Thanks again Wizard for sorting out one of our fun rare cars! It shifted perfectly and drove great when I picked it up yesterday! Love reading all the great comments from your viewers! Thank you viewers for supporting our Car Wizard!

Those State Trooper cars were actually 1988-92 Mazda MX-6's. The 626 of the same era were basically the same car but 4-doors and a 5-door hatchback. They were powered by a 2.2L 4 cylinder. They were also the same underframe and driveline as the Ford Probe.

The last time I saw a Mazda 626GT turbo manual (hatch) was when my wife (at the time) traded it in on her brand new Mazda Millenia! Man that 626GT was a fun car. We called it "the rocket."

Should have shown the oscillating vents! The button on the dash that most would assume is a hazard switch is a button to turn on the powered vent oscillator. Such a cool feature!!

I had an 87 626 GT Turbo coupe. It was black, with a gray interior. It was probably the best car I've ever owned. I kept it for 30 years and put 250,000 miles on it. I also had trouble with the engine mounts and the shifter bushings. I ended up machining my own bushings out of Delrin and the shift feel was great. Those wheels were affectionately known as "pizza" wheels. I ended up selling the car to a friend for $1,200. Thanks for the memories.

WOWWWWWWW... 😀 ...this is the car that really made me sit up and take notice of Mazda (after the 70s RX-3 and late 70s RX-7)! I especially liked the loaded manual turbocharged 5 door hatchback 626. I 64 now, so it's not like I remember clearly but the tech was cool too. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it came with moving vents and 4 wheel steering...

Mazda had the most understated design of all the Japanese manufacturers back then. Nice to see. 86 was the first year for the mandatory CHSML in the US. It looks like an afterthought, because it is.

I remember the Mazda MX-6 with the 2.2 turbo. It had the same engine and transmission that the Ford Probe did. The one Mazda from that time that I saw very few of them was the 929.

As a Mazda fanboy, I am drooling. If I knew the owner, I would be asking everyday, how much? Very nice, thanks for this video.

I've always liked these 626's. The 5-door hatchback was especially handsome.

I owned one of those! Mine was a 1986 2 door GT Turbo with a 5-speed stick in charcoal gray with a pale gray interior with orange details. The center vents on the dashboard that oscillated left to right was the ultimate crowd-pleasing party trick.

Hello from Sweden! We actually Jumped an -86 626 Mazda almost 50 feet! -Twice! The second time the drivers seat broke in half, but the car still ran and drove fine! Clutch was gone on the third attempt. We made it to the wrecking yard though. Sturdy cars! :) Thanks Wizard

I had a 1989 626 4 door (my first new car), Silver with a gray cloth interior, crank windows, automatic and the attack electric seat belts. It was a great car, quick, comfortable and good mileage. It never gave me a problem, I took it on a road trip from L.A. to Canada and back. At that time my brother had a Lexus ES 250 with the V6. He was surprised that he had to go all out to beat the Mazda when we raced one day. I missed it when I traded it in.

Thanks for thinking about us wizard!!! We love you and mrs.wizard and the crew

One of best cars I ever had - 89 Mazda 626 wagon with the 2.0l supercharged diesel 5 speed manual box - used as a taxi in the UK - did 230k miles with no problems - good for 50 mpg.

Nicely preserved car! Also the $1,500 for the turbo package in 1986 equates to just over $4k in today's dollars, pretty close to the "5k or more" today.

The 626 was a great buy back then. A solid car with excellent drivability. Much like the late model '6' is today. Back then it was one of those cars on my list along with the Omni GLH & the VW GTI. Back when gas was $1.15 a gallon those little pocket rockets were the new muscle cars...👍🏁

I drove one in 1987. Was a fantastic car for the time. Solid, fun, well made, looked great.

I raced against one of these 88-90 in SCCA competition around the Midwest. It was very competitive against my Peugeot 505 Turbo, 200sx Turbo, 2nd Gen CRX, Olds Calais with the Quad 4 and others. Cool car Wizard!

That’s a really rare bird! Many 626’s were sold! I remember the 626 GT’s but not the turbo! That’s a unique find Car Wizard! The condition is also amazing! ❤️👍🏾💯

Mazda is one of the few manufacturers that haven't let reliability go to waste like Nissan. They arent as widely popular or fast now a days but their designs are always unique and appealing in my opinion. Yes they share with Ford on several things but I will always have a special place for Mazda. My grandma bought a brand new 323 too bad it got totaled on a field trip when I was a kid. I believe there was a 323,626 and the full size was 929. Ive always been a car nerd guess thats why I took up dirt track oval racing at 15.

Two things you missed in the interior. 1, the button between the center dash vents is an oscillating function for the vents. 2. the doors have hinged covers in the card to open a space for maps and storage. My mother had a silver 5 door 1980 636 that had all the controls in little switches on the control bezel. Got rid of those for later cars.

There was also the Ford Telstar TX5 turbo; a rebadged 626 in a number of places throughout the world. The Mid 80s were the very start of era when turbocharged cars started to become more widespread amongst the general populous.

I was always amazed at how well Mazdas were equipped in the 80s/90s. We had an 89 MX6 and it came with electric opening/closing moonroof, adjustable suspension, power seats/mirrors/windows, good sounding stereo and AC.

I had a hatchback non turbo 626. Great car, my kids loved the the oscillating dash vents. It wa t boned on the drivers side hard enough to bend into c pillar. I had no injuries, and it still drove and stopped in a straight line, I just had to get in through the passenger side.

I had a version of this car with a digital gauge cluster and a burgundy interior. Loved that car. This really takes me back.

A gf had one of the non turbo one of these here in Australia. I had a 1981 Mazda 626 Coupe in the early 90's and I adored that car. Ran on the smell of an oily rag and ran fantastic even for a stock vehicle. Bodywise, not so special. Doors and boot lid seem to have had a love affair with rust. Would love to get another one and restore it. Cheers for the content Car Wizard and a trip down memory lane!

I had the 5 door version of this. They were 1.5" lower roof line if I recall and had a short trunk lid. Brisk performing for its day. I found it hard to use on Wisconsin winter roads as the turbo would kick in and torque steer would be quite sudden and unnerving. I liked the dash vent system as the louvers would rotate left and right so the air wouldn't hit the same spot endlessly. Headlight washers were somewhat unique for the day, too.

Wow, a time warp car! I'm from New Zealand and a good friend of mine had one of these (same year) back in the early 90's. His was a 2 litre non turbo version but came with a digital dash and electronic adjustable suspension so we all thought it was pretty cool. That one you have is in amazing condition for its age. Definitely peak 80's motoring!

I think you missed the cool "sweep" function on the center dash vents. The ones over the HVAC controls. You could push the button between those two vents, and the vents internal vanes would sweep airflow left and right, just like an oscillating fan. Also, I remember many late 80's Japanese cars had brown tinted glass, like my Serengeti Drivers Corning optics sunglasses have. Were those windows factory tinted brown?

In my limited experience, it is incredibly unusual to find any Asian import of this age in such cosmetically clean shape - especially the interior plastics and fabrics. Cars w/o a garage would very soon see the interior fabrics fade significantly wherever the sun most frequently hit. Same with the plastics. They often fade/change to an odd unmatched color, dry out and then crack or disintegrate. This is not some great detailing job. This car has been diligently loved and cared for about as well as is possible. Thanks Wizard!

Interior looks amazing! Wow that alone has me in love with this car

3:49 - the yellow/goldish stuff is cadmium plating. Works okay at preventing rust on steel parts in most climates.

I love these cars! I used to just stare and stare at them when I was a teenager. So nice to see a car without screens.

Brings back memories of my first car which was a 1987 626. A friend had a RX-7 and both cars had the same keys.

I had a 1980 626 GT non-turbo five speed. I had the same wheels but with low profile tires and mine was blue with powder blue interior just like the one you showed us. It was the best car I’ve pretty much ever owned same shifter bushings went out on mine, and it was happy and got 30 miles to the gallon and I enjoyed that car right up until the time it got stolen, I would love to have that car back again. I also enjoyed the toggle switches that were right around the gauge cluster that this one does not have do you have the same stereo are unique feature is that in the center consul it was a little stick that you could move the sound around to the different speakers. You were able to get and still can get a lot of car for the money from Mazda. I know that Wizard likes Toyotas and recommends them all the time, I would recommend a Mazda to anybody and I’ve had four of them.

This brings back memory. I did my driving exam in my old mans 88 626. Unfortunately it was the non turbo model But still, I had a lot of great memories with that vehicle. It actually cemented my love affair with Mazda and everything they stood for. Very much the underdog. I do remember all the brown these models came in but I was thankful ours had the blue interior. They don't make interiors like that anymore.... Unfortunately the poor thing circummured to the harsh winter conditions and cancer started to form. Had to put out to pasture. Still lasted about 10yrs or so. Not too shabby considering the harsh winter conditions it had to endure.

My mom won one of these on wheel of fortune back in the early 80s. Not a turbo one, but it was a decent car.

I had an '89 626 Turbo 5-Door Manual. It had oscillating air vents and push button suspension. I bought it for $300 off a customer trade-in. Those were the days.

My parents had a 1984 626 2.0L. It's still one of the most reliable cars they ever owned, and very well-equipped for the time.

My late grandmother had a 1993 Mazda 323 5-speed manual sedan. She loved it so much, she even bought another one when the first one wore out lol.

That center vent is pretty unique, if you push that center button that vent will oscillate left to right.

I bought one of these new back in the day and drove it for 90,000+ miles before trade in ... great car with no issues ... strong acceleration to around 90 mph but turbo boost trails off quickly above that

I remember these as just being stone cold reliable. Never broke down, just ran and ran. Like Hondas of that era.

I bought a white 4-door hatchback version of this new, and never had a problem with it until I moved to the Midwest and got high-centered on unplowed streets in the winter. Besides the torque steer, it sat pretty low and had wide profile performance tires, so it was definitely not a daily driver in the winter, even with changing to snow tires. I had to sell it and get something more practical. In addition to the oscillating center vents, another thing this vid failed to mention was the switch adjustable shocks for changing the ride and handling. The car really had a lot of features and performance for the price.

The only drawback of these early turbos was turbo lag. The motor had to really spin before the turbo woke up. It's a good thing this is a manual shift! Nice car though, I don't recall ever seeing a 626 GT Turbo.

My sister had the later MX-6 version of this car(sadly with the auto). The button between the middle two vents is to turn on the oscillator that swings those vents side to side , very fancy !

The Mazda 626 and Australian Ford Telstar equivalent had one of the highest market shares around in Australia. When i bought my first new car in 1989, it was the Ford Telstar base model going at a great end of year run out price. The dealer picked me up from work in the top of the line Ford Telstar TX5 Ghia turbo model. Likely hoping he could upsell me to that impressive model with the luxury trim., ocscillating vents, fastback hatchback and the turbo but as a first car i did not want to take too much of a financial hit. Ford Australia did not do as well when they changed to non Mazda sourced cars for their smaller car range. Some tests on KZfaq to show how the Ford Telstar differs from the Mazda 6. Even today Mazda being number two, behind Toyota , in Australian car sales is a very rare achievement in world markets even in Japan. Very impressed with my current Mazda 3 Astina. Another sleeper car that surprises many with its capabilities.

I wanted one of those really bad, and I lost one EXACTLY like the car featured in a long bidding war at an auction years ago. My sister had the 83 touring edition and it was fun to drive. Well ahead of it's time with power features and electronic adjustable suspension. Great cars. Back when Mazda was nearly as good as Toyota and was ahead of Honda.

Had a 92 626 manual. Nice car. Went to 350K miles on original 4 cylinder 2.2L engine.

Wow, what a blast from the past! I was born in 1983 and my parents bought a brand new Mazda 626 5 door hatchback. It’s was even the same red color. My parents traded it in 1991 for a Mitsubishi Montero. The Mazda had over 300,000 miles on it, it was fully loaded. It even had the digital gauges. I do remember the heater sucked in that car …but Alaska can easily get -40F My mom liked the Mazda but loved the Montero because it was a 4x4.

Reminds me of when I saw a cherry red 4-door 626 parked neatly a month or two ago, it looked to be well taken care of, probably still owned by it's original owner. Regarding the model? It looked to be the 1.6 or the 1.8 L model, but it did have the 5-speed manual transmission. Very beautiful car, and a gorgeous tan interior.

This was the car, back in the day, which turned me into a life long mazda fan.

Loved to see this video, reminded me of my own Black with gray interiors 1986 GT that I had from 1990 to 2007 when I gifted it to my nephew. Mine also had a sunroof, power rear vent windows and a digital dash...it was the most futuristic vehicle I had seen and fell in love with it from day one.

That car was awesome ! Was it the first sleeper ? ;-) It could compete with the Ford Mustang GT 5.0L and the Saab 9000 Turbo of the time (not those from GM...). The Mazda engines of the 80s were bulletproof and great fun to drive! The handling was also very well balanced, very European a bit like a Peugeot 405 Mi16 that Infinity G20 tried to imitate, but that's another story. Japanese cars of the mid-80s and onwards were very reliable and fun. Great video Wizzard, lots of good memories🙂

I loved my 626 turbo. Silver, aluminum wheels and 5 speed It was a 4door but absolutely awesome. One of the best cars I ever owned.

I had an 1987 626 GT Turbo with a manual transmission, loved it!

Had a colleague more than 20 years ago who had a black 626 coupé. It looked really good.

Had a friend that had one of these when I was studying at UTI. It was really quick with little mods. Hell of a sleeper. The 6!!

I love the 626 T - Fun fact due to US federal safety laws and the Introduction third brake light legislation. Mazda had to quickly outsource a third party to install those for US models as it was never a part of the original design.

Can’t recall! But, my first car was a 1997 Mazda 626 2.0 5mt and I loved it. Best part was the air vents that would oscillate if you pressed the “swing” button.

I had a New Zealand spec Ford Telstar TX5i . It was effectivly a 5 door hatchback version of the European spec 626. Due to the lack of emmissions equipment the injected 2.0 was the same power as the US spec Turbo and a little lighter. I always regarded my TX5i as a turning point in cars where it delivered a level of comfort, performance and drivability more like a modern car than most other cars of the 80s. It was only in the Mid 90s where it fell behind without airbags and better crash safety and ABS.

Wasn't kinda zippy - during that period, it was surprisingly swift - a true sleeper. My father had one, 2 years newer - that little 2.2L Turbo had pretty good pep for that era (with the only drivability complaint being that when the turbo came on hard it'd love to twist the steering out of ones had and put the car into the ditch). Camaro Iroc-Z's (305 TPI) and Mustangs (the 5.0HO)of the era had a hard time stomping the 626/MX6 GT's (and the Ford Probe GT). I do know that the iron block had a high nickle content making them quite durable too. One little factoid - if the car had a manual trans, it was faster to hit 60 from 5mph then it was to launch the car off the line. 🙂

My first car, gc 626, loved that car. Reliable, comfortable and protected me when I was t boned at an intersection. God I miss it. Coupes so rare to see these days...

I watched the video of Bob and Becky picking up this car. As a 62 year old, I never get tired of watching Bob finding these old gems.

My friend's mom had one of these back when I was in my teens. Loved it

The orange gauges and lighting was introduced because it help cut down on eye strain at night.

It has been years since I’ve seen one of those cars let alone with a manual transmission! That’s a horse of a different color! I just bought a 2005 Honda CR-V in redondo red and it has a manual transmission as well! I love it, and they’re getting harder to find these days especially with no rust like mine! I knew when I saw it I just had to have it so atm it is my daily driver! That’s very common for the shifter bushings as well as the motor/transmission mounts to wear out overtime on stick cars just because of the way they move around with shifting overtime. I had to replace them on my CR-V as well! Great car overall! I wish I wasn’t so broke right now because I would love to buy it!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My parents back when I was young had a Mazda 626 sport and then 3 years later a newer 1990 Mazda 626. They were great cars. Back in the days my parents thought a car would start having issues at 60 000km and dead by 100 000km. I remember going with my mom to a Volvo dealership with her 626 with 60 000km... she was telling the salesman that it's time to change car, her car is getting old. The salesman made a very low offer in exchange as they didn't care about getting it but he was honest saying... you know... you really should keep your car. it can easily last another 5 years. 60 000km is nothing on a Mazda. In the end my dad got sold on Honda and my mom got a 1998 Accord V6, dad has been going from a 1998 Acura CL to then TL after TL almost every generation. He passed away and I now have his white 2018 TLX Aspec... what a car.

I've had A323A626 and a 929 as well as a millennia. I loved them all. My 626 was a gruesome car, the 929 was a rear wheel drive at 6. It was awesome, the millennia had major problems when I got it to 323. It was kind of a pass hold over until I got to the 66 and it was a great little car. Mazda truly has built a driver's car. Even the little 3 to 3 was so fun to drive.

My h.s. best friend had one, bought during early years in college, circa 1989 or 90. Just like this, but black with gray fabric interior, same wheels. Really good car. My h.s. librarian had the 5-door "touring" model, 5-spd, no turbo, but had rad 80's black aluminum louvers on the rear hatch. And of course the power swiveling A/C vents.

Great memories! Had a a 1986 as well but no turbo. Mine was silver with dark red velour interior. push button on the dash made the center fan vents ocillate back and forth. Manual transmission was butter smooth as well. A really great car to drive back in that day. Think I had a clutch put in mine and then just normal maintenance items. Super nice car.

My father leased one back in the day. It was intended for the wife of an oil/gas company executive. It was NOT a 3 pedal - my father is an amputee so he only brought home automatics.

Yes! Never thought I'd see those seats again! I bought a pair of black 626 seats a long time ago and put them in my 78 GLC high-school hot rod project. They are super comfy and massively adjustable. When that car rotted away, I took everything out of it, put the Chevy V-6 in a Samurai rock crawler project and was just able to squeeze those big seats into the Sammy. They held my butt in place countless times up the Rubicon and Fordyce trails. Still have it to this day and despite being dirty, they are still very comfy!

I've seen a TON of 626s over the years, but never a GT, and certainly not a GT-turbo! Thanks for sharing this w/ us...

I owned an 1987 626 Turbo for 7 years. Some observations are that they have excellent braking. They have timing belts that need to be replaced and I did mine from the right side by taking the wheel off. They have 6 volt ignition systems that are converted to 6 volts at the anti-knock control box which is the small box you see mounted on the firewall on the drivers side. This is a known problem area because the silicone on the connector shrinks, moisture gets inside and then the car won't start. The exhaust manifold bolts break off as well when subjected to rain water. There is a small subwoofer mounted underneath the center console. These cars also had headlight washers. They are surprisingly quick. When hitting third gear, these cars would smoke many other cars of that era. The first night I bought mine, I popped it up to 110 MPH. Once I got to that speed, which was shockingly quick, I backed off of the pedal and it held speed without the turbo. These have a green turbo light in the dash that lights up when under boost. Stock boost is 7.5 pounds but the system will handle 9-9.5 pounds with a boost controller or upgraded waste gate. The pop off valve hits at 10 lbs of boost. The successor to this car was the MX6 turbo and I wish I would have owned one of those. They are even quicker. Acceleration in 4th gear was excellent as well. Many other drivers who tried to keep up would just give up because the rate of acceleration was that surprising. These cars felt like 150hp and 200 ft pounds of torque.

I had a set of those wheels on my 86 Mazda 323 SE 5 speed manual hatchback. Made a big difference. This was back when salvage yards were open on Saturday and actually wanted to sell to individuals. You could find oem wheels like that.

Mrs.Wizard really kills it on this one

I had a 1986 626 two door 2.0i, 5 speed, baby blue in color. It was awesome for the time.

My first new car was a 2 door 1986 Mazda 626GT Turbo with 5 speed manual trans in 'Ondo' blue. It had fold down rear seats, so I could carry my bike in the trunk. It was a great car and lasted 212K miles. When I drove it agressively, I got 21mpg, but in normal driving, it averaged 27mpg. I still have two NOS (new old stock) Mazda 626 emblems that I should sell.

Here in Holland you saw them a lot in the 80's and 90's, loved those cars. Now I never see them anymore, even the 2 following generations of the 626 all have vanished. Same with the first generation of the Mazda6, which seem to be less rust-resistant that his predecessors.

That car should be in a museum!

That button between the vents turns in the "swing" function where the vents oscillate side to side!

Wow I have not seen a 626 in years!! I loved that mazda what cool car especially for that time period!! That’s for show us the car!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

I worked at a Mazda/Buick dealer in the 80’s. These were neat cars. The 5 door version was even cooler.

I have an 86 626 LX sedan in that same "burgandy ice" color with a maroon interior, as well as an 87 GT coupe like this one except its light blue, and was t boned. Im swapping the turbo power train and other GT bits into the sedan over this winter.

Mazda was making higher quality cars that will last longer back in the 80s than most manufacturers are making today. Thanks Wizard.

I had a 1985 626 which was the last year of the carbureted models. I wish I waited for an '86 since it had fuel injection and was much more powerful, even without a turbo, but it was incredibly reliable and cheap to run. I seem to remember it cost about $12K and was my first ever new car. It was silver with a maroon velour interior and tons of maroon plastic.

My mom taught me to drive in a manual 626. Although it was NA it was fun to drive.

They also made an awesome digital dash! Mine still works perfectly and is the template for the ford probe and so on digital dash,it’s so cool! The main thing that took them off the road is the rear strut towers would rust off the car and push there way upwards. If you own one,flip your rear seat forward and peel back the carpet and check between the subframe and tower body. Oh and the front rotors are installed behind the hub so your pressing wheel bearings to change rotors. I know way to much about this car 😂😂😂 I’m freakin out,it’s sooo cool to see this!!

Mrs Wizard missed the "Swing" feature for the vents. You push that button and the vents swing side to side and it was a cool feature of those back in the day. My MX6 has that for the 93 model year. Mazda was known for all those cool "Quirks and Features" (thx Doug DeMuro) for the steal 🤣🤣

I grew up in Kuwait. My aunt had a gold/copper 626 hatchback. I remember thinking it is the most futuristic car on the planet. It was in 1989. Still can remember the smell of plastic in the sun.

This 1986 coupe model was my hand-me-down car from dad in 1990. There is one unique feature that this car had like no other brand and that was the ocillating air vents. If you press that middle button at 6:22, the registers swing left and right! I do miss this car so much. Thanks for the memories.

From 1984 until the early 2000s Mazdas 626 were assembled in Colombia. A coupe model was available too, but without the turbocharged engine (Quite crappy gas here) The biggest difference was an all-electronic instrument panel on top of the line models.

We had one of these in my high school auto mechanics shop back in ‘95. It had been rear ended by a dump truck. The engine and drivetrain were fine, but the body was too bent to be safely fixed. Was a shame - that turbo was unlike anything I had ever seen.

I was interning at a company in 1987....coworker had a new one...1987 white with a burgundy interior. Fun car to drive...also had an adjustable suspension as well, if I remember correctly.

Lots of 626s on the road here Wizard in Houston but your right they look nothing like this beauty. Literally we drive Mazdas and Honda's till the frame eventually dies.

Where does Eurasian find these? Man…that’s sweet!

I'm sure Clarkson would agree that you need the Turbo sunglasses to truly appreciate this car.

So cool to see one of these. This was my first car in high school and the car I learned how to drive manual trans on. I beat the heck out of that car and loved it. Never any issues from it.