douggie

Not that we need anymore of this, but it's great to know. Besides, it helps to justify the amount of time we spend on our P5s

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/mostw...3/article.html

Quote: "Who says a station wagon can't have style?"

Protege5online

WooHoo!! We beat the Subaru!!

JJB

I used to own a Subaru wagon ('86) and liked the car... it was very dependable... I definetly liked it more than the Chevy that followed in my car ownership log...

When it came time to buy a new car I looked at the Subarus and the P5... the Mazda was the obvious choice considering what Subaru thinks their cars are worth nowadays.... it was really no contest!!!!

IronLung

Just wondering....In that article they talk about the P5's handling. With it's "thick stablilizer bars front and rear". The funny thing is that everything on the P5, except the looks is that of a regular Protege, which means that there isn't really anything special done to it. Sooooo, if they think that the Pro5 is that awesome and handles that great, then Mazda is definatly doing something right!!!
Maybe I should call them and let them test drive my MP3. Wanna talk about handling????

Eric F

There were several articles in different magazines that praised the Protege ES's handling also. For a stock compact 4door sedan, they do handle exceptionally well. I'll put my '00 ES up against the MP3. Just a few mods.

douggie

Iron Lung, don't feel left out. The MP3 of course is good as well (if not better than the P5).

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caran...t_banditos.xml

And Eric F, your souped up ES is cool as hell also

Go Mazda!

Protege5chick

I like to think of it as a hatch!

ArcTan2x

Mp3 got a really better handling than the P5!!

17" wheels , lowwer tires ,
tokiko shocks , and springs
3 renforcement bar

IronLung

Thank you for your concern, but no, I do not feel left out!!
In my opinion, I feel that I have one of the nicest and best performing cars on the market, for the money. Besides the horsepower issue, I have no complaints. Along with that, I have total respect for the P5 and what Mazda is getting into altogether. I think the P5 is a beautiful car (hatch ) and if I couldn't have gotten an MP3, I probably would have gotten a P5. I love talkin to other P5 owners, or Protege owners for that matter, and sharing ideas. Finally, I love the attention my car gets. In a word, I think that that is what the MP3 and the P5 are all about. A car that doesn't just go from A to B, but across the entire alphabet and back. I think we should all be proud of our cars, and be happy to own one. LETS ALL GET ALONG!!!

So who is starting up the Protege club????

BTW, anyone who might live in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, should really check out the races up at Metro in D.C. It's awesome and alot of fun. I go up there just about once a weekend. Come on up!!

eeterp

I'm in College Park! I'll head down to the Metro any time. BTW, are you going to MIR this Sunday? We've got a bunch of protege's going.

sunbyrne

IronLung is definitely right on. I've had my P5 for a couple months now and just in the last couple weeks I've had numerous people comment on or ask about my car, always very positive. No doubt it's an attention-getter.

TsuruPro5

Another reason to be proud: the P5 is the official car of the next World Import Challenge in Houston.

Here's the site: http://www.worldimportchallenge.com

This sort of thing is going to guarantee more aftermarket parts, once the WICers see this Protege 5 in action.

telus.net

Mazda still has a long way to beat Honda and Toyota in performance and reliability and resale value!

Protege5chick

well...i'm not against hondas (my bf owns a Type-R) but I really think they are like tin cans...some guys i know were play fighting and accidentally pushed into a civic, and the whole side dented in permanently... and toyotas just don't give value for the buck...happy with my choice

Makaveli

sadly, I can see that happening, I've seen so many little incidents where the civic comes out as if it had been through WWII. Their resale value is excellent of course, if you're planning on selling your car. I'm keeping mine for at least another 3 years, and remember that the finance rate for Honda's is ridiculous, something like 7.9% so in the end it all adds up.