hi,
i'm new to this forum... bought a vivid yellow p5 loaded with every option in the book about a month ago... the very next day i decided to take it on a cross country road trip out to AZ from NJ... hence the car now has 5600+ miles on it!
cars i own or have owned include: 99 honda civic ex coupe, 96 bmw 328is, 94 bmw 318i, 1986? volvo 240DL
what do i love about the p5?
- styling... this is one great looking car especially in the vivid yellow! got TONS of compliments from toll booth personnel, onlookers while driving and at rest areas, gas stations, shopping malls, etc... in fact, i've had more compliments in the short time i've owned the p5 than i ever have with the bmw... that just about says it all...
- above average gas mileage... got around 400 miles per tank during my trip to AZ while cruising between 80-90mph with with lots of spirited passing (a few runs in the low 100's)...
- good seats, especially in this price range... the subaru wrx definitely has better seats than the p5 as do bmw's, although these cars are in different price brackets... the wrx probably has the most comfortable seats (at least for me) compared to anything even remotely in it's price class...
- great handling... i don't think there's a brand new car under $20k msrp that handles better than this... the steering feel is dead on perfect for a car in this price range and the wheel itself is a joy to hold... on par if not better than the subaru wrx...
- good ergonomics although not on par with honda/bmw in this category (see below)
- great breaks and break feel in this price range... i prefer the p5 in this category over the wrx...
what annoys me about the p5?
- definitely needs another 20-30 hp to get full enjoyment, especially with a chassis this good... another 20 lbs. of torque wouldn't hurt either...
- wind noise is VERY annoying... i took off the roof rack before my trip and the wind noise was quite annoyiing at anything over 60-70mph depending on how windy it is outside...
- cup holders are way too shallow... why can't japanese carmakers build deeper cup holders such as those on bmw's... it can't be a cost factor... sheesh!
- not enough useable cubby holes... to stash items such as wallet, change, cell phone, cigarettes, etc...
- cheesy fake carbon fiber trim...
- although the seats are comfortable, they could use slightly more thigh length support (i'm only 5'10")... and ultimately could use a lumbar adjustment...
- non-standard license plate brackets... why???
- location of door lock... could learn a lesson from honda/bmw here... also the central door lock button is awkwardly placed... to nitpick further, when the child window safety lock is depressed, the driver should be able to roll the windows down...
- wipers make too much noise (motor noise) when in use...
- rough cold start...
- higher rpm during highway cruising than the honda/bmw...
- stereo is mediocre at best... the cd changer is also a bit on the slow side... overall on par with the honda civic but inferior to the harmon kardon system in the bmw's...
anyways, even with the numerous minor annoyances, this is still a great car! much better than anything under $20k... it may seem like i'm nitpicking about a lot of things but it would be longer list with other cars in this price range... ultimately, i'm comparing the p5 with a bmw which is not a fair comparison... however... at the current price, the p5 is nothing but a bargain...
the car is completely stock right now but short term upgrades will include:
- injen CAI
- catback exhaust
- alpine head unit, alpine 5 channel amp, alpine type R sub, polk momo component speakers
later,
tyr
i'm new to this forum... bought a vivid yellow p5 loaded with every option in the book about a month ago... the very next day i decided to take it on a cross country road trip out to AZ from NJ... hence the car now has 5600+ miles on it!
cars i own or have owned include: 99 honda civic ex coupe, 96 bmw 328is, 94 bmw 318i, 1986? volvo 240DL
what do i love about the p5?
- styling... this is one great looking car especially in the vivid yellow! got TONS of compliments from toll booth personnel, onlookers while driving and at rest areas, gas stations, shopping malls, etc... in fact, i've had more compliments in the short time i've owned the p5 than i ever have with the bmw... that just about says it all...
- above average gas mileage... got around 400 miles per tank during my trip to AZ while cruising between 80-90mph with with lots of spirited passing (a few runs in the low 100's)...
- good seats, especially in this price range... the subaru wrx definitely has better seats than the p5 as do bmw's, although these cars are in different price brackets... the wrx probably has the most comfortable seats (at least for me) compared to anything even remotely in it's price class...
- great handling... i don't think there's a brand new car under $20k msrp that handles better than this... the steering feel is dead on perfect for a car in this price range and the wheel itself is a joy to hold... on par if not better than the subaru wrx...
- good ergonomics although not on par with honda/bmw in this category (see below)
- great breaks and break feel in this price range... i prefer the p5 in this category over the wrx...
what annoys me about the p5?
- definitely needs another 20-30 hp to get full enjoyment, especially with a chassis this good... another 20 lbs. of torque wouldn't hurt either...
- wind noise is VERY annoying... i took off the roof rack before my trip and the wind noise was quite annoyiing at anything over 60-70mph depending on how windy it is outside...
- cup holders are way too shallow... why can't japanese carmakers build deeper cup holders such as those on bmw's... it can't be a cost factor... sheesh!
- not enough useable cubby holes... to stash items such as wallet, change, cell phone, cigarettes, etc...
- cheesy fake carbon fiber trim...
- although the seats are comfortable, they could use slightly more thigh length support (i'm only 5'10")... and ultimately could use a lumbar adjustment...
- non-standard license plate brackets... why???
- location of door lock... could learn a lesson from honda/bmw here... also the central door lock button is awkwardly placed... to nitpick further, when the child window safety lock is depressed, the driver should be able to roll the windows down...
- wipers make too much noise (motor noise) when in use...
- rough cold start...
- higher rpm during highway cruising than the honda/bmw...
- stereo is mediocre at best... the cd changer is also a bit on the slow side... overall on par with the honda civic but inferior to the harmon kardon system in the bmw's...
anyways, even with the numerous minor annoyances, this is still a great car! much better than anything under $20k... it may seem like i'm nitpicking about a lot of things but it would be longer list with other cars in this price range... ultimately, i'm comparing the p5 with a bmw which is not a fair comparison... however... at the current price, the p5 is nothing but a bargain...
the car is completely stock right now but short term upgrades will include:
- injen CAI
- catback exhaust
- alpine head unit, alpine 5 channel amp, alpine type R sub, polk momo component speakers
later,
tyr
