Shasta

Upon my dads new purchase of his Mazda 5 GT has me all stirred up to purchase a Mazda as well after seeing how well built his car is. I've always loved the look of the Protege 5 and starting to look for the years 2002-2003 but a bit confused as to what to look for. I have seen them advertised as ES, sport sedans, GT's and really confused what is what. All I do know is I want one with all the bells and whistles. I'm unsure if they all come standard with 4-wheel discs or performace oriented so hoping someone can give me an explanation of the different models. What to look out for, etc...

I forgot to mention as well, how built are the auto trannies. I've had stick all my life and just want a car to relax in with no shifting, not as exciting but I just want a nice daily driver to haul my butt and camera equipment around but if the autos suck I would stay away from them.

Thank you very, my first post here so figured my best bet to hear from real owners.

Rusty

Hi people, I haven't been here for months, guess I've got some catchin' up to do.
The P5 has no other trim levels, like GT, ES, etc., just a few options like leather, multi CD player (base has single CD), and antilock brakes. They all have 4 wheel disc brakes though. The manual tranny is the best way to get the performance this car offers. You probably wouldn't be too impressed with an automatic.
I have a 2002 P5 and have never had any sort of failure. Replaced the original battery last month, put new pads on the front brakes last year. Still got the original old jittery clutch, but it shows no sign of giving up yet. (I probably shouldn't have said that!) It corners like it's on rails, but really could use a little extra HP, however once you learn where to hit it, it'll hop pretty good for zipping around town. Mine has a noticable increase in HP when the temperature drops below 50 F.
Some '03s had screws in the intake manifold come loose and get sucked into the combustion chamber, but I don't think it ruined any of them. That never happened on the '02s though. It's the most dependable car I've EVER owned, and I drive it like it's stolen.

KrayzieFox

A lot of good info on http://www.protegefaq.net/

What Rusty said is mainly true, except that he forgot to mention that there were midyear refreshers for both the 02 and 03 models. The 2002.5 introduced a new style cupholders, clear sidemarkers, optional leather seats and tweeter speakers on the front doors. The tiptronic auto tranny was also added to 2002.5 models. Also, the 2003.5 models eliminated the moonroof, but introduced a small spare tire subwoofer as well.

KrayzieFox

The Protege5 only came in one trim .. which was simply known as a Protege5. As Rusty confirmed before me, there were no ES, LX, DX, GT, etc. trims available. However, as mentioned previously there are differences between the 02, 02.5, 03, and 03.5 models.

The 2003.5 came with a subwoofer, but eliminated the sunroof. I personally love my sunroof, so I would recommend either the 02.5 or the 03 model if you'd like everything possible but don't care for the sub (it's not that great of a sub anyway ..). Leather seats were optional on both trims and is kind of hard to come by. If you do end up with an 03 model, check www.MazdaUSA.com for factory recalls on the intake manifold. As Rusty said, there was a recall on VICS screws that were getting sucked into the engine, so run the VIN number to find out if your car may be affected.

I personally have the tiptronic automatic tranny and I love it. Although it would be really nice to have a manual for the added power, the auto is great for lazy driving, which is what I'm all about. But the good thing is, the auto trannys are good quality .. as long as you don't have plans of installing a turbo or some other form of forced induction (nitrous, etc.) then you'll be fine. Mine still shifts just like the day I bought it and I'm a "highly spirited" driver. I have to say that the tiptronic feature is great, because it still lets you control your revs without the clutch and constant hassle.

KrayzieFox

One last thing .. this car is not fast. Period. Even the manuals are quite slow .. they are a little faster than the autos but it doesn't make that big of an impact.

If you have lots of money to dump into it, you can make it fast but when you compare cost vs. gains it just doesn't end up being worth it. However, the handling is superb!! This is one of the best handling cars I've ever driven or been in at all, and people are always blown away by the fact that you can take corners at insane speeds. The stock suspension is pretty good, but a simple upgrade of shocks and springs will make it ridiculously fun to drive!

So in general, the lack of power makes it a horrible car for drag racing, peeling out, and other things that contribute to jackass driving. But the tight suspension makes it an excellent car for a very fun and economical daily driver. The cars are also very reliable, there are a few little defects but then again .. no car is perfect.

Once again, I recommend that you skim through the www.protegefaq.net website and search this forum for answers to any particular questions.

Rusty

While driving around town, if I shift between 4500 and 5500 RPMs and cruise no lower than 3500, there is enough power for snapping it into faster traffic and jumping around minivans. It does make a helluva racket though. It'd be nice if it was quieter, people wouldn't know you're trying so hard. But what I'm saying is, once you get rolling and figure out where the power curve lies, there is enough to have fun with. It's not a total slug. I do envy my friend's BMW M3 though.
I have to get into my Chevelle if I want to pull some Gs.

Da P-Funk!

^Yep! This describes the P5 perfectly. I like being 'distinctive' as well. Do you think Honduh owners know each and every civic in the county? Calvert County has three P5s. Used to be four - but the guy in town sold it.

Rusty

Yeah, I can count the P5s I've seen in my city on one hand, and that's since 2002.

Jackelope

[off topic]
^ I came to visit Columbia, SC a while back for work so +1 for msp's that day...

[/off topic]

Shasta

Wow great info. Yeah I'm a lazy driver too now. I'm more interested in driving around in something that looks cool, super reliable, reasonably good on fuel and just fun to drive. I'm a diehard Honda fan and love my little 90 Honda Civis SI and I think the P5 would have the same zippy fun factor. I would definitely want the triptronic tranny. I would only be interested in maybe a complete TEIN susp, and a better profile wheel, thats about it. CDNS are so crazy up here they do not know how to describe these cars, thats why I was so confused.

Heres some samples of ads here, this is why I asked.
http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/detai...5&adid=5763261
http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/detai...0&adid=5821197

And yes want the one with side marker lights on the fenders, so Euro,,lol. I don't even think we can get leather up here, but it doesn't interest me either. Thanks for your input. That site cleared up the ES and GT options in Canada.

Olestra

Our packages are named differently than the states. =) I don't know anything about Proteges so I can't distinguish between them.

J-Protege

Not really - There is just 1 trim for the hatchback in Canada as well, simply the Protege5. There is no P5 ES or P5 GT. That's just dealers trying to make their ad stick out from the rest.

As well, if you want the Protege feel, but more zoom, you could look into the MazdaSpeed Edition. 35 more HP I believe (135 on the regular engine, 170 with the turbo).

I may be wrong on that, but it's still a notable power increase.

Da P-Funk!

Just to be clear - the MazdaSpeed was a sedan - not available as a P5.

It does sound like a good car for you from what you have described!

J-Protege

True, but with the P5 front end, and unique spoiler/body kit/rims, it has more flair than your everyday DX.

Da P-Funk!

To be clear- i meant the P5 would be a good car. (If it wasn't for the P5 i would not own a Protege. My wife (at the time) said - gee - why not just get a 'regular' protege?

I made the bleah sound and bought the P5 (and later divorced her). Overall - i think i have made the right decisions...

*This is purely my own opinion - i am not H8'n on the other proteges*