2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege
 

yeah...earlyer today i got to test drive one...gosh i love that car! I was suprised how the engine performed..it felt better then the 1.8T on the GTI...now..i was really temped to trade in my civic over the Mazdaspeed..! i got the price down to $17000 plus Tax..but dang..i just didn't have money! but the car was blast to drive! i would recomend the car to all of ya!

Yeh! and just wait until the Mazda 3 comes. It's going to be the best car in it's class.

its gonna worth crap when the mazda3 comes

mazdaspeed sucked....i test drove it and it didnt worth the sticker price....i thought the gti was alot better

My MSP is 100% less sucky than your Civic. ;)

I haven't driven one, but the mazdaspeed has a really nice look to it, not to mention the factory Kenwood sound system.

And the turbo...and the factory tuned suspension. The numbers it throws down are comparable to an RSX-S. I am seriously seriously considering buying one. I want to check out the 3 first. I drove the 6..it was too big for my taste.

stop hating, you used to be one of us. :hgrin: the mazdaspeed is much nicer than the civic for sure, but the mazda3 is much better i think.

The Mazda 3 is pretty much the reincarnation of the Protege base models. There is a 160 hp variant, but don't forget the 3 is pretty much based off of the Focus. Mazda did this on their own without Ford intervention, so all you can do is trust in Mazda, but the Protege is hands down a much more rigid and refined chassis. This has been established by the likes of the MP3, P5, and the Mazdaspeed edition. So, for someone to say that the Mazda 3 is better is like saying the 7th gen civic coupe is better than a EK Type R hatch. It's an opinion based solely on styling cues. Now, when the Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazdaspeed 6 come out, that's a diff story altogether...

Oh yeah btw, I got mine first ;)

ok what are the variant of the mazda3 again? 150hp & 180hp? or only one engine 160hp?

cuz i thought it comes standard with 160 hp. but i was reading one of the magazines at my cousins house and it said it offers 150 and 180.

btw: i love the front end of the mazda3 but i think the back end protrudes too much and looks too bulky- the tailights look great thou.

From Edmonds.com:

The base sedan uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated to produce 148 horsepower (144 in California), while the upgraded "s" models use a 2.3-liter four-cylinder that bumps the horsepower number to 160.

Great numbers from an entry level compact sedan. Honda, are you listening? Give me a Mazdaspeed Protege anyday though. Best handling FWD produced to date. Knocked the ITR off its thrown. That's from sport compact car, and car and driver. Enough with the mag racing...

the mazda3 looks straight up like a mini camry and i thought the new civic looks like the camry.

Mini camry?? This?
http://www.boomplustoys.net/tokyoaut...tas2004088.jpg

Damn pass the ganja

It doesn't look like any other car. I don't know why people say that.

i drove the mazda speed protege at the mazda rev it up last year, i fully enjoyed it

i think mazda3 is too hefty with all the luxury items (leather, nave, etc..)

i agree, if ur going to pick up a protege, wait til the mazda3's have been out for a few month

by than, there are going to be a shit load of mazda3's and a few mazdaspeed protege, than get the protege when they are in desperate need of space

The Protege looks fine, but I think the 3 is hideous.

look at the sedan, the front end looks like a camry.

it looks like the 6, not the camry

Yeah, the 04 Civic DOES look like a Camry...that's why we bought one :D $15K for a tiny car that looks like a $25,000+ car. Yeah, that's a bad thing :_doh:

I like the new Mazda3 as well, very stylish. We were interested in them back in October, but did not want to wait for their January release. They are already all over the Mazda dealers in our area.

Not likely, there were only 2000 mazdaspeed proteges produced. They sold the last one this month from what I read.

^Not completely true. A local Mazda dealer here has a TON of RX-8s (I thought they were selling well?) and a few of the MS Proteges.

yeh i just saw a mazda3 and i can honestly say that my car looks better lookwise. i like the front end headlights and grill and the wheels and that's probably it. the backend section of the car is really weird. it looks like its a mix sedan/hatchback, you know what im saying? it's long to be considered a hatchback but its shorter than the regular sedan trunk. lol wtf? although i like the tailights looks kinda like the VW phaeton tails imo.

I hate the grill on the 3.

I hate the hatch grill, but I really like the sedan version.

are they gonna come out with a turbo charged version of the 3? maybe the mazdaspeed 3..^^;;

The 3 in sedan form is UGLY AS POOP. The hatch is nice. Oh and I got like the last MSP in Houston, so yes they are almost all gone.

Damn that Mazda 3...

Dude I'd rather have your 6 than the 3...yeah the 3 has a few more creature comforts, and will probably pull more lateral g, but your car is just overall better. It's like comparing Accord and Civic...