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Mazda Protege5
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Comments
Any comments ?
I live in VT and run a set of 15" steel rims with 195/55-15 Michelin Arctil Alpins for winter. All 4 corners and the car is a tank in the snow and ice. With proper rotation, you will get 3-4 winters easily out of them.
The entire package was $535 shipped from TireRack.
The only issue I ever have with my P5 in winter is ground clearance... it's just a low car, period.
Pretty easy to make the swap once I got the tools to remove the old radio.
Just thought I'd ask....
Thanks.
For me, (I have a P5 manual), I never get worse than 27 mpg since day one. As being previous civic's owner, I would say expect the P5 mpg to be worse of 2-3mpg for the same driving condition.
Bruno
The two others points, you get them right: resale value and mileage. They are the only two major weaker aspects of the Protege/P5 when comparing to the Civic. I would say if you plan to keep the car ten+ years, then resale value is not that critical (both cars will be down there anyway.)
An accolade here: I used to follow magasins such as Consumers Report, etc... as guideline for car purchases. I'm no longer do that. Buying and owing one Civic is enough for me. IMHO, the best way is to come to Edmunds here and see how owners discuss about their cars. You will get a pretty good idea how good or bad is a specific model.
As for exciting longevity: After two years of ownership, I still love my P5 as the day one. I certainly can't say that with my 1997 Civic EX.
Last point: in the case you are not aware, the Protege/P5 will be replaced by the Mazda3 (from December). That having said. A new product is very exciting, but there is few risks if you decide to wait for the new model: do not expect the same reliability for a brand new model, especially during the first year. You can't possibly negotiate for a good rebate as the Protege/P5 right now. I expect the new model to perform better for mileage (new engine), ride comfort (Ford/Mazda plateform), larger interior (but not higher). The rest (handling, steering response, cornering capability, fun factor, build quality, reliability, and possibly the look), it's hard to beat the current Protege/P5.
Bruno
I test drove a Civic and a P5 before I bought, and I went two blocks in the Civic and turned around. I disliked it that much. The new ones are not the same cars that built the reputation. And my car prior to the P5 was a Civic that I drove for eight years.
One way to look at it-the P5 will have only been in production for two years. Ten years from now they will be pretty rare. Perhaps they will be collectors items?
If you drive a lot of hills, that can reduce economy as well.
They also say reliability should be excellent.
As for your MPG, if you're driving with the A/C on your MPG is going to fall. Especially in stop-and-go traffic where the A/C puts a large load on your engine.
CD player replaced in the first week - Mazda had a bad batch that affected cars n July 01 in Canada from Panasonic.
3 LEDs from the rear spoiler burned out a few mths later and were replaced.
2 rear tail light brake lights went out in a matter of 2-3 weeks. This was a few mths ago.
As you can see, the car has not been a headache to own, but quite the opposite - the more we have it and the more I drive it I appreciate its solid built quality, rattle-free interior, great brakes and torquey engine. It still has the new car smell 2 yrs later and still makes me smile every time I take it for a spin.
As for the Civic, I had a 93 one and while it was fun to drive (and not too reliable), the 01+ generation is not what Hondas from the early 90s is made of.
Dinu
Revka
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Regarding your question jadams6, I was in the market for a new car for over 1 year, and simply couldn't make my mind up. I researched every resource available, test drove nearly a dozen cars, but just couldn't decide. Though I was sold on the reliability, gas mileage, and safety of the Civic, I agree, I didn't want to be driving the same boring car that everyone else does. I also desired to keep my car for 10 years, so resale value didn't matter. When it came down to it, I bought the Protege 5 because it's stylish and tons of fun to drive. Why not be happy with your purchase? I hope that helps.
I figured up that I'd gotten 29.5 MPG - I'm happy!! Although I'll keep watching, since I'm aware there may be a transient 'dip' in mpg at some point in the first year.
On a side note, I didn't check out the Civic when shopping, but decided on the Mazda in large part because of the reliability. Reading the 'problems' boards on the models I was considering really helped me see trends. And resale value? My Protege is replacing a 1989 Mercury Tracer (also bought new). I plan to get my money's worth by keeping it a long time, not by reselling it a few years from now. I like it too much anyway!
Terri
Has anyone else noticed this? I get better mileage around town than I do on the highway. I figure it is due to the gearing. I average 30-32 mpg in town, and 28 on the highway? I drive 75-80 mph on the highway.
PS: My car has the roof rack/wind-deflector combo.
BTW, I must be almost ready to replace my tires and my tire guy recommended going to 205 as much more options there. Any thoughts?
My question: Do you know of a way I can disable the feature which requires the A/C to run when defrost is selected?
PS: I rotate my tires every 7.5 kmiles, inflate them 32-35psi, run the car in hot texas weather, in a decend road surface (but not more). My driving habit is this: I take the corners rather aggressive (usually heel&toes unless I'm lazy or have passenger), but more or less easy-going with braking. Now and then I can't resist to smoke the tires a little during acceleration, but I don't do that very often. On Highway I'm cruising around 75-80mph. The tires (or more precisely the center bed) worn out at 24 kmiles.
1) Turns per mile: How many street corner like turns - ~ 90 degree - do you make in an average mile. Tire wear is primarily a function of slip angle and you have to develop slip angle in order to turn the vehicle. On my route to work I average 1.1 per mile. I think this is a bit higher than the average.
2) Alignment: Toe in especially. Modern radial tires do not like more than 1/32" PER SIDE off the nominal - that's about 0.16 degrees off the ideal.
3) Driving Agressiveness: Obviously more agressive driving requires the tires to work more, but special emphasis should be placed to avoid braking or accelerating while turning.
4) Inflation pressure: Higher is better.
5) Suspension and steering geometry: I'm talking Akerman and camber curves here. Some vehicle are real killers.
6) UTQG rating
7) Pavement type - concrete is worse than blacktop. And some parts of the country have some real tire eating pavement and there is little you can do about it.
8) Weather: Rain and snow act as lubricants.
9) Ambient temperature: Cooler is better.
10) Tire aspect ratio: Narrower tires are better because the part of the tread on the outside of the turn has to traverse more distance than the part on the inside of the turn.
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision.
-Philippa
What is a pain is that you have to use the key on the Protege Sedan's trunk to open it. There is no button on the remote to open the trunk like there is on my Miata.
It's funny, coincidently we have just discussed few days ago about tire wear in function of slip angle in the Protege sedan board.
Bruno
I have opted for the Michelin Pilot Exalto 205/45R16. It's a directional tire unlike the OEM, not cheap ($128 from tirerack). Despite a lower profile, it's actually much quieter and smother than the OEM tires. The steering response might be a tad less direct. I think the handling on dry pavement is at least comparable to the Dunlop and the traction is even better on the wet surface. According to Michelin, this tire is *not* design for snow condition. I'll plan to get a set of snow tires since I'm going to make few ski trips this winter.
While the handling does seem a little limited compared to the Dumflops, I pretty much only remember them when they were bald racing slicks that stuck like glue. There is no doubt that the Falken's do great in the rain, as we have had record amounts of it lately, with a lot of it ending up in my basement.
Snow traction I'm sure I'll be finding out in the next few months. While I don't expect them to be great, I'm planning on getting through this winter with basically brand new tires and getting snow tires next year.
The 205/50-16 size does look a little large when you first see it, but now it looks good to me. Just took a little time to get used to them.
I also liked the price. $80 each with free shipping from tires.com. Mounted for $11 each at Costco.
Oh, and if anyone buys them and doesn't like them, blame Ashu, he started all of this.
http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_lines/high_perf/t1s.html
I had this tire on my Protege ES for about 1500 miles before I sold it. Compared to the Dumflops that came on it, the T1-S was a superb tire. Turn in may have been marginally slower, but the T1-S stuck like glue compared the the SP Sport 5000m. Wet traction was excellent, and hydroplaning was not evident as it was with the Dunlops.
These are highly regarded tires, but they are a little pricey. I paid $135 per tire from a locally owned shop.
I noticed no significant wear in the short time that I had them. At the time, I expected to get about 15,000 miles based on a treadwear rating of 280. My mother has had these on her 1995 Mustang GT convertible for about 20,000 miles, and they are currently showing about 6/32" of tread left.
Since these are a summer tire, I plan to try the Toyo Proxes TPT on my 2003 P5 when it needs new tires since it is now our all-season car. I will seriously consider getting the T1-S for my Miata when the time comes. I would recommend the T1-S to any one looking for a maximum dry/wet performance summer tire. If you don't care about wet traction, then there are other tires to consider which may be better suited for your needs.
However, fate and a and my wife stepped in. She took a nice chunk out of the sidewall of one on a sharp curb. Yeah! New Tires!!
So I just ordered 4 new Kumho ECSTA Supra 712's in the stock size (195/50HR-16). $280 shipped from Tirerack.
Since this was the tire I wanted, and it came in the stock size, I decided there was no need to do the "plus zero" that a lot of people are doing.
I'll let you know how they ride.
Sorry I don't live up to your expectations. I'm not a professional tire review writer.
- A copy of magazine with tire reviews: $5.
- four Falken Ziex 512: $364.
- A comment such as "if anyone buys them and doesn't like them, blame Ashu, he started all of this.": priceless!
B.