What do you like about the Protege and/or P5?
 

I have read alot of gripes about the lack of horsepower and other various things but, what do you like about them. Why did you buy it as oppose to something else? What was the something else?

I tried all the ones mentioned above but, for the 'best bang for the buck' my P5 won! :cool:

I test-drove all of the above, and then some. Kia should be ashamed of themselves.

Embarrassingly enough, it was the zero-percent deal that finally settled me on Mazda. I was all set to buy a Toyota Echo, and then that came along. More car for lower payments...can't go wrong. But I made the right choice.

after my civic got totaled, i was looking at GTIs, another civic, focus, and this, but i got really nice deal on the mazda, and the fact its parshly owned by ford helped a little too

i test drove the impreza sport and it was nothing to write home about. took a ride, and then drove, my ex's focus zx3, again... nothing really. it was peppy being a 5speed with mods, but the big drawback was that big blue oval all over the car. and the styling, personally, didn't go well with me. then i went for a test drive in the p5. whoa... i was in love. the steering was concise, the suspension tight, the comfort was above average especially compared to the two i test drove. but then i aw the matrix. i thought i fell in love. the tv commercials showed a sweet car. i waited and waited till the local toyota dealer had one. once it came in, i went down to check it out. i almost fainted when i saw it! it was the ugliest thing to come out of toyota! but i still had faith. i took it for a drive, and even in xrs format, it was lackluster. there is absolutely no power for city driving unless you rev it pass 6K. since it was new, i got the "please don't do that again, it's brand new." that and those god awful seats! talk about mini minivan bastardization of a good concept! with those seats and not quite firm enough suspension, i leaned all over (way more than the p5). so that same day, we went back to the mazda dealer and got serious with them. got the car for $500 under invoice with 0%. the car was built in june, came to the dealership on august 3, was bought august 5. been mine since without one regret. sure, who wouldn't want more power, but compared to the rest of the cars i looked at, it's comparable.

The "other" car
 

I test drove a Golf before I decided on the Protege5.

I went to a local (Boston-area) VW/Mazda dealership, and I made the mistake of telling the salesman that I was really not interested in talking "money" at all, I just wanted to test drive both the Golf and the Protege5. It was beside the point that I think the salesguy I was assigned looked (and acted) like he had just woken up...but I was unimpressed by the Golf.

I test drove the GLS, and the salesguy kept telling me how much room there was inside, bla bla bla. I was cramped, being 6'4", and it didn't help that for some reason, the equally tall salesguy decided to sit behind me, so I had to inch my seat up to make room for him. I also felt as though the dash layout was weird and non-sensical, and the view from the various rear windows was awkward (with someone sitting in the back seat, my view was even more ridiculously limited).

Then, when I asked if I could test drive the Protege5, the guy said "since you're not going to buy, no, you can't."

So I left and bought my Protege5 elsewhere...and I couldn't be happier.

I've also heard some annoying stories from coworkers and friends about their Golfs...one coworker's battery just died (on a 3-month old Golf), and she had to get it towed back to the dealership...apparantly it's normal practice to put a new battery in a car after it's been sitting on a lot for a while (which is news to me), but the VW guys didn't do that. And then her stereo just cut out...and then the recalls...etc etc ;)

I was actually looking for a used car for around 12-13k. What I wanted was a 2000 civic EX sedan with a 5 speed. I found 2 civic EX sedans and both were auto. I was very serious about one, but the salesman was trying to screw me over. They wanted 15k for the car. The lowest I could get them to was 14k. The salesman also told me an EX went for around 23k brand new. I just left, and as I was walking out the door he said he could try and get the price lower, but I didn't care anymore. Then I remembered reading about the MP3 in a road and track so I went to the Mazda dealership and they had my car with a sign on it that said $15,500. So I went home and did research for about a month on the protege and went and test drove it a couple times. Then I went there and talked the salesguy I always talked to and I asked if I could still get it for $15,500. He asked his manager who said yes. It was $1100 below MSRP plus the $1500 rebate. Then I tried to get them to throw in mud flaps and a block heater for free. But we ended up paying almost full price for them. It ended up being $16,125 out the door.

well i started off with protege '00 es . my dad wanted me to buy the civic and he went on about how reliable they are ,the neighbour has one blah blah blah...
so i went to test drive one. i wasnt impressed... the engine was loud ,you sit really low and of course everyone drives one. definately not my cup of tea...
one day i was driving with my girlfriend when this car passes us...
it looked really good so i quickly looked and saw that it was a mazda protege.....
the next day i went to mazda to test the protege and wow was i hooked!
the styling , handling, the peppy engine, high quality interior just blew me away!
this was my car!
i drove it for 3 years and until i had 65k on it and traded it for a new pro5.
when the new pro5 came out i just knew i had to have it.

the pro5 isa big improvement over the '00 model but both cars have v.similar characteristics. since then i've looked at and test drove other cars and i can say with great confidence that this car is a gem. theres nothing really to complain about.
other cars suck compared to the pro.

best deal for the money and a lot more fun to drive!!:)

It was the whole package itself. It's one of the best looking in its price range and class. The p5 came w/ 6 speakers, cd as stock equipment, the most room in its class, lots of back seat room, 16" wheels, and it looked like it had an aftermarket bodykit on already. For just under 22k, it was the best deal I got. Even w/ the 4.9% over 60months, I don't regret this at all. It even came w/ A/C and Moonroof. Other cars had a lot of options packages but the p5 came stock w/ ABS, cruise, and power everything. Plus the ability to remove the back seat cushions completely was very tempting. Also brand loyalty played a big part for my decision. You can see by my callsign, I used to drive a 91, my dad owned it for 10 years before handing it to me. Now he drives a 2001 MPV (last production year that still came from japan), and now I bought the '03 p5.

my favorite thing about my Protege, is the interior, its beutiful in my opinion. I've got the black carcoal inside. Also the seats are so comfortable, never got out of the car in pain :D , and the car looks killer even with the old front bumper style

i use this car as my primary transportation...so bought it
for its good looks, practicality, cargo room, wife's practice
car to beatup MT training sessions :D haha, and convenicen
package, oh and good milage, regular gas, and low maintenance,
and the list goes on. :p dont forget great handling (to say
a car has ''great handling'' is a far shot to say that the car
has no power). hahaha.

my comments are very realistic (3rd person).

i currently have the cars i want, but if i had more cash
laying around, i would go out and get me a G35 coupe 6MT not
to replace the pro5, but as an addition to my hobby car collection.

Recent grad rebate and the handling of the car.

I really like the way the car communicates with you. The feedback from the steering and brakes are exceptional. The looks and the lay out of the interior doesn't say econobox at all like the other cars do. I feel so happy while driving this car. I really can't explain it. I have an Infinity G35 but the P5 is a lot more fun to drive.

I bought the P5 as a second car to haul around my bicycle. Selling the G35 has crossed my mind a few times since I bought the P5. I paid $16,300 for a fully loaded 2003 P5 and could not be happier.:cool:

Its actually kind of funny, I bought my car with out even driving it. I test drove sentras, focuses, a tiburon, civics, a corolla and a elantra GT. From the first time I saw the Protege, I knew I wanted it. I got in the car the fist time after I bought it and fell in love all over again. In an overall package, NOTHING beats a Protege.