1996 Mazda Eunos 800

Having been developed for a separate audience from typical Mazda customers, the Millenia boasted a myriad of finer details. It was engineered to far greater levels of perceived quality than existing Mazda cars, such as interior plastic, panel gap and thicker paint coating. The Millenia/ Eunos 800/ Xedos 9 was assembled along with the smaller Eunos 500/ Xedos 6 in a new production line, presumably set up for Amati cars.

The Millenia does not have a predecessor or replacement in the Mazda product line. It appears to have received a brand-new platform, although the multi-link suspension at both ends strongly resembled that of the 1991 Mazda Sentia, with minor changes such as replacing the lower I-arm with an A-arm for front wheel drive. It was the only production car in the world to employ a Miller cycle engine (The current Demio/ Mazda2 features Miller Cycle on one of its engines). Yaw-sensitive 4-wheel steering was available as an option in Japan; Mazda claimed that with this feature, the Millenia was capable of passing the elk test at speeds comparable to the BMW 850i, surpassing the Z32 Nissan 300ZX.