"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
10/29/2014 at 13:22 • Filed to: oppositelock revue
2
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"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
10/29/2014 at 13:22 • Filed to: oppositelock revue | 2
| 1 |
(note: I hate Kinja picture formatting, so if it looks wonky here, well, blame Kinja, and me, because I have lots of pictures.
Another day, another review, as I am going to do one daily, or as close to daily as possible. Today will be a treat, as it's one of my favorite cars, the 1998 Mazda Millenia S!
*this is mine, as are all other featured pictures in this review.
First some background on the car.
The Mazda Millenia has a bit of a storied history. It was launched in Japan and Australia as the Eunos 800, and in Europe as the Xedos 9. This was back for MY 1993. European 2.0L and 2.5L models could be had with a 5-speed manual. No stick for us.
It was originally intended to be the second of three models for Mazda's new luxury marque, Amati (which itself is an anagram of Miata), but that never came to be. There were two engine choices available for the Millenia, a 2.5L V6 DOHC EFI engine putting out 170hp, or the one we have here, which is the 2.3L Miller Cycle Engine, from here on out abbreviated as MCE. The supercharger is twin-screw, with electronic boost control, and is used to increase compression efficiency by decreasing compression losses, increasing net hp outputs. This had more kick than the base engine, with 210hp. The car was somewhat of an amalgam. It wasn't quite a luxury car, and not quite a sports car, but it definitely leaned more towards luxury, with some sporty aspirations.
I purchased my '98 Millenia in 2011. It had a pretty badly torn driver's seat, and needed a new battery in headlight. I bought it with 201k miles on the odometer.
( Full Disclosure: Mazda wanted me to drive the 1998 Millenia S so bad, they possessed me, and told me I wanted, so I paid $1,100 for it)
Exterior 8/10
Overall, the exterior on the vehicle was pretty excellent. There was some minor wheel well surface rust, and a dent in the fender caused by the wheel falling off at 40mph, and bouncing up against the fender. Other than that, basic age scratches and dings. Paint overall was in really good condition, with not really any wear. I like the color, though it seems to be one of the most common colors I see on the Millenia. All the glass was in good shape, no cracks or anything. Overall, exterior was really good, plus, it is an attractive car. Sure, there are better looking cars, but it has a very purposeful shape, with billowy body panels. Definitely a good look.
Interior 7/10
The interior loses a point over the exterior, because of significant wear on the front leather seats, but when there are that many miles (mainly highway, by the way), it tends to happen. Also, the glue holding the visor mirrors lost its touch, so they kept falling down Nothing seat covers and new glue don't fix. However, the interior is very well appointed. Dual power front leather seats, both with two stage heating, and some decent bolstering. Not much, but enough. Digital climate control, as well, with outside temp display. There are some small woodgrain touches here and there, but not a whole lot. It's used sparingly. The center stack holds a Bose CD/cassette/AM/FM radio, with the seat heat switches below that, followed by the 4-speed autobox, and the handbrake. Overall, this was a very nice place to be. Not a whole lot of road noise got into the cabin, as it was pretty well insulated overall. I had just gotten the car in these pics, and hadn't cleaned it yet. It looked much better later on.
Acceleration 8/10
Acceleration was excellent. The vehicle picked up speed quite quickly, and had amazing passing power, and that supercharger whine made it even better. This car, compared to modern day powerplants may seem a little sluggish, but it could certainly get out of its own way, and I avoided some close calls thanks to its quick acceleration. I don't give it a full 10/10 because it is a large vehicle. Not land-yacht size, but certainly long, and it could've used maybe 20-30 more hp and torque, though I never complained. It was certainly adequate for me, and with a top speed around 143mph, it could get up in speed.
Braking 8/10
Braking was very good. It had discs on all four corners, no drums here. I never encountered any brake fade, and the brakes overall were really good. I never had a problem stopping, even in snow, it did pretty well. There was a little bit of sliding here and there, but typical of any large FWD car.
Ride 8/10
It rode very well. It was quite smooth, but not too smooth. My mom's '96 DeVille deserves the smooth ride award there, which I drove occasionally. This had a little bit of a sportier suspension I think. It certainly wasn't rough like my Durango, but like I said, not Cadillac smooth either. It's very balanced though, and it's the type of ride I use to benchmark ride quality in any car I buy, just because of how well it did ride.
Handling 8.5/10
Handling was excellent. It's a Mazda, they're very good for that. Steering feel was excellent, very communicative on the road. It went in the direction I pointed it in, and always did really well. I could take it around twisties and turns without a problem, and there was always great feedback. I loved to drive this car, just because of how well it handled. It doesn't have Miata handling, but it is definitely very good, especially with traction control off. I only had it on in bad weather, all the other times, I kept it turned off.
Gearbox 6/10
Low points here. It's a 4-speed auto. It gains some points because it does have a hold feature, which is kind of cool. It shifted well enough, but I would have preferred a manual on this type of car. Beyond that, it did what it was supposed to, without any headaches.
Toys 7.5/10
There were some pretty decent toys. Not like today's, of course, but some cool features nonetheless. As I stated, digital climate control with outside temp display, heated, multi-way leather power seats. Also, power windows, locks, and mirrors. Whenever I put the key in the ignition, the steering wheel automatically lowered to its last driving position, and went back up when I took the key back out. That was so cool. It also had a sunroof, which was great in the summer. I loved that. HVAC worked really well. Some pretty nifty stuff in this car, toy wise.
Audio 9.5/10
Audio was excellent in this car. It had a Bose stereo, with 5 speakers I believe. AM/FM/CD/Cassette, and they all worked perfectly. The only issue was a busted radio display, which wasn't a big deal, as everything else functioned really well. Sound was clear overall, and definitely had some loudness. Very good here. Gotta love the Bose sound.
Value 10/10
Yes, a perfect 10 here. I did not pay much for the vehicle. It needed very little maintenance. All I had to replace was the battery, headlight, and one wheel after it fell off. The catalytic converter did go out on it at around 205k miles I think, but that just made a bit more noise, the car still drove well.
Overall 80.5/100
This is a great score, I think. The car was excellent, and I miss it terribly. At around 210 or 211k miles, there was a short in the battery cable, and the engine compartment caught fire. There was no saving the car. I did keep the grill off of it for awhile, but I don't know what happened to it now. Beyond that, I loved the car, and I may get another for my next vehicle.
This was her after the fire. RIP Millie, 1998-2011. I knew you well.
Tomorrow, I will do the Infiniti J30.
Sam
> WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
10/29/2014 at 13:27 |
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