Why did you buy a Protege 5?

[dugrant153]

Sooo... why'd you buy a Protege 5 over car X?

 

[uclap5]

test drive. i was sold.

my needs: well integrated roof rack, 4 doors, under $16, fun to drive, look good, reliable (japanese), and i dig hatches.

nothing else fit the bill.

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

well...i got my 2k2 DX just due to the fact that I got for 8k$ with 9000 miles on it..what a deal!..that and I really wanted a P5..but I couldn't afford it..and MSP's were out of the question..was I looking at any of there aside from mazda? hell no..mazda for life kid..

 

[Pretzellogic]

Test drive, sexy, utility, sexy, twisty mountain roads, "zoom-zoom," sexy, and damn this car looks good.
I also have a soft spot for hatches, and there aren't too many of them anymore in the US that don't look like squashed marshmallows.

The pricetag helped, too.

 

[tonkabui]

i was moving from santa barbara to arizona. looked at the matrix, outback sport, and this. matrix looked better in the commercials. when the dealer finally got some in and called me down to see, i said no thanks. he convinced me of its "baby IS300" heritage, so i went for a test drive. awkward driving position, couldn't see the guages worth a damn without moving my head, and the ride was not reassuring. that and the damn thing is friggin tall! like a mini minivan. outback sport was nice. back seats sucked. interior was okay. drive was torquey. i liked it. but too damn expensive for all the options i wanted. i was looking at 23K out the door.
then i went across the way to test the p5. the test drive sold me. the price sold me. the comfort and amenities sold me. i was sold. and it fit a months' worth of clothes, my computer, printer, camera equipment, boxes and boxes of other stuff. it was nice. no regrets either.

 

[unwrittenLaw]

"Baby IS300"....lol...yeah right

My wife has one and its a cool car..holds our 2 dogs well, and she likes it...so thats all that matters...

She didnt want a WRX wagon, because she thought it looked weird...girls are all into looks, they dont care whats under the hood. Oh well, save quite a few bucks on the Matrix though...

 

[dugrant153]

Would you folks say the car is "sporty"?

I sat in my friend's Acura 1.7EL and it had 130hp and 122lbs/ft, which is close to the Mazda Protege.

I found acceleration to be "mild" to my tastes... then again, my friend has a heavy pedal foot, but he was not revving it way up there (which I may end up doing... someday.....soon... I hope...*sob*)... it had enough push, but I guess it wasn't exciting.

But hey, I do corners. And I heard the Protege is a good corner carver

 

[CruzinAltitude]

In H.S. I had a 85 Chevy Cavalier wagon, and despite being unhappy that I had a 11 year old wagon, I ended up loving having a wagon. I drew up some mods that I wanted to make, i.e. fog lights, spoiler, front body kit, nice rims ect. Fast forward several years ---------- Out comes the MP5, one of the best looking wagons all time. Everything I ever wanted to do to the Cav, the MP5 has (so why do I want to do more when I cant afford it, becuase I go to this site and see all the badass mods and I cant help it!!!).

 

[mountjonas]

i needed something reliable with 4 doors, some space in the back, that looked nice, inexpensive, looks nice, it's not a civic. i'm not worried about the performance. i have a project car for that.

 

[Laser5]

I wanted something different. My decision came between a Civic and the 5. The Civic won out in all catergories except for style/looks. Everybody has a Civic, I wanted to be different.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

I BOUGHT MINE 4 STRAITE LINE POWWER 2 BEAT AND OWNZ ALL SRT-4s

yeah right - i seriously was sold on the first test drive. this car is incredible and the sales man was a very professional, patient and understanding gentleman. I had really wanted a Vibe GT, but the sales rep was a rude SOB and used nothing but tired one liners and cheap lines to sell me into the car. It was mere icing on the cake that Mazda offered me ten times better financing - i was already sold by then

 

[CruzinAltitude]

I had really wanted a Vibe GT, but the sales rep was a rude SOB

I think you should go back to the Pontiac dealership and thank the guy, because of him you have a much better car.

 

[Monstermile]

The looks alone sold me. I first saw one when I bought my Focus 2 years ago. I was looking at a P-ES and spotted a red P5 on the lot. I fell in love with it. But being they were brand new, the dealer wouldn't budge. Besides everyone that was on the lot was fully loaded and had ADM. Well almost exactly two years after buying my Focus and seeing my first P5, a classic red, I am now the owner of a classic red P5.

I do have to admit that the handling and cornering of the P5 is not up with the Focus. That is about the only thing I miss. Maybe with some suspension upgrades and wider tires I'll be able to hit the twisties in the P5 like I did in the Focus.

 

[CruzinAltitude]

I do have to admit that the handling and cornering of the P5 is not up with the Focus.

Are you serious, Ive driven my girlfriends 2k2 Focus CE and I feel that the cars high center of gravity makes it roll way too much. I think the MP5 handles as well, if not better than the focus.

 

[bazooka joe]

i saw the p5 on the net, called my local dealer, test drove it that afternoon and bought it the next day! love the handling, style, great value for the $. two years and 1 month later i feel the same!

 

[drumsbeloud]

handling, styling, practicality, and price

 

[Monstermile]

Are you serious, Ive driven my girlfriends 2k2 Focus CE and I feel that the cars high center of gravity makes it roll way too much. I think the MP5 handles as well, if not better than the focus.

Yes I am very serious. I am driving the same roads everyday that I did in my Focus and I can't take some of the corners anywhere near as quick as I could in the Focus. And this was even after I put the stock tires and suspension back on. Dunno if maybe the little extra width of the Focus 205 tires over the 195 on the P5 makes that much of a difference.

Oh and with the Eibach springs and dampers on the Focus. Yeah now that was a fun ride in the twisties. Like I said after some upgrades on the P5 maybe my opinion will change.

 

[mp5]

The handling of the P5 is far superior to the Focus. Maybe at 7/10's or something the Focus may seem to handle as well but try driving one at 10/10's and you'll end up in the gaurdrail. The P5 is the only car (well the MP3 and MSP are even better) in this price range that you can confidently drive at 10/10's. It's handling is completely predicatble, communicating every nuance of the road and contact patch. The only car that has beaten me in the twisties in the last 2 years was a BMW M3. I regularly kill my one frined's Jetta 1.8T and another friend's Acura 3.2TLin the twisties and both cars have a lot more power than the P5.

 

[Rawny12017]

test drive, price, looks, kinda exclusive only released 02-03, always wanted a hatch

 

[CruzinAltitude]

mp5, thank you for reaffirming my faith, for a few minutes there I thought maybe I was smoking crack! The MP5 is the better handling car. Period.