Ok, after a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time, anyone reading my posts know this. I looked at every car in my price range. I am not planning to race, this car will be for economical use. Here were my choices at first

1. Sentra SE-R - Hella power, best bang for the bucks (spec wise), but the looks just don't appeal

2. Jetta 1.8T - I was willing to pay the extra bucks for the power, but, found Consumer Reports says Jetta is one of the worst cars. Their history is aweful.

3. Toyota Corolla - Reliable as hell since it's Toyota, but the looks just don't click

4. Subaru Impreza - Probably anyone would agree with me to get this, but their MPG is bad and something bugs me about the lights and the size of the car.

So here we are
MAZDA PROTEGE 5 - Looks good, not many people have it, 26 mpg, Mazda isn't as bad reliability as VW. price is good, cargo space is good.

Honda Civic EX - Feels very comfy inside, people have it, but has good resale value. Starting last year, they started making it in a factory in Ohio, reliability may be a little bad, but still seems to be better than Mazda.

Anyways, what do you all think. Anyone go through this when purchasing a car?


For all of you : I WILL BUY a car before 06/02

 

First Mazda proteges are rated quite high on dependability . Consumer reports placed it just below the toyota and higher then honda( or at the same level can't quite remember) . Are you looking at a new honda? if so there ugly. Mazda all the way. The p5 is awsome. Had mine for just over 6 monthes and I love it. Corrolla is ugly, jette is alright, subie is bad *** but with a bad *** tag, I personally like the looks of the spec-v. I had a 2000 sentra and I always liked the looks of it and the spec v looks twice as good.Protege5 is the best looking of the lot, it might have a little less power then the rest but it will out handle all.The only complaints on this board about the p5 are minor ones. Armrests and lock positions, stupid ****)

 

I found the quality control at Honda to be lacking. A lot of things on the new Civics did not live up to the build quality of the Accord. Plus the fact that the new Honda Civic EX is a pretty big piece of crap. Crappy handling, tiny tires, no alloy wheels, crummy cd player, and high prices. Did I mention the rear wheel drums?

 

All the way P5, the civic is nice....but not the SIR hatch...
The white civic coupe look nice!!!
The P5 has 16" alloy wheels, Disc brake,DOHC and better handling!!
But Honda always has a better resale value!!!
By the way EX didn't have VTECH.......never buy a Honda w/o VTECH......u will regret!!!Trust me.......go get the P5, but make sure it's YELLOW!!!!

 

In the United States the Civic EX has a VTECH. Makes 127 horsepower but it is a lot lighter. I have heard sub 8 seconds 0-60 in stock form for the coupe. The Protege takes 9.5 (at least that is what I keep finding even though it sounds way high).

Oh. And there aren't too many cars made anymore that don't at least offer a DOHC engine.

 

Ex have Vtech. coz i have mixed up with Lx.....as i know the civic only have SOHC!!!

 

The consumer reports showed extreme favor for the protege5's reliability. It had all high marks. You should buy one (consumer reports, that is) Kenji. They are a welth of information when buying cars. Goto edmunds.com and compare vehicles there. You can see the invoice on every option and can have the upper hand when buying the car. They were amazed that I knee how much everything cost for my car. I got it for invoice. Don't let them **** with your dad's money. ....wow....that was my first smilie in over 400 posts.....

 

Yeah.....those crappy phone that can get in MTR station!!!!
TheMAN.....U're from HK???
I am from HK and now living in Vancouver!!!

 

protege5. all other cars in it's class suck ding ding.

 

wouldn't that make him TheChinaMan?

 

The Civic EX model in the US with the SOHC VTEC is called the Si in Canada (it includes alloy wheels) The DOHC Si in the US is called the SiR in Canada.
Either way it doesn't matter buy a Protege5.
I looked at both and made the right decision.
More features for about the same amount of cash.

 

This is a gigantic understatement. The Protege has been a CR Best Buy for YEARS and has had GREAT scores for YEARS. The Jetta has ALWAYS been well below average.

Stop waffling and get the darn F5!!! :P

 

Oh boy, just buy whatever, if you follow the board, you would know that this is the 13th or 14th type of 'Protege vs. Civic vs. Sentra' type thread.

 

I'd choose the Impreza.If you can afford it,go ahead.

 

Proteges are very reliable. I drove my 98 ES like you wouldn't believe. The only reason I got rid of it, was because I wanted the P5 badly.


I also liked the Impreza (beauty of all-wheel drive).. but after comparing prices, I figured that the P5 was much nicer and more comfy. Too bad they don't come with all wheel drive.. it would have been the PERFECT car!

good luck!