Protege/3 model clarification please?
 

Hi, everyone,
This is my first post to this group.
I hope to become a Mazda owner sometime soon. But I am confused. Does anyone have the patience to explain to a neophyte what the distinctions are between Protege, Protege 3, Mazdaspeed 3, ?.... I am interested in the 5 door/hatchback/wagon but am having trouble distinguishing between the names/models. I will be looking for a used model less than 10 years old with the most sporting handling.
I will be grateful for any guidance & illumination.
Thanks very much.
Michael

The Mazda3 replaced the Protege as Mazda's compact, introductory car in 2004. There's no such animal as a Protege3, but a Protege5 is the 5-door wagon model of the 3rd generation (99-03) Protege...And probably the one you're referring to.

The fastest 4 door Mazda is a Mazdaspeed3, which is a turbocharged version of the Mazda3 and the one I'd love to own. :)

Welcome to the club!

And to add on to eggynatey,
the 3rd Gen Protege started in 1999. The 99-00 Proteges had smaller 1.6 and a few 1.8l engines. The headlights were different then the 01-03 proteges.

In 2001 the Protege LX and ES models had the 2.0L engine upgrade option. They changed the headlights in this year as well as the front bumper and the ES model now had a standard black interior with orange illuminated gauges/instrument clusters. The Mazda Protege MP3 was also started in 2001. in Blue or Yellow. It had a standard transmission (5speed) and had slightly more HP then the standard 2.0, had a ground effects kit, kenwood audio system and subwoofer as well as a high rear spoiler.

In 2002-2003 the 2.0 Engine was standard, the Protege5 debut with standard black interior (identical to the ES) and they had dual headlamps (Separate Hi/low beams, unlike the regular 01-02 protege sedans) Bigger alloys were available and 2003 protege 5 models had optional chrome dipped alloys and leather as an option. Kenwood also gave the option for a trunk mounted subwoofer above the rear spare tire.
Late 2003, Mazda had taken the 2001 MP3, Turbo charged it, Placed a Black or Special edition Orange color on it and re-labled it as the Mazdaspeed Protege (MSP). The interior and steering wheels were outlined in Orange stitching. The Mazdaspeed 3 changed slightly after the limited production of the black and orange MSP's and they deleted the front fog lights with a lower air dam modification on the lower bumper and modified the rear spoiler. The colors available were Blue, Yellow and a Gunmetal version. The interiors were outlined in gray or yellow stitching.



Hope this helps! you can always wiki the protege and see specific details on the engines and suspension, but this was all off of memory. I miss my 01ES but loving the 2010 3i Sport.

Thanks for the additional clarification. I'm still a bit bewildered by the various models over the past 10 yrs but I guess it's no more confusing than camera models.... The search continues.
Thanks again.
Michael