Mazda Through the Decades, Ranked From Best to Worst

Mazda has reinvented itself more than most automakers sometimes brilliantly, sometimes painfully. From rotary-powered legends to budget survivors and modern design highs, these are Mazda’s decades ranked from best to worst based on design, reliability, performance, and cultural impact.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

come on, this one has to be top. tiny, loud-ish, honest. it’s the definition of fun you can afford. thirty-something grand new, and it gives you more smiles per dollar than cars five times the price. every time i sit in one, i smell old vinyl, sun, and either rainwater or sunscreen depending on the owner. it’s simple. it feels alive. you forgive the manual shifter for grinding once in a while because you’re too busy grinning.

Mazda RX-7 (old love, old issues)

rotary engine dreams, baby. if you’ve ever heard one rev, you know. it sounds like bottled chaos. maybe six grand for a beat-up one now, sixty for a pretty one. smells like burnt fuel and teenage rebellion. i loved it till i had to explain to my mechanic what “apex seal” meant. but even if it breaks your wallet, your heart forgives it. every time.

Mazda 3

the quiet achiever. looks good, drives smooth. it’s like that friend you forget about but always texts you back right away. twenty-something grand. i sat in one recently, smelled faintly like coffee and ambition — the kind that still thinks buying a sedan is practical. surprisingly upscale for something not trying too hard.

Mazda CX-5

honestly maybe the most normal thing they’ve made, but it’s still… comfortable. price maybe 30-35k. moms love it, dads like pretending it’s sporty, and i swear every rental lot has three in the same shade of red. back seat smells like spilled milk and lost toys, front seat like lasting mediocrity (in a good way). just works, man.

Mazda RX-8

this car was like dating a musician. fun, moody, probably breaks down emotionally at least twice a year. the doors are weirdly satisfying though. forty grand back then, probably worth a used couch now. every time i see one, the owner either loves it or’s trying to hide their disappointment. smells like oil and nostalgia.

Mazda 626

oh this is such a dad car from the 90s, i swear. my uncle had one that rattled like coins in a tin when you hit 50 mph. probably cost fifteen grand when new, which back then felt like a big deal. the radio buttons were always sticky, and it smelled like decades of cigarette smoke and pine-scented air fresheners. i can’t hate it though. it tried.

Mazda CX-9

the big one, the family thing. it’s fine, it’s huge, it’s stable but it also feels like driving a couch on espresso. around 40 grand now. everything clicks but nothing excites you. i once borrowed one for a week and completely forgot i was driving it until i got home. like—what even is its personality?

Mazda 929

this one barely gets talked about, but it was Mazda’s “let’s go luxury” experiment ages ago. weird car. felt heavy, looked fancy till you realized it wasn’t. high price for its time — maybe like 40k adjusted now. aged poorly, kind of smelled like overconfidence and carpet glue.

Mazda 5

the van thing. bless its heart. had those sliding doors, tried to make family-hauling look cool, didn’t quite work. around 25k maybe. roomy though, smelled like crayons. every one i’ve sat in looked slightly sticky inside.