P5 daily driving

[flyjetta]

How do you guys like your p5's? I know they are lacking in power but do you guys sometimes wish you got another car because of it?

I currently am thinking of trading my car in for one but am not familiar with mazda. I've done reading on edmunds and things like that and it seems like a lot of people like their cars..

how are they on the highway.. where are the revs around 70 m.p.h.? How is the road noise?/

 

[Jspec]

well what do u have right now?

 

[NRRfrogmanP5]

im happy with mine as a daily drive car..sure there is a lack of power...but its still a fun car to drive

 

[Jspec]

only thing I regret about this car is getting a auto.... don't I wish I had a 5 speed.....

 

[sgryzko]

only thing I regret about this car is getting a auto.... don't I wish I had a 5 speed.....

I agree. I have an auto but a 5spd would be much better. Or even better than that would be an '03 with that shiftronic. I would be happy to have that so I can have the fun of shifting with the convienience of an auto. I do know that the shiftronic isnt the same as a real 5spd but it is still fun.

 

[Jspec]

Yeah, I do have that and I guess it does what we need, downshift which is great but a 5 speed woulda been nice.

 

[flyjetta]

I have a '00 VW Jetta.. it was stock with 115 hp but I supercharged it and now it runs around 150 at the wheels. I don't want to mess with my next car's engine, and I like the p5's body style. I didn't know they came with leather so I'm going to try to see one of those.

How would you rate it? The interior cheap? Is it noisy on the highway? Is it reliable?

 

[Katya4me]

I love my P5. I've put about 12K miles on her so far. The P5 revs around 3.25K around 70mph and there is some road noise but it doesn't bother me. I've been quite happy so far. She handles very well, is comfortable on long trips as well as fun on twisties. The gas mileage depends on how you drive, but I've been pretty happy w/ that too. The aftermarket is also good if you are interested in modding at some point. Also, you can get a sweet deal on a P5 right now since they are trying to move them out. Oh, I've got the 5speed w/ the sunroof and 6 CD package. I've got the fabric interior myself, so I can't say anything about the leather, but I like the way the fabric feels and looks. I've had no reliability issues so far (fingers crossed) and hope to keep it that way. I think that answers all of your questions so far. Have any others?

 

[sgryzko]

One complaint that I have is that the speakers are just good enough to keep but I am considering getting new ones even though I dont really care about the loud music.

 

[ZoomFive]

I have a '00 VW Jetta.. it was stock with 115 hp but I supercharged it and now it runs around 150 at the wheels. I don't want to mess with my next car's engine, and I like the p5's body style. I didn't know they came with leather so I'm going to try to see one of those.

How would you rate it? The interior cheap? Is it noisy on the highway? Is it reliable?

Here you go...

Suspension is good, reliability is good, steering is good, front seats are comfy, exterior style is good, steering wheel size is good, shifter is smooth.

Engine is noisy at 60+ mph, very little torque, engine power is weak, back seat cushion is thin, rack crossbars are pointless, stereo is poor, side mirrors do not adjust outward enough, cupholders poor, armrest/storage too small/too short, horn poor, mileage ok, 1st gear not long enough, shift throws on the long side.

I hope this helps.

- ZoomFive

 

[Togan]

im really happy with my car man, the only thing is, engine is small...i wished it was 2.5 L..

 

[LapisBlueProteg]

motor is quiet for me at 105 lol
i love the car and plan on keeping it for a while!!

 

[L8R]

my car is daily abused. loud because of my h/e/i, but im happy - chris

 

[elfhearse]

I got a P5 for my "commuter car". I've always liked the styling and it's handling is excellent. I looked at one with the leather but it didn't impress me. (perforated leather) The seats didn't seem to have as much support as the standard cloth IMO. Interior build quality is pretty good, occasional rattle but nothing annoying.

 

[Replica]

It's a great daily driver. Although everyone says it has no torque, it pulls great on the highway. 80mph is about 3800 rpm, and it hops up to 95-100 without too much work. It handles great at highway speeds and is very good at dodging traffic. The seats are great, my tail bone doesn't hurt after long drives like my Civic used to do to me. The Stereo is good enough for stock, not sure what people expect out of a Protege! I just did a ebay cold air intake and the car runs smoother and revs a bit easier after 4000 until about 6500, although it's still slow...

 

[bazooka joe]

i love my protege5, it's lack of power is out weighed by the driving fun. great handling car and it looks are unique and appealing. has cost me very little to drive over the last 53K miles. one issue i had with a rough idle, mazda paid for. allthough i've spent a ton of $$ on the car. the maintenance has been mininal, oil change, radiator flush, one wheel alignment and a brake job!

 

[Ceej]

How do you guys like your p5's? I know they are lacking in power but do you guys sometimes wish you got another car because of it?

I currently am thinking of trading my car in for one but am not familiar with mazda. I've done reading on edmunds and things like that and it seems like a lot of people like their cars..

how are they on the highway.. where are the revs around 70 m.p.h.? How is the road noise?/

The P5 handles great, very balanced for the type of car it is and the price catagory it falls into. It would use another 100 horse power but that is it in my opinion....oh and it looks great.

 

[SciFiMan]

...How would you rate it? The interior cheap? Is it noisy on the highway? Is it reliable?

The build quality is very good. I haven't had any rattles, squeaks, etc. and it doesn't look cheap inside at all. I now have 28450 miles on my '03 and all I've had to do besides oil changes is the air filter and this weekend the wiper blades (to PIAA's). Needs tires (the original RE92's are not that great) in a few weeks. If you can afford to, change the tires asap and the car will be a standout. The Protege has been very highly rated for reliability for several years now. I think it's an awesome value in it's class.

 

[msubullyfan]

Consumer reports has really liked the Proteg and Proteg5 for the last 8 years. It's had better than average reliability and actually has surpassed the Civic and Corolla on some years. In fact, the 2002s had the highest marks in EVERY category for reliability.

I actually like my leather seats. I also think that the stock stereo in the 2003.5 with the six speakers and subwoofer sounds great for a factory system (although the MP3/MSP is better, of course!). I changed out the door speakers and it's the best-sounding system I've ever had.

Dittos on all the fun factor comments above... If you want a lot of fun, definitely get a 5-speed (I couldn't convince my wife to let me have one). (sad1)

 

[Phoenix5]

Yeah,I enjoy my P5,it handles really well and yeah,sometimes I wish could get my WRX already because of the lack of HP but the torque makes up for it and the P5 is really good to have now since the gas prices are so ******' high.It could be worse for me,I could still be driving my dad's old 89' Tercel with no A/C,no radio and only the driver side mirror(lol2).