To Buy or Not to Buy....

[TexP5]

I can't really notice that in the pictures...it looks good to me.

Did you notice any handling changes with the spings? I feel stupid doing something like changing the springs solely for appearance. Seems too frivoulous ya know, but tell me the car handles a little bit better and Hmmmm, I LIKE those springs! lol

 

[redwagon02]

The car handles alot better and rides like the factory due to the progressive rate springs. Down the road, I plan on getting new shocks and the mp3 sway bars. I would like to try autocrossing this car as well. Since I changed the springs, I am now in a different class, so i might as well make this car handle as best as it can.

 

[mp5]

I was really leaning towards the WRX wagon for the performance and thw awd but went with the pro5 due to interior room. I'm 6'2" 270 lbs and I could never get truly comfortable in the WRX even with the seat all the way back and partially reclined. And on top of that, with the seat in that position a child couldn't fit in the back seat behind me. I fit comfortably in the pro5 and there's room for someone to sit in the seat behind me. I also think the pro5 handles a lot better in all but low traction evironments. Plus, in most situations, the power is more than adequate to peg the fun meter on the pro5. Still, if the wrx had more interior room, I would have one sitting in my driveway right now. If you fit comfortably in the wrx, get it. Just my two cents.

 

[KamalaMP5]

Sorry I wasn't clear... I have a tendency to stall in traffic while driving a true manual, because I'm still a rookie on a manual. I didn't want to combine the frustration of sitting in traffic driving a stick with the expense of chewing up a clutch, so I compromised by waiting it out for the Sport AT.
Generally with the Sport AT, you can shift to the gear you want when you want, but it will not allow you to do particularly nasty things like downshifting into 1st at 70. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I have some errands to run and I'll check it out in the owner's manual and post later. I should note that there can be a slight delay (2 seconds or so) before you can downshift from 2 to 1 once you've gone from 1 to 2, but the book says it all, so I'll get that for later.

Okay, here's the deal on the Sport AT from the owner's manual... There's 4 forward speeds (I didn't need the manual for that part ). The car will not allow you to shift from 4 to 3 at speeds greater than 99.8 MPH, ditto 3 to 2 at 62.0 MPH, ditto 2 to 1 at 27.9 MPH. You can shift up to 2 at zero, but will be unable to shift to 3 until you reach 12.4 MPH, or 4 till you reach 23.6. It will automatically shift you from 4 to 3 at 23.6 MPH or less and from 3 or 2 to 1 at 5.6 MPH. The only other limitation is that when shift from D to M (Manual Mode) you have to wait a few seconds to shift from 1 to 2 if you're in 1. If you shift from D to M at highway speeds, you can immediately shift down from 4 to 3 so you can slam by suckahs in their SUV.

Questions? Hope this helps your decision making!

 

[[Cruzer]]

The car will not allow you to s*** from 4 to 3 at speeds greater than 99.8 MPH,

Sorry couldn't help it but how in the hell does a car allow you do that. .

 

[KamalaMP5]

At roughly 100 MPH, the seat countours along with the marginal g-force affect a torsional shift such that the Pro5 effectively prohibits sphintcer flexure, inhibiting elimination of solid waste from the bowels. I fixed the typo Typing problems happen when you're on no sleep and staring down an 8 hour final tomorrow.

 

[Sir Nuke]

Sorry couldn't help it but how in the hell does a car allow you do that. .

its either ELECTRONICALLY or HYDRAULICALLY controled....in other words, its part of the electronic control circut or the hydraulic circutry of the tranny.....

 

[KamalaMP5]

its either ELECTRONICALLY or HYDRAULICALLY controled....in other words, its part of the electronic control circut or the hydraulic circutry of the tranny.....

I think he was referring to the typo I had that said the car won't allow you to sh*t, instead of shift.

 

[Sir Nuke]

I think he was referring to the typo I had that said the car won't allow you to sh*t, instead of shift.

OH DAMN!! NOW THAT IS FUNNY!!! LOL I read right past it!! lol

guess the car has SPECIAL seats in it then....lol the bottom seat cushion eveidently would have a SPECIAL ATTACHEMENT! LOL LOL OUCH!!!

 

[dficken]

Well if anyone is curious, I am probably going with the mp5. Suprise!!!! It is just hard to pass up all the stuff that you get for the price. Plus all the pizza and beer i can get using Tex's calculations. Thanks for everyones reply's... they were very helpful. Also thanks to KamalaMP5 for posting the details on the sport AT.

Plus I agree with another user... the back seat just sucks A$$ in the WRX. I just can't see paying a lot more money for more power but less of everything else.

My current thought is to wait for the 2003's to come out and pick one up right away. Hopefully if I get leather, they will offer the 2 toned interior like i have seen on some of the Canadian cars. Also hope that they get the "engine noise when cold" fixed. I have seen various posts about this and that it was contibuted to the timing. Supposedly they were working on an ecu program to fix it but never saw any results. Does anyone have any updated info on this?


Thanks again,
dficken.

 

[TexP5]

Good Choice! You'll be a happy owner I'm sure.

As for the leather seats. I'm one of the suckers who bought the dealer installed leather. NO! I didn't pay them the $1200 they wanted for it...but the $600 I did pay is still more than they're asking for the factory hides. I never even thought about leather in the P5 when I was out shopping, but this Blue one with the Black leather was just sittng there calling my name...It's so nice though that my wife didn't even complain about the money, lol

 

[sundevilMP5]

good choice i know you're gonna be another satisfied owner...as for the "cold starts" really it's not that big of a deal...the car will warm up after about 5 min...no biggie...actually this just occurred to me while i was typing this...i live in az it doesn't really get THAT cold here...does anybody where it really gets cold have big problems when starting up??


as for the "it won't allow you to sh*t" quote...i'm thinking he must have the carbon fiber toilet seat installed in his car....

 

[Sir Nuke]

as for the "it won't allow you to sh*t" quote...i'm thinking he must have the carbon fiber toilet seat installed in his car....

OR more like he DOESN'T have that option...which is why it WON'T allow him to do that. LOL

 

[SouthWestVoodoo]

I would have gotten a WRX wagon, but in Canada the price difference is HUGE... $21,995 for a fully loaded P5 (even moonroof), vs $34,995 for a WRX (no moonroof). Wow! I decided to get a P5, and I will be buying a used 90-92 Mustang 5.0 with some of the difference for a project car. I figure with the $14,000 I saved, I can definately build an 11 second Mustang, and still have a reliable daily driver with a nice automatic transmission for those long painful commutes to work.

 

[Allen]

Hello everyone. I am currently in the market of buying one of two cars. Either the Protege5 or the WRX wagon. I have been doing tons of research and am currently leaning towards the protege5. I like the exterior styling of both (both are unique) but like the interior of the mazda better. I test drove both of them the other day and was impressed with all the features of the protege5. But the power of the WRX blew me away. I am curious if I could ask for other opinions here. Considering you had the extra 5 grand for the WRX, which one would you have bought? It is a tough decision for me at the moment.

I would either pick a stick on the WRX or a "sport" auto and leather interior on the protege5. (btw, has anyone driven with the sport auto yet? If so, what do you think?)

I have a 77 Trans Am that is 80% restored so if i purchase the protege5, i could use the extra cash to finish it. But the protege5 is lacking power. The other question I had was, do the few standard "bolt on" mods bump it up that extra notch? Also, I would be very interested in the turbo kit, but would be worried about reliability. Afterall, the car will be my daily driver for quite some time (hopefully). Any comments on reliability on specific kits?

All in all, I am just looking to see what others would do in the same situation.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your responses.

Regards,
dficken.

You'll be happier with the WRX if you are going to be judging your daily drive by how strong it can pull you around on the road. You'll be more than satisfied with the Protege5 if you prefer a zippy and fairly tight cornering vehicle on the way to where-ever you go. Not to mention the Protege5 comes with very good brakes.

If you bought the Protege5 thinking you'll save up some money to spend on your '77 Trans Am, then I guess you're not planning on modifying your Protege5? Upgrading both cars of yours, especially the Protege5 power-wise, will probably cost you near what you would get by just purchasing the WRX in the first place.

Since you like both the WRX and Protege5 looks, then you wouldn't have to mess around with the cosmetic aspect of the vehicle. You have the WRX all ready for you to drive as you please. I do agree the Protege5 has a nicer interior than the WRX. I, personally, can live with fewer horsepower just so I can be happy with the interior each day I'm in it.

For me, I have slight problem with the WRX body design. So, I couldn't see myself driving one of those on a daily basis. That's why I got the MP3... design that pleases me, audio sound system that I don't have to necessarily improve upon immediately, and an engine horsepower that I can live with without modification should I choose to do so in the future. Not to mention that I achieved my MAIN goal, and that was to save up a lot of money compared with the RSX Type-S, Celica GT-S, and BMW 325i. The Eclipse GT was on my list, but because of the lack of quality Mitsubishi had placed on the GT... it was not reasonable for me in the long haul. WRX was on my list just because of having a turbo, AWD and MSRP barely under US$24K. I'm more impressed with the AWD than I am with its turbo.

At the time the SE-R Spec V was just a short wait, but I didn't like the body style at all (worse than my opinion on the WRX). I felt good to do without so much horsepower for a bit more eye-candy. The Altima 2.5 was something I test drove too, but I was too picky on the rear-end height (too high), otherwise the style was not bad... for approximately $25K on a car, I had to be 100% comfortable with everything about it... and I wasn't with the Altima.

My criterias were (happened to match the MP3):

1) Budget, which was under US$25K (walk-out)
Otherwise, over US$25K the car would have
to be very unique quality with almost everything
I want already in it.
Nothing near or over US$30K. I couldn't afford it.

2) Preferrably 4-door.

3) QUALITY, QUALITY, and MORE QUALITY!
The car must be built well. No cheap feeling interior.
When the center console wobbles just by placing my
hands on it (*cough* Eclipse GT), then that's probably
going to scare me away if I have other options.

4) I'm going to have a good quality audio system in there
whether or not it comes with it. Just so happens the MP3
had it all in there. I'm not one who needs a huge
subwoofer or several of them to listen for music, but I like
deep bass and clear treble... overall quality sound. That's
the most important part of driving (besides paying
attention to the road), is to enjoy the music you listen to.

5) Uniquely factory customized. Basically it has to look
good on the inside as well as the outside.
Too many plastic chrome decoration (*cough* Eclipse!)
is ugly. MP3's 17" wheels, leather steering wheel,
aftermarket pedals and leather shift knob were very
nice on the eyes.

Now... only number 6 of my criterias did I not follow directly.

6) It MUST be able to fit my mountain bike.


That was why the Protege5 and Matrix (at first!) were high on MY list. Then, that's when I saw the MP3 in person at the dealership. I gave in when I test drove the MP3, almost said yes without test driving it. I figured I would just buy a roof rack (since trunk rack would have gotten in the way of the wings) to compensate later, which I did immediately later that same week right after I had the tint done to it. I'm one of the odd ones, I was really happy the MP3 didn't come with a moon roof. Every car I test drove I always asked if they have an option with NO sunroof. Such as the Celica GT-S, they didn't come with a no-sunroof option.

By the way, the Matrix is U-G-L-Y when seen in person. On mags and on the internet they looked pretty cool. Especially when they fitted that bike via a bike rail in the trunk... that was sweet looking. I think also too much chrome in it.

So I personally favor the Protege5 a lot. If the Protege5 had what the MP3 had out of the dealership parking lot, then I would have bought that instead, no doubt about it. With or without that extra 5 grand.

Good luck.

 

[dficken]

Allen,
Thanks for the detailed reply.

Yeah, I pretty much decided to go with the Protege5. Although the mp3 looks cool, I need the wagon to haul around my 2 dogs.

Looking at all the replies, I can see that it is definitely the smartest buy for the money. Even on i-club, a few wrx owners said they would have gotten the protege5 if it had more power. And the power alone isn't worth the extra cash (the AWD isn't that important to me).

I can finish my T/A with roughly 2 grand and that can easily by my fun car. After all it's a 6.6 liter with a 4 speed. Then I can take the extra 3 or 4 grand that I saved from not buying the WRX and get mods for the protege5 (later down the road when the warranty is close to over).

Now just want to wait till the 2003's. I am guessing aug/sept.

Thanks again for everyone's replies.
Regards,
dficken.

 

[YellowMP5]

Re: Re: To Buy or Not to Buy....

By the way, the Matrix is U-G-L-Y when seen in person. On mags and on the internet they looked pretty cool. Especially when they fitted that bike via a bike rail in the trunk... that was sweet looking. I think also too much chrome in it.

personnally i dont think matrix is ugly but i do agree that on the pictures it looks a lot better than in real life. when i see a red one on the picture it blows me away, and i'll probably go as far as saying that i probably won't own a red car ever in my life. red is great, stands out, but not for me. but like I said, red matrix on the picture does it for me, but in real life it doesn't look that great.

 

[tttP5]

personnally i dont think matrix is ugly but i do agree that on the pictures it looks a lot better than in real life. when i see a red one on the picture it blows me away, and i'll probably go as far as saying that i probably won't own a red car ever in my life. red is great, stands out, but not for me. but like I said, red matrix on the picture does it for me, but in real life it doesn't look that great.

same here.... the matrix is just too big when u look at it in person.... and u know every other granny will be getting it cause of toyota "reliability"


dficken,
I heard that subaru is gonna be coming out with a new design for the WRX next year I think.... so if u wait for the 2003 P5 then u can also see how the new styling for the subaru will go..

 

[dficken]

tttp5,
Yes that is an option. But I am not sure if the US will see that design until 2004. I was reading various forums and a lot stated that the WRX sold well in the US but not so good everywhere else. I saw an article about the emergency nose change for Japan (to increase sales other than the US???). If things follow the norm (and the change is actually valid) I am gussing the US will see the change a year later. Of course this is just a guess.

Don't get me wrong, if money grew on trees (which i know it doesn't thanks to my mom), I would probably get the WRX first. But you can't beat everything you get with the p5 for the price. And I like to consider myself a "smart" shopper. That's why I spend hours upon hours looking through the forums driving myself crazy sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if its worth all the fuss. But I still find it cool that various WRX and RS owners on i-club recommend the p5 (if power is not your #1 priority). That's saying something.

Thanks,
dficken.

 

[sundevilMP5]

yeah it's really cool that the some of the i-club people said they would rather have bough the P5 becuz those guys are the hardcore subaru enthusiasts...as far as the wrx redesign goes its not going to be anything super major...rumors have mostly been a rework of the front fascia and even only slight changes at that...plus then when the "new" wrx comes out i'm sure the price on those will be higher...

red may be too bright for a wagon(except for the audi RS4) but i wouldn't go as far as saying i'll NEVER own a red car...cuz when i get my ferrari it's going to be red...lol