The rare North American Protege ES hid a Mazda Miata engine under its hood -- the same 1.8-litre twin-cam, paired with all-wheel disc brakes and dual stabilizer bars.
Median 63 hp across 162 similar cars
Lead trim: 1.5 Z5-DEL lean-burn (94 PS) · up to 129 hp
Mazda Familia BH / 323 / Protegé / Neo eighth generationBH/BA · 1994–1998
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Mazda Familia BH / 323 / Protegé / Neo eighth generation yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe rare North American Protege ES hid a Mazda Miata engine under its hood -- the same 1.8-litre twin-cam, paired with all-wheel disc brakes and dual stabilizer bars.
Released in Japan in June 1994 with front-wheel drive, sold as the Protegé in North America, 323S in Europe, Artis in Chile, Étude in South Africa and Allegro in Colombia. It grew considerably (the saloon's wheelbase within 5 mm of the mid-size 626). The three-door coupé hatchback, the Familia Neo (323C in Europe, 323 in Canada, Ford Laser Lynx), sold sluggishly and was axed in 1996; a hatchback (323P) followed in October 1996. There was no 1.3 in Japan at first, so the BG hatchback stayed on to October 1996. The "Familia Van" from September 1994 was a rebadged Nissan AD/Wingroad. A lean-burn GS-L (Z5-DEL, 94 PS) arrived that month, an Isuzu 1.7 intercooled turbodiesel from October 1994 (with a bonnet scoop), and an all-wheel-drive model with a 1.6 petrol or the Isuzu diesel; the rare North American ES had the Miata's 1.8 twin-cam. A Mazdaspeed-accessory version was sold in Japan and the Philippines. A facelift in October 1996 calmed the styling; it ended in 1998 in most markets (the hatchback to October 2000 in Europe).
Collectors Spotted in the Mazda Familia Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mazda Familia yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
5 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 B5-ZE DOHC (125 PS) | 1994–1996 | 1.5 L Inline-4 | 123 hp | 95 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.5 Z5-DEL lean-burn (94 PS) | 1996–1998 | 1.5 L Inline-4 | 93 hp | 97 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.6 B6D DOHC (115 PS) | 1996–1998 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | 113 hp | 103 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.8 BP-ZE DOHC | 1995–1998 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 129 hp | 122 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 2.0 RF diesel (71 PS) | 1996–1998 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 70 hp | 94 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
An estimate, for the 1.5 B5-ZE DOHC (125 PS) trim: fuel on its EPA figure and a dated national price, upkeep on a per-mile average for the kind of car it is.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
In the Community
Open CommunityNo notes tagged with the Mazda Familia BH / 323 / Protegé / Neo eighth generation yet.
Photographs
Mazda only planned 100 Mazdaspeed Familia sedans — but demand was so high it built 200, every one finished in Starry Blue Mica.
The rare North American Protege ES hid a Mazda Miata engine under its hood -- the same 1.8-litre twin-cam, paired with all-wheel disc brakes and dual stabilizer bars.
Mazda built a 1,000-unit special edition of this generation, the Familia Infini, just to mark the company's 70th anniversary in 1990.
By late 1986, Mazda had built five million Familia/323s total, cranking out roughly 40,000 of them every single month.
The 1983 Familia XG Turbo quietly carried Mazda's first-ever turbocharged piston engine — years before turbos became the brand's signature.
This Familia/GLC was the first car ever sold under Mazda's "323" name — a badge that stuck around in export markets for decades after.
Mazda's timing could not have been more dramatic: this redesigned Familia Presto launched just weeks before the 1973 oil crisis reshaped what buyers the world over wanted from a car.
The rotary-engined Familia R100 wasn't about speed alone in Japan — its rotary dodged the tax bracket a comparable inline engine would have fallen into, and when an engine upgrade threatened that loophole, Mazda killed the rotary model rather than lose it.
Mazda's first-ever Familia was styled in 1963 by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro, moonlighting at Bertone years before he became one of the most famous car designers alive.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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