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Mazda Protege5
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Comments
3 are driven by 30 something males and 3 are driven by 18 year old males. Interesting to me the different purposes the car serves, transporting family and transporting friends. I would have loved to have this car in high school and college.
The problem with the Jetta (and the Subaru's) is the price. When you start adding options, the Jetta can climb far North of 20K.
Just out of curiosity, how do these P5's hold up after a few months? I've read a few posts on rattles and noises - is this the norm?
Bruno
Read through the interveiws section in the Mazda6 sub-site on Mazdausa.com. They intentionally let in engine and exhaust noise, thinking they're feedback from the car to the driver. They try to minimize wind and road noise.
I personally like hearing my engine (in my sedan) and exhaust when I'm revving it up.
well, at least for my 1.8L, the engine sounds great, not sure about the 2.0L
Can hardly wait to get my new exhaust on.
Bruno
Mazda changed the S-plan pricing structure and it is no longer $200-300 behind invoice. S-plan numbers ( vehicles invoiced after 2/18/02)
are in the $50 behind invoice area.
Rich
-Jerry
BTW... EEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!! I think I got lost for ten minutes trying to find this board with this new set-up.
- wheel radius r=16/2+195*50/100/25.4=11.8386 in = 0.3007 m
- wheel circumference c= 2*pi*r=1.8894 m
- at 80mph, the wheel revolution is w=80*1600/60/c=1129.1 rpm
- Gear ratio (5th)=g=3.099
- Engine rpm=w*g=3500 rpm.
It's about 5.5% too low. Where is the discrepency? Any idea?
Go to a tire site like TireRack and check the spec on the tires. For example, the Dunlop SP Sport 5000 (not sure if this is the exact tire on the Pro5) in 195/50-16 has a diameter of 23.7" (matches your calculation) and 886 revolutions per mile (does not match your calculation). Using a diameter of 23.7", 886 revolutions would cover 1.04 miles. When supporting the weight of a car, the tires are not "exactly" round.
Now that i'm off my soap box.....I just hope people refrain from posting things they "might" know about and leave that to the people who actually have the facts.
First: I read vocus's post, and he clearly said that what he profited from the S-plan at the time when he purchased the car, so I don't think it's a wrong information (unless if the readers extrapolate his reading, but then who can blame vocus?)
Second: If Mazda changed the policy, why don't they recall it by another name? Keeping the same name creates the confusion for everyone.
Third: it may have some wrong informations now and then posted on the Edmunds, but I though overall Edmunds enhances the car sale greatly, and that's how it survives so well.
And Fourth: we are all impatient to read from those who are informed. The last question on this board about the S-plan is still answered.
Respectfully,
Bruno
That's absolutely correct! But 1.04 is 4% of discrepancy of 1.00! Also, even when the tires are not a round under the weight of the car, the circumference should remain the same. May be pi is not 3.1415926536...? Never mind!
Bruno
80mph = 1.3333333 miles/minute (80 miles / 60 min)
(886 revs/mile) * (1.333333 miles/min) = 1181.333 revs/min
(1181.333 rev/min) * (3.099 gear ratio) = 3661 rpm
Closer... I can't explain why it's 886 revs per mile. Using the standard calculations for 195/50R16, I get 851.8 revs per mile.
-Jerry
That's my point. It's not the same exactly. Plus perhaps the tires slip a little bit as they roll. You may want to contact a tire manufacturer for a technical explanation.
"(1181.333 rev/min) * (3.099 gear ratio) = 3661 rpm
Closer"
To me, 3661 rpm (real) IS 3,700 rpm (looks like 3,700 rpm).
With regards to the Jetta 1.8T - the engine in that car is great, but the downside of a turbo engine is turbo lag. When I had my '99 Passat, I didn't notice much of a surge, but then the Passat is much heavier than the Jetta. My problem w/ the Jetta, as many people have pointed out, is that you see them EVERYWHERE. Admittedly, the P5 is becoming more popular, but I don't think it will ever reach Jetta status. There are also some reliability questions regarding the Jetta. VW's are infamous for small but annoying electrical problems and rattles.
If you do decide to get the P5, let me know and I can give you the name of my salesman at Byers. He's a real stand-up guy and I'm confident he'd treat you right.
I have to be honest, I am starting to have second thoughts about the PR5. The RSX and Celica are starting to look appealing, though they are clearly more expensive (especially the RSX) and would probably require a longer loan period. Anyone have any thoughts on these two cars?
Check your fit into the RSX and Celica. I don't fit (head hits the headliner), so that pretty much ruled them out for me. If you prefer to rev your engine high, then they'd be a better fit than the P5 which puts out most of its torque down low and runs out of steam up high. More cargo space in the P5 too. But the P5 is slower in drags on straights.
So the PR5 engine doesn't like to Rev high? I wasn't sure - I didn't run it too high on the test drive.
Of course a totally base RSX will still run roughly about 5K more then the PR5...That's a pretty big jump...
A couple weeks ago my license plates arrived and we put them on the car. Unfortunately the dealership had left only two screws per location instead of the needed 4. Anybody know where I can get more?
By the way, you can rev the P5 about as high as the base RSX but don't need to. The torque comes in lower on the P5 so power comes more quickly than on the RSX, but you don't feel the surge by winding it out to high RPMs as with the RSX. The base RSX is quicker 0-60, by over a second. Some drivers find that more important than others.
I've been taking my MX-6 to Patrick/Byers for years, and I've always had great service. And my parents love the Byers Chrysler dealership downtown. But the couple times I've visited their Mazda store to look at the Imprezas and P5s, they've seemed oddly disinterested. True, last time I was there, I mentioned I qualify for Splan, so that may have turned them off. But hey -- I'm trying to stay loyal to the brand.
I'd love to know the name of your contact there. (send it to ggilliom@hotmail.com if you don't want to post it here.) If you're comfortable sharing the information, I'm curious to know if you feel you got a good deal.
I agree about seeing Jettas coming and going. And about the history of electrical problems. Sounds like the P5 is proving to be very reliable, which is reassuring. Now, if I can just take a look at a white one with leather...
I'll be curious to know how you like your P5 -- you've had some good cars in the past to compare it to.
amonte -- it's tough to compare the RSX to the P5. Different prices, different purposes. I sat in the RSX at our local autoshow, and I thought the comfort and interior design (and materials) was AMAZING. But it's very low to the ground, tight inside, and can't haul nearly the stuff. Can't blame you for considering it, though!
I've gotta have space for two kids car seats in the back. In fact, I still have to take them to the dealership and make sure they'll fit for certain in the P5...
I think I got a pretty good deal on the P5. The listed sale price was $16,798, but they jacked up my trade-in by $1,000 to reduce the amount I had to roll over into the loan (I traded in a leased car to buy the P5). So essentially, I got it for $15,798. It's a stripped down version (only floor mats as an option). Edmunds has it at $15,734 invoice, and $16,388 TMV, so I really do feel like I got a great deal.
My past cars have been:
(1) 1982 Saab 900 (1989-1993)
(2) 1994 Toyota Camry (1994-1996)
(3) 1995 Nissan Pathfinder (1996)
(4) 1993 VW Passat GLX (1996-1998)
(5) 1999 VW Passat 1.8T (1998-2000)
(6) 1997 Audi A4 1.8T (2000-2001)
(7) 2000 Suby Impreza RS (2001-2002)
As for my favorites, I would put the P5 third, behind the A4 and the 99 Passat. The A4 I loved, but there was a control-arm issue and because it wasn't discovered until I was out of warranty, Audi refused to fix it, even though there had been a number of reported control arm bearing problems. It could become a safety issue, so I sold it off before it got to that. The Passat was a great car too, but I traded it in on the Audi to get leather(ette) and a sunroof. It was also a Tiptronic, and in the end, I found that feature kind of silly. I never really used it all that much. The P5 is a great little hatchback/wagon. It's not as fast as the Impreza (or Audi or VWs), but it's still pretty quick. The ride is stiff thanks to the tires and suspension, but I like that sporty feeling. The gas mileage on it is going to be much better than the Impreza was, and switching from a 2000 Impreza to the 2002 P5 actually dropped my rates by about $5.00/month. Right now, we're paying about $1200/year for the two cars.
It's actually become my wife's car, and she likes it a lot too. She had the Miata, so she has a thing for Mazdas anyways. Incidentally, we have a 1 year old daughter and her Britax Roundabout seat fits in the back center position perfectly facing backwards. I don't think putting two child seats in the back would be a problem, though each would have to be on an outside seat (no middle positioning w/ two).
Let me know if I can be of any more help. You can email me at colnago1331@yahoo.com.
Thanks
Topp
subyaudidude-In S. Cal., the biggest dealership "Browning Mazda" have most of the Protege5 in leather. I ended up buying a silver Protege5 with Sport automatic and leather seat. The leather's qualtity is great.
Good Luck.
There are three main benefits for this:
1. The meet will not be held on Father's Day.
2. Being held on Saturday (rather than Sunday) will allow more sufficient time to get back to work on Monday.
3. It will allow more people to come to the meet.
There will also be a small fee of $10 per vehicle. This will cover the expense of the application and permit fees imposed by the California Department of State Parks. Extra money will be used to purchase food and beverages. This fee will be collected at the meet.
The State Beach also requires a $2 entrance fee into the parking lot.
The website has been updated to reflect the recent changes. If you have already submitted an RSVP to the meet, please send me an e-mail stating that you have received the new date!
http://www.caliprotegemeet.1hwy.com
webmaster@caliprotegemeet.1hwy.com
maltb, sharonf... can you attend now? :-)
-Jerry
MPG estimates were 31.7 mpg. I used about 17.3 gallons to go 546 miles. This was at least 90% hwy: 90 miles from the end of the shorter trip last weekend, car sat for a week in the city, then I drove from DC to CT, through NJ. The first fill-up was not filled, so I couldn't get a reading (you can't pump your own darn gas in NJ!). So by the time of the second fill-up, I had covered 546 miles. I tend to drive wisely, between 60 and 70 mostly hwy (now I've reached 1000 miles, I'll go as fast as 75). Probably did about 30 miles of city driving. On the return, I used used AC about 75% of the time.
Hey, in case anyone is looking for an aftermarket roof rack for their bikes, THULE makes one that clamps onto our existing rack. It's a fork mount rack and the bike loads and unloads quickly.
The bike rail is a little long and will contact the spoiler on the hatch when it is open, but the bike rail has a black end-cap that is smooth and has not harmed my yellow paint. You could always shave about an inch of the rail if your worried about it.
Alot of you have complained about wind noise in the past, and if that's a concern to you, this rack will only add to the noise. When my moonroof is shut though, it isn't very noticable. If you don't have a moonroof, I wouldn't be concerned.
All and all, the system looks pretty cool and works great and I am pleased with it.
In pics it looks cool, but I gotta ask: Do people generally like the effect? Is it easier/harder to read than traditional lighting? Would you change it if you could?
Also... tgif888 -- if you get a chance, post a few pics of that leather interior. No dealers in my area (central Ohio) have any models, and I'd love to see what they look like.
The red light of the instruments is really cool. At first I don't like it, but now I'm totally convinced. During the night, it blends well to the general color of the traffic, and it's definitively more relaxing for the eyes. I'll keep this color. Notice that all BMWs have the same color.
Bruno
Bruno
Funny note on this topic. When my 68 yr old mother first saw the car at night she commented on the dash lights...."how neat...fancy...etc....do they match the lights to the car color?" Bless her heart!
Either works. Average human eye is most sensitive in the green to yellow range, but is still OK in orange, dropping off through red. Sensitivity really falls off in the blues.
Other then that, I love it.
Does your Thule system add a second cross bar on to the front factory roof rack cross bar, or does the Thule fork-mount/tray attach directly to the factory rack?