2003 Mazdaspeed Protege - The Oppo Review

"mazdaspeed2" (mazdaspeed03) 03/20/2014 at 08:31 • Filed to: Review

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I am parting ways with my first car after a great year and a half of ownership. The car will be missed, and this will be my tribute to it. I love this car so there will mostly likely be some bias, and if you disagree with anything I said feel free to let me know in the comments so I can explain why you are wrong.

( Full disclosure: Mazda wanted me to drive this car so bad they sold it 10 years before I bought it. They made sure it would have enough mileage (and rust) so I would be able to afford it in high school and they even made sure it came in spicy orange.)

Exterior (8/10) I think the spicy orange this car came in is fantastic, and that it was the best color option available. Mazda struck a great balance between making the car look more exciting and not taking it too far. The spoiler and the body kit really transform the car from a boring econobox to a sporty econobox. It isn't the best looking car ever made, but I think it looks very good especially for the segment it is in.

(Most of these pictures will be bad, there wasn't a nice day between knowing I was going to trade it in and trading it in, so I apologize.)

Interior (7/10) The car still has a lot of the regular protege parts so hard plastics are everywhere. I personally don't think this is a problem especially because the touch points are solid. The steering wheel feels great in my hands, and the shift knob feels solid although the metal is not ideal when it is really hot or cold. Sparco pedals came from the factory, and the seat is pretty comfortable although it lacks the bolstering needed for high speed cornering. The gauges are black on white with the Mazdaspeed logo because race car.

I am not a fan of the very busy modern interiors and this is very spartan compared to most modern cars which I liked quite a bit. There is nothing you don't need and everything is laid out logically. Visibility is fantastic, which is my favorite part of the interior. The lack of visibility in modern cars is incredibly annoying to me, but that is for another day.

Acceleration (7/10) The standard protege makes about 130 HP, and Mazda teamed up with Callaway to design the turbo set up to increase the power to 170 HP for the Mazdaspeed variant. It can hit 60 mph in 6.9 seconds which is plenty quick if you ask me. It isn't very fast compared to some of the cars it competed with when new, SRT-4 *cough cough*, but it will leave your corolla far behind. Turbo lag is a bit of a problem, but it is always fun once the turbo spools up. There is also some torque steer if you get on the throttle in 1st, but it is manageable. Bottom line, it isn't that fast compared to some of the competition, but I rarely found myself asking for more.

Braking (6/10) There isn't a whole lot to say about the brakes. The pedal feel was pretty good and the brakes felt pretty progressive. It stops about as well as you'd expect, but nothing really impressed me.

Ride (5/10) This car was lower from the factory, and the previous owner lowered it some more along with making it more aggressive. Naturally, neither of these things helped out the ride quality. It crashes over potholes and you feel when the road is rough, but it isn't too uncomfortable for daily driving. All of this is forgiven when we get to the next part. The handling.

Handling (7/10) Yes, I am aware this car is front wheel drive but that doesn't mean the car can't handle well. I have to disclose that the suspension isn't factory (just upgraded shocks and springs, sway bars are racing beat from the factory), but this is the only one I have driven so that's what I have to base it off of. The turn in is excellent which makes it feel very tossable. There isn't much body roll and it inspired confidence in me every time I drove it. I haven't actually driven a car that handles better, but I haven't driven many other comparable cars so I will give it a 7.

Gearbox (7/10) Mazda is known for making good gearboxes, and this is no exception. Throws are relatively short and it is easy to find all the gates. After 170,000 miles, the gearbox in my car is on it's way out, so this score is based on what it feels like on a good day.

Audio (7/10) The sound system in this car was exceptionally good from the factory. The whole system was Kenwood, including a rear deck mounted subwoofer. The sub setup gives you much better lows that the speakers can't handle and it is mounted to not hurt trunk space as much. During my stint as a seasonal employee in the car audio department at Best Buy, I upgraded the speakers to some nice Polks, and I put a Pioneer stereo in, which made it sound great. How could I not use my discount while I had it? The exhaust has a decent tone, and it is definitely not obnoxious. Road noise is pretty bad, but it could be worse.

Toys (5/10) As far as toys go, it pretty much starts and ends with the stereo. I like this because it lets you just focus on driving and the car itself is like a toy. Toys are fun to play with, and the car is fun to play with so that's close enough. It gets a 5.

Value (9/10) When new, the sticker price was about $20k. I bought the car for $4500 and barely put any money into it for a year and a half and 20k miles of driving it like I stole it. Either way you look at it, it's hard to beat the value.

Total (70/100) Maybe the total is a little high, but I don't care I love my car.

As some of you may already know, I traded it in and picked up my Mazda 2 last weekend. Expect a review of that coming soon!

Takuro Spirit > mazdaspeed2 03/20/2014 at 09:15

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Good write up! Hope you like the Mazda2.

I do have to nitpick though, the MSP came with Racing Beat sway bars that were slightly larger than factory. So unless someone replaced them (they should be bright red), it should have had them.

Did it still have the stock flip down Kenwood in it when you bought it? That radio was so crap, we replaced so many under warranty because the cable ribbon between the unit and faceplate always broke. Speaking of which, I had an extra subwoofer/amp enclosure from a MSP, and still have the sub/amp in a custom box I made for my previous cars. I need to put it in my Camry someday possibly.

gt6xxer > mazdaspeed2 03/20/2014 at 09:21

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Fair score. I'm pretty unbiased, and I love this car. It strikes a great balance in just abnout every category important to me, which are mostly driving and value-oriented.

I test drove a very nice one back in 2008. It had intake/exhaust and a bunch of chassis mods. Neuspeed anti-roll bars, mazdaspeed springs, koni dampners and some actual home-brew cross bracing that was incredibly well done. It handled amazingly. Point and go, never having to move my hands on the wheel. It wasn't as quick as the Cobalt SS I drove that same day, but I still liked the MSP more.

So now you have a fairly high benchmark the fun-to-drive category for your next car. Good luck!

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > mazdaspeed2 03/20/2014 at 09:26

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I once rode with a friend to a Mazda meet/cruise in his Mazdaspeed MX5. We met up with a bunch of Mazda owners and went for a drive through the hills of Lynchburg. Leading the group was a modified RX8, and following right behind him was a bone stock automatic Protege5. While obviously the RX would leave him behind on the straights, the STOCK Protege5 kept up in the turns. It's a very impressive chassis.

feather-throttle-not-hair > mazdaspeed2 03/20/2014 at 14:12

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Always been a big fan of those.

mazdaspeed2 > Takuro Spirit 03/20/2014 at 15:18

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Thanks! I meant it came with the racing beats from the factory, and the shocks and springs were a step up from the factory. I will clarify that. The original radio had broken at some point, not sure what went wrong, but the previous owner replaced it with a similar kenwood, then I put in my own pioneer.

mazdaspeed2 > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig 03/20/2014 at 15:22

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It impressed me, I have friends with a bugeye WRX, and an Ion Redline, and it wasn't really the same league handling wise. They would both leave me behind on a straight though.

mazdaspeed2 > gt6xxer 03/20/2014 at 15:30

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Mine was fairly close to stock compared to that car, haha. I would even describe mine as point and go. Believe it or not, I think my Mazda 2 might just be more fun to drive. Granted it is not as good in pretty much every measurable performance category, but there is just something about it that makes me smile. The body roll is horrendous along with the OEM tires, but the steering is tight and you can really throw it into the corners. It kind of reminds me of a puppy.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > mazdaspeed2 03/20/2014 at 15:48

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I looked at a few of them when I got my car.
They are super nice, but I didn't see many Autocrossing or at Time Attack.
Not that there were any of my current car either....

mazdaspeed2 > TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! 03/20/2014 at 16:30

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I heard they were pretty good for it, but I never tried it. What is your current car?

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > mazdaspeed2 03/20/2014 at 18:06

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SRT-4. Which I am currently considering trading in on an BRZ.....

The Compromiser > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig 03/22/2014 at 21:12

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I had a manual 5. That thing was on rails. And on gravel it turned into a wrc champ(in my mind at least). I still miss that car. Best 11 years of my automotive life. I have to make dye with a Charger now..

Maxaxle > mazdaspeed2 03/23/2014 at 01:27

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Blergh.

Maxaxle > mazdaspeed2 03/23/2014 at 01:27

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This seems a little chintzy to me.

Maxaxle > mazdaspeed2 03/23/2014 at 01:28

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Extra gauge? For what?

Maxaxle > mazdaspeed2 03/23/2014 at 01:33

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"Do you have any idea how fast you were going back there?"
"No, I was looking through the camera's viewfinder for the perfect shot."

DammitDanny > mazdaspeed2 03/23/2014 at 09:24

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Thanks for this, my first car was a Protege5. Had it for about a year and a half before a truck decided to get a bit too intimate at an intersection :/ Definitely agree though, it was an awesome little thing, especially to throw around and I miss it like hell. Although I gotta disagree on paint, the best color is definitely super obnoxious bright yellow.

El_Royo > DammitDanny 03/23/2014 at 20:34

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i miss my protege5. the engine was a total dog but it was a fantastically fun car and all my friends who had one agree that they wish they still had it.

DammitDanny > El_Royo 03/23/2014 at 21:20

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Looks like you got to have more fun with yours then I got the chance to. I can completely understand; not only do I miss it, but I'm extremely tempted to buy another one down the line. It's one of those cars that just has character to it.

JB > mazdaspeed2 05/09/2014 at 17:57

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I still have my MSP with >48k on the odometer and the OG Kenwood in is still flipping! Aside from Eibach Pro springs, the rest of the car is still stock and working fine.

gt6xxer hit the nail on the head that every other car you will be compared to your MSP experience. Good luck finding something that will satisfy that itch without spending +27k nowadays. Hope you enjoy that Mazda2 and Laser Blue is the fastest MSP color!

mazdaspeed2 > JB 05/10/2014 at 20:20

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Second fastest* haha. It's great to see another MSP around here! I miss mine, but it was in rough shape when I traded it in, and I don't miss it like that.

So far the 2 has been fun, but it needs some work to get it to where I want it to be. It has a lot of potential, maybe even better than the protege was. The plan is to turn it into a "Mazdaspeed 2," but that will be a long way down the road. Take your MSP out on a nice drive for me!