What's Hotter- P5 or Mazda3?

[CHICO2003]

that wasn't so hard! IMO both cars look good... just in different ways

 

[mountjonas]

i liked the mazda3 bofore i saw it in person. the lines don't flow well. the hood looks too high, the grill looks too big. it's like a kid wearing clothes that he'll grow into someday. the car just doesn't make sense. i do like the gauge cluster of the 3 better but that's about it.

i've had many people ask me if my car was fast, to which i reply with a very proud "nope," but they always say "it looks fast." sure, it's slow as balls, but two years later and a million rock chips in the hood and front bumper, i still look back at my car every time i walk away from it and smile. i'll take my p5 any day of the week, thank you.

 

[Roywhitep5]

i envy them having the 2.3 but the p5 just looks and handels way better. at laguna seca, zoomzoomH's mazda6 rental car was eating all the protege's alive in the straights with that 2.3. it was sad

 

[speedhawaii]

hatch3 with rims

 

[whitemp5seattle]

p5 too, just wish it were a bit faster...but oh well...

(I do like the guage cluster on the 3 though, even tho it wouldn't look good in a p5)

 

[NJP5Guy]

i envy them having the 2.3 but the p5 just looks and handels way better. at laguna seca, zoomzoomH's mazda6 rental car was eating all the protege's alive in the straights with that 2.3. it was sad

There is something to be said about torque.....it surely helps(wish i had more of it). I agree the p5 is a better handling car. ive driven both cars and i didn't feel as confident in the 3 as i do in my p5 and i dont have any suspension mods YET. the 3 gives less feel for the road and has dulled senses when it comes to feeback through the chasis. the 3 is more of a hatch than the p5 sorry to say. i hate when people call my p5 a wagon. oh well. rock on p5 (headbang).
in stock form pictures don't do justice to our car...it has to be experienced up close and personal.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

I like the 5. Personally the Mz3 sedan w/ the 17" rims looks kick ass lowered and in white, but the p5 looks way better. Mazda3 looks too tall, and bulky. Not my style. The interior looks too complicated. Too many buttons and cluttered dash. I don't like the steering controls since I hit them whenever I crank the wheel side to side. I like the p5's simplistic aproach and the understated look. Also nice and simple and straightforward.

 

[Rickman]

I started out wanting a 3, and ended up with a P5 because I got a KILLER deal on it.
I like the 3 better. But now that I have a P5 it's growing on me. ;]~

 

[Cellerator]

I like the power in the m3 but i definitely like the look of the p5 much better.

 

[MPChi]

I like the look of the P5 better as well. I like the 3 too, and it looks more refine & modern than the P5. However, it doesn't have the aggressive look that P5 has, with a more pleasant looking front end with the large fogs. Looks like 3 is shooting for more of a refine & luxurious looking car, while P5 has a bit more of an aggressive, sporty look.

Aggressiveness & big fogs is always more of my cup of tea.

 

[Roywhitep5]

the thing i like best about the p5 is that it is a now car rather than a tomorow car like the 3

 

[protegeV]

kind of an unfair, or should I say generalized comparo. I'll tell ya why.

I prefer the P5 over the MZ3 wagon...yet I prefer the MZ3 sedan over a regular protege sedan

 

[Lord_Zath]

I agree with what most have said here. I hate the 3 hatch's lines. The 3 sedan's lines are great, though. The p5's lines are great, but I'm not a huge fan of the sedan/msp's. So I guess it matches there lol.

From interior perspective, in the 3 I felt like I was sitting in a rich man's car. In the P5 I felt more like I was in a driver's car. The gauges on the 3 were too big, and I hate that huge tach and tunnels. I also don't like the dash cd player. On the other hand, I think some parts of the P5's interior could be a little better as well, such as a HU that could decode mp3 files.

And finally, in the actual driving of the car, while the P5 does have low power compared to the 3, I find it always has enough for me. And I'm driving an auto. Of course I'm also getting a header to add some hp, but I'm not looking to do anything drastic like turbo. The 3's faster, yes, but like others have also pointed out, you don't feel what the car's feeling. In short, P5 = driver's car, 3 = luxury driver on a budget

Oh, and I like the looks of the 6 wagon as well... as long as it has the appearance package. The only major down of the 6 wagon is the interior knobs are hard to read during daytime with the red led on silver. But that can always be fixed ;-)

LZ

 

[aceP5]

Haha, its kind of funny to see how many more votes the P5 has - after all, this is in the P5 part of the forum.

P5 is way better. Just needs to be faster. It feels much better when you drive it - it still is more fun to drive, in my opinion.

 

[anarchistchiken]

Even though the pro 5 is quite possibly the best looking wagon ever (I don't even think thats stretching the truth too much)...the 3 will walk all over in performance and the interior I believe is better as well.

and if you say you can tune the pro5 to be faster...in a year or so that wont be the case dollar for dollar that 2.3 monster 4 will pound the pro 5 in every racing event...just a thought, again, I vote for the pro 5 NO CONTEST (but as speed/proformance go...the 3 walks much taller)

I dont care if the 3 is faster in a quarter mile. You really have to look at it that way with a car this slow. I just take comfort in knowing that my car will walk 3's all day on a road track.

 

[Douggie]

There was definitely love at 1st sight with my P5 (and still enjoy seeing it everyday). No such feeling for the 3. Sorry, I tried

Don't get me wrong, there ARE hotter looking cars than the P5, but the 3 is not one of those.

 

[anarchistchiken]

I hadnt even considered a P5 when I bought mine. I was at a used car place lookin around when I found a red one and fell in love. When I bought the car, My grandma was financing the buy and she said it had to be new, had to be safe, and had to have abs/side air bags, AND be under $16k. Before I found the P5, the Civic was top on my list (THANK YOU GOD) Man the new civics are so ugly. I'm so glad I didnt get one. But yeah, I'll tak a P5 anyday over the 3 hatch, but the sedan is a different story.

 

[bobizzle]

When I first saw the 3 in person I told the salesman it looked like a Volkswagon and left! How could they replace the Japanese P5 with something that looks like a Jetta?

 

[Antoine]

This should have been posted in a more general forum like "All Mazdas" or "Off Topic"...It's like running a poll in a pro bush forum about bush Vs kerry.

Both are different models designed for and at different times...P5 feels more classic to me...the Mazda3 is more fresh...I like both...

 

[RobMP5]

I voted for the P5 of course, but I like having a car that was only made for 2 years. Our cars will always be limited edition, I know not MP3/MSP limited, but limited when in a couple of years we will see 3s EVERYWHERE.