New Econo Car for Wife

ggrab · 09-03-2008, 11:53 PM

We recently decided to park the Expedition (only used for pulling the trailer when necessary now) and get my wife a small car. She insisted on something sporty since she likes to drive my Cobra so much. I had heard many good things about Mazda's so we started looking at 3's and Protege's when we came across a 2001 Protege MP3. I had never heard of the MP3 model (they only made 2000 of them), so I looked up some info on it and was impressed with what I read. I was even more impressed when we drove the car. It does not have a lot of power (2.0 liter, 150 HP) but it has absolutely incredible handling, a great stereo, and great gas mileage. I really could not be more impressed with the handling and overall build quality of this car. I've been driving it mysellf quite a bit because it is almost as fun as the Cobra, but gets way better gas mileage. Of course, there is no replacement for the sound of the 5.0 and the low end torque, but if anyone else is thinking about getting a small, reasonably priced, yet fun to drive car, the Mazda's are hard to beat. We've had the car about 3 months now without one complaint. In fact I like the thing more every time I drive it. If it had a little more power it would run circles around my Cobra in the twisties. We could have looked into the MazdaSpeed Protege's for more power, but they require premium fuel (turbo), get a little lower gas mileage, sell for a good bit more, and have higher insurance rates. This car really is the most fun thing I have seen in an reasonably priced economical car.

blk04cobra1 · 09-04-2008, 09:10 AM

that's a great choice for an econo car...and for a relatively low cost you can do a few upgrades in the HP department

...post some pics when you get a chance.

chiller5ohhh · 09-23-2008, 02:13 PM

my wife had a Mazda 3 when i met her, and we still have it. it's got the sportshift automatic which is nice. handles great and is fun to drive. if it wasn't so damn girly lookin'

i'd probably drive it more due to it's ~28mpg's. guess i'll stick to my jeep

flynfink · 09-24-2008, 11:59 AM

my g/f has a Mazda 3 and the car is a blast to drive and returns 29-30 mpg (when she drives it

)

09-03-2008, 11:53 PM	#1
ggrab Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Sylvania, GA Posts: 64	New Econo Car for Wife We recently decided to park the Expedition (only used for pulling the trailer when necessary now) and get my wife a small car. She insisted on something sporty since she likes to drive my Cobra so much. I had heard many good things about Mazda's so we started looking at 3's and Protege's when we came across a 2001 Protege MP3. I had never heard of the MP3 model (they only made 2000 of them), so I looked up some info on it and was impressed with what I read. I was even more impressed when we drove the car. It does not have a lot of power (2.0 liter, 150 HP) but it has absolutely incredible handling, a great stereo, and great gas mileage. I really could not be more impressed with the handling and overall build quality of this car. I've been driving it mysellf quite a bit because it is almost as fun as the Cobra, but gets way better gas mileage. Of course, there is no replacement for the sound of the 5.0 and the low end torque, but if anyone else is thinking about getting a small, reasonably priced, yet fun to drive car, the Mazda's are hard to beat. We've had the car about 3 months now without one complaint. In fact I like the thing more every time I drive it. If it had a little more power it would run circles around my Cobra in the twisties. We could have looked into the MazdaSpeed Protege's for more power, but they require premium fuel (turbo), get a little lower gas mileage, sell for a good bit more, and have higher insurance rates. This car really is the most fun thing I have seen in an reasonably priced economical car.

09-04-2008, 09:10 AM	#2
blk04cobra1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,374	that's a great choice for an econo car...and for a relatively low cost you can do a few upgrades in the HP department ...post some pics when you get a chance. __________________ 2004 Cobra HP Twin 67's 785rwhp on 9lbs of boost

09-23-2008, 02:13 PM	#3
chiller5ohhh Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Lexington, NC Posts: 63	my wife had a Mazda 3 when i met her, and we still have it. it's got the sportshift automatic which is nice. handles great and is fun to drive. if it wasn't so damn girly lookin' i'd probably drive it more due to it's ~28mpg's. guess i'll stick to my jeep __________________ Former SVT owner

09-24-2008, 11:59 AM	#4
flynfink Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Concord, NC Posts: 1,002	my g/f has a Mazda 3 and the car is a blast to drive and returns 29-30 mpg (when she drives it ) __________________ Jeff F. AKA FlynFink 07' Porscha Cayman S 99' Rio Red Cobra Vert. #203 of 4055 94' Black Cobra Coupe #4971 of 5009 "Drive it like ya stole it"

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