Motor Trend Comparison

scooby419

Member
:
02 Protege 5
Has anyone read the article in the new Motor Trend comparing the P5, the WRX wagon, and the Matrix? It says the same thing that all of the other reviews have said. Good handling, but needs more power. They also said that it doesnt have much cargo room for a wagon. It has plenty of room for all of my crap, so thats good enough for me. A lot of their praise goes to the WRX, but that is also much more expensive than the P5. If I spent the difference in prices on performance mods there is no question in my mind that i could beat the WRX they tested.
 
Motortrend has a long history of comparing bananas and tomatos. This test had nearly $9000 between the P5 and the WRX. That is fair, right.
 
In the article it said that they had just upgraded to a step one set of rims and tires. That alone cost somewhere around $3000. Don't quote me on that price though. It should have give the WRX the advantage in handling, but the P5 still beat it out! That has to say something about how good the suspension is on our cars!
 
believe it or not guys but your P5 stock shocks are tokicos... but our good handling is mostly due to our height/width/wheelbase
 
hey equinox...
where did you hear that we have tokicos stock?? cuz if it's true that would be sweet...even though right now i'm kinda doubtful.

whitezoomzoom...
as far as shocks go....tokicos are probably the best shocks to can get without going to a full coilover setup...
 
what if Tokico MADE the OEM shocks for Pro5?

I'm just guessing, anyone care to clear this up? :D

melicha8 said:
I'm pretty sure we the p5's don't have tokicos we have regular oem shocks
 
McPherson strut is a TYPE of suspension setup, where the strut/shock (they are the same thing) is placed in the middle of the spring, a simple(read cheap), compact, yet very effective setup.

McPherson IS NOT A BRAND. just want to clear that up :D

still would like to know who makes the OEM shocks for the standard Pro and the P5 :)

Todd said:
I dont no if struts and shocks are the same thing or not but in an artical found at http://www.carbuytip.com/reviews/2002_mazda_protege5.html they say "MacPherson struts in front, with Mazda's proven Twin-Trapezoidal Link system in the rear."

Todd
 
The matrix XRS isn't even in the Matrix's segment. If they're kicking out their comparably equipped versions, it would have to be the P5 vs the Matrix XR, and the WRX wouldn't even be in the running. If anything, I'd put a PT Cruiser in the comparison just to get it's ass kicked and give some padding to the 2nd place car in this analysis.

Comparing the xrs instead of the xr (which is way closer to the P5's trim and price range) is stupid, of course you're going to get more engine for that kinda money. (the XRS' 1.8 celica engine vs' the P5's regular 2.0L)
 
WRX Wagon and P5...not a real comparison I think

Ok, for one, the WRX has almost 100 more hp than the P5. It's also AWD. I think the WRX Wagon should be compared to other wagons like the A4 or S4 Avant, IS 300 Wagon, etc. that put out similar horsepower figures.

Also, the price. The WRX is a lot more expensive than the P5 or Matrix. I actually was looking to get a WRX, wagon or sedan, but it was just too expensive for me at this point in my life so I got the P5. It's a great car for the money you know.

As for the Matrix XRS, I give it to them in putting the Celica GTS motor in that ride. That's a fast motor, but with the taller/higher profile tires of the Matrix, it makes the car feel sluggish since the motor lacks much torque on the low end. Ok, that's my 2 cents.
 
everybody keeps saying that the WRX wagon is sooo much better then the MP5...it's turbo charged, AWD, etc. etc...but what you have to remember is that the WRX is close to it not 10k more then our cars...give me that extra money and i'll make my P5 just as fast...yes i want a WRX and yes some day i'll get one but for right now my P5 is best for me(college is expensive)

not to mention for an econobox like ours to hang beat the WRX is pretty sweet!!
 
We do have Tokico's!

I installed my coil-overs my self about 2 months ago and was pleased to find out that our struts were Tokico, which ment I didn't have to waste any more money on my suspention. I'll try to snap a picture of the label this weekend.
 
please do post those pics...i'm really surprised that we have tokicos stock...no wonder our stock suspension is sooooo good...lol
 
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