Shednesday: Mazda Xedos 6
Ben travels back to the 1990s to showcase what could have been the start of Mazda's answer to Lexus. Warning: contains rough bodywork.
Merry Shednesday. This week I’m discussing one of the best cars from the 1990s, specifically William Dickey’s favourite: the Mazda Xedos 6.
What could have been
Mazda launched two luxury brands in the 1980s: Amati and ɛ̃fini. Think of them as the Mazda equivalent of Toyota’s Lexus or Nissan’s Ifiniti brands. The two Xedos models were intended to be part of these new marques. Sadly neither the brands nor Xedos models took off. This was most likely due to Japan's economic issues in 1992, although to quote William: ‘Why we don’t have a national network of Xedos dealers is one of the inexplicable failures of the late 20th century, although they would probably now be reduced to flogging posh Mazda SUVs with fancy grilles.’
Engine gubbins
Mazda launched two Xedos models. The larger Xedos 9 saloon (pictured) had three engine choices at launch, the most interesting being the 2.3-litre V6 Miller cycle. It was also available with optional four-wheel steering; as an aside, take a look at this MX-3 if you fancy an older Mazda with four-wheel steering. The smaller Xedos 6 came with four engine choices: 1.6, 1.8, 1.8 V6 and a 2.0-litre V6.
Rough and ready
Our car is a 1997 Mazda Xedos 6 Sport and has the 2.0-litre V6 engine. The seller says the engine and gearbox are ‘mint’, although the car does need an exhaust fitting. It is likely because of this exhaust issue that the car doesn’t have an MOT. I can’t tell you much about the MOT history as the pictures are missing the registration plate (why do people do that?). Speaking of the pictures, there are no shots of the interior so I can’t comment on that either.
The seller says the car does start and drive, so it should be easy enough to load when transporting it from Leicester. The car also needs a respray, or you could go down the alternative routes like vinyl wrapping or plastidip. Or you could see what it looks like after a MOP. Alternatively you just leave it as is, what with patina being all the rage these days.
This may all sound like a bit much to take on but the car has done only 44,000 miles, it comes with a set of £700 alloy wheels and is for sale at only £675 (or whatever your inner Mike Brewer can achieve).
Here is the car. Let’s see what MajorGav has to say about it.
What does PetrolBlog think?
Every week. It happens every week. Checking the links on Ben's excellent blogs sends me down a Facebook Marketplace rabbit hole. This morning, I've lost valuable time to a Citroën ZX, Mazda MX-3, Proton Wira, Nissan Terrano II and Volvo S60. Everything about the £400 S60 tells you to run for the hills, but still I dream of taking a chance on the saggy Swede.
Anyway, back to Ben's new blog. Brilliant, sir. A Xedos of any description would be welcome on the PetrolBlog fleet, especially the Xedos 9 with the Miller cycle engine. That said, the Xedos 6 looks like it could be worth a punt at £675. Haggle down to £500 and see what happens.
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