In this month's... Protege LX once again places first in a whole field of ten or so compact cars. I'm trying to remember the rest....

Hyundai!- 2nd
Focus- 3rd
Civic- 4th

Sentra- 8th or something

Maybe someone who gets C&D could post the list.
Looks like Protege is going to become the ecomomy car BMW equivalent (wins ever comparo test) around Car and Driver. This is the 4th comparison test it has placed 1st in during the last couple years. (1 MP3, 1 P5, 2 Proteges)

Anyway, hey guys! I'm a Protege fan newbie. My beloved '93 Sentra SE-R is
falling apart and I can't justify keeping it running at this penny pinching stage in my life. So I'm in the market for a new car and the only car I'm even considering at this point is a Protege ES. Should have one within the month. Anyone out there have a hard time fanagling (sp?) O% financing out of their dealer recently?

 

The Protege really is a good handling car. I have all the Car & Drivers from the last 10 years including the ones where the Proteges won.

I bought my P5 back in July when they just introduced the 0%. I'm not sure if you'll be able to get it still since it expired 9/30. Then again if there are 2002s left you may get lucky and get a deal.

 

Actually I think the Corolla (which they said was boring as ****) was 3rd
and the Focus was maybe 5th.

Protege was mid-pack as far as acceleration, but true to form Car and
Driver (as the only true mainstream enthusiast magazine) picked the
car that was most fun to drive. Or in other words, the car with the best
handling.

 

I just got the issue with the comparo (November 2002), and here's the complete rundown.

They put a price cap to around $16000, that's why you don't see the top of the line trims from some of the cars.

here are the results, copied directly from C & D:

10th: Kia Spectra LS
Verdict: Why buy used when you can get brand-new '80s sophistication?

9th: Suzuki Aerio GS
Verdict: Part-time charmer, full-time nonconformist.

8th: Nissan Sentra GXE
Verdict: Just the right couch for potatoes needing transit.

6th (tied): Dodge Neon SXT
Verdict: No longer cute, no longer crude, Neon settles for the committee approach.

6th (tied): Mitsubishi Lancer O-Z Rally Edition
Verdict: Wonderfully flingable machinery packed in an oddly shaped box.

5th(!): Honda Civic LX
Verdict: Something new from Honda - a loser

4th: Ford Focus SE
Verdict: Lose the front seats, and we'd smile on this car.

3rd: Toyota Corolla LE
Verdict: Short-legged drivers will love this car, othes will respect it.

2nd(!): Hyundai Elantra GLS
Verdict: If you can find a better portfolio of feels and features at this price, buy it.

1st: Mazda Protege LX
Verdict: A four-door Miata

Zoom Zoom!

 

Congrats on another win for the Pro, but one quick question..

Didn't the Sentra place 2nd or 3rd last time around? It's essentially the same car as last time, but how did it get 8th???

 

About the 0% financing...

Mazda is extending their Zero Percent Event until the end of October because they have so many 2002 models on their lots still. If you even want to, you can go for a 2003 model Protege. They are offering 0% financing on 2003 Proteges. This doesn't include the P5 or MazdaSpeed Protege. But you still get 0% for 36 months on a 2003 model, which isn't that bad.

 

damn, all classic Se-r owners are going to proteges, this is funny.

it was opposite for me (though i still kept the protege)

sad to hear the se-r isnt treating you as good anymore, i dearly love my 93 se-r, but go drive a new protege, power will be lacking comparatively, but handling is what its all about in the protege side of it all.

 

5speedP5,

I envy you getting to enjoy the best of both worlds. I sure still love my '93 SE-R, but the whole suspension is shot, the power steering rack needs to be replaced immediately, the clutch and the A/C feel like they're about to go, and it has 47 different distinct rattles after 10 years of hard driving. Can't believe yours has only 30K. Mine has 95K which isn't a lot for a ten-year old car I guess, but the thing is literally falling apart. Mind you, the first five of those years I drove the car like I was Rod Millen.

The SR20DE engine is still pretty much the sweetest normally aspirated 2.0 liter four of all time. It still revs so sweet it almost brings a tear to my eye.

But this is the car I've had since age 17. I'm nearly 27 now, so it's time for something with 4 doors that sits 4 adults in reasonable comfort.

I test drove a '03 Pro ES over the weekend and it handles so sweetly (even much better than the SE-R) that it also almost brings a tear to my eye. I will miss the power from the SE-R. Until I scrape together enough cash for a turbo..... sweet. Handling is more important than power anyway. I guess.

 

I think the reason the Sentra dropped so low this time around, is basically the result of 'competition catching up' to them.

out of the 7 cars ahead of the Sentra GXE, only the Focus and the Protege are of the same age or older than the Sentra. The rest are all introduced 2001+.

with the exception of maybe the Focus (which was introduced in Europe in '98(?) ), the Protege is the oldest car there production-wise, this says a lot about how well-built the 3rd gen's chassis really is

 

I'm surprised the Hyundai did as well as it did. But nothing surprising on the winner.

 

The Sentra placed higher last time because there were comparing the top of the line models, Protege ES, Sentra SE etc. This time they were comparing the middle models. The Sentra SE is no longer in production, but it has the renowned 2.0L SR20DE and better handling etcetc than the GXE which comes with a 1.8L engine instead. Personally I like the Sentra SE better than the new SE-R. The styling is more restrained yet sporty and doesn't have the ugly (IMO) body kit. The car feels more balanced since the chassis refinement is still felt without the impairment of the ultra thick anti-roll bars and springs on the SE-R. I also like the engine better since the same engine with some modifications and a turbo are used in many of Nissan's fine Japanese sport cars. The 2.5L engine feels kind of inappropriate in a econosport sedan, as it is too large and too low revving, IMO a mismatch for the Sentra.

 

I personally did not like the old SE. The engine was an annoying piece and you could barely tell it had any more power than the GXE. It makes me happy that Nissan replaced that thing with something a little more meaningful. The only cool thing about the SE was being able to get the limited slip (and the disc brakes, which I already have anyway).

 

Sentra should have been rated much higher in my opinion.

8th?

WTF IS THAT

 

The Sentra should have placed higher in my opinion too, but keep in mind it was a GXE which I think has very soft suspension and the staff at Car and Driver _hate_ soft suspensions.

IMHO, the only real SE-R was the 1991-1994 (well actually, 1991-93, my brother has a 94, the cam is somewhat smaller on that model and I think the steering, brake, clutch feel, and general build quality weaker).

I agree with "leungwingkei". I drove a V-Spec the other week, and thought the engine was mismatched. Mind you, it was pretty damn fast. But being a much heavier car than my 93 SE-R it wasn't necessarily more fun to drive, or even a whole ton faster than my 93. I don't know. The whole package was formidable, but goofy. Plus, a butt ugly interior that felt kind of cramped for how big the car was. And that heinous looking nose. Oh well I could never get one, because I would always be comparing it to the original, which I think is superior.