Video: Back In The Late 1980s 4-Wheel Steering Was The Gadget Of The Day – Remember The Mazda 626 4WS


Video: Back In The Late 1980s 4-Wheel Steering Was The Gadget Of The Day – Remember The Mazda 626 4WS

As a young whippersnapper in the waning days of the 1980s I remember reading about, with some awe, rear wheel steering equipped cars. Not just the era’s big dollar exotics, but Japanese cars that were not all that expensive or performance oriented. The Honda Accord being one and then some Mitsubishis, and even GM experimented with it as we’d come to learn years later with stories of test mules and vehicles that never saw the light of day. Perhaps the most interesting of these creations was the Mazda 626 4WS, a car that made it to market and was sold here in the USA. Carrying a $17,000 price tag (about $36,000) today, it was packing a turbocharged four cylinder engine and unlike it’s Honda counterpart with mechanical rear steering, the Mazda used an electric and hydraulic program to get the rear wheels involved with the turning program. Neat, right?

Not only was the thing a big of a freak for its 5-degrees of rear steer in low speed situation and 2 degrees in high speed moments, but it was also pretty fast. The car got to 60mph in just over 7-seconds which was a scooty little number for this style car back then. Even more impressive for 1988 was the 15.9-second quarter mile time. This was also done with an automatic transmission, which kind of surprised us.

A funny precursor to today’s world of drive modes and personally tailored driver experiences, this car had a “power” button that could be clicked on the dash t change the way the transmission worked. Let’s just call it prehistoric “sport” mode. There was also a “hold” button on the shifter to keep the thing out of OD at low speeds.

This is one of those many instances when we see a car and go, “OH YEAH!” and then wonder why we have not seen on in 15 years. We’re guessing that the reliability of the rear steering system combined with a fairly steep sale price kept production numbers low on these 4WS models.

A look back at a 1980s forgotten technological gem.

Press play below to see this 1988 Mazda 626 4WS review by MotorWeek –


  • Share This
  • Pinterest
  • 0