test drive impressions

[oldzoomer]

I test drove a black Mazdaspeed Protege and a white Miata tonight and thought I'd share a few thoughts while I ponder a purchase.

The Mazdaspeed feels like my ancient Protege. It was pretty eerie. Driving them back to back was almost like driving my car when it was new back in 1991.

My impressions:
- low end grunt - holy cow does it pull well below 4k RPMs - much better than my Protege and the Miata - maybe I won't have to use WOT to get around quickly

- I'm going to go blind trying to read the gauges

- the stereo was broken already - half flipped out and wouldn't power on - who makes this Kenwood crap? The Bose stereo in the Miata sucked as well. The Mazdaspeed inside the dealership had a working stereo that sounded pretty good but not nearly as good as the Bose in my Maxima.

- the suspension is SO smooth! Much less bouncing than my Protege and a bit more removed from road imperfections than the Miata

- the handling was secure, stable, compliant, and easy to adjust to. Turn-in was as sharp as my Protege. The engineers did a great job.

- transmission is very notchy just like the old Protege. The clutch was very squeaky - what's up with that?

- the stitching was wrong in 2 cars - orange on steering wheel, yellow on seats of 2003.5 - this makes me think that they are still figuring out how to put them together.

- the headliner is cheap and hollow sounding compared to mine (but I bet it weighs less)

- The overall quality of all of the materials was OK but not as high quality as my Protege - I think Ford has negatively influenced Mazda in this respect.

- the driver's seat feels good - better than the Miata's

- the overall NVH is better than the Miata, much better than my Protege, but not nearly as good as my Maxima (I know, I'm spoiled)

- the orange and yellow colors absolutely ROCK! The blue paint just didn't have the depth of the yellow or orange. I thought blue was going to be my first choice.

It's a great little car. It is worthy of my 1991 Zoom Zoom vanity plate. I think it will make a better commuting car than my Protege or the Miata so I may actually break open a piggy bank soon.

Thanks to everyone for all of the info on the car.

[SpicyMchaggis]

and there it is...the truth..unafraid of the flame..he boldly posts his findings..and you're right on every single subject..

[CruzinAltitude]

As long as people around here can put their pride aside for a few minutes they will realize that he did a damn good job summing up the car.

I love my MP5, and I wont bitch about the low hp, that comes with the price range, but :wtf: were the interior designers thinking when they set up the cup holder placement?! Obviously the designers havent had a large soda from Carls Jr!
******(and yes I know the car was probably designed in Japan and there are no Carls Jrs there, my point is they didnt make much of an effort to adjust the cupholders for the american market.)******

[west]

so what are you deciding on/in-between?

[pluto316]

Originally posted by SpicyMchaggis
and there it is...the truth..unafraid of the flame..he boldly posts his findings..and you're right on every single subject..


Originally posted by oldzoomer
- The overall quality of all of the materials was OK but not as high quality as my Protege - I think Ford has negatively influenced Mazda in this respect.



Yeah cause I am sure Ford, who has nothing to do with the Japanese development, stepped in and told them to use cheaper materals..? What kind of Protege do you drive? Cause the interior is exactly the same in my MSP as what was in my 02 P5. I am just curious what you are talking about here.

[1sty]

He drives an older protege Pre-Ford.
Many cars are using less and less quality of materials. Seems to be more to save cost then aFords influnce although anything is possible.
And the silver center das trim fad is really starting to piss me off. Every car thses days weather its a Protege or a 350Z has the damn silver dash peice.

[Newf]

yeah really. Ford interiors look like crap. Mazda still looks like a Japanese car.

I don't understand why the grey cars have yellow inside, or the black have orange, I don't think it looks bad at all, granted it's no BMW but it's better then my old Honda's, and speaking of which...the new honda interiors have cheapened a LOT. Little off topic though.

And I've driven quite a few 91 protege's, and i think your on crack for saying

"The overall quality of all of the materials was OK but not as high quality as my Protege "

And I'm sorry but most nissans are famous for their cheap plastic interiors. Don't get me wrong, I like the Maxima.... A LOT, but it isn't da bomb either.

Keep in mind, the protege is supposed to be a "econo car". the fact that it's interior is comparable to much more $$$ cars isn't a bad thing

exibit a
http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/newf/interior.jpg

[Newf]

damn, 1sty beat me :)

I agree though, the silver on everything is driving me nuts. But I can guess we can blame car and driver and motor trend for that, since unless it was a BMW, if a car had a black or same color interior it was considered, "cheap and bland"

Cars are using cheaper parts it seems. MY father just traded in a 1999 accord coupe v6 loaded with leather in for the 2003 version of it, and inside I was really disappointed as the 99 had one of the niver interiors I've seen, nice a sturdy, good quality, but the plastics in the new one are ...well, cheaper

[1sty]

THe 2003 MSP have orange for the spicy orange color option and the 2003.5s have yellow for the yellow color option. Thats what I always assumed. They just matched there colors. Why the hell they carried that into a differnt exterior color car, I would guess cost savings.

[1sty]

Yep even the Mazda 6 nterior is all cheep thin plastic. Silver of coarse :rolleyes:

Seems the to have anythign different these days you need a luxury car like a 3 series BMW or a TSX.

[Newf]

The Mazda 6 plastic is identical to what's in my father new accord. Funny, as I drove the 6 the 1st or 2nd time, it was black one with the gfx package, and leather and shit, and I couldn't really love the plastic on the doors and stuff.

So, my father buy's his new car, and I get in it, and it's the exact same texture color, and feel. Even the power window buttons are the same.

It's all Fords fault I tell you ! :)

[yashooa]

Originally posted by CruzinAltitude
As long as people around here can put their pride aside for a few minutes they will realize that he did a damn good job summing up the car.

I love my MP5, and I wont bitch about the low hp, that comes with the price range, but :wtf: were the interior designers thinking when they set up the cup holder placement?! Obviously the designers havent had a large soda from Carls Jr!
******(and yes I know the car was probably designed in Japan and there are no Carls Jrs there, my point is they didnt make much of an effort to adjust the cupholders for the american market.)******

Well I guess the need for larger Soda holders makes a need for larger seats. :p
Seriously, There was an early American Movie House renovated recently and they had to shut it down for a short while because the original seats were too thin for the new "Fat" Americans sitting in them. :D They had to install larger seats (butt)
Maybe we Americans a way too worried about wolfing down ever larger portions of food. ;) :p ;)
Of course my kids aren't allowed to eat or drink in my car that's what that Wife's dumping ground err... I mean PR-5 is for.

[Dr.Sound]

lol

[MackDadam]

You know....if the major complaint you have with a car is that it wont hold big enough cups....Id have to say that that manufacturer did one fine assed job making the car. which is why it was rated one of the best, if not the best car for 20,000. and btw, the protege has one of the best looking interiors out there. the silver highlights dont look cheap in it like other cars. and whats up with this "thin plastic" bitching?? what do you expect them to use? metal? thick assed plastic??? come on. I will admit they could have redone the center console a bit, i dont like the center armrest how the compartment is so small yet so tall, it should be longer and shorter, possibly with cupholders below an armrest or something, its hard to explain. but anyway, i love my car, thats why when i bought a new car, i traded in my ES for yet another protege, and i wont be gettting a 3 now after seeing what they look like, this protege has looks that will keep for many years to come. sorry to write so much...

[EVILSRT]

^werd

[oldzoomer]

OK, I've gone from test drive to owner in the past week and that obviously means I need to spout off again:

It's clearly better in many respects than my 1991 Protege. torque, handling, NVH, some switchgear, stereo, trunk mat, A/C, vent noise, rigidity, LSD, rims, paint

room for improvement:
- horn was DOA - dealer inspection should have caught this
- some plastics need better grain and "soft touch" feel (I still think most of the interior of my 91 used higher quality plastics.)
- why is this car 161 lbs heavier than my old Protege? maybe it's getting old and flabby like me?
- overboosted steering (and why do my RPMs jump by 500+ when I turn the wheel when idling?) - and yes, I still LOVE the steering - it's just not perfect
- cheap ass headliner annoys me - they could have at least filled it with foam so it didn't sound so hollow
- hesitation - the flash does improve response
- rear seat cushions pull up on both sides
- carpet on mats is cheap
- rubber trim around doors could be thicker
- found a nice, black, new 1" bolt in my trunk - wonder what it goes to

I'm sure all of these issues could have been easily solved but then I wouldn't have paid the difference in cost for the car. I think this car is an extremely good value.

Take the above comments with a grain of salt - I've been a Quality Assurance professional for many moons and tend to disassemble and find problems with everything.

Did I mention
THIS CAR ROCKS!

mods so far:
added 14 pounds of air to tires - running 41 front, 40.5 rear and starting to experiment
flash
1991 Zoom Zoom plate - guaranteed to add 15 horsepower

hopefully I'll have time to post pictures and generate a sig this weekend.

2003.5 eye searing yellow MSP, production number 1042

[charles]

Man, a 1991 isn't ancient ;) . BTW, what's the curb weight on the MSP? I've seen 2800 quoted, a first gen LX 5-speed is about 2550 with the junk in the trunk.

[MazdaspeedZOOM]

All little things aside, what's not to love about this car...

http://www.digitalpose.com/mbr/1/5342/p/375986_5117683196775301331_vl.jpg

[alexlitov]

Deamn dude, it's like you are comparing orange to apples.

I have '91 323 and 2002.5 P5. How can you say that '91 is better??

wow. the headliner isn't textured. WTF. You aren't suppose to look at the headliner while driving, concentrate on the road!!

<i>- The overall quality of all of the materials was OK but not as high quality as my Protege - I think Ford has negatively influenced Mazda in this respect.</i>

Yes the '91 might be the cloth type headliner that is glued on to some board, but over time, it gets dirty and it peels off!!

What high quality items are in your protege?? the rubber shift boot or the steering wheel that is rock solid and not leather wrapped??

[charles]

Do you have a base model 323 with the vynil seats?

[alexlitov]

NO, they are like metalized...Kind of hard to explain

[oldzoomer]

My 91 Protege is an LX which was the top of the line model at the time. The seats are still in great condition, the headliner is in excellent condition, the dash looks new, the carpeting is nice and thick, and all of the switchgear still works. I've been amazed at how long it has lasted. I take good care of it but I also drive the heck out of it. Got back into tonight to move it into the spare garage and noticed it is feeling old but still serviceable. If the Mazdaspeeds weren't so cheap right now I'd still be driving it.
Just because I think some things are nicer on my 1991 doesn't mean I don't love the new car. I am treating the Mazdaspeed way better than I have treated any other car.

[girth]

Yeah, to get back on an earlier point, Mazda jumped on the bandwagon for interior styling after 2000. The interior looked much better in my 2000 ES -- a nice solid black dimpled center console, chrome door handles, black e-brake surround, a bigger cubby-hole by the drink holders.........for some stupid reason they decided to change it and put that cheap-ass looking silver plastic surrounding the radio and e-brake and painted the door handles fake silver instead of leaving them chrome.:wtf: :'( They even put that cheap-ass silver look in the seats of the MSP! Oh, believe it or not though, the sun visor is actually BETTER in the post-2000 models when compared to the 2000 model -- the 2000 model just had plain cheap vinyl.

Off on another tangeant, the Mazda 3's interior IS an improvement. NICE gauge cluster.