Protege5s?

"Ducky" (Ducky) 12/16/2014 at 11:25 • Filed to: the answer isn't miata

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In the quest for a new DD, EK and EG hatches seem to be hit super hard by the rice tax in both price and selection. I've been looking at other 4 cylinder hatchbacks and the Protege5 caught my eye. Any Oppopinions? I've never driven one myself.

bob and john > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:26

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I liked those little mazdas. They seem quite prone to rust though.

Ducky > bob and john 12/16/2014 at 11:27

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I live in Florida, what is rust? Isnt that that new minecraft type game?

As Du Volant > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:28

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Don't know much about how they drive or how reliable they are, but I love the look of them.

SO rusty though- I don't think I've ever seen one without rusted out rear fenders and/or hatchback.

Powder Pedro > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:29

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They're good fun. Rust is a curse like any older Japanese vehicle. My personal favorite older mazda is a 88-89 323. That's before they got the bubble butts. Last forever and sip gas.

Textured Soy Protein > bob and john 12/16/2014 at 11:29

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Yeah, they are .

bob and john > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:30

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.....lucky you...

Leon711 > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:30

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A map on an old COD game.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:30

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They're a good little car.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:31

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Not even Florida could save my AW11 from rust.

MonkeePuzzle > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:32

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I'd certainly get one as a daily over an EK or EG. Any of the Hondas in a competing price range as the Protege are going to be thrashed.

It appears to be a pretty nice car, seem to hold up well (in the non-rust states), all the stats look good on economy etc. seems like a perfect DD to me

jariten1781 > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:36

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Had one for ~10 years 150k, it was pretty great and rock solid reliable. I had Eibach Pros and Tokico blues on it after a couple years as well as some cat back (don't remember the brand) to make it a bit more lively. Drove from Texas to FL to WA to VA in the time with no hickups. Only non-maintenance work I ever had to do was: 2 thermostats, replace the cable that functioned the face/foot flapper in the HVAC system, and replace the drivers window regulator twice.

Edit: Mine also avoided the rust bug even driving regularly to the mountains. Suppose I dodged a bullet.

T5Killer > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:40

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I love those cars. I had a good friend who owned one and she used to let me drive it all the time. So much fun and on my short list of cars I would seriously DD. Luckily here in NM rust is never a factor even on old cars.

T5Killer > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:44

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Same here in NM no rust at all. In fact is weird to me seeing late models rusting.

swansong, rockin' the wagons > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:47

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I've always had a thing for the Protege5. Drawback are rust and cost, they're quite pricey for only 130 HP.

My recommendation is an SVT Focus, had one and loved it.

Rock Bottom > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 11:53

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I drove one from Detroit to Chicago back when they first came out. I liked it. Great shifter, good ride, plenty of room for 2-guys and their skydiving junk. And a lot of beer. It seemed to be geared too short to me, but taller gearing would probably make it feel lazy.

Buy one. They're nice.

and 100 more > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 12:07

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I test-drove a Protege5 once. Had it not been for certain members of my family who couldn't ingress/egress without difficulty, I would have bought it.

Pros: Manual transmission shifts like butter. The engine isn't all that strong, but seems to wake up after about 3k, if i recall correctly. And even at stock height, it sits LOW. Then again, I was coming from a Chevy Blazer, so maybe my idea of low was skewed... anyway, it drove like a dream, handled quite well. It felt light and nimble.

Cons: Not much headroom. Also, not much shoulder room. Overall, not a lot of room (I'm 5'7", slight build, and it fit me well; but if i were bigger in height or frame, I could see there being a problem). I can confirm, it will baby (I tested a carseat; it fit well, as long as you didn't roll the front seats all the way back). Cargo area is adequate for a decent-sized grocery run, but not huge. The engine is a little anemic, and the clutch a little vague (but those might have been specific to the car I was driving).

Overall, i really liked it, and if i only had to be concerned with my own comfort, I'd short-list one.

I have heard that rust is becoming a big issue on those, so watch out - even living in Florida.

Wacko > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 12:58

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The protege5 was my first brand new car back in 2003. I had mine till 2010.

Great little car to drive. Great handling and still looks good.

They tend to rust, mine had rust even under the dealer rust proofing, in less than a year of owning it.

Watch out for electrical gremlins. Mine was the sportshift, would not always start, had to shift it to neutral, then back to park to get the damn thing to start. Sometimes when I put it in park it would roll about ten feet before going in park.

Rear wiper gears are all plastic, so they don't last long. They have an oddish 16 inch tire size, which was also used on the Mini of the same era.

It was my first and last mazda, having a shitty Dealer didn't help -Screw you Paquin Mazda-

KimJongUnstoppable > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 13:06

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I approve.

Ducky > swansong, rockin' the wagons 12/16/2014 at 13:16

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either you or someone else turned me off the SVTF with the story about ordering used Cosworth heads from England. The Protege uses the Mazda/Ford parts bin, right?

swansong, rockin' the wagons > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 13:19

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Wasn't me, not familiar with that story. What was the gist of it?

I think there is some parts sharing, but the engine is a Mazda design, and prior to the Duratec/MZR family.

P5guy now GTIguy > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 13:26

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My first car was a protege 5 with a 5 speed, drove great and averaged 30 mpg pretty consistently. I would still have it if it wasn't for the rust.

NaturallyAspirated > Leon711 12/16/2014 at 13:32

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Ahh, good old DE_Rust.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 13:37

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I once went on a cruise with the Centeral VA Mazda Club, I rode shotgun in my buddy's Mazdaspeed MX5. In front of us was a bone stock automatic Protege5, and leading the way was a highly modified RX8. The RX obviously left the P5 in the dust in a straight line, but the P5 was right on the RX8's ass though the turns.

It's a great chassis.

The Compromiser > Ducky 12/16/2014 at 22:12

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Bought an 02 in 01. Had it till the day it died.rusted the tailgate and wheel wells after 10 Years. Like a Miata Wagon . They used to race them in SCCA. Odd tire fitment. You have to drive them everywhere. Paying attention. Every twitch of the wheel turns the car. Its a blast.

Xyl0c41n3 > Ducky 12/28/2014 at 00:51

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hello, this is just filler text. hi, how are you?