First time driving the Mazda 2

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c7scayman

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96 Mazda Protege DX 1.5L
I have a 96 Mazda Protege DX 1.5L with 92HP and 96 torque and it weighs 2384 lbs. 5 speed manual.
The Mazda 2 I drove has a 1.5L with about 100HP and torque and it weighs 2381 lbs. 5 speed manual.

I have driven it for 6 years. My Protege still runs very well, but needs a new front suspension, brakes, rotors, muffler, and the body is not in the best shape and I have been driving for past year without 2nd gear (Synchro bad). Car is valued at $700. Repairs are $1200.

I thought the Mazda 2 would be the perfect replacement. I wanted a car that feels the same. A Car whose handling and acceleration and high revving engine noise is similar to my Protege.

After driving the Mazda 2, I was a bit disappointed. Did all newer cars go soft? The Mazda 2 felt slower, smoother, and quieter. It was no where near as fun to drive and it has much less back seat space and trunk space than my larger, 3 lb heavier Protege.

I went around the corner pretty fast in the M2 and there was lots of body roll and tires screeched a little. My Protege hugs the road so well and tires never screech, probably because they are much wider than the M2 tires.

If Mazda built me a replica of my 96 Protege, I would buy it all over again. I am going to keep my Protege alive as long as possible since they don't make cars nearly as fun anymore.

Anyone feels the same way? Any ex-323 or 1st-2nd gen Protege owners?
 
Keep in mind cars now have a ton of airbags, better crash\crumple zones, abs, stability\traction control so, yes the size of the old protege is a little bigger in the trunk for the protege of the same weight.

2's have a little body roll but it hunkers down and handles well when pushed to the limit. Tires (when hot) scream bloody murder but they are all seasons. She's the closest thing youre going to get to a mid 90's basic transportation car where its a tin can and a motor with no extra weight. The motor is to be desired but its still pretty fun. The protege guys generally migrated to the mazda3 (ive owned 3 of them) and though she's a little heavier they make up for it in power so it may be up your ally so go try one of those.
 
As fam mentioned, the safety equipment that comes with newer vehicles makes them heavier. You cannot compare two vehicles of different ages that are the same weight and expect similar results. The Mazda2 is meant to be a comfortable commuter while the 90's Protege was meant to be a sporty alternative to a Civic or Corolla. There is nothing stopping you from installing coilovers, wider tires, and a cold air intake to make it sound and perform like your Protege.

If you're not happy with it, try test driving the Mazda3. If that doesn't suit your fancy, test drive a few 2002-2003 Proteges and Protege5s. There are still plenty of low mile examples on the used market and it will give you the light weight vehicle you are looking for with more power than you're used to.
 
If you think the 2 is "soft" (which I don't), try driving it's competition! The Fit is pretty good, but the 2's steering is still better I find. The Fiesta? Bloated and actually "soft" from my perspective. The Rio, Versa, Accent, are not even in the same driving dynamics league as the 2 as they are really sprung to comfort and not performance at all. The 2 is a freaking Miata compared to those 3!
 
If you want real disappointment, drive your '98 Honda Civic to a Honda dealer and test drive a new Civic. My wife drove the new Civic about a mile, turned to me and asked "What's wrong with this car?" I never bothered test driving it. Piglet........ The Fit was much better, but not as much fun as the M2.

BTW, as the M2 engine breaks-in, it will get zippier.

John
 
My other car is an NA Miata. Do I need to say more? I did win an Autocross event with the 2 in stock. Bet you can't do that with your car. While the 2 seems like it has a bit of body roll, it does handle much better than you would expect. Just throw on better tires and you are done.
 
honest opinion? i didnt find my mz2 fun to drive coming from a 95 stang gt, 2k honda prelude, 99 e36. i bought the car for gas consumption. but when i finally bought it and drove it like how i wanted to, i fell inlove with it. honestly u wont feel the power tcs on or off. but try driving it on a CORNEr then u will realize how fun it is. dont expect much out of it comes to horse power. its all about pulling out of a corner.
 
shortfuse12 said:
honest opinion? i didnt find my mz2 fun to drive coming from a 95 stang gt, 2k honda prelude, 99 e36. i bought the car for gas consumption. but when i finally bought it and drove it like how i wanted to, i fell inlove with it.honestly u wont feel the power tcs on or off. but try driving it on a CORNEr then u will realize how fun it is. dont expect much out of it comes to horse power. its all about pulling out of a corner.
Click to expand...

That's what we're all talking about. No one here is claiming it's a fast car or even a performance car. It's about how connected you feel when driving it, the responsiveness to input and it's great handling. If your definition of fun is strictly 0-60 times, burnouts or stop light drags, then of course it's not a "fun" car. But if your definition is responsiveness to input and handling, the 2 is a blast.
 
moniz said:
That's what we're all talking about. No one here is claiming it's a fast car or even a performance car. It's about how connected you feel when driving it, the responsiveness to input and it's great handling. If your definition of fun is strictly 0-60 times, burnouts or stop light drags, then of course it's not a "fun" car. But if your definition is responsiveness to input and handling, the 2 is a blast.
Click to expand...

+1 The 2 is just an econobox, except for the fact that it is indeed the most entertaining to drive out of all the other econoboxes on the market. Great fuel economy and enough handling prowess in traffic, or on an on-ramp, or a twisty little road, to put a smile on your face. It definitely is nothing more than Mazda marketed it to be, and for a brief time (before the Fiat 500 was released) was one of the lightest modern vehicles on the market, which is considerable considering all of the safety equipment.
 
moniz said:
That's what we're all talking about. No one here is claiming it's a fast car or even a performance car. It's about how connected you feel when driving it, the responsiveness to input and it's great handling. If your definition of fun is strictly 0-60 times, burnouts or stop light drags, then of course it's not a "fun" car. But if your definition is responsiveness to input and handling, the 2 is a blast.
Click to expand...

+2

i hate it for it's lack of power, and hope that the intake/exhaust and lightweight crank pulley will make up for some of it, but the second i hit a corner or twistie road or my canyon run every day on the way to work, i fall in love with it. It's an awesome feeling
 
The 150 hp 2.0l they put in the 3's would make for a world of difference...no need to have to turbo it (that way we could turbo the 2.0l later on our own lol)
 
Yes it was a new Mazda 2 with only 10 miles on it at a Mazda dealership. From what I can tell, the only difference between the 2 I drove and my old Protege is that the 2 has a CD player, remote, and power windows/locks. Everything else was the same. FWD. Same weight. About the same power. The 2 just felt so much more civilized. Too quiet. Too much body roll for me. Engine not peppy enough. Feels slower than my 96 Protege when it is actually 0.5 seconds quicker from 0-60mph. Oh, and the shift knob is placed too high. I have to get the optional arm rests to feel comfortable.

I have driven the Mazda 3 dozens of times. old and new. It is closer to the old Protege in feel than anything. But I was hoping the almost identical (in specs) Mazda 2 would be more fun.

Also, I have literally driven over 300 cars(yeah I kept a list-My goal is to reach 500, just got to wait for new cars to come out). I worked in 3 car dealerships over the last 7 years. I have driven them all. Fits, Fiesta's, Yaris, Versa, Sonic, etc. Even the NSX, 65 Mustang, classic and new Corvette's, many Porsche's.

Also have driven the 01-03 Protege's and Protege5's and even the 03.5 Mazdaspeed Protege(almost bought it). But still even they were a slightly softer and 400 lbs heavier than my 96 Protege.
 
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If it was brand new with 10 miles on the odometer, something is to be said about engine not being broken in.

Otherwise, I'd say, if you don't like it -- you don't like it. Nothing can change that, really.
 
arcxer said:
If it was brand new with 10 miles on the odometer, something is to be said about engine not being broken in.

Otherwise, I'd say, if you don't like it -- you don't like it. Nothing can change that, really.
Click to expand...

x2
 
^^ x3 . i bought mine just as a work car but like other on here have loved driving it ,just love how it connects, its probly the lowest hp car i have ever had but still is fun as hell for me, but like above mentioned if you dont like it you dont like it nothing wrong with that . at least you tried it out and were honest
 
i feel like the 2 was an experiment.

its not mazdas eco car for the US since skyactiv gets over 60mpg at 55mph.
its not mazdas lil demon being only what 96whp?
its deff one of the best looking mazdas imo.

i think mazda really just wanted to give ppl a car to have fun with. and so far it seems to be working.

ive driven (before my 2)

>fit
>aveo5
>civic

and yes power and gas wise they make the 2 seem like its chugging gas like a v8.
but i never had that much fun in those cars.

the 2 just takes a beating and asks for more. even with an automatic its fun.
 
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