P5 all the way. Styling is the major key. All the other issues like rear hatch/wiper blah blah blah are minor issues. If a car is ugly - it's ugly... and no offense, but i think the Protege Sedans look like an old fogies car for grandmas. Colors are dull and the front design is bland.

 

Why are roof racks annoying?

You can remove the roof rack and pop in the Mazda-provided inserts...looks fine.

I love roof racks...I use my P5 for a hell of a lot more than just tooling around town. Although I have to admit I put on my Yakima's so I can have the full range of accessories.....

P5 is a great car for active people who may like to hike, bike, ski, play music, or have animals and desire the extra room and roof racks to carry all that equipment.

 

You make some very good points. But I noticed you didn't touch the in-law one...which matters more than what's under the hood sometimes. EVERY single last person thought "oh, you have a wagon" in that feeling of disgust voice, then, I SHOW them the car, and the 1st word out of their mouths is "sporty". Every single time.

However, the Toyota Matrix, the Pontiac Vibe, the Suzuki Aerio, and Ford Focus aren't described that way. I picked up the June2002 edition of Car and Driver, the protege5 got the highest marks, even better than the PT Cruiser which is highly regarded in the industry.

When you can design a car and elicit the same reaction like that, you've made a good car. I turn just as many heads in the parking lot as the guy who works next to me driving a Lexus GS. And I spent less than 19k including an extended warranty.

But, then you compare the 4dr Protege and that's where the praise stops for some reason. As many have said it's just another economy car lost in the flock of sheep. Maybe that's why you bought the ES so you have alot of hidden performance under a so-so body design.

Also you said you can store LONGER things with the ES. That's great and I commend that. But I moved in August and I was glad I had a hatchback with no trunk obstructing the space between the back seat and hatchback. It's not often that i need to store something longer than 72" anyway, which can safely fit in the PR5.

 

Well said. A lot of my friends see the ES sedan and just think ---
"another sedan. Mazda's this time. The wing in the back looks OK". When they see my new P5, they go "Now that looks cool."

The look of the P5 plus the flexibility of hauling lots of stuff in the back with the seats folded flat and the integrated roof rack gives me carrying options I wouldn't have as easily with the ES. It was well worth the extra $$ up front (the stereo upgrade can wait another 4 months)

But, again, the main thing was that I thought the P5 looked a lot nicer than the ES.

 

If you're going to get a sedan, get the MazdaSpeed one, or look for a used MP3. Personally, I love wagons and the 5 definitly stands out from the wagon crowd.

 

One question. Does the ES have 4 wheel disc brakes?

 

Yeah, I'm pretty positive they do.

 

I personally like sedans better than hatchbacks or wagons....

and I like the look of the older 3rd gen pros ('99 - '00) than the new 3rd gen pros ('01+) especially the front bumper.

but I'm gonna get a custom kit on it so oh well....well once i save up some money then the kit will be going on won't be for a while tho

 

yes they do.



P5's stand out more because of their vibrant colours and side skirts. i still love my sedan tho. i love black mica! i think it's an awesome colour when it's clean.