323 92' with powered back windows. Its all about what edition of car you will buy.

Another great vid Zack. And bonus points for the laugh.

Greetings from Germany :D They are actually kinda rare here too at least in my area, mainly because they rust like crazy (like many japanese cars do) and due to the fact that most "normal people" say it's just an old mazda, not worth putting any money into it so they don't look after it at all and by the end of the inspection sticker (which is 3 years for brand new cars and 2 years after that) these cars just get scrapped our sold into export market without even bothering to sell it or renewing the inspection sticker. It's like this with most not-german cars sadly. A shame really... these are great cars, very reliable, parts are kinda cheap, the only thing you really have to keep an eye on is rust.

These where everywhere in Australia, still a relatively common sight around here. The pop-up head lights one was also very common but are starting to get rarer. My first car was the 323 gen after this one. A 1999 and it was such a beautiful car to drive. Wasn't remotely quick but cornered well, breaks where decent even if no ABS

Love this vid. Hope you can feature a 626 one of these days...very underrated car but has tons of potential.

I used to have a 323F (Astina) 1500cc from 2004 till 2011. Great car, great handling.

we have plenty of these in Ukraine. One of the cars of my childhood. 3-door version is even sportier

Had one (with the rear wing!) For 14 years - loved it 👍 Downside - rear boot (trunk has a high sill) I believe the floorpan is from the Ford Probe?

Depends on where you live, I see one every week, prefacelift is the real cool wink wonk boi

I've the Japanese Lantis Type-R with the 2.0 V6. Revs to the moon, sounds godly and handles extremely well for a FWD car thanks to an LSD and IRS. It's an absolute blast! A real shame Mazdas get neglected by their owners, because the Type-R is getting so hard to find now

Omg Americans didn't get the 323F? These cars were everywere in europe in the early 2000s! Sad that you did not get this option, it's a cool looking car with good handling and decent performance. Nice review BTW, good job!

These were quite prolific in Australia and New Zealand too. One of my work colleagues had a very dark blue one. I always remembered it was quite low to the ground when riding in it.

I’ve seen those in the old school gran Turismo games back in the 90s.

I would love one exactly like that with the beautiful green, but with the 2 liter v6

I owned one of these in Australia, where they branded the 323 Astina. There was also a sporty Astina sedan above the 323 that had the same interior as this car sold here. The sedan even had an option of a six cylinder 2.0 litre engine.

We had something almost similar to this car in America. A better comparison would be the Mazda MX-3, a subcompact that competed with the Honda CRX, Nissan NX1600, and Toyota Paseo. This was basically the 4 door version of the MX-3 which also shared mechanical parts with the Protege. The comments might be getting picky with the displacement but for sure it's a Mazda/Ford B series engine (single cam). You could also swap some interior parts with the MX-3 and this 323F. People would always try to find the 323F digital cluster to swap them in the MX-3 which was a plug and play swap. What a great review. Thanks for sharing!

My uncle have one back in 1995, but drive 8 years and sold it out. SO I buy the 1/24 scale non model car to him for memory

Saw them all the time in the Netherlands back then. And everyone who’s played Gran Turismo will be familiar with the ‘Lantis’ as well. It’s a shame the US didn’t get them.

You should do a Biography on whoever designed it. A genius.

I owned modified 1.8 cracking around 125hp. Mega fun

This was my second car. So many people praised the car when I stopped somewhere. Even if they had a new BMW / Audi / or something else expensive

My dad had a mazda 323 gtr when he was racing it was really fast car, but for a daily he was driving a 323f 1st gen.

A guy I grew up with in the neighbourhood bought one of these as his first car a few years ago. Still looking good and making his street looking prettier. My godmother also owned one ages ago. The variant with the pop-up headlights. I used to think it was one of the best looking cars in the world. Probably would have grabbed one too, if I could have found one in decent condition.

Bro in Europe uk I had a 2l v6 , with a custom exhaust and an air intake, I’m sure it had been tuned as well. They made a 1.8 automatic,a 1.5 and a 1.3 I believe But I had the crème de la crème, 2 litre v6 it beat so many modern cars, was lowered too , sounded amazing!

Super cool car. Just got my sticker pack in the mail too!

Wow, pretty cool car! I like how you described it as a 4 door Miata hatchback. A practical but somewhat sporty car. Nice that many mechanical parts are readily available at local parts stores even though we didn't get this car. It's the kind of car I would have bought, though I had something similar at the time, a 1994 Ford Escort LX Profile 4 door hatchback with a 5 speed manual.

Never seen these in the US. They were common back where I used to live in Central America. I know these are called the Lantis in Japan and some other countries. They also came with a tiny V6 that sounds absolutely amazing.

Locally in PH and some other markets that is a 323 Lantis. The 323 Astina was the pop-up headlights version. locally, we had a 1.6L inline 4 carburated and fuel injected engines.

Pretty much similar to the Protege' we got in the States. Doors , handles, side trail lights and some interior bits look very familiar to the 1997 Protege' Sedan I had. Loved my 2003 Protege'5 Sport wagon. I recommend you find one of those to drive if you never have. I had the sport shift auto, but suggest the 5spd. It was so much fun to drive. Always put a smile on my face up until the day someone rear ended me. I wish Mazda would bring back a legit sportwagon again.

Wow, is that intake runner stock? Super interesting!!

Well, USA had the Mazda Protege ES with the same engine and available manual transmission. The Protege handled like a sports car even in base form. Stepping up to the ES dialed up the performance especially in the handling.

I love the old 323 Astina's (they were badged as an Astina here in Australia). You could get it with a little V6 here too, they were and still are amazing cars. Apparently styled by Porsche as well.

I had a 1991 previous gen 323f, it was awesome

Had a 1.4 j reg 1992 model that was solid as a rock. These cars are so stylish looking still after all this time. The lines and curves have stood the test of time. Compared to modern cars and the way they are all similar styled, the 323 really is in a league separately to the norm..

This car is actually somewhat common here in Colombia. Altough it was sold as Allegro, which was the same name we had for the Protege.

I hope someday you manage to wrangle the hot version of this, the Lantis Type R. Love the content.

i have mazda 323F 1996 1.5 ainspric 88kw left drive so do you thing i could mod it by anyway like not in power particuli but more in looks

These cars were very popular in Chile.

Dude, I'd love to see you review a 323 Neo if you can get your hands on one. It was sold in Canada, but only for the '95 model year.

You should try the 2.0 V6

this car comes out when i am a kid in my country it is the very very few car have rimless door mazda lantis always have some special design, the lantis before this have pop up headlight, very rare for a front wheel drive 4 door hatchback

styling holds up 👍

Why would you import 1.8 I4 instead of 2.0 V6?

I never knew that these weren't sold in the states. I remember seeing one way back in like 2008 being driven around in a small town in TN. I always assumed we got them here in the states learn something new everyday.

That's a nice looking hatchback.

Yip, thats what we race in the South African 24hr of lemons! A Mazda Asstina! It's not fast even as a stripped out race car but we planning on adding a small turbo and camber bolts to help find a bit of time. The car has too much roll so it damages the front wheel side walls in the long run, hence camber bolts. It is a super easy car to drive and stops well, just lacks a bit of power.

This was my *FAVORITE* Car in my Teenage years my Best Friend's was the Ae86 we *BOTH* got them Later on in Life and just as the 86 there were 2 Versions,a Regular 1600cc Model *AND* the TypeR with Gritty Suspension,5stud Wheel Hubs,V6 that *FULLY* UTILIZES the Manual also UTTERLY DESTROYS Cefiro's that had a V6 in em also,designed by the Guy that made the Porsche 928 too. BTW I've got *2 off em* a Red&Black

My new 2nd dream car. Hope I can import one from Europe in the future.