Mazda Protege5

sunbyrne · August 2001

Last year on an extended business trip I rented a 2000 Altima and put over 500 miles on it. My overwhelming reaction: BORING. Probably the least interesting car I've ever driven. If the 2001 SE version is a *LOT* more interesting, it might approach my Pro5. Space is fairly comparable. You probably won't get much of a deal on a Pro5, but you can get 0.0 financing on a Pro ES, and I would certainly do that over getting an Altima. I'd consider it a safety measure--I'd probably get killed in an Altima because I'd fall asleep at the wheel... No, seriously, the Altima isn't a bad car at all, I just found it uninteresting.

Now, Bruno, where are you seeing all these Pro5's in Houston? I've only ever seen one other one--in my parking lot at work, grr--and it's also silver.

bluong1 · August 2001

Mike, here are places for sight hunting of P5s in action where you may have better luck:

- Parking spot of my company in Sugar-Land: red
- Corporate St, Stafford: yellow
- 59 feeder road @ Sheaper: silver
- Westheimer@Hilcroft: silver
- Border book store in Westheimer: black
- my complex at Stafford: yellow.

Are you still following me Mike? Probably not. Oh well... ;-)

Get out and drive.

Zoom-zoom

sunbyrne · August 2001

Ahh, mostly on the West side. That makes sense, since Jeff Haas is the only dealer that actually seems to have more than one Pro5 around. My haunts are the Rice/Medcen area, Pearland, and Clear Lake. Maybe I'll see some more when I zoom-zoom around the beltway through your neck of the woods back to Jeff Haas to get my deflector installed and my tint done on Monday...

Hey, speaking of tints, what tint have folks been getting? The darkest we can get in Texas is 35%, but do I really need to go that dark? Bruno, what'd you get? I seem to recall you saying you had the dealer do it, and we have the same dealer...

vocus · August 2001

Someone on the Protege sedans board owns both a 2000 Altima GXE and a 2000 Protege ES sedan. You might wanna come over and talk to them about the difference between the two cars. That person's screen name is Nikecar.

razorrabbit · August 2001

What octane do you use?

Also...does it hurt if I refill with 92 Octane EVERY time?

Plus do you recommend Iridium spark plugs in additional to a high flow air filter.

Share some of you Mod Knowledge!!

cmulqueen · August 2001

Thanks for all of your timely replies! The info about the S-plan is very helpful, I didn't even realize it existed. I posted my message on the Protege sedan board and hopefully will get some good input there as well. I'll drive the Altima, but I definitely enjoyed the sporty feel of the P5. Thanks again.

jstandefer · August 2001

Funny, but I don't see any difference between your explanation of octane and "resistance to detonation." The higher the octane, the higher resistance to detonation there is. If you put lower octane fuel in a high compression engine, you will get pinging, which is basically predetonation of the fuel before the piston has reach TDC of its compression stroke. If you have fuel that is more resistant to detonation (i.e., higher octane), it won't detonate from the compression and heat, rather by the spark. Either way, the only engine Mazda builds that requires premium fuel is the 2.3L Miller-Cycle V6 from the Millenia S. Funny thing is that the high-performance rotary engine requires an octane rating much lower than what is available, but that is whole different story.

After driving my '99 Protege ES for 2.5 years now, I have found no difference between premium, midgrade, and regular fuel. Premium fuel produces a slightly (and I mean slightly) smoother idle. Fuel mileage remains the same as regular. Premium is probably better if you keep your engine in the 6,000rpm range, otherwise it is a waste of money. The bottom line is that Mazda engineers designed the engine to run on 87 octane [(R+M)/2 method], and you should stick with that. It runs just fine.

The owner's manual recommends a minimum octane rating of 91 RON. This is not what is posted on most United States gas pumps. What we see is octane calculated using the (RON + MON)/2 method, or Anti-Knock Index as it is called. Research Octane Number (RON) is a measurement of octane under regular driving (i.e., light engine load). Motor Octane (MON) is a measurement of octane under extreme driving (i.e., heavy engine load). We use the Anti-Knock Index, which is the average between RON and MON. 91 RON is equivalent to 87 Anti-Knock Index. 94 octane, whether it is MON, RON, of Anti-Knock Index, is much higher than what Mazda recommends.

bluong1 · August 2001

Jon,

There is no harm using 92 every-time, believe me, accept for your pocket. I use 89-fuel with occasionally (1 over 5 times) 92-fuel. If you live in high altitude, high flow air filter is a must, otherwise I don't think you need them. Spark plugs are important. When you change them, try to replace with the best, since it doesn't cost much more and it warrant the smoothness of your engine. It just one person opinion.

Jerry,

you are right, if your definition of "detonation" includes the molecules breaking phenomenon, than "resistance to detonation" is the right word. The manual recomended MINIMUM 91 RON, that means any fuel having more than 91 will do fine, including the regular fuel and the premium one that Jon are using. My point is the low mpg Jon get may not due to the fuel, as you also pointed out above. It must due to something else. IMHO, the criminal is probably not spark plugs, but a dirty air filter, defected computer, leak of fuel, or simply Jon has a heavy right foot! As I said, I average about 28mpg with my P5, without managing much at red light. The rotary engine has very very low compression ratio by design, that's why you can use regular fuel.

Mike,
I don't remember what is the degree of tints of my car. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

Bruno

jstandefer · August 2001

In the Protege, it is quite easy to get terrible mileage. I've been through tanks where I've only managed about 19-20mpg. Of course, that's taking the engine near redline with every shift and driving up to the speed limiter (very disappointing 119mph!). But, I have also found that tire pressure can greatly affect fuel mileage. Everytime I take the car into the dealership for maintenance, they reset the tire pressure back to the factory recommended 32psi. However, I don't have factory tires on the car (those awful Potenza's don't last, you guys are lucky with your Dunlop's), I have 205/50R15 Nitto NT450 "Extreme Performance" tires and 32psi is entirely too low for them. With them set at 32psi, I can't achieve anything higher than 25mpg!! I can't imagine his air filer would be that dirty with such a new vehicle, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Something large sucked onto the filter can really block air flow.

BTW, I have 100% fully metallized titanium tint on my ES. They are 33% on the front windows, and 25% on the rears. They really cut down on the heat and glare. I have a full lifetime warranty on them against fading, discoloration, and delamination. It was a bit expensive at $260, but I have been extremely happy with them; I've had the tint for over two years now.

iamz · August 2001

119 mph!

I am sure you did this on a test track? ;-)

jstandefer · August 2001

Looking back, I probably should have. But, I was lured into a race with a Mustang GT ('94 or '95 5.0) and Porsche 944 Turbo. I found out several things that day. The 944 Turbo is an amazingly fast car and I think he was just toying with the Mustang and I that day. The Mustang GT is quick up to highway speeds, but the 5.0L runs out of breath at those speeds while the Protege's DOHC is just getting into it's sweet zone. Oh, and another thing... The Protege ES handles amazingling well over 100mph. :-0

elec3 · August 2001

I'm not exactly sure what my fuel economy has been but it seems pretty average. All my driving is around town in stop and go driving, a real mileage killer. It seems that I've also been getting 270-290 miles before the fuel light comes on. Today the light came on, I drove maybe 2 miles and then stopped for gas. 12.006 gallons filled it up, so that should give you some idea of how many gallons you have left once that light comes on. The only real way to test is to set one of the trip odos and run it out of gas (keep a couple gallons in the trunk) but this isn't terribly good for your engine so I'll let someone else try it

I have a 1500 mile trip coming up that is all highway driving at 55-80 mph and will mostly be done with cruise on so I'll let everyone know what type of mileage I'm getting under those conditions. I use regular gas, 87 octane gas/ethanol blend in the Chicago area and 86 octane in New Mexico (perhaps because of the elevation over 4000 feet).

As for tint, I'm really torn. My car is titled and licensed in Illinois which has pretty strict tint laws but the P5 and I spend 9 months of the year at school in New Mexico where the tint laws are extremely generous (anyone who has ever been under the New Mexico summer sun knows why). I'd love to get some metallic or mirrored silver tint to match the paint on my silver P5 but the stupid laws have me worried. BTW, I found this page http://www.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/ with tint laws for every state. Be sure to read the disclaimer at the top before you run out for tint.

119? Wow. I still wonder what this car would be capable of with a chip or turbo but haven't really heard anything about either.

elec3 · August 2001

Hope this will be of use to some folks out there looking to screw around with the stereo in their P5s

I must give credit to phoenixmp5 on this forum for his invaluable assistance. Without his starting point I wouldn't have all this info to share.

Things you will need:
Phillips screwdriver
Small flathead screwdriver or pocket knife
Bag, box, or can to hold fasteners while you work
No less than 2 hours
Patience

Things you may need (I did):
Wire cutters/strippers
Speaker wire
Electrical tape
Krazy glue (just in case)

So you wanna take your doors apart? It could be because you're looking to replace the mediocre rear speakers or because you're looking to install a subwoofer and need to tap the rear speaker wires for a signal. Here's how to do it.

Start by opening your door, locating and removing all visible fasteners. These are: a smallish plastic screw below and to the right of the door lock button, a metal screw (which I believe is diagonally mounted) inside the door handle (the one you pull to open/unlatch the door), and two plastic rivets in the rear-facing side of the door. These are slightly tricky because they are mounted flush into the door panel and can be identified as a round button with a ring around it. Pry the head of the rivet out with a flathead screwdriver or pocket knife and pull the top of the rivet to full extension, then remove the rivet from the door frame.

Remove the cover of the armrest/door handle. I want to be very clear here, I incorrectly thought the entire armrest/handle was removable and it is NOT, so please do not try to pull it clear, you may succeed (thankfully I did not). You should be able to see a line running across the top and inside of the armrest. This is where the decorative facing seperates from the rigid handle underneath. The best way to remove the facing is to grasp the armrest/handle with one hand and curl the fingertips of the other hand underneath the thinner side of the facing that goes towards the front of the car and give it a reasonable pull. If at any time you are pulling on the entire armrest/handle, STOP, you screwed up

Think removing a facing from the actual handle and you'll be fine. Once the facing is off, remove the two screws you find underneath it. Set all important screws, fasteners, and other parts aside so you don't lose them.

You are now ready to remove the door panel. STOP. If you have not removed all the fasteners above, do not pull on the door panel. Your door panel will give long before a metal screw will. It helps to understand that the door panel looks like two pieces but is actually only one piece and is constructed of rigid molded plastic and what appears to be rigid molded fiberglass. The best approach is to be firm but not forceful. Start by pulling at the front to bottom front section of the door panel. This part of the panel is attached to the door by simple PVC plastic pop rivets (I think three or 4) and should pull clear with just a bit of effort. Now on to the bottom of the door. This part of the panel is held in place by round PVC buttons which socket into plastic C shaped holders in the door panel. There may be a more elegant solution but simply pulling the bottom of the door panel away from the door will with a bit of force should pop it loose. Continue across the bottom from front to back and up the back side of the door. These fasteners continue to about the rear-middle of the door panel. There are 3 or 4 of them.

The panel should now be fully unfastened and ready to be removed. It is important to know that the door handle/release that you removed the single screw from in the beginning and the push button lock are parts of the door frame, not the door panel and are not removed. The plastic door panel lifts up and over the door lock button and the door release passes through its opening in the door panel. The door panel should now be completely clear of the frame except for the plastic wiring harness for the power windows. This unplugs much as you would expect it to and should be pretty familiar to anyone who has worked with PC power supplies. At this point you can lift the door panel clear and take a look at the speaker.

The rear speakers are mounted at the bottom front of the door frame with 3 phillips screws. You can easily remove the screws and speakers and pull them slightly clear of the door frame. All the wires within the frame are electrical taped together and run behind a sheet of plastic that is stuck to the frame with a black goop, presumably to shield the inside of the door from water. You should have access to at least enough wire at the speaker to see what you're doing. The speaker has a connector similar to the one for the power window. You can release the speaker connector by depressing the slanted plastic tab inside the connector with the flathead screwdriver or pocket knife and then pulling the connector clear.

At this point you're home free and can either simply plug in the new speakers if they use the same plug or, if not, cut the connector, strip the wires, and connect the new speaker. I leave that part to you. I left the factory speakers and spliced the wires for a subwoofer signal connection. For both rear speakers, + (signal) is sort of a pinkish color and negative (ground) is yellow with a black stripe. This was a lucky guess on my part after remembering that when proper electical standards are followed, the negative wire is always indicated (the stripe).

Your door goes back together much the opposite of how it was disassembled. Screw the speaker back in. Make sure the door lock button is in its clip. Plug the power window wires back in to the panel. Place the door panel over the lock button. Pull the door release handle back through its hole in the panel. Pop the rivets back in. Replace the screws and plastic rivets. Replace the door armrest facing. The only part I'm not totally sure about is getting the PVC buttons at the bottom of the door back into their C collars. The C collars all seem to face different directions and I can't quite figure out how to get them all back on but the door functions fine otherwise. If anyone knows how to do this, feel free to comment. That's all there is to it!

Free extra: If you aren't replacing the speakers and only need to splice wires, it may be possible to do so without removing the door panels. Open your rear door and locate a ridged rubber tube running between the door frame and the car body. You can remove either end of this for access to the wires for power windows, locks, and the speaker. The door side is easy, it's a simple rubber gasket that you can pry out or can pull out with your hands. The car body side is a bit tougher. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the rubber cover completely off of the squarish plastic wiring harness. Pull the green button out a bit until you can see the small tabs on either side of it. Press these tabs together and pull the button, then harness

elec3 · August 2001

clear of the socket in the car body. Using this method (from either side) you may have a hard time getting enough length of wire to splice as all excess is taped together and stuffed inside the door but it can be done. Positive for the speaker is (still) pink and negative is yellow with a black stripe. Both are run next to one another into the plastic harness so they should be easy to locate. After splicing you can run the new wire down through the hole in the door hinge so the wire doesn't get crushed. Then either pop the rubber gasket back into place (on the door side) or push the green button back in, replace the rubber wiring harness cover, and push the harness back into the socket in the car body (on the car side). I wouldn't say I highly recommend this method but it's workable if you're afraid of dismantling your door.

And a final free tip: If you need to run a wire from the car cabin into the engine compartment, to run a wire off of your battery for good power for a sub for example, this can be accomplished by locating the rubber grommet in the firewall. Adjust the driver's seat back all the way and lay on the floor so you face the firewall which is above the pedals and behind the steering column. You'll find a diamond shaped piece of plastic behind the black sound insulation. You should be able to remove this and gain a pass through into the engine compartment but it was extremely tight and I gave up. Next to this, however, is a rubber grommet through which all the important accessory wiring is run from the fusebox inside the cabin to the battery. It is small and round on the cabin side and larger and oval on the engine compartment side. You can either poke a hole in the grommet with an awl or knife, being careful not to sever any wires or use the flathead screwdriver (again) to pry one side of the grommet away enough to pass a wire or two through. The grommet fits very tight and should keep a good seal even with a wire passed through outside of it.

I'd like to apologize to everyone for the extreme length of this post and the technical (boring) nature of it but it was the only way to share all of this information with people who are likely to want and use it. I wish I'd had a walkthrough this detailed BEFORE I set out to do this, but I'm glad I now have all this info to share with fellow P5 lovers. Enjoy folks, maybe I'll wash my P5 tomorrow and get a few pics of it and my sub up to check out

aardvark_mark · August 2001

Thanks bro for the information!.. look forward to replacing my speakers soon as I get my car and this walkthrough will be a big help!.

-Mark

phoenixmp5 · August 2001

Elec3,

Glad to hear of your victory.

jlenard2 · August 2001

Just picked up a silver Pro5. Got it for $200 under invoice. My other car is a 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS, and the Protege actually feels stiffer! The engine is obviously down on power, but the car is nimble. I got a lot of existing/future information from my salesman, so if anyone has a question, I will be happy to answer if I can. Love the car - nice looks, plenty of room, and sporty.

Sporin · August 2001

How did you negotiate that price?

Best I've been quoted is 4% over invoice on a 5-speed with no options. ($17,468. w/ dest.)

sunbyrne · August 2001

elec3, thanks for the detailed info on speaker replacement. I might give it a whirl, as I'm none to impressed with the stock speakers.

What size will the Pro5 take in the doors, 6 1/2? Or was it 6 x 8? I'd guess someone has said before but I can't remember.

elec3 · August 2001

Unfortunately I don't know the exact sizes though I can tell you the rear speakers are round while the front ones are oval shaped. Some have said that you can replace the speakers with ones not exactly the same size as the originals and also that you might have a hard time finding replacements because the screw holes line up sorta funky.

Sorry I can't be more precise, I'd be replacing my speakers now if it wasn't for the fact that I have a $2000+ cash outlay coming up in about a week for school

Easy come, easy go.

phoenixmp5 · August 2001

The fronts are 5X7/6X8 and the rears are 61/2. It was me who made the comment about finding speakers with the exact pattern as the Protege5. It's not that you can't find speakers to fit the pattern... but most of the ones I liked, required drilling new holes.

As a matter of fact, I did run across some Pioneer speakers which were stamped "Designed for Ford and Mazda" which had the proper configuration. Kenwood also has speakers with the proper fit. However, They sounded very muddy to me.

Of course, that's just my prefference and they may sound fine to a great deal of people, so I'm not trying to knock a brand name or offend those who have bought them.

The best way to determine if you'll like a pair of speakerst, is to take a CD with you when you go shopping. Take music which you are familiar with. Female voices are best as they tend to be tougher to reproduce. Also, take music with a lot of dynamics (highs and lows) and see if you can pick out the individual instruments. Nothing shows the true color of musical equipment like a bowed bass, the lower keys on a piano.

Finally, keep the bass and treble controls in their flat position and turn off bass boost switches. If it can't sound good flat... It'll never sound good to you.

Have fun shopping.

elec3 · August 2001

Well I finally got my door fully put back together which means I can give a small update on my rear door walkthrough. A few helpful hints:

Don't put the armrest cover back on without screwing the armrest back into the door frame

You'll probably be able to pull the entire armrest out but will have a bear of a time getting the cover off.

There may be an easier way to remove the armrest cover. It seems to be held on by two clips and not just one at the front end (the side that faces the front when the door is closed). The first metal clip you can get to and pry out of the way by inserting a flathead screwdriver in the small rectangular notch on the underside of the front of the armrest. The hard part is that the same clip also has a top part which you can't get to very well that also needs to be pried clear (unless you just pull hard). It's tough to explain this well and the only reason I even found this out is because I had the entire armrest assembly free of the door frame and in my hand to look at from all angles

I would advise gently pulling the top front part of the armrest slightly away from the door panel and if you can see the metal clip there, try depressing it with a flathead screwdriver. This may or may not be possible - the first time I removed the cover I only popped the bottom clip and simply pulled the rest off but if both clips can be released, the cover comes off easier.

I discovered something that made door reassembly MUCH easier. The white PVC buttons and C collars I mentioned earlier...you can pretty much disregard that. They are simple pop in/out rivets, the problem I had is that they stuck better in the door frame than in the door panel, meaning they came out of their C collars and remained popped into the door frame. I used pliars to pry them free and reinserted them in the door panel. This made reassembly VERY easy because you simply drop the panel on over the windowsill and door lock button, connect the power window cable, reinstall the door handle/release, then pop all the rivets on the door panel into the frame (all along the bottom and front edge of the door), then reinsert the screws and removable plastic rivets. Voila. If you do everything right and don't screw around a lot like I did, I promise your door will come apart with only a minimum of struggle and will go back together like brand new. If anyone has any questions about my experience or the door process, email me at Elecstudnt@aol.com. Get cracking and on your way to better sound!

sunbyrne · August 2001

Ryan, thanks for the info on the speaker configuration. I don't know much about car speakers in particular, but I certianly know how to shop for speakers in general. I recently did home theater in my family room and even have a couple CD's I burned specifically for the purpose of auditioning speakers. Your rec on female voices is right on--a lot of speakers really crap out on difficult female vocals.

Now, since I don't know much about car speakers, I have what may be a naive question. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the 6.5" speakers in front and the 6x8's in the back seat? Human ears don't localize low freq very well, and the 6x8s, by virtue of being bigger, should make the better bass drivers, right? Seems like component 5in or 6.5in up front and 6x8 in back would make more sense, wouldn't it? Or am I way off?

Thanks!

gsogymrat · August 2001

I test drove the Protege5 and really liked it. I love the exterior styling, the dash, the way it handled. However I won't be buying one because I just hate the black interior. I live in the South and a black interior just absorbs heat and makes for miserable driving. I unfortunately bought a 1999 Honda Civic EX a while back with black interior thinking I would get used to it. Wrong. It always looks dirty and it's so HOT. If Mazda would have a lighter color interior option I would trade in my piece-of-crap Civic in a heartbeat.

phoenixmp5 · August 2001

Actually, if you could put 6 1/2" speakers all around, you'll find that you'll get a better sound! Round speakers always produce better sound than their oval counterparts. I thought about doing just that. However, since I didn't have access to any metal cutting tools, I left it alone and went with the 5X7s. Using wood in the doors was just out of the question.

In the store the 6 1/2 had better all around sound than the 5X7s, but in the car, the combination sounds really good to me. If they were all 5x7s, I'm sure there would be a large gap, where the midrange would normally exist.

Component speakers would be Ideal, if you intend on driving them with an amp. They tend to consume more power than standard two way speakers, as they were designed with additional amplification in mind.

If you plan to keep your factory deck, be sure to keep "efficiency" high on your list of requirements. Some very expensive speakers will demand much more power from a head unit than they can possibly provide, and consequently sound poor.

When I picked out my speakers, I insisted on listening to them through the cheapest and lowest powered deck in the store and they sounded real strong. In the P5... they Rock!

Good Luck on your hunt.

sunbyrne · August 2001

Thanks much for the advice--always good to get pointers from someone who's recently done the same thing!

Sporin · August 2001

ANother great review!

http://www.nctd.com/02/comp/02protege5.cfm

jlenard2 · August 2001

The thing is, I didn't have to negotiate that price - the dealer just gave it to me when I said I had S Plan. That kncked the price to $16,800, plus my dealer was running 4.9% financing. Suburban Mazda in Troy, Mi. If you live in Mi., go to this dealer.

Sporin · August 2001

Oh, S-plan get's you that price.

Given the number of people who are paying straight sticker, I thought 4% over invoice was pretty good. I don't qualify fo rany of the special "plans."

tcda · August 2001

Not to count my chickens before they hatch, but I have agreed to a price on a five speed P5 for less than invoice. And I am not eligible for the S-Plan. Am I the only one?

hkchan · August 2001

Show us the options and prices. Any strings, i.e. you had to buy an extended warranty, "protection" package, etc? Does "I have agreed to" mean you've already signed the order?

928gts · August 2001

Anyone try to replace their Protege5 headlight bulbs yet? I tried to install a set of PIAA Xtreme White H4 bulbs (PIAA's website has that size listed for the '01 Protege), but they are obviously the wrong size for the 2002 Protege5. I want the additional light output of the PIAA bulbs and, yes, i'll admit that I think the blue-like color is cool too. Anyone know what the right size for the headlight and foglight bulbs are? The owners manual only seems to list the wattage, not the actual bulb SIZE. Could use some help here.

Also, anyone replace the Protege5's weeny horn yet? Gosh, that has to be the weakest sounding horn that I've heard yet! What's up with that, Mazda? Probably will replace it with a Hella unit. Anyone have any experience with them?

Thanks in advance,

Steven
Silver Pro5

krotine · August 2001

I have a pair of 130 dB air horns from my last vehicle.

jason

tcda · August 2001

At first, I agreed to $15,315 for a 5-spd with no options. Then, when I decided to get ABS, I was told that I would get the car at $15,315 plus the invoice price of the options. Turns out that the dealer wants MSRP for the options. At the end, the price was to be $18126 (5spd with ABS, Moonroof, Alloy Wheels, 6 CD, and mats). Not a bad price, but not the deal we negotiated. So, I called a couple of dealers in the area and they said they would do the S-Plan with a Pro5, so I have applied for membership to the eaa and will buy my car in a month or so.

The Devil is always in the details.

birdman_1 · August 2001

I agree, 928gts, that horn's gotta go. It's lame compared to the rest of the car. I have no experience with changing them either... but the speakers gotta go first!

bigfish2178 · August 2001

has anyone had any luck finding intake or exhaust parts for the p5? I've even been looking for performance parts for the protege 2.0 figuring the parts should be inter-changeable with no luck. I know you can order the racing beat parts as oem from the mazda dealer but i don't want to give my dealer any more money (my buying experience was one of the worst i ever had).

maltb · August 2001

Try http://www.corksport.com

It's the same 2.0 from the Protege sedan.

meinrad · August 2001

Finally got to test drive both the Protege 5 and the Elantra GT today. While I was impressed with the Elantra, it is quite a bit of car for the price, the Protege 5 is easily my choice. It is surprising how much room there is in that little car. The biggest problem with the Elantra was that I could not sit it the backseat without hitting my head on the roof, and I'm only 6'1, but I had plenty of head and leg room in the Protege. I just can't see buying a 4 door car that I can't sit in the back. Theres not much to say about the Protege 5 that hasn't already been said, it was fun to drive even with the auto (which is all the dealer had), except I didn't notice any of the wind noise others have talked about. This one didn't have a sun roof, but we didn't even turn the radio on and wind noise was non-existent as far as I was concerned. So now I've found my car, I just need find a way to buy one.

sunbyrne · August 2001

I test drove three different Pro5's before buying and didn't really notice the wind noise, either--but, like you, all of the ones I test drove didn't have the moonroof. The one I bought has the moonroof, and the wind noise, even when the moonroof is closed, is *much* more noticeable.

However, I just had the moonroof wind deflector installed and it's much better now.

bluong1 · August 2001

There is one more thing on the P5 that I don't like. When the air blow is switched to windshield defrost position, it's take automatically the air from outside, and there is no way to combine recycle air with defrost. I hate when a machine try to be smarter than man. Mazda should leave the option open for users.

Bruno

mdaffron · August 2001

Sure there is. Just slide the recirc lever over to the recirculate position after you turn the dial to defrost.

Meade

maltb · August 2001

jstandefer · August 2001

Although I prefer the manual settings of the '99 models, the electronically controlled switches would be nice. Whenever my windows start to fog up, I have to set the ventilation to defrost, turn on the AC, and slide the recirc lever to fresh air. The new system does all of this automatically as soon as you set the ventilation to defrost. At least its not like Ford vehicles where the AC is activated on every vent positon except main vents and feet only.

bluong1 · August 2001

Yes, I understand the logic of the electronic system. It would
be nice if the defrost function switches automatically the AC on using outside air, however it shouldn't make others combinaisons unable to be operated, as the case of the 2002 P5. Just a suggestion to Mazda designers if they read this board.

Bruno

vocus · August 2001

I like the electronic controls better in the 2001 models, and I have had both (former 1999 owner who upgraded). I think it would make more sense to make the AC come on automatically in the defrost mode though. Why do one function automatically, and not another?

Sporin · August 2001

Why would you want to recirc in defrost anyway? It's counter productive.

ctboyer · August 2001

Does anyone know where I can get add-on goodies to increase HP? I just got an automatic P5, and although it handles really well, I am used to quite a bit more horsepower and torque. I'd like to try and get it at least up over 150hp. Any ideas?

butler11 · August 2001

I'm thinking of ordering the exhaust system for my Yellow P5.....

jstandefer · August 2001

Check out http://www.corksport.com

They specialize in Mazda performance and just started carrying several performance parts for the 1999-2000 1.8L and 2001-2002 2.0L. Those parts include intake and exhaust cams, intake manifolds, exhaust headers, intake systems, exhaust systems... just to name a few. Most of their parts of from J-Spec or Mazdaspeed, both highly reputable companies (Mazdaspeed is now Mazda's factory in-house tuner).

peteach_3 · August 2001

Well after many hours of reading this message board (which had been so helpful) I have finally purchased my P5. Tuesday I purchased a P5, auto, with the only other opts being mats & cargo net. I used the S-plan and got the car for 16,127 and the dealership also accepted the 400 grad credit. The best part is that the got the car i wanted for the price that i could afford.

I can not complain at all. Many of you have mentioned the armrest and the stereo, however, if those items are not of too much importance you will be completely satisfied. Wind noise from the roof rack can be heard but again it is all in what you want. I like to bike, so this was a positive to me.

However, does anyone know the type & manufacture of a bike rack that will work with the factory P5 roof rack???????

Thank you to everyone for all your input and especially those who got back in touch with me about the S-plan..

Keep posting messages and Zoom Zoom

Mazda Protege5

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