ok....my mom just bought a new 2002 honda civic lx, and my dad bought a new 2002 mazda protege dx.....i hvae riden in both and driver both and i honestly like the protege better....ok, the protege has more ***** and better pick-up, even with the a/c on....and driving i am more comfortable in the pro because i am 6'4 and i can barely fit in the civic, but i am comfortable behind the wheel of the mazda, and when i am a passenger in the civic, with the seat all the way back my knees are still against the dash ....in the backseat of the civic it has a gay safety divice with the seatbelt, that as soon as it starts to reel in it wont come out anymore until you take it out and put it all the way back and pull it out again and of course i cant fit back there, but i can fit in the back of the protege (if the front seat is forward enough ) what i do like about hte civic though is that the shifter is very smooth, and tight, but thats about all i can think that i like about that car

oh yeah, they are both 5-speeds

 

I'd rather have a new Protege over a new Civic anyday. I think the only reason the Civic outsells the Pro is because they don't even bother to take a look at it. The Pro is more of a driver's car and has many more standard features. It's funny how even the top of the line Civic EX still has steel wheels and hubcaps standard.

 

Couldn't have said it any better!

 

I'll take the Civic. I'm 5'6" and the only time headroom became a factor for me was when I drove an 1990 Eagle Talon AWD. Also, I like to mod cars (provided I have the funds of course ), and the civic platform is great for a B-Series engine swap.

Also, support for Honda over Mazda is a great factor. A lot of Honda mechanic specialists, used/imported car parts available. And what about Mazda? I have to deal with either a Mazda dealer or Corksport

It's hard and expensive to modify a Mazda.


Regards,

Oz

 

Honda engines don't have much torque on the lower end. Of course the Protege would have more kick.

OZ,
Most engine importers have access to other engines, and have had them. Places like www.jspecjdm.net has Mazda engines, but most of their customers just tend to be Honda guys. They're starting to recoginze that there are other people out there looking to swap engines in Mazdas, Mitsubishis, Nissans, and Toyotas.