Spotted a clean-looking 1997 Mazda 323F/Forte for sale. I drive a previous generation F, so I was eager to see what the newer model felt like to drive. This one was a 1.5i GLX, and it had 145k on the clock. Metallic silver, A/C.
So, know that feeling when you have a favorite film and see there's a sequel or a re-make coming up, and you sort of want it to live up to your expectations? Well, I just returned from the theatre with popcorn on my clothes and I'm crumpling the admission ticket.
Walking up to the car at the new Nissan-Ford-Peugeot dealership, it looked pretty enough amidst all the cumbersome newer cars, all low-slung and '90s. I sat in the blue-hued cockpit and looked at the service documents, which seemed good enough. It was a bit worn inside; the front seats felt a bit saggy and rocky, even if the cloth hadn't worn through like they do in the BG F. The steering wheel's rubber had come off the rim structure, so that it could be twisted like a bike's throttle. In the back, the car sported a big black tow bar. Yeah, who buys a Forte to haul stuff?
Looking at the bodywork, it seemed straight enough. The documents indicated it had had a dent in the hood at some point, and sure enough, it had been resprayed. There wasn't any rust visible outside, but checking the door bottoms, I found the rear doors had started rusting under the seals and would need some attention soon. Kneeling and checking the underbody, I noticed the exhaust looked gnarly and would need to be replaced soon. The rear axle was very rusty, but otherwise it wasn't as rotten as it could have been. Nevertheless, it would need some spending on the bodywork.
I got the keys and took it for a half-hour test drive. And really, within the first 100 metres I could tell there had to be something fundamentally wrong with the car, by design. The steering was dead. It felt hesitant, cynical and curiously heavy, even if it was power-assisted. The
joie de vivre that is present in the old model's steering and handling was gone - trying to chuck the car around just resulted in squirming, not anything resembling actual handling. Add in the dreadful-feeling steering wheel and I could mark two out of five stars for the handling department. Why two? Well, it went straight.
So, could the DOHC engine provide some kicks, if the chuckability factor was lost? Sadly, there weren't any to be found. It just didn't have any grunt. It wasn't eager to rev, and when booted it sounded coarse. Switching the A/C off had no effect; the lump felt like a poor 1.3-litre. The BA F weighs 200kg more than the BG F, and this one had its summer alloys in the back, but still it felt very, very restricted. The gearchange felt pleasant enough, as it does in mine, but this was not a car in which you can hoon around. With a non-cooperating engine and lifeless handling, there was little to recommend it. The car just felt annoyingly
Korean. I'd imagine the 1.8-litre or the 2.0 V6 would stir things up a bit, though.
I returned the Forte and did some sales talk. The 4500 euro asking price came down to a reasonable 3750 euro, without a trade-in, but you would have to shell out the 750 euro again to get rid of the rust and to replace the exhaust. The car would have to be inspected in March, and I don't know if it would pass with the current one.
Pros:
- Frameless windows
- A/C
Cons:
- Beginning stages of rust
- No fun to drive
- Lacks grunt
- Looks ruined by tow bar
In closing, this was a sequel I'd deny they ever did.