The leather is great! get it!

Makes a big big difference in the interior - makes the car look a lot more upscale, and feels much better. I know the P5 is pretty, but I am usually on the inside, not the outside, and I want it to look and feel good from the inside.

The leather is great! get it!

Yes, it is a cheap option, but you are unlikely to find leather in a car without the moonroof etc, so if you just want leather without other options it is either a long search or a lot extra.

The leather is great! get it!

I personally think the extra is worth it, of course YMMV...

By the way, the leather is great! Get it!

Just wanted to share something that I thought was pretty funny...


The first dealer I visited to check out the Protege5 told me that the manual transmission was "obsolete" and that he couldn't find one anywhere.

At the second dealer I went to, when I said that I wanted the leather interior (they didn't have any on the lot), the salesman told me I "could always add leather later." Uhh...hello? Why would I want to get a brand new car and then pay close to a grand for an upholstery shop to redo the interior? That was enough to convince me that the guy wasn't shy about b.s.'ing, so good-bye.

In comparison, the dealer I bought my car from took the time to locate the exact car I wanted, even though he had two 5-speeds in silver on the lot (one was totally base, the other loaded.)

The Protege5 might not be a BMW or a Mercedes, but you're still spending spending close to $20,000 in all--so make sure you get exactly what you want! You're going to have to live with the car for several years, so think about that before you settle for anything less.

I've got a custom leather package in mine. Red & black leather seats with embroidered P5 logo and interior panels. I'll post some pics later.

For us Canadians, leather wasn't an option for the 2002 model year, I am not sure if it is an option for the 2002.5 or 2003 years. You lucky Americans.:(

Actually Not too hard to find around here
 

I found my P5 with the only option being leather and a couple of other searches I did thourgh mazda's site all the p5s I found were silver without all those other options. I was really surprised because I thought the same thing that the dealer would have the car so loaded down with options that I wouldn't get it but when I saw a dealer had a silver (which was my first color choice), 5 speed (only way I was getting it), plus it was a mid cycle refresh, and it had leather it was the perfect car so I went down and bought it the same day. I feel I finally got a new car exactly the way I wanted it no regrets.

Tony