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Mazda Protege5
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Comments
Mazda changed both the head unit and the speakers for 2001/2. Based on some other comments on this board, I think the bulk of the blame goes on the speakers, not the head unit.
There is something else that concerns me about the stereo. I'm a headphone fanatic and therefore am very aware of harmful volume levels (good headphones and an amp can easily produce insane levels) and I notice that when driving with the windows and/or moonroof open, I have the stereo volume at least to 50%. When I come to a stop, this is shockingly loud. You may not be able to hear it over wind and road noise, but your stereo is still this loud. The SPL's may well be doing damage to your hearing, and once you've got tinnitus or hearing loss, you're stuck with it. Higher wattage systems usually allow for better clarity at lower volumes so better replacement speakers may well make this less of an issue, but please be careful with your hearing, prolonged exposure to loud music and wind noise from an open window can destroy your hearing so slowly you won't notice - until you're stone deaf.
I'm going to try for 3% over invoice plus destination chg of about $275. Invoice is $17123, I'm going for $17911.69 before tax, title, etc. Let's see if it works.
Thanks
Andrew
For 2004, the Protege will move to the Ford Focus platform. I have no idea where it will be built. The 2004 engines (2.0L DOHC & 2.3L DOHC) are joint Ford/Mazda designs and are built by both companies in Japan, Europe, and the US. A good place to read about it is Motor Trend's website. On the left menu, select Future Vehicles, and then select 2004. Three Mazda's are listed for 2004, the redesigned Protege, redesigned Miata, and the new cross-over vehicle (like the NexTourer and MX Sport Tourer concepts). All of the new Mazda's starting with the 2003 626 and 2003 RX-8 will begin a new design trend for Mazda. Interiors will be significantly different and should begin to resemble the quality and design of the interiors we see now from Audi.
There is a new screensaver available from Mazda. It is a great look at the RX-8 and you can get a good look at the future of Mazda from it. You can get the screensaver here.
You can also check out the RX-8 picture gallery here. Click on the RX-8 link and then View Gallery. This vehicle is very close to production and we should see it in showrooms in a little less than a year.
"J" the car was assembled in JAPAN.
"1" the car was assembled in the USA.
"2" the car was assembled in Canada.
"3" the car was assembled in Mexico.
I'm glad my pair of 2000 Protege ES sedans were manufactured in Japan. However, if quality control programs are upheld and company build quality programs are vigorously maintained, I'm sure Mazda can produce top-box build quality in most countrys. Honda and Toyota already do this very well. Nonetheless, most Mazda enthusiast are concerned about the affect that Ford will have on future quality of design, and final build fit and finish. Teresa, only time will tell?
Respectfully,
Larry
I called and left a message for my salesman, told him to cancel the other order, and I would be sending my boyfriend by for the deposit (it was on his credit card). I don't anticipate any problems. Well, gotta get to work, so I better zoom!
Anyhow, just drove it home and am REALLY impressed: pretty peppy, very quiet at idle and smooth acceleration. Fantastic braking and handling (very firm tho). Im still wonderin how they can have so much room in such a small car (we traded a Cadillac STS for this). But best of all, the build quality is superb.
We looked for a 16000 car and narrowed it down to an altima, sentra SE, VW golf, 626 or Protege (in any form). The P5 is easily the best but for those on a tighter budget, go for the Protege lx 2.0. After ten minutes of driving, we are convinced that we will own this one till the wheels dont spin no more....which wont be for a VERY, VERY long time.
This forum made a difference in my decision...thats why I contributed. Im not just gaga over our new car here, but if your looking for a 16K car, my advice is to definitely drive a protege. The dealers can be a pain (like most others) so be prepared.
The second-annual Mid-Atlantic Protege Picnic (MAPP II) will take place Saturday, October 6, 2001, at a park in Northern Virginia. For those of you who attended last year, it's the same place as last year. For security purposes, we're only going to share the location with confirmed attendees via direct e-mail.
I would like to greet our new friends on the Protege5 topic and hope that some of you might come over to the Mazda Protege topic and introduce yourselves as I'm doing here. I own an Emerald Green Metallic 2000 Mazda Protege ES 5-speed. It's the third Protege I've owned; Protege No. 1 was a 1992 LX that was totaled in a hydroplaning accident in August 1992. (I walked away from it!) Protege No. 2 was another 1992 LX that took me for more than 80,000 trouble-free, zoom-zoomin' miles. My 2000 now has just shy of 24,000 miles on the odometer and is zooming happily.
Back to the picnic ... Last year's was attended by nine people in five Proteges. We came from as far south as Richmond, Virginia, and as far north as Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you'd like to see some pics of last year's premiere event, check out this link:
http://www.geocities.com/negatize/mapp.htm
(Due to some of Edmunds' quirks when it comes to geocities links, you may have to copy the link and paste it into your browser's address window for it to work.)
This year we already have the possibility of a better showing. So far we have 8 possible Proteges and 15 people from as far south as Atlanta, Georgia (believe it or not!) and as far north as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It'll basically be an afternoon's get-together in a beautiful setting (accompanied, I might add, by a beautiful drive in the mountains that you and your Protege will LOVE). Food is a major part of our event, as you undoubtedly noticed when you saw US in the above link! Therefore everyone will be expected to bring something. The park we'll be visiting includes a shelter that will seat several dozen people out of the rain (god forbid), and a pedestal grill. Restrooms are close by.
I organized this picnic last year so some of us on the Mazda Protege topic could get a chance to meet in person and spend an afternoon sharing our common trait ... love for our Proteges. If you're interested in attending or finding out more, please post a message on the Mazda Protege topic or e-mail me directly at the following address:
mdaffron@the-rma.org
Let's make "MAPP II: The Sequel" something for the history books!
ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM
Meade
With a full 14.5 gallon fuel tank, my P5's fuel light came on at 285 miles. Fuel efficiency for the P5 is no comparison to the corolla.
I want to know if I can do anything to improve fuel efficiency.
I'm thinking about using synthetic motor oil such as Pennzoil Synthetic w/ Pennzane for my first oil change?
Also might change the air filter to a K&N high flow air filter...
Any other enhancements I can make to improve fuel efficiency? Any thoughts anyone?
This is my first Protege purchase, and am just amazed as to how much fun this car is to drive.
I don't know if this was just another pitch the sales manager was using in convincing me into buying the car, but he stated the Vivid Yellow was a limited color, and that Mazda would be discontinuing it come this Fall. Is this true? I hope so!
Also, I haven't scene another P5 on the road since my purchase. Are they rare? Is Mazda only producing a limited amount similar to the MP3?
According to the manual, Mazda recommends changing the oil every 5K-7.5K miles. I've always changed my oil every 3K (93 Toyota Celica) and have never had car trouble. Are today's cars more advanced and able to go longer without an oil change? What mileage are you all going follow?
I love this Town Hall Feature, no where else (Motor Trend/Car and Driver/Road and Track) can you get true, real life reviews on your car.
Thanks Edmunds!
As far as oil is concerned I will run conventional to 3000 miles change oil and filter using conventional one more time up to 6000 miles. At that point I will go with fully synthetic Mobil 1.
I switched to synthetic too early on my 97 protege and the engine didn't start to get decent MPG's until around 15,000 miles on the engine.
Just my experience for what it's worth.
Anyone know otherwise?
On another note, I finally got my VIN # yesterday... From what I am told, this means that there is another batch of Protege's that have left port overseas and is on the way. I was told that VIN #'s are assigned sometime during the journey to Vancouver. Typically, a week or so at sea... That puts arrival time somewhere near 3-5 wks.... I have my entire new stereo system sitting on my floor waiting to be installed... I will be creating pages on my website when I do this. They will contain pics and how-to notes based on my experience doing the install... From what I have read, there looks to be some challenges with removing the door panels and getting the head unit out... So far none of my local audio shops have a replacement adapter plate for the DIN sized head unit... May have to get some custom work done...
Just wondering anyone else has been experiencing a distinct wind rattle (sort of a snap, crackle, pop) form the moonroof at high speeds (65 MPH +) with their P5? Is there anything the dealer can do?
Thanks,
timbone
Here in Houston, Texas, I have seen 2 Silvers, 1 Red, 1 Black, 0 Blue, and 1 Yellow P5 (mine is yellow too).
P5 is truly the King of curve ramps and sharp corners in Houston road.
Zoom-zoom
Bruno
I don't suppose there's anyone out there who has owned (or driven) both a Protege5 and an Altima? I'm strongly considering buying the P5, but haven't yet driven the Altima. I loved my test drive of the P5, both the automatic and manual. There are a couple of issues guiding my decision. Price: The 01 Altima is attractive because there is a $2000 rebate and they're trying to get rid of them to make way for the newly redesigned '02 model. I can probably get a nicely outfitted GXE for $15,500 or maybe even a little less (if Edmunds is accurate). This is about $1500 less than the P5.
The other issues are performance, reliability, and space. As I said, I haven't yet driven the Altima (will do so this weekend). From what I know, both cars should be reliable. The wagon is a nice alternative for the extra space, but I'm also considering the Protege ES sedan.
Any input into the comparison of these two cars would be greatly appreciated!
Also, any opinion about the difference between the P5 automatic vs. manual? I liked the manual but might end up hating it in DC traffic!
If you are really looking for a great deal, you can get the Protege sedan at 0.0% financing. That will easily put your payments lower than the Altima. If you can get on the S-Plan, you can get 1.5% BELOW invoice on the Protege sedan and possibly the Pro5. I am not sure about the exact details of how to get on the S-Plan, but others out there know and I'm sure they will pipe in.
I want my p5!
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/octane.htm
S-Plan: To get the S-plan, ask your dealer if they take it or not. Then go to the EAA (http://www.eaa.org) and join for one year and $40. Get your PIN# on the Ford/Mazda S-plan and take it to your dealer. They will give the car to you 1.5% below invoice, which is rougly $300 on a loaded Protege ES (what I bought and used the S-plan to get). Definitely worth spending $40 to save a couple hundred.
Otherwise I don't you are right about the argument of fuel consumption going up with in octane. Here is why:
The octane rates the maximum pressure and temperature under which the fuel molecule is not breaking. When it breaks under pressure, it's release extra energy, thus makes the compressed fuel burn BEFORE the spark plugs ignite, and it's not good. It's has nothing to do with "resistant to detonation". The higher compression ratio the engine has, the higher octane index it requires to avoid the uncontrolled burning. But engines with lower compression ratio can use, without any disadvantage, fuel with higher octane index than it needs. The P5 engine has compression ratio of 9.1 to 1, and that's pretty low. Normally one don't have to put 92-fuel (your method) to the engine. The only advantage it can bring is there is a little more additives in the 92-fuel which help to keep the engine cleaner at long run. I think the best way is to use most of the time 89-fuel, and once for a while 92-fuel to flush the engine.
Bruno
Also, had a 1999 Protege DX before this 2001 ES. I used regular in it all the time, prodded it like an animal, and drove it 37K in 20 months. Never a problem at all with the engine, and that car saw one tank of mid-grade its whole life.