Mazda Millenia S: Used Car Reminder
Posted by Doug DeMuro in Used Car Reminder on | 6 comments
In the world of four-door sedans, there are normal ones – like that Altima they made from 2008ish until 2012; the one with those turn wraparound turn signals the size of a fire hydrant – and there are beautiful ones. I am thinking now of the 1995-2001 BMW 7-Series. You know: before the days of Chris Bangle.
But there’s another beautiful sedan that I think way too many of us forget about: the Mazda Millenia S. I’m not referring to the first-generation model, which a lot of people wrongly believe is beautiful, but rather the second-gen Millenia, which is actually beautiful. It included gorgeous lines, gorgeous wheels, and general gorgeousness. Part of this gorgeousness was likely derived from its two-tone paint job. I’m a sucker for two-tone paint jobs.
Of course, the Millenia is an example of Mazda’s typical product strategy, which is: Get everything right, but don’t tell anyone. The “get everything right” bit here refers not only to the styling, but the interior and – most importantly – the engine: a supercharged V6 that made a muscular 210 horsepower (muscular for the time, mind you) despite inexplicably being just 2.3 liters in overall size.
Sadly, the Millenia was a little big, or maybe a little expensive, or some other excuse Mazda North America gave Mazda Japan for why yet another model failed to take off. Whatever the reason, it’s a shame, as the Millenia was the most handsome car on the road in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Except, of course, for that 1995-2001 7-Series.
6 Responses to “ “Mazda Millenia S: Used Car Reminder”
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Yep, Mazda is great at building cars but SUCKS at marketing (and ultimately SELLING) them! If not for the 1st generation Mazda3’s innate greatness and rave reviews from everyone who ever drove it, Mazda might have suffered the same fate as Suzuki in North America!?
The Millenia was a very interesting car for several reasons. Following the success of Acura, Lexus and Infiniti, Mazda planned to introduce their own luxury/premium brand called Amati. The Millenia was the first of three planned Amati models. Before the Millenia ever saw the light of day, the Amati idea was scrapped due to funding issues. Given Mazda’s complete and utter lack of marketing skills, it was almost certainly tragedy averted!
The Millenia S with the 2.3L Miller Cycle V6 was impressive from day one. With 210hp, it ran 0-60 in about 7.5 seconds, the interior was very high quality and well designed….and the exterior was about as exciting as the contemporary Toyota Camry, maybe less so!
But the bigger problem was the high-volume, less expensive ‘L’ model that looked virtually identical. It was hobbled with the 170hp 2.5L V6 from the Mazda 626 (with a whopping 160lb-ft of torque @ 4800rpm). The 2.5L V6 was only capable of moving the 626/MX-6 at a decent clip when paired with the 5-speeed manual. With the 4-speed auto, the 626 V6 was a lame duck….and the Millenia L only came with the 4-speed automatic AND it weighed about 400 pounds more…
My aunt had one of the ‘L’ models and a 4-cylinder Accord automatic could leave it in the dust at every red light…
As for the two-tone S models that came later, they were definitely flashier but with a design dating back to 1995, they were obsolete by 2002, their final year.
I have a 2006 Mazda3 s 5-door (bought new in 12/2005) and a 2012 CX-9 GT (bought new in 11/2012), so I’m definitely a fan! But if they can’t manage to make the new 2014 Mazda6 a sales success, I give up!!!
These things are so cool. I love Mazdas; my mom had a 2003 MPV when I was young and it was great.
BTW, thanks for saying the years.
My mom test drove one of these, but the problems we had at the dealership sealed the deal for my mother, who really had a 2001 Audi A4 at the number one position on her list. The guy showed us a ‘Millenia’ that was actually a 626, when I pointed this out to him he said, ‘oh, yeah, you’re right’, then the Millenia he showed us wouldn’t start. Mom ended up buying the A4, which probably was a bad idea in the end because everything broke on it until finally it decided to take a stop sign too literally and wouldn’t budge leaving my mom stranded.
Either way I always thought the Millenia was a great if somewhat understated design. I always check one out as if it were a new model on the rare occasion when I see one on the road.
Gorgeous lines; I even had a promo 8X10 on my office wall way back in ’92. Their biggest challenge (besides sloppy marketing) was repair – parts were European car expensive according to a friend who owned one for 130k.
Wait, you’re (incorrectly) referring to the 2001+ Millenia as the beautiful one? The one they inexplicably made the front to look like a 2001 Buick Regal?
http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2008/04/26/16/21/2001_buick_regal_gs-pic-32408.jpeg
Same color and everything.
No, the first generation was by far the more beautiful. It had restrained character and was one of the most tastefully designed cars of the 1990s. I still admire them to this day. I was on the verge of buying a 2000 “Millenium Edition” with its micro-fiber seats. My understanding was that reliability was an issue with the Miller cycle engine and forced induction. So I guess it’s a good thing the one I test drove back in 2003 was a hair too expensive.
Of course, what I ended up with was my lousy ’97 Audi A6 – so pick your poison, I guess.
Steven Lang ranked the Millennia as one of the worst used cars. Sad that it was so unreliable, since I always liked the styling as well.
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/car-dealer-scientific-guide-10-worst-used-vehicles-222709616.html