Comparison: 2000 Toyota Celica GT vs. 2003.5 Protege 5

[WayneTeK]

I used to be a proud owner of the 2000 Toyota Celica GT, but had to give it away to my sister.

I've only had my Protege 5 for 1 month now, and I've noticed some considerable differences about both cars..

Pros for Celica:
-Waay better handling; doesn't exhibit body roll as much
-Could take a 90 degree corner at 40 mph w/o understeer
-Auto tranny feels more stable than Mp5 auto tranny
-Awesome MPG. On a full tank, I could go 450miles...

Cons for Celica:
-Lack of power
-lack of rear space
-not the best bang for buck. toyota charges you for everything!!

Pros for Mp5:
-The 2.0L displacement gives it a better power feel than the 1.8L on the Celica
-Roomier
-4 doors! Gotta love it!
-Cheaper and comes with more accessories. Best bang 4 buck.
-On top of that, gotta love the fact that it comes with Strut Bar, leather wrapped steering wheel, side skirts, sub woofer and fog lamps.

Cons for Mp5:
-Can't corner as well
-Too loud on freeway
-horrible miles per gallon.. I can only average 300 ~ 350 miles on full tank
-too much wind noise
-tranny doesn't feel as stable as Celica
-exhibts too much body roll
-cruise control mechanism is too buggy. the interface isn't as user friendly as the celica was.
-sport shift feature isn't effective. when shifting from 1st to second via sport shift, doesn't even change gears... have to push down on lever twice to get it shifting... (perhaps this is only my car?)


Don't get me wrong. I still love my Mp5. Great bang 4 buck. My only complain is gas and the handling on it. Doesn't handle as great as the Celica and never will have the great mpg as the Celica had...

Goodbye Celica. You've served me well. I look forward to my next car though, Infiniti Coupe G35 (BLACK)...

 

[shumax]

The Celica has a bigger gas tank than the P5. That's the reason why you aren't going as far on a tank of gas in the P5.

Curt B. Shumaker

 

[gimpo2]

the manual for the MP5 says that you have to wait about 2 seconds after moving the shift knob into manual before it starts to shift when you tell it to

 

[WayneTeK]

The Celica has a bigger gas tank than the P5. That's the reason why you aren't going as far on a tank of gas in the P5.

Curt B. Shumaker

wrong again bro... they both have same fuel capcity... Celica's engine is just damn efficient... plus the Mp5 has a shorter gear ratio... another reason why highway miles per gallon ain't so great...

CELICA --> http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2402.htm

Protege 5 -->http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/new/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/23279.htm

 

[michaelnchelle]

I happen to have both of these cars now, except my P5 is a manual, Celica GT is an auto. The P5 is mine, the Celica is my fiance's.

First off, what the hell is a "stable" automatic transmission??

Second off, hes right about the gas mileage. I dont really know why, but the Celica GT with the auto has the most incredible gas mileage, its like some kind of secret computer programming in the auto trans logic that lets it get awesome mileage. The same engine in a stick-shift Celica is rated at like 32mpg, but in the auto its rated at 36mpg. And I know for a fact, on a long highway trip, u can break 40mpg if u keep the speed level and dont get a lot of hills (we did this in Florida a lot). My P5 gets like 31 on average, but I dont drive it with fuel economy in mind... lol

I would also give the nod to the Celica on handling, but its also a completely different type of car, it better handle well. But, its also darty, more like a race car... I still think that even though ultimate grip isnt as high, the P5 feels more controlled in curves. More "stable" (this is where stable makes sense!)

But... heres a fun fact... the P5 is faster from a standing start. Now, I havent raced a stick Celica GT, but the auto, we can smoke them. I know, cause I drove the Celica, and let her drive the P5 when we raced. She cant drive stick very well... and shes afraid to rev a car. I am not... I tried very hard with the Celica, and she smoked me with my P5. I cant imagine a 5-speed Celica will be THAT much faster, so I think we can take them too. Not a GTS, I know that... but still... good to know. But, when the V-VTi kicks in, the P5 gets beat. So dont race Celicas from a roll, and dont race to high speeds... stick to stoplight-to-stoplights.

Overall though, I love both cars... they make a perfect pair for the garage. The only better combination to me would be a RX-8 instead of the Celica... to keep it "all Mazda". She wants an RX-8... so maybe we will trade up when finances permit!

 

[CanMP5]

Well, for MPG I usually get better than that... then again I've got a manual transmission.

It's true though the Celica does have crazy mileage...friends of mine have it and take the mandatory Canadian-cottage-longweekend-ritual and same story...

Maybe @ 60mph + that's where aerodynamics kicks in (who knows)...I don't know the drag coeffs. of both cars but considering the amount of wind noise we get we probably have a lot of wind resistance. Maybe that's the difference in the mileage!

 

[jaje]

celice is also 300-400lbs lighter than the mp5 helping gas mileage...it should also be faster in acceleration and have better reflexes

but you are comparing a 5 door wagon to a 2 door sporty coupe

 

[shumax]

wrong again bro... they both have same fuel capcity... Celica's engine is just damn efficient... plus the Mp5 has a shorter gear ratio... another reason why highway miles per gallon ain't so great...

My mistake, "bro."

Curt B. Shumaker

 

[Stealth5]

get new springs and your little body roll problem is history

 

[jayka]

Is protege5 auto faster than celica GT auto when I race it from stoplight to stoplight?

 

[Iconoclast]

HEY!!!

I DIDNT GET A DAMN SUBWOOFER W/ MY P5!!!

 

[WayneTeK]

HEY!!!

I DIDNT GET A DAMN SUBWOOFER W/ MY P5!!!

I think subwoofer comes w/ only 2003.5 models..?

 

[PhreekPhive]

Someone at work, new guy, was trying to tell me that I was wrong for getting a P5, and should have gotten a Celica. I dont know what he is talking about...

The built in sub is probably not worth it. And they probably charge you more for it. I know the MP3 doesn't come with much, and someone at my work has the Nissan SRT(?) with a sub. It's a joke. The only nice thing is that its up and out of the way. My car went from a wagon to a 4 seater when we installed my stuff, it almost went to a 2 seater, but we barely had enough space. Could always take out the back seat and add two more subs...

Phreek

 

[jjac28]

Isnt the celica a 2-door sports car? ....of course you gonna have different driving characteristics in a p5!
it's a different car....5 doors ,very versatile and a sporty economy car