Thinking of getting one...

[GYBE!]

Hi! I am seriously considering getting a mazdaspeed protege but it seems that many of you have problems that go beyond the "mildly annoying and therefore liveable." Is my perception of this correct, or am I merely overtrumping the typical inconveniances that can be associated with any new car? Thanks!
PS> The other cars that I am considering are: Mitsubishi 3000gt (sl or vr4), BMW 323, Audi A4 (1.8 turbo w/ quattro), or 2002/03 Subaru WRX....Any suggestions will be appreciated!

[jersey_emt]

I have the two major problems (the hesitation and the clunk) and honestly, they're just minor annoyances.

My pet peeves with the car (from worst to least bad):

1. Torque steer. But any powerful front-wheel drive car has it.
2. No cruise control. It can be added however.
3. No optional sunroof. It can also be added.
4. The clunk. It gets annoying, but with the radio on (not even loud) you don't hear it. There's a possible fix in a thread here that I'm going to try.
5. The hesitation. Yeah, it's noticable, but I don't think it's as bad as others make it out to be. Plus a fix should be out soon from Mazda

[GYBE!]

I guess I should also point out that I am coming from driving a friggin `95 Saturn SL1 (yes, it is quite possibly the ugliest moped powered car ever known to man!) so anything above a moped will be a step up for me!

[OrangeAppeal]

It all depends on what you are looking for and what you "want" to spend. Do you want a new or used car? The question you asked is entirely opinion based on what the person who answers likes. If you said: "I'm looking for something in the sub $25k range, handles ok-decent, and has lots of aftermarket support (name the kinda things your looking for here)...and preferably a new car" than we could help you narrow your search. Or maybe you want something with excellent straight line performance? Help us out and maybe we can help you.

To answer the overall problems question....the "hesitation" is not something you would normally expect from a new car - in fact, it's wrather annoying and detracts from the car. But almost anyone here who owns one will say that the car is still excellent, in spite of the "hesitation" (I know I think that), it would just be a bonus if the hesitation were not there (it shouldn't be). Guess what - supposedly Mazda is very close to issuing a TSB or something along those lines to correct the hesitation :
Read Update to Mazda USAs ECU "fix" (http://www.msprotege.com/vbb230/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28097) for more info on that. Besides the hesitation (and clunk, which is also partially covered in the above link), the car just has your typical new car problems that anyone may encounter.

Hope this helps you some, and good luck.
Jesse

[Dr.Sound]

MSP will outhandle any of those in your list

plust dont forget the "limited" factor

[Matthew]

i would eliminate the 3000gt and bmw, but the other cars you have are pretty nice as well, it depends on how deep your posckets are

[razorblade kiss]

it depends on how deep your posckets are

yes, having deep posckets is always a good thing... :D

[JunkPunch]

1. Where do you live?
2. What kind of driving do you do? Mostly around town? Highway? Long trips?

Personally, I'd say the A4 if you have the money. But it depends on what you are looking for.

[razorblade kiss]

An A4 Audi? Come On! If your gonna buy an Audi, BUY AN AUDI!
S4 or nothing. But if you cant afford an S4 then get a MazdaSpeed, there great!! :)

[Micah]

3000GT vr4, fastest car between repairs. Awesome car, incredible to drive - but a bitch to maintain.

[jersey_emt]

Originally posted by razorblade kiss
An A4 Audi? Come On! If your gonna buy an Audi, BUY AN AUDI!
S4 or nothing. But if you cant afford an S4 then get a MazdaSpeed, there great!! :)

A Chipped Audi A4 1.8T puts out WELL over 200 HP.

[JunkPunch]

Originally posted by jersey_emt
A Chipped Audi A4 1.8T puts out WELL over 200 HP.

And an A4 + $4k will get you 280+hp and 300+lb.ft. of torque. It's still not going to handle nearly as well as a WRX or a Mazdaspeed, obviously. So it all depends on what you want out of the car.

[Dr.Sound]

i would also say it's between MSP and A4
both great cars, it depends if u want luxury or performance.

[AGR]

New Car for $20,000.00 + or - a few bucks?

MAZDASPEED

I now have over 10,000 miles on mine. It's wonderful. I have no more hesitation. Joe Ps Fuel Kit fixed that. I have no clunk.

What I have, is a sedan that is very unique (not to mention; rare), the best handling car I have ever owned; and boosting to about 10psi - all the power I really need.

I don't street or drag race. What I do is; BACK ROAD BOOGIE

I also will autoX it some in the future. I wake up everyday knowing I made the best choice for my dollars spent.

[1sty]

My stance on the MSP is this.
If you have a good dealer then don't worry about it. There are known problem cars, most are not.
COunt on having the hesitation and Clunk, COUNT ON IT!
Its a crap shot if the hesitation will be bad or not. Either way there are patches for now but they will cost money.

If you have a dealer you know to have less then knowledgable service departments or have been problematic in the past, then look at a different car.