New P5 Owner

[nullomodo]

As of last night I officially became a P5 owner.

I have been looking for something to replace my SUV, as gas prices have been killing me, and a red Protege5 caught my eye at the dealership.

It is a 2002 model, completely loaded, black leather interior, tiptronic auto, sliding moonroof, etc, with only 8,000 miles. Talked the dealer down to 11,300 for it and took it home that night. So far I love it, I drive at least 90 miles on the highway every day so I hope I get fuel economy around 30mpg as it was advertised. The red exterior looks very sharp with the black inside, and this car is just plain fun to drive (something I can't say about the old SUV).

 

[dosle]

congrats, yes on the highway you should be getting some good mpg. if you move into intake and exhaust mods it will bump the mpg up a little more.

welcome to the board!~

 

[CHEFS P5]

awesome

I've got 2 p5's.
Mine is yellow, my wifes is red. They are both just the same as yours. We love our cars and drive them alot. Mine a few Mods to it, and still get 32 mpg with the cruise set at 77mph.
Ciao

 

[Giallou P5]

Welcome to the boards sir (salute). Good luck with the car and if you need or have any questions just post it. There are many car craze people on here that know alot about alot of things. So feel free to ask away. Once again welcome, cngrats and good luck with the car

(salute)

 

[rjmhotrod]

Glad to hear of another dissatisfied SUV owner.

Congrats and welcome. You'll like this forum. 8K miles huh? That thing must have been sitting for awhile. You should get somewhere around 30 mpg depending on your driving style and whole host of other things. Lots of threads about mpg in the past if your interested. Just do a search.

 

[+ friction]

I used to ride my bike to work, but when I bought my first house (couldn't afford downtown) the commute turned into an average of 40 minutes a day...that's when I traded in the CR-V for the P5.

The cargo space is not quite the same, but it is sufficient for even my long camping/festival excursions. And hell yeah, this thing is alot more fun to drive on top of the great MPG.

Enjoy!

 

[nullomodo]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

Right off the bat I have a couple questions though:

I notice that in the recommended service manual it states that the spark plugs should be replaced at 24 months or 30,000 miles (wow, that seems really eary to me, but anyway....) my car is two years old, but only 8,000 miles, do you think it would be overkill to worry about replacing spark plugs right now?

Also, it seems from reading the manual that the recommended oil change interval is 7500 miles, is this really right? I have always done 3,000 mile changes in the past, but I will do whatever the manufacturer recommends. What do you all typically do?

 

[dosle]

i change at every 3000 with synthetic, unless i'm really poor. i think most people do it @ 3k

 

[+ friction]

There are a million threads on the oil change topic (check the search icon above), but you will find no one agrees on this anyway...follow the manual and you'll be fine regardless.

I use synthetic blend and go around 6,000 miles before changes (plus I drive alot of city miles), but have had no problems.

 

[JOS3]

(hi) welcome

i wouldnt worry about the spark plugs if you only have 8k miles. i change my oil every 3000 miles and rotate the tires every 2nd or 3rd oil change (6k - 9k miles)

 

[nullomodo]

Well, after putting 100 miles on it today driving too and from work, I have to say I love the car even more. Quiet and smooth on the highway, very fun on the twists and turns, nice supportive seats...

My only complaint is that the stock stereo sucks huge hairy donky-balls, but since it is a double-din unlike the new Mazda3, that will be easily remedied .

 

[kolashaker]

Yes the OEM stereo sucks, but how 'bout them twisties? Pretty cool, huh? They never get boring in the P5. Congratulations

 

[Wwing49]

bend over!....er.... i mean welcome! anyway i duno if ull get quite 30... for me its more round 26 or 7 on highway

 

[mountjonas]

welcome! depending on the car, climate, etc, your mileage will vary. i average about 31mpg freeway driving. if i didn't get black, i would've bought the red. good choice and welcome again!

 

[Mad Hatter]

Hey, welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place for all you Mazda ?'s. Don't forget to try searching the threads for your questions, chances are good I already asked them, along with every other noob.

 

[Chiguy_2002]

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good information out here. I get around 25MPG, mixed city/hwy driving.

 

[Wwing49]

ok is there something im doing wrong? im usually getting 22 23 mixed driving. using 87 from usually BP or Mobile. WTF?!?!?

 

[Captain KRM P5]

welcome the forums!

 

[Chiguy_2002]

This may sound like a plug for Shell Gas, but that is what I am using, 87.

When I used to have a Supercharged Frontier Truck, I took it on a road trip. On the way there I put in Mobile, 89. Got 11 MPG (hand) . On the way back, filled it up with Shell, 89. Got 15 MPG (2thumbs). Still crappy, especially since I am comparing that to 25 for my P5 now, but a difference between the gas showed. (This is also why I no longer have the Frontier). Just my 2 cents...

ok is there something im doing wrong? im usually getting 22 23 mixed driving. using 87 from usually BP or Mobile. WTF?!?!?

 

[Suomi]

I also just bought a P5. Mine is a silver '02 5speed. These things are a blast in the twisties. It seems to take the curves as well as my '89 Prelude with Eibach Pro-Kit springs, but with a much smoother ride.