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Comments
-juice
I also found the ride kind of harsh. It bothered my Mom the most, she has a bad back.
I lowered the tire pressure to 28psi and that
seems to have made the ride a lot smoother. Unfortunately, I think that is the reason that my
gas mileage is about 23mpg. I drive about 2/3
on the freeway and about 1/3 on the roads.
Someone posted this URL awhile back
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
that deals with Mazda Miata tires.
It says a 195 50 16 tire is equal to a 205 60 14
tire. I don't know alot about tires, I am not sure
how a 205 60 14 tire would effect the P5?
Alana
My parents bought a Protege after riding in mine, but opted for the LX sedan, mainly because they didn't want to fuss with buying or storing additional wheels and tires. All season M/Ss are more their thing.
-juice
My manual says nothing about this. It only says to turn on the AC when defrosting. No mention of it doing it automatically. This is in the manual for my '02 P5.
Now you can make an argument for the Defrost settings, but why Feet Only?
Also, The Pro5 really tends to "walk" over rough streets at low speeds. Sometimes I'll be on a street I thought was pretty smooth only to stop at a red light and feel all four corners stepping over every little bump and wave in the road. This is sort of annoying here in southern New Mexico where they repave roads about once every 20 years (because traffic is comparatively light and the streets here have never seen road salt or sand). I haven't ever found the ride to be truly uncomfortable except after a 12 hour day behind the wheel - my lower to mid back was aching but I blame this as much on the seat as the ride (I think I had it adjusted too steep and it got to me after 750 miles).
Really the handling and road feel is are the best things about driving this car. When you step into the Pro5, you're not sitting in the lap of luxury, nor are you commanding 400 ponies. Whoever it was that said it's like driving a grown-up version of a go-kart got it about right. If that image appeals to you, you'll like the Pro5
It actually snowed here last night, we got about a tenth of an inch. I expect it'll all be gone by noon once the sun comes out.
Here is one possible reason for the AC engaging on the Feet Only setting. If your feet are wet after trudging through snow/water in the car and you turn on the heat to warm up that area, the heat will cause the moisture to evaporate which will start to fog the windows. The AC would help to reduce this by pumping in extra dry air to offset the moisture...
Dave
Yeah, I think the ride will soften up a bit after putting some miles on it and carrying more passengers and load.
Bruno, from Houston TX
1) When I go out with friends they always want to drive my car.
2) I find that I'm driving about 3 times as far to get someplace because I'm driving 10 miles out of way because I don't want to stop driving this car, it is so much fun.
About the tires, IMO they should always be at 32 psi, not less, not more (unless you are carrying a large load) as this is they way the are designed to work. Underinflation can and will damage your tires and this can lead to an accident. I think everyone heard alot of this on the news this summer with Firestone.
later,
d.
I have the same problems than you: friends want to drive my car (excepted those who cannot drive the manual) and take a long way driving back home. I brought the car for its second oil change, tires rotation and balance yesterday at 8756miles. I should end up having 20kmiles per year. I did 15kmiles/yr with my previous car (civic). That's the proof that I'm driving more.
Bruno
Was interested in how much storage room is available. Can the rear seats be folded out of the way to increase room?
Can the bumpers take a parking lot bump without chipping paint? Are they plastic or metal/
TIA Frank
Is there a (new) car that does not have folding seats?
On my previous subject about wallowing.
The car is stable up to 85mph. between 85 and 95 it feels VERY loose and i was almost afraid to go any farther as i though i would loose control. But as soon as i got to 100mph yesterday on i-95 it felt like the car was on double rails. doesn't rattle, shake or weave or anything like that. but it was different between 85 and 95 for sure.
I have over 7k miles on mine and will take it for a second oil change, tire rotation as soon as i can. My CD player (stock) never skips. not once in over 3 months. installed some LED bulbs into the holes in the fenders (when you open the hood) and it looks reall nice when they light up. also dropped a strobe into one of the headlights. was really easy to do, no drilling and cutting. there is some room for the wires to go out from the housing even when the bulb is installed so that made the installation simple.
Do any of you have a radar detector? Which one is good? I was thinking about a cobra 9100 for $80-90 or a 9200 for 90-100. Any experience with them.
I know, I was clarify for cdnp5.
Bruno
Haven't crunched my bumpers yet so I can't speak to that. The Pro5 is small enough that you generally have lots of maneuvering room, unless you've boxed yourself into a corner. It's definitely easier to maneuver than our old Explorer!
The Pro5 is a whale of a lot of fun to drive. Good luck with your search!
You said: "I've contemplated purchasing an extended warranty."
In addition to the feedback here, you may also want to check out our Finance, Warranty, and Insurance message board for ongoing discussions about extended warranties. Good luck.
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks / Station Wagons / Women's Auto Center Boards
-Finn
Is there an searchable archive? Aside from searching through about 20 posts at a time that will display on screen. The old system would allow you to pull up all the posts and then use the 'find' feature on the browswer to search. I would love to know of a way to search through these posts.
-juice
This reminds me, I highly recommend a soft rooftop carrier for anyone who needs to haul a lot of stuff in their Pro5. I bought one at an AutoZone or PepBoys for about $40 and it holds tons and tons of stuff. I managed to fit every article of clothing I own in it with room to spare, plus it folds up really nice and flat (because it's soft). I have mine under my bed now. If anyone is interested I'll get a picture of it on my car next time I use it (which may be a while).
-juice
I'm collecting all the on-line reviews of the P5 that I can find. So far I'm up to 23. They're all listed here:
http://byrneweb.com/sunburn/newcar/
If you know of a review that's not listed there, please let me know so I can include it.
Thanks!
I had a slight hum at highway speeds with my bars as they came from the factory. So I took the advice I read here and turned the front bar around to present the smooth, rounded side to the front. I was rewarded with the sound of an angry howler monkey on my roof at highway speeds! :-)
So in my experience, leave the rounded side back on the front bar for the least amount of sound. Or do what I did... take them off completely unless you plan to use them a lot.
Thanks
Maybe I didn't word it correctly, that is what I was also saying: "check the rack to make sure the smooth side of the bars is to the back. Mine came with one bar one way and the other the other way and it whistled pretty good until someone here said to put the side with the ridges to the front."
Thanks,
Bruno
I test drove a '5' the other night and just could not come to a agreement on price.
In hindsight I should have done it as I lowballed him up front but he did the same on the trade-in.
We were only a few hundred apart. I think I'll wait till the week between the holidays to go back, more pressure on him to sell by years end.
My quote was $15,228 for an automatic including trade in.
Also, will test drive the Forrester due to the AWD.
On one of the reviews, crash tests I think, they indicated that your legs would get damaged in a frontal crash in the '5'. A little worrisome.
Still love the '5' however.
not too many dealers are hurting. Last month's sales were some of the biggest ever...Also, slipping in the trade in a underhanded manner dosnt increase the amount you get for the trade...What it does do is tell the salesperson you're the type of customer who wants to play games.
Rich
BTW, the silver P5 looks very sharp and classy!
Bruno
Doing your homework and having the patience to work out a favorable deal is what gets the highest trade values. plain and simple.
Game playing only gets more game playing with the huge majority of dealers. Based upon your story you did some homeowrk and held out for more money...it had nothing to do with you hiding it until the end.
rich