soc522

I am going to be buying a new car... I have been looking at consumer reports. I really like the protege style but the corolla looks to be a more reliable car. I just need a car that is going to last me a long time without many troubles. Let me know what you all think..

Makaveli

My neighbour put 250,000 kms on his '90 Protege, and only had to change the clutch, and that was recently, so I mean that is impressive if you ask me. I don't think that anybody on this board had any problems with their Proteges, and come on, don't compare us to the Corollas, we got the looks and you know it

jcilforever

I am sorry but I can not believe this post

SpaR/Ticus

I even have to agree...they're not much the same class. My mom drives a 92 Corrolla. It runs, but thats about the only upside of it.

P5er

Corolla is a commuter's car- great for a Sunday church trip.
Protege is a driver's car- great for a Saturday trip to Night Club

What a difference one day can make. HA HA HA.
Protege over Corolla all the way!
Even your trips to the Church will be more fun in Protege (I'm sure you'll make it on time, you know Zoom Zoom Zoom) than in very reliable but ballsless and boring Corolla.

jcilforever

soc522

I am sorry, I was just thinking where is he coming from. Please explain yourself and maybe it will shead some light on the post.

soc522

ok, where i'm coming from is my 86 honda accord with over 200,000 miles on it is on its last leg.. if i want to be able to get any money out of it i need to sell it now. I want to get a new car. I originally wanted a civic but i hate the new body styles, plus consumer reports has the protege as better reliability. So i take the protege over the civic easily. My parents suggested the corolla. I don't know alot about the corolla, i've never done much research on it. All i know is what i read on the consumer reports website. It has all red circles and has better reliablillity than the protege, including better gas milage. I'm not looking for the best "sporty" car with lots of power. Although it would be nice. I don't know exactly what kinda answer i'm looking for just a little discusion about the two cars.

nightowl

when i was looking for a new car i test drove a standard corolla

NEVER AGAIN!!!!

it was like driving my parents tercel.......but on the upside, i was talking to the dealer and he said that there are turbo's available for the corolla engine and the new rav 4, but at a price....$5000 cnd


still went with the protege, mainly for the looks and the handling, i hightly suggest getting a 5 speed standard


look at the maintenance board, not many problems with the protege...well other then problems we cause LOL

hope you make a smart choise and get a protege, but if you want a boring dependable car get the corolla

nightowl

jcilforever

Ok, that explains alot, with your parents you have to come up with a list of pros and cons. Most important in your case is to get insurance quotes, I know it was for me at that age. Second due gas mileage etc etc. Also I do not know when the last time you could get a Toyota for dealer invoice price or below and 1.9% to 3.9% financing. I would go with the Pro 5 just think about the versitility. (This guy is most likley trying to get some help on convincing his parents.) Make sure you test drive them with you friends not your parents. Hope this helps

soc522

ok, my parents aren't buying my car... i am.. i don't have to convince them cause its my money. What are you talking about the toyota at invoice price or less... are you saying that you got your protege for less than invoice price... also... i can't afford a pro 5, if i could, trust me i would i'll either get the 2002 protege dx, or the cheapest corolla... about gas milage, the corolla beats the protege by a good amount.
I hope this clears some things up

sunbyrne

Hmm, I don't think you've asked the most objective crowd in the world. Contrary to some of the opinions put forth here, Corollas and Civics do not actually completely suck. (Cavaliers, on the other hand, do completely suck.)

So, despite the fact that my wife and I both drive Proteges and I obviously believe it to be a superior choice, it all depends on what is most important to you.

First, reliability. Reliability anecdotes are worthless. Even GM occasionally gets lucky and cranks out a car that goes for a long time trouble-free, and even Toyota produces an occasional lemon. Consumer Reports probably has the best large-sample data on reliability, and I find it a credible claim that on average the Corolla is more reliable than the Protege. But this is not a large difference, this is the difference between #1 and #2, more or less, not good vs. bad. It's not a substantial difference.

Now, I think even the most ardent Protege fan pretty much has to concede that the Toyota (and Civic) get better gas mileage than the Protege.

So, if the only things you care about at all are reliability (and you care a lot about a small difference) and gas mileage, you should head straight to your local Toyota dealer. Done.

However, if you care about *anything* else at all, well, then it depends on how much you care. The Protege handles better, has *a lot* more space (especially in the back seat), looks better, has better fit & finish, etc. It beats the Corolla on probably just about everything else.

I'd recommend that you test drive both of them. The driving experience alone will probably convince you one way or the other. Coming from an Accord you probably have a pretty high tolerance for boring in terms of driving experience, so you might not hate the Corolla. Personally, I couldn't wait to get out of the one I drove...

jcilforever

Look soc522

I was just trying to help you out you don't have to get an attitude. Yes I bought a 2002 Protege 5 with ABS & side airbags,moonroof, polished wheels, floor mats, and 5 speed for $17,006.00 at 1.9% for three years Last year my wifes car the dealer lost $95 because they went past there hold back a 2001 Protege ES with ABS & side airbags,moonroof, floor mats,and an A/T for $16,255.00 at 0% interest. What is holdback you say? The dealer gets 3% of the base MSRP back at the end of the year from the Manufacturer. Oh I guess you knew that and that you could buy them for less than what the dealer paid.

soc522

dont get me wrong, i love my accord!!! lol, but i think it is a sentimental love. I would love a car with more power. i'm just trying to be reasonable. THank you all very much for your input. I know this is biased but what a better place to get info about the protege than from the people that drive them.

Well, now the next step... to the dealer to test drive..

kenji4861

The 2003 Corolla is definitly worth looking at.

douggie

Yeah, so you really shouldn't listen to anyone here unless you are prepared to buy a Mazda

BUT you can listen to me because I DID test drive a 2003 Toyota Corolla last Friday when I went car shopping with a friend. We test drove a white LE model that is a manual. Here's what I felt after the 20 min test drive (i'll try to be as neutral as possible ) :

Pros:
- Pretty spacious inside
- Looks like a mini Camry, looks better than a Civic
- Solid body
- A/C contols look european (very VW like)
- Lots of headroom (i'm 6' tall)
- Better front speaker positioning than the Protege5

Cons:
- Ugly ugly whitish-green dials in dash
- Cheap looking "fake wood" panels
- Not so good road visibility because of high dash and tall hood
- Noisy engine, rough acceleration
- Bad shifter
- No driving excitement
- The S version would/may look nicer with fog lights and body kits.

Anyway, remember u're the one that's gonna drive the car, not us . So go and take a test drive yourself, form your own opinion and then make an educated choice like we Protege owners did.