Mazda Demio (1998 - 2003) 1.3 GXi 5d (2001/Y) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

Not a good looking car if you like curvy cars, as this one's square, but I love it. I'd never heard of the Demio before I owned one, neither had anyone else I knew!

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

My family love it. It's easy to get in and out of, the higher driving position is liked all round and it makes getting elderly relatives in and out of the car far easier than any other car i've seen. The back seats are a little firm for extended journeys though. Everyone says they can't belive how big it feels inside as it looks so small from the outside, there's loads of room for seating and when the seats are folded to a van there's loads of storage space. The height also helps with this. My dad's got a large estate car, but the Demio can hold a lot of things that we can't fit in his car as the space has the height as well as the width and depth.

Would you buy this car again and why?

I would buy this car again. I'm even thinking of giving this one to my sister as her first car.

What are you likely to buy next?

If I don't buy this again it would only be because I want something even bigger.

Type of dealer you bought from?

Independent

Did you buy this car new?

No

What price did you pay?

£4,000

When did you buy the car?

February 2004

Did you get a good deal and why?

Paid a little over the value of the car as it was in such good condition.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

Boot Space

What was the dealer like?

..

What's it like to drive?

For a 1.3 it's got plenty of power without running away from you. It's easy to manouvre, good on motorways and in the city. Could do with a little more acceleration for overtaking, but it's not too bad in this department.

What's it like to park?

Very easy. The car is like a tardis, it looks small on the outside and big on the inside. It's no longer than a Toyota Yaris and is very easy to park. You sit high up and have large windows with excellent visibility all round. The electric mirrors also help as you can easily adjust them whilst parking to look at the parking lines or kerbs if required.

Have you had any problems with the car?

The stereo wiring has gone wrong and the stereo likes to turn it's self off and on. When buying replacement wiring I heard that this was a common problem with this car, and the new connection wiring has not fixed the problem. The stereo is not the orginal one. Apart from that, just the usual servicing, tyres and brake pads etc, that you'd expect, in fact these have been required less than any other car i've owned.

What's most practical about your car?

I love the way the back seats move both forward and back to give you a choice about more leg room for the rear passengers or more boot spece, also the back seats tilt and fold both forwards and backwards and are split. This means you can effectively fold all the seats flat to make either a single or double bed (handy if you need to stop to sleep), or fold the seats forward to make loads of room to carry things, it's got loads of capacity.

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

The seats.