Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Mazda Protege5

1…6263656768…154

Comments

  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I guess when I get my snows on my ABS equipped P5 then I will outstop and out control any NON ABS equipped car with snows.

    I think the benefits far outweight the negatives and not buying a car simply because it has ABS seems a bit trite. Just MHO.
  • limpyboylimpyboy Member Posts: 26
    Hey, folks, I was wonderin' if we could end the ABS debate, or take it to another board?

    I know everyone is passionate about their beliefs, but this is just another driver preference thing and we've gone so long now that we seem to be off-topic.

    I miss having a variety of P5 messages.

    Now for a question: Anyone have any data on the popularity of specific car colors? I'm considering a P5 vs. Matrix and was surprised that the dealer has a ton of red and black models. I would've thought those would be first to sell out...
  • sharonfsharonf Member Posts: 120
    Limpyboy,
    What area are you in? I'm in the Bay Area California....and here....out of three dealerships....there was only one red one the last time I checked. I'd say the majority on the lots here were either silver or blue.
    sharon
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    Seems to be the hot seller color. I've noticed that they seem to have less silver than any other color because they keep rolling off the lot.

    ADDENDUM:
    After reading hte last message. Really? I'm totally suprised. Maybe in the northern states i easier to keep a lighter color clean. On the road I've seen mostly Blue, Silver and Yellow. Go figure.
  • riopelleriopelle Member Posts: 132
    And see it the most, followed by black then blue. I know Silver and Black were the first shipped so that may explain it. I wanted Blue but couldn't wait two months for it. Does the white really exist? I have never seen one, even in a dealer lot.

    I do think it should come in Sandlewood or Sand metallic like the sedan.

    That ABS discussion was fascinating but longwinded! Great commentary everyone.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yellow - at least that's what I notice. Mazda really knows what shade of yellow to use, for all its cars. They really turn heads.

    -juice
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    I have a black mica '01 LX Pro. Unless you're prepared to a)clean your car all the time, or b)willing to live with a dirty looking car, stay away from the black!! I mean, I think it's the best looking colour when clean, but it gets dirty so fast and becomes quite frustrating!
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    White does exist, Meadeball has one. They are really nice. I almost bought one, but that particular dealer wanted way too much. I ended up with Blue, my favorite color, but hard to keep clean. If the dealer I bought from would have had Silver at the time, I would have bought it, just for ease of cleaning. And it's my 2nd favorite color for the car.
    In this area it seems to me that Silver is the most popular. At least I've seen Silver on the road the most. The last time I drove by a dealer they had 2 Red, 2 Blue and 2 Silver. I've never seen a Black one yet.
  • riopelleriopelle Member Posts: 132
    I guess we should trade cars - I love that the blue is matched in the seats, and I had wanted a new blue car for years.

    The silver is easy to keep clean though, and I have only occasional regrets. My black gti always looked awful, but that can be an advantage if you live in the city.
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    ....but you won't outstop me in the snow even with your snow tires. ABS will screw that up. It's better to lock em up (ESPECIALLY with snow tires) when there is snow on the ground if you need to stop quick. I've found that with my snow tires, I can steer around a corner without using the brakes just fine. They really grip on ice too. It's not that I won't buy a car with ABS, but I won't pay EXTRA for it. If it comes standard, that's fine. I guess what I am trying to say is that in winter conditions, winter tires are MUCH more confidence inspiring than ABS.
  • cbmortoncbmorton Member Posts: 252
    I have a silver one. When I got my P5 last month the dealer had about 30 of them on the lot. I'd say about 12 were silver, eight each black and blue, and only two red. That pretty much sums up relatively how often I see each colour on the road. Red isn't popular at all around here for some reason.
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    ....but you won't outstop me in the snow even with your snow tires. ABS will screw that up. It's better to lock em up (ESPECIALLY with snow tires) when there is snow on the ground if you need to stop quick. I've found that with my snow tires, I can steer around a corner without using the brakes just fine. They really grip on ice too. It's not that I won't buy a car with ABS, but I won't pay EXTRA for it. If it comes standard, that's fine. I guess what I am trying to say is that in winter conditions, winter tires are MUCH more confidence inspiring than ABS and cheaper too.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I've seen a white one and although I'm a fan of white cars I don't think the P5 looks that good in white. It starts to look like a station wagon in white. I've seen a few in black. I really like the yellow in the P5 I almost started to think about buying one but....(GRIN) IT's just too ostentatious for little ole' me.

    Say who have you noticed driving the P5? I've noticed mostly women and older men.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    How old is older? I've seen mostly guys in their 30's, like me. Not too many women.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    personally I want both. (GRIN) The more the merrier. I would have loved: AWD, ABS, Stability Control and an extra 100hp but that ain't gonna happen. (sigh) I guess I'm going to have to wait a while for my 2002 Carrera.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    The first guy I saw in a silver P5 just like mine was a 50ish man with his wife. Oh well so much for the "BOY" in boyracerish looks.
  • yogwapyogwap Member Posts: 7
    Well, I certainly didn't expect to trigger such a debate over ABS! All the feedback is great though. In the end I guess what matters is what you're comfortable with and that you make sure you know how to handle yourself on the road with what your car is equipped with.

    Up here around Boston I saw a pretty even distribution of colors on dealer lots. It was great to be able to see the Protege5 in every shade. I went with black on my P5 because it far and away looked the best to me. The fact that the only one equipped exactly as I wanted was black probably made a difference too. ;) White and silver looked too bland to me. I don't think bright red really fits on anything other than a Ferrari. To my eye the blue had purple highlights in bright sunlight which I didn't like. The yellow is cool but on the P5 it was a bit much. I saw a fantastic limited edition yellow Miata though...

    I pick up my P5 tonight!
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    Well, you may be able to get some of those options soon. Rumor has it that there may be an AWD turbo version of the P5. I know it's just a rumor, but it's a nice rumor. If Mazda comes out with an AWD turbo P5, I think they will give a lot of companies headaches. While a turbo AWD P5 may not match the WRXs hp, it will most likely be cheaper and MUCH better looking. If they do come out with it, I see a lot of potential Subaru and VW drivers checking out Mazda.
  • yogwapyogwap Member Posts: 7
    I don't recall actually seeing many Protege5's - if any at all - on the road around Boston so I can't comment on the general demographics of P5 buyers here. But I'm 28 and my wife is 26. We don't have kids, nor are we planning on any in the near future. My wife has a Civic coupe and we wanted our second car to be fun while having lots of room for bags, pets and gear for all of our expeditions. The Protege5 was the best fit for us. At first I wanted a Pontiac Vibe because of the bigger and more functional cargo space, but after riding in it for 10 minutes I found it very loud and uncomfortable. The only other real alternative for us was the Impreza wagon but it was smaller inside, doesn't come with a sunroof, and got worse gas mileage. AWD is cool but we don't need it.

    So chalk one more up for the "boy" end of the spectrum.
  • tetonmantetonman Member Posts: 73
    I owned a Protege LX back in early 90s and loved it. I'm no longer the proud owner of a company car (whole 'nother story) and am looking for a new car. Thinking that the Protege5 is great looking, with a great history behind it (the Protege history), I was looking hard at getting one. But, then I saw the MINI...

    Yes it's smaller and a bit more expensive. But it is fun to drive. Have any of you folks taken a MINI for a test drive? If so, how would you compare these cars.

    I am still leaning to Protege5 by the way. Anyone here buy in Chicago area? If so, how was your buying experience?

    Thanks for the great info to date. I can see you all really are into your Protege5s!
  • knight_riderknight_rider Member Posts: 6
    Hi all!

    I'm a spanking new owner of the protege5 and also new to the world of manual shifting. I'm wondering if anyone could inform me of the optimal speeds for shifting into the various gears?

    The owner's manual doesn't seem to detail the speed ranges, so I'm hoping fellow p5 owners can help me out with their experiences. Thanks!
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    I don't pay much attention to the speedometer for shifting...in my opinion, it's more about the engine speed (rpm's). And that varies depending on how warmed up the car is. I'd say shift lower when the engine is cold, and when the engine is at normal operating temp (about halfway up the temp gauge) then you can really open it up. Typically, for city driving, I shift at about 3000 rpm.

    However, since you've got yourself a brand new P5, I would read the manual on "break-in" procedures. I believe it says that there is no real break-in required, but they do offer some guidelines for the first 1000 km. I think one of the most important ones is to not maintain a constant speed for a long time, so that basically means no cruise control.
  • revkarevka Member Posts: 1,750
    "...new to the world of manual shifting."

    In addition to the feedback here, you may also want to check out this discussion: How to drive a stick shift. Good luck, and please keep us posted on your Protege5 experience.... ;-)

    Revka
    Host
    Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I was just reading that article on the Mini. Sounds interesting. Especially the options you can get should you want them. ABS (GRIN) Stability control, HID lights, Heated Seats, rain sensing wipers, HUGE sunroof, navigation system, leather. I priced out the Cooper S with all the junk that I could handle and it was 24k.

    Ugly as it is I would still get a WRX. Man what a driver! Coming up a long onramp I was able to get hte back end to start coming out. That flat 4 singing away in the front. (sigh) Oh well It was just a little too much money.

    Oh well Ilove the way the P5 drives, the cargo capacity and the utility of the car. It HANDLES better than anything else in it's price range. I have no buyers remorse at all.
  • perosperos Member Posts: 3
    Well winter is over but I am trying to lock in a deal at the local shop that is clearing out some winter tires - however I can't seem to find any winter tires that are the same size as the stock Dunlops that came with the car.

    Could y'all tell me what kind of wheels and winter tires (sizes and brands) you are running ?

    Thanks.

    p.s. the dealer was charging me $600 for rust-proofing, but I got Ziebart to do it for $350
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    You can "zero-size" your tires so that there is negligable effects on speedometer, etc.
  • perosperos Member Posts: 3
    Well winter is over but I am trying to lock in a deal at the local shop that is clearing out some winter tires - however I can't seem to find any winter tires that are the same size as the stock Dunlops that came with the car.

    Could y'all tell me what kind of wheels and winter tires (sizes and brands) you are running ?

    Thanks.

    p.s. the dealer was charging me $600 for rust-proofing, but I got Ziebart to do it for $350
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Please see the posts #2446-2449 on this board. The optimal rpm are specifically aimed for P5 gear ratios.

    Bruno
  • hpulley4hpulley4 Member Posts: 591
    When I typed in 2446 I was somewhere in the 2300's. If I type 2518 I get 2446 as the top message. Something is wrong with the jump to message number function.
  • revkarevka Member Posts: 1,750
    This has been an ongoing issue..., yet to be resolved. As you know, when posts get deleted, the numbers change so they can remain in a continuous order. The system is not taking that into account. It's actually taking you to the original post number. So in other words, it's not very accurate. Sorry for the inconvenience.

    And now back to the subject of the Protege5. ;-)

    Revka
    Host
    Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
  • knight_riderknight_rider Member Posts: 6
    I very much appreciate everyone's help in answering my question on manual shifting. I hope to be on the road soon with my new P5 so I can show it off to the world!

    And on the discussion about the demographics for P5 owners, I am 24 yrs old and P5 is my first car and I know a lot of other people in the same age range who are eyeing the P5.

    Though you may not see a lot of "younger" people driving the car yet, believe me, they will be coming. The P5 is too "cool" of a car not to have.
  • riopelleriopelle Member Posts: 132
    I am a Bostonian too. Where did you get your P5? I got mine at Mazda Gallery in Norwood - they were the first to get them with the options (stick, ABS, moonroof)I wanted last July - the guy actually searched for it. Then he parked a black and silver one nose to nose so I could compare the colors better. 128 Mazda was awful - first the salesman said "this is already a fast car, why would you want a stick?" then tried to explain that ABS is bad on small cars. Then he said he had exactly the options I was looking for on a Protege sedan! AAAAARRGGHH!

    I recommend having the dealer remove the roofrack for you and putting it in the trunk unless you want to use it often - it creates an annoying whistle when up, and the car looks better without it I think.

    I'm 31, so chalk up another boyracer. My girlfriend's 27-yr old friend just bought a black one...guess she's a girlracer.
  • yogwapyogwap Member Posts: 7
    I will be heading down to Quirk Mazda in Quincy tonight to pick up my P5. I highly recommend them if you know anyone looking for a new car. The company also sells Nissan, VW, Mitsubishi, Ford, and Chevy at various sites. The best experience I've ever had buying a car. 5 minutes after I sat down after the test drive, I had an offer of $50 under invoice if I were to buy the car on the spot. I didn't even push them for it. I was there during lunch and told them my wife would kill me if I did it and they agreed to hold the price for me until the end of the day. We didn't end up going back until two days later and still got the low price.

    We went to 128 Mazda as well and I agree that they are awful. They didn't have any black 5 speeds with ABS, only white. Even though we repeatedly told the salesman that we didn't want anything other than black with ABS and asked him to find one, he kept trying to push the white one on us. He tried to feed me a line about ABS too. I mentioned it on this board which triggered the recent ABS debate. Sorry...

    I didn't hear noise from the roof rack when I test drove the car, although maybe it was masked by the flapping from the protective plastic sheet on the roof. I'll see how bad it is before I think about removing it. I like how the rack looks.

    See you on the roads!
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    Check this out. 7500k on the OD.


    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1814257464

  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Isn't that price MSRP in the States??? Yikes!
  • limpyboylimpyboy Member Posts: 26
    Sorry didn't see your post earlier. I'm in SE Michigan with the blacks and reds. Of course today all the cars are white because IT'S SNOWING AND IT'S ALMOST APRIL IT IS SO UNFAIR!!
  • mazdadude1mazdadude1 Member Posts: 49
    Welcome to the "club"!! Got mine in August and still loving it. You are going to have so much fun driving this machine! :-) Black looks sharp, I think. Classy yet also cool because of the lines of the P5. After I got mine, a silver one, I noticed a student where I teach (college) got one. So demographics are all over the place probably. I think that is great, personally. The P5 sticks to the pavement around curves like it has claws. I, too, test drove the subie and it was between the two, but the P5 won for the "fun" of driving it and the lines of the vehicle (and the subie's awd seemed loud to me at interstate speeds). Anyway, welcome aboard... later
  • iamziamz Member Posts: 542
    Sorry to bring this up again, but the reason your insurance company gives you a discount when you equip your car with ABS, is because they KNOW statistically your vehicle and yourself will come out better in MOST potential accident situations when you have ABS.

    Insurance companies collect and crunch accident data all the time. You can't really argue with their findings.
  • iamziamz Member Posts: 542
    On a lighter note, as far as age demographics, I'm 37 and own a yellow P5. I've owned it since last July (over 17K on her now) and I always look back to catch one last glimpse of it every time I park somewhere. And to be totally obnoxious, I just bought a 750 Shadow also in yellow to match.

    :)

    I think I'm going through my mid-life crisis a little early. ;)
  • mustang87mustang87 Member Posts: 129
    I am 21 with a yellow 5. I don't think i would have bought it in any other color. I don't have "second color choice". I don't see how anybody could settle for second choice.

    in the club that i started, the youngest driver is 16 with a yellow and the oldest is 27 with a red. those with mp3s: youngest is 20 in a yellow and oldest is 30 in a blue (this guy was looking for a silver mp5 but saw the mp3). with 19 cars in the club we have no white and no black cars. i wished they would of made a green one.

    saw a yellow aerio hatch yesterday and i am really glad that finally cars are becoming different but not ugly. if you look at japanes cars there, they are so radical. and here we have cars like civic, corolla (new one is not bad), sentra, accord, neon, vibe (radical but ugly) and others that don't even come close to capturing your imagination.
  • sunbyrnesunbyrne Member Posts: 210
    I'm 32, married, one little one (15 months). My P5 is silver.

    I actually think the blue looks best, but my wife already drives a blue Protege (99 LX), and I wasn't too thrilled by the black interior/dark exterior combo here in Texas. So I went with the light color I liked best, which is silver.
  • toyotatedtoyotated Member Posts: 11
    For the first time since I graduated from college I finally put my degree to use. Did I get a job? NO!!! I bought a P5 and got the handy college graduate rebate that goes with it. Who says those eleven years of having no idea what to major in were a waste of time! I saved an extra five hundred bucks!!!

    After a nice soothing drive in rush hour traffic from San Diego to Los Angeles, so far this is my opinion of the car:

    Likes = the overall look of the car (not exactly the hottest, but overall pretty cool), it's color (midnight blue), it's handling (it has much more pep than I expected), it's cargo space (holds all my stuff), how quiet it is (did I accidently drive off in a Corolla?), and the out the door price of $17,400 (automatic, alloy wheels, wheel locks, floor mats and that's it).

    Dislikes = the stereo (it sounds just awful), the out of position arm rest, the red light that lights up the gauges at night (the word evil comes to mind), the driver seat seemed a little stiff (or was it just me?) AND handing over the largest check I've ever written in my life to someone who is going to CASH IT and immediately deplete me of my entire savings! OH, THE HORROR!!!

    Overall, I think I made the right decision to buy this car. I spent months researching and contemplating the whole thing. What a nightmare! I spent WAY too many hours on the internet (and I don't know about you, but for me that spells trouble). Thank God it's over.

    Later tonight I saw a woman in the McDonald's parking lot getting out of a Matrix. Upon reflection, I was glad I didn't buy that "not so great" looking car. But I was glad that I could still afford to buy dinner, even though it was just at McDonald's (apparently anyone who buys a car these days is left with that one fine dining option).

    And lastly, for your information (that's FYI to all you sophisticated people out there), I'm 32 years old and currently male. Hey, this is California you know! Just kidding. I'm not that weird...or am I??? Regardless, I am enjoying the car so far and looking forward not having to get towed to and from work anymore.

    Thanks for listening (or reading in this case) and thanks to everyone who has posted. You've helped make buying a car a whole lot easier.
  • elec3elec3 Member Posts: 160
    Hmm...my silver Pro5 does not have ABS because I figured I would not need it. My car and I live in southern New Mexico where it is dry and warm almost all the time. It never snows here. It very rarely rains here. That means almost all my driving time is spent on warm, dry pavement. Because of that, in a panic stop, I'd honestly rather lock up my wheels and then use the wheels on pavement as 4 giant brakes to stop in a hurry. I grew up in Chicago driving in snow and heavy traffic, so any inclement weather I face here will be a shadow of what I learned to drive in. ABS is not a bad thing to have but, IMHO, not worth the money. If it's standard on all cars I won't complain, but I won't shell out for it.

    I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that with how nimble and quick the Pro5 is, you may be able to maneuver around an accident waiting to happen without needing to lock up your brakes. Sometimes to swerve is better than to stop, especially at lower speeds where a quick swerve will not be exaggerated into you careening off a cliff.

    Can't remember who asked, but I bought my Pro5 from Pugi which is a Mazda, Hyundai, and VW dealer on Ogden Avenue in Downers Grove. I highly recommend this dealership, but please keep in mind that my family has purchased several vehicles there over the last 10 years so we get above average treatment. If you want more in depth info on them, lemme know.

    PS: I am a 21 year old male, for the demographic survey ;)
  • birdman_1birdman_1 Member Posts: 14
    I'm 25 with a silver P5 since mid July (7900 miles). I have ABS (in snowy Wisconsin... no regrets YET, but wait till next year). Oh yeah, I'm a single male. (Geez, I feel like I've subscribed to a dating service... my sign is sagittarius)

    I avoided the yellow because of the price gouging and unavailability back in July, but otherwise I mighta gotten it. No other colors, though...

    People either say "cool car," but a few say "a station wagon?" The latter people are frustrating, but they later change their opinions to "totally cool" after getting accustomed to it. My opinion? This car is way cool!

    Anyone know anything about the availability of getting a cargo tray? A few weeks ago it was backordered everywhere. My cargo area has some disgusting salt stuff caked in the carpet.
  • mnkyboymnkyboy Member Posts: 108
    25, male, Vivid Yellow, Louisiana
  • SporinSporin Member Posts: 1,066
    31, male, married, SIlver, 5-spd., Vermont


    image

  • cdnp5cdnp5 Member Posts: 163
    I've have had my silver P5 for just over 10,000KM and I believe that I love, yes love, this car more than I did when I picked it up. I can't stop looking at it when I park it and can't wait for the next time I get to drive it. Now that the engine is broken in it feels more lively than before. About the ABS debate. I don't mind ABS and have them on my P5 (comes standard in Canada) but would still have paid for it. Also I have hardly ever had the ABS come on even in the snow or dry. If you keep good tires on your car that have great traction then the ABS will hardly ever come on and off and on and off (trying to be funny here). I use snow tires in the winter and now spring as we had a small snow storm last night with the added bonus of some freezing rain first. The only time my ABS came on last night was when I was on ice. To the new poster about the seat being hard, don't worry, it will soften up and form around your body soon enough and you won't be able to get out of it, but that is ok because driving this car is so much fun.

    later,
    d.

    ps. For the stats I'm 35 years old.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    So now I don't remember who first asked about the demographics, but I hope you're keeping track! We need a little Excel file like we've started on Meades Yahoo Group.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Hi everybody. Well, Terry, you made me breathe a sigh of relief -- I thought we were going to be the "Protege5 Grandparents" for a while there.

    I just turned 37, my wife just turned 35, we have a 10-month-old son, and we purchased our Pure White Protege5 in January to complement my 2000 Emerald Mica Protege ES.

    Meade
  • vilainefemmevilainefemme Member Posts: 49
    Female, 26, not married, silver, manual, Wisconsin. How many other female owners do we have on here?

    still haven't seen Birdman_1 on the road yet even though we live in the same city and I'm out driving all the time.

    Jessica
This discussion has been closed.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles