Well, I know why. If I didn't, then I'd be getting a civic (which s a nice car.. but, you know.. not quite as... P5ish)

But my parents need convinsing. It'd be great if you kind, kind sirs and madams could help me out with some facts about the greatness of a P5.

(Or at least tell me where I can find them)

thanks
Lao-tzu

 

well it's more practical then a civic, it looks much nicer and more powerful, it's built in japan and shipped over here, while most japanese companies now bring the parts over and the cars are made in USA, Canada or Mexico. The price it good, and it looks nice (i know i said it twice).

Well depending on which civic, the P5 are more superior, unless you arae talking about the Si. But to the sedan and coupe, the P5 is a better choice, unless you are serious of modding up the car with mugen parts and other stuff, but you can also do that with the P5.

What it really boils down to, is what car can you see yourself driving for 5 to 6 years. If you like the P5 over the civic, get the P5. If you like the civic over the P5, get the civic, it all depends on what you want to drive and what you can afford.

ehehe i want a skyline, but i don't have the money.

 

best convincing method, is test driving. it's a great looking car, out-handles the competition imho, and it has some pep to it. if i wouldve known the p5 was coming out when i bought my 2000.. i wouldve waited. but anyway, get em in the car for a test drive... that'll definately convince them.

 

Uh, What? The P5 is more powerful than the Civic. Which model. I would be willing to bet that even the LX with 117 rated Hp can compete with the P5 as far as wheel HP goes. Sure the P5 is rated at 130, but no one gets even close to that, more like 98 WHP. I believe that the EX Civic states 127ish HP which is more like 110 WHP. My Si that I had dynoed at 146.6 WHP completely stock.

If you WANTED to modify a Civic or a P5, I will asure you that it will cost a hell of a lot more money to mod a P5 than a Civic any day. The aftermarket LOVES the Honda.

That said, I would still buy the Protege. The fit and finish of the Mazda is better overall. I am at a age now where practical is the better. My 99 Si just wasn't practical enough to start a family with, so I sold it and got my Pro.

Look at what your goals are. If you want to modify the hell out of a car, go Honda. If not, the Pro is a better fit-n-finish practical car.

Good Luck

 

take the parentals down to have a lookee-see. get mom to test drive it (dads are easy, mom's need big time persuasion).

you'll be riding in your new 5 in no time.

 

Oops, I meant to type 141.6 whp, still nice but not 146.6

 

Let's not forget about the incredible 1.5 ft/lbs of Torque on that little screamer....

 

i belive the last test number i read at whp was around 125 or so.

i got it from a magazine, ummm turbo i think. its the one with the orange bomex silvia on it.

the put on a set of racing hart c5's i think, and an hks exhaust and a hks mega flow filter and it was pusing 129 and over right around 130 ft/lbs.

so as far as hp loss at the wheels form the crank, it doesnt seem to loose much. however, the weight of the car may cause the civic to perform slightly better.

id still go with the P5 though.

less people mod out proteges then civics obviously, and to me that makes them more rarish, and well more "cool". plus i mean its a five door hatch, and you just dont see that many cool 5 doors running around.

and its has much much more storage room compared to the civic, and it consumes very little gas, i think the estamated mpg was 25 city, and 30ish highway with a stick, but thats the number on the sticker, i dont think i know anyone who gets that.

buy a P5, let someone else get the civic. oh and right now, its getting to the year end close out, and can get great deals, and depending on where your family works or you, i tihnk you can get into the mazda s-plan or something like that, it could save you and extra couple bucks.

but the test drive will sell you. go now. go now and drive one.

 

Here is my 2 cents:

A Civic or a Honda in general is very reliable. They can last for quite a while without much major problems in most case. I have been driving a 88' CRX with over 200k miles with no major fix at all. Same thing goes to my brother's 96' Civic HX. Their power & handling is decent, but the interior looks kind of lame on the new models. I have a friend that owns a 01' Civic coupe and the interior looks very plasticy and toy-like. Civics are also everywhere, and the car don't seem to have much personality, both in the way it drives and the way it looks.

A P5 on the other hand is slightly less reliable because there are occasional glitches or minor fix heard from different owners from this board and others, but still a very reliable car nonetheless. More room and cargo space. Very sharp styling and cornering, thanks to the good chassis design and suspensions. Nice interior for a low price car. Less on the street, and causes more head turns Definitely a car that makes its proud owner smiles everytime he/she looks at it.

The choice is yours. Good luck!

P.S. If you can afford a $20k price tag, the Mazdaspeed Protege may even be a better option. But better reserve one before the 2000 units sold out. Use the search engine to dig up more details.

 

Ok, now that you've heard all their opinions, here is one from a previous 7thgen ( 2k1) civic owner.

Performance: Accleration on a straight line, if both cars are stick, the car that would out perform the other would be the driver. Since both cars are so close in HP/torque/weight, the performance difference is minimal.

Handling: P5 will outhandle most cars in it's price range - including the Civic (any trim level)

Storage: P5 has more storage - no question about it.

Fit/Finish: As a previous 2001 Civic owner, i can tell you that there are more reported problems for the new civics. In addition, there are also 2 recalls on the new civics. No recalls for the P5. Most owners find some small annoyances in the P5 such has minor rattles and wind noise, but those aren't problems with the car and those annoyances can be "fixed". The interior of the P5 looks a lot nicer especially the white gauges and the faux CF trim. Civic interior looks very basic and layout has no "personality".

What you get: Only higher end trim civics will give you 15" alloys, 4 wheel disc brakes and abs. Power windows/locks, remote entry and cdplayer. Whereas the P5 comes with ALL of it including 16" alloys. Your options are Moonroof/Transmission and a/c. Everything else is standard.

Styling: P5 no questions - but then again, some people's opinions differ.

Bonus: You get extra WOW points when you do up a P5 compared to all the 999999999trillion done up civics.

All in all - go test drive one. Go sit in it. Go eat lunch in it, maybe even have sex in it and you'll know which one is the right car.

 

I won't comment on the assembly quality of cars from US or Mexican plants, but I have owned 4 Honda cars over the years that were built in Japan, and then a '97 Acura 1.6 EL (which is really a Civic sedan) that was built at the Canada Honda plant in Alliston,Ontario, which I believe builds all Civics for the North American market. The Alliston plant over the years has won many awards for such things as build quality and lowest number of defects of all Honda plants worldwide. My experiince with my 5 year old EL supports that.
But.... when it came time earlier this year to get a car for my wife,we did not even look closely at Civics .... for reasons mentioned by others.... we just do not like the current Civic line... and too many on the road and too mundane.... so my wife has a P5 and is delighted with it after 5 totally problem-free months....

 

well for the options the p5 comes with its cheaper than any other car in the same class, if you want a civic with power everything, 16" rims, low pro tires, and the bigger engine you will have to pay at least 3 grand more plus its a civic, it still won't have as much power and the civic SI (car with the bigger engine) is only a 2 dr Vs the P5 which is a 5 dr. Also the p5 has more room all around, its not as shitty looking as a focus or a matrix and its got 4 wheel disc brakes + ABS + EFD standard (in canada) where as all the others ive seen have crapy *** drums brakes inthe rear
________
Mazda navajo history

 

Yes, I agree, the number one thing that will convince your Mom is value. The P5 comes LOADED.
And not with junky Hyundai/Daewoo quality stuff either. This is a prime car. Even Consumer Reports
gives it a "recommended" rating. This should convince any 'rent.

 

Thank you all.

I test drove the P5 and... WOW. I'm getting it! It'll be the option with a/c but no moonroof.

(Not that my parents know this yet.. but I think my dad agrees)

Man, that is one SWEET car.

 

What color you look'n at? White and yellow look the nicest IMO. But to each their own!