I'm thinking about getting a 2000 Protege ES. Is this a nice car? And can I do anything to it to supe it up? Like a body kit and engine work? I've looked but I can't find anything. I've even done a search on this site. Any help will be appriciated. Thanks!

 

Of course there's stuff that can be done. If you're looking to stoplight race, however short of getting a turbo kit, you're gonna be a bit slow 'course you'll kill 'em in the twisties. And ES's are pretty nice, I'd snag it up... also check protege5.com for members' rides. For parts, checkout http://www.protegegarage.com/ Good guys, good prices, etcetc...

 

It's a nice car. You certainly won't "see yourself" on every corner like in a Civic. Pro: Most agree that the '99-00 models were a tick faster than the '01-03 models, because while they did have a smaller motor, they were also about 100-150 lbs lighter too. Con: Drum rear brakes until 2001, not all ES had the rear spoiler, and the '01 and up models had some slight suspension tweaks for crisper handling and a larger motor, although more weight negates some of those changes anyway. I'd buy one.

 

99-00 were not faster JUST because they were lighter...the 1.8L in the 99-00 es has almost the same horsepower (125 vs 130) as the 2.0L but it revs a lot cleaner than the 2.0 and pulls all the way to redline, where as the 2.0L drops power around 5500-6000 rpms...that is the real reason 99-00 ES's are faster....great car, great engine...plenty of engine,suspension,aesthetic mods available now....great buy!