Sole photo of my Protégé 5 in 2002
Stinging from the sudden demise of my Grand Prix as referenced two COAL’s ago, it was now time to focus on the next vehicle. I was a bit perplexed in terms of which direction to go. Sure, I could do my predictable same-same and go right to a GM dealer like I always did. Nothing there was really exciting me at all at that time with their product. GM was still in a of a product funk, pre-bankruptcy.
Our company was doing a lot of business with VW/Audi at the time and I was on the account. I liked my contacts there, was treated well, and I really wanted to reciprocate in some small way. At this point in the early 2000’s, both brands were resurgent in the U.S., especially Audi.
2001 GTI- Unobtanium!
Reciprocation or not, there was absolutely no way we could afford to buy or lease an Audi like an A-4. A base Golf or Jetta was certainly affordable for us and made sense, but I always (and still do) coveted a hot hatch. The Volkswagen Golf GTI was always one of my all-time favorite cars since it came out in 1983, and I decided to start there. Doing some high-level pricing on-line, I quickly realized that this was just a wee bit out of my price range. It was winter time in late January 2002, a generally slow time in the car business especially here in the snow belt.
One evening, I discovered that there were a couple of past model year GTI’s (2001 Mk4’s) sitting on the lot at the local VW dealer, in white and silver. They were heavily discounted, lower trim level automatics, which was good because Mrs. C was not driving a manual, no way, no how. And I was pleasantly surprised and excited to see they were just inside the outer limits of what we could afford…. $19,500 plus tax. I’d finally get a hot hatch!
The missus, however, did not want a 2 door, as it was more difficult to get our not quite 1-year old boy in and out in the car seat. Whoa, wait, we stuck Adam in the back of the Grand Prix all the time, and it really wasn’t a big deal, now was it? Really? Long story short, I had to get her buy-in on a big-ticket purchase like this and I wasn’t going to get it, so I had to move on. Perhaps a switch to the Ford Family? Maybe a Focus hatch or wagon?
Then across the street in the motor mall, I spied the new Mazda Protégé 5’s sitting in front of the joint Mazda-Subaru dealer. And a light bulb went on in my brain reminding me of the Ford-Mazda connection. Ford at that time had a controlling interest and long partnership with Mazda dating back the early 70’s. They were sharing technology and platforms. And it meant that I could get my sisters Ford discount on it. And…better yet, they were running a 5-year 0.00% APR finance special which made it very affordable for us. I drove a red one and was quickly taken in by the spunky personality of the car, which was like a happy puppy, and I was sold. Not to mention, I have always loved the utility of a hatchback. You could fit a road bicycle in back, among other things. It came home the next day.
The 5 introduced me to what a well handling car was like, and how a car didn’t have to be expensive or fast to be fun. While I had plenty of econoboxes to that point, they were nothing at all like this. The little 2.0 liter, 130 HP inline twin-cam 4 had a pleasant and burbly exhaust note. It was responsive and peppy rather than fast, but it certainly felt quick. It was “flingable” and was glued to the road and didn’t complain when you threw it into a corner faster than you normally would (or should). It cut a handsome profile in “ticket me red”, and as this is a heavy domestic car area, there just weren’t too many of these on the road and it always was interesting to people.
Inside it had an attractive instrument panel with white gauges. The fabric seats were firm and supportive. It was put together well, if giving off feeling just a bit tinny. Then again, it was barely 2,700 pounds. Downsides? The suspension was in my view a bit too harsh… you’d feel the face of a dime if you ran over it. It had a factory-installed car alarm, which didn’t work well. Though you could dial back the sensitivity with a little knob way under the dash…it was super easy to set off. It was also a rather loud car without much sound deadening insulation. That combined with the rougher ride meant longer road trips weren’t this car’s strong suit. Fuel economy I thought would be better. I think it was limited by the four-speed automatic and lacked a tall high gear. 24-29 MPG combined was what you could expect. Not bad certainly, but for a small car sold in international markets I thought it would do much better. Those were niggles. All in all, it was by far the most enjoyable car I’d had to that point.
My time with the Protégé was short and absolutely trouble free and lasted barely 18 months. At work, the planets lined up and I had a chance to get a company car when someone quit and the bosses were stuck with it. I just had to put gas in it. I was on the winning end of this deal hands down. While we really loved the little 5, getting the car note off the family balance sheet on the liability side was a huge bonus with a new baby (and new day care bills).
I had a ready buyer for the 5, a teacher sister of a friend who was tired of dumping oil in her mid-90’s Saturn every week at fill up time. I walked away with a few hundred bucks in my pocket after the car note was squared away. She named the car Ruuji, after a friend she’d met during her 2 years as an English teacher in Japan. Sadly, Ruuji was stolen a year or so later when she was visiting a boyfriend deep in the city in a dicey neighborhood, never to be seen again. I guess she must have turned off the car alarm. If it met death in a nefarious inner-city chop shop, it was a fate it certainly didn’t deserve.
The Protégé 5 started my admiration for plucky Mazda, a mid-major player that always manages to put out holistically excellent and well executed product without the resources of the much bigger global players. I would revisit this brand many years later (as you will see). The first (and last) company car I was getting was truly a blessing, but it would not have the personality or fun of my Protégé 5, a car I still remember fondly, and very much miss.
You miss a Mazda? – You sure aren’t alone. I had an ’86 232 hatch and I am still missing it. I later bought a ’98 Protégé 5 speed for my sons’ first car and I loved that one too despite the high mileage issues it came with.
The Protégé 5 could not make my short list because the ones I saw had severe tin worm problems. You had yours in its prime time.
I’ve never owned a Mazda, but I’ve had a few as rentals (a 3, a 5, and a 6) and they’re always great to drive. Definitely on my short list.
They were fun cars but man did they rust. It was like they had no rust protection at all.
That red beauty looks great. If Mazda had something like that now, I think it would sell well as a small wagon. The new 3 hatch is probably as close as you can get to match this, but beware of the huge C pillar and the subsequent lack of rear quarter visibility.
Being pleasantly “flingable” and having a less than harsh suspension seem to me to be mutually exclusive characteristics, especially in affordable vehicles without fancy suspension systems. And the lack of a long legged overdrive is common on many smaller cars, especially those still available with manual transmissions (looking at you Fit). I do not take long high speed trips in the 99 Miata because the engine noise over 60 mph quickly becomes unpleasant, and its size makes every other vehicle on the road ominously large. When Mazda did come out in the early aughts with a 6 speed option, they kept the final ratio the same as the 5 speed and just provided more ratios below that.
When Carlsberg66 writes: “… I liked my contacts there, was treated well …”, it sounds like the type of consulting/service work I did. It is amazing how much more pleasant life can be when consulting/service personnel are treated with respect and kindness. Too many corporate personnel use confrontational management styles to WIN WIN WIN at all cost, essentially becoming mindless sycophants to their own management.
My chosen company cars were all Ford Tauruses. No exciting automotive personality per se, but sized right for business, and very comfortable and reliable long distance cruisers, especially the wagons.
Nice COAL read on a rainy Sunday morning.
I fell in love with these the first time I saw one. My fleet consisted of a Ford Club Wagon and a Cadillac Brougham at the time, and these looked like the ultimate in automotive fun to me. A friend bought one and he loved it.
I was sad to see it replaced within a few years and then came to understand that these things would rust like an International Scout in my climate.
I eventually got my fun Mazda fix with my 97 Miata and understand everything you say about ride, handling, noise and short gearing.
Much like you, Mazda wasn’t even on my radar when l found my 3. While l still yearn for another classic car, l maintain that my Mazda is the best modern car I’ve ever driven! Fuel economy is around 30 for me. I’ve got a 2 liter making 155 hp and a six speed automatic, so maybe it’s just my heavy right foot? 🙂
Another owner of a 2004 Mazda3 hatchback. Actually, the then-wife picked it out and paid for it, although we had to do it with my name on the loan given she had no real credit rating after her previous marriage. Despite being an automatic, I really liked the car, and was really disappointed when she totaled it in 2009, just as we paid it off. At this point, he health had deteriorated that she shouldn’t have been driving at all, and she dutifully turned in her driver’s license immediately after the crash.
Still wouldn’t mind owning another Mazda one of these days. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with the Miata, rather than the Solstice I bought four years later.
Currently driving my 4th Mazda. An ’83 626 touring, an ’84 626 touring, a ’95 Probe GT (Ford in name only), and now a ’17 6 touring. As long as Mazda keeps putting sticks in their oh-so-yummy cars, I won’t be filing for divorce. In ’05 for my first new car purchase I reluctantly chose a Vibe over a Protege or 3, mainly due to the Vibe’s superior efficiency. But God Bless Mazda for betting big on the future of internal combustion, quite literally keeping that flame alive with their aggressive innovation. I hope to be buying Mazdas for a long time to come.
Carlesberg, my 2002 Protege5 is exactly like yours. I still love it after over 200,000 miles and it never lets me down. From the styling to the go-cart handling, I believe Mazda got everything right with these cars, and I’m glad to know I’m not alone in that opinion.
I have always liked the Protege 5 and Mazda in general ever since I bought my first used Miata. I currently own a ’91 Miata and ’16 Mazda6 Sport—both are engaging to drive, attractive and very reliable as well. Last year I bought an ’09 Mazda6 from a friend with 185K miles. Other than some brake work and a valve cover gasket, the car was extremely tight and ready for a new owner, which it promptly found. I look forward to the SkyactiveX engine introduction.
Most impeccably assembled and utterly bulletproof car I have ever had was my 85 Mazda GLC. It still suffered a bit from the 70s Japanese interpretation of suspension: oversprung, underdamped, with lots of body flex. It couldn’t keep up with my Renault in bad pavement twisties. But the engine was willing, the shifter unerring (listen up Honda) and it never broke until it was elderly (instrument panel lights went out in 97). Exceptionally rust resistant for living outdoors in Michigan for almost all of it’s 12 years too.
Corrosion finally started getting the best of it in 98. Headed straight for the Mazda stand at the Detroit show. “Show me a hatchback!” I said to the guy at the booth. “How about this Protege sedan?” he replied. “I need to carry stuff, show me a hachback 323”. “Discontinued”, “Show me an MX3” “Discontinued”. I left, disheartened. Ended up with the 98 Civic, smoother and quieter than the GLC, but a bit of tape dangling on the instrument cluster, sticky throttle cable, and 5th and reverse were always a bit hard to find (not just my Civic, I drove two others with the same malady,)
Time passed.
The P5 came out. Cool! A Mazda that can carry my stuff! Where were you in 98? Didn’t want to sell the Civic as it was only 4 years old. Considered using the Civic as the winter car and have the Mazda for nice weather.
Then, after only two years on this earth, read that the P5 was about to die, replaced by the heavy, lumpy looking Mazda3. Went to the auto show, and the Mazda stand was handing out $500 off ducats for leftover 2003s. The place I worked was a Ford vendor, so I qualified for Z Plan. Enrolled to get my Z Plan PIN. Called the one Mazda dealer in metro Detroit whose web site said had a white one on the lot. It was already sold.
Undeterred, I kept checking inventory of dealers progressively farther from Motown. Hit paydirt at Basney Mazda in South Bend. Two black, 5 speed P5s on the lot! Beefed up the checking account and set off on a Saturday morning. Arriving, I found both of the P5s had moonroofs. Moonroofs frequently steal so much headroom I don’t fit. Sure enough. Not only was the P5 short on headroom, there was a rail projecting down from the headliner to within about a quarter inch of my head, which I would crack my head on with every pothole.
For the next two or three years, I kept haunting used car listings, looking for a P5 without a moonroof. No such luck.
The Civic was an OK car, served me well for 15 years. It’s still going, in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Meanwhile, the Mazda3 gets more hideous with each generation, straying farther and farther from the perfection of the P5.
I have a friend, retired Navy Warrant Officer, who drives daily his 1983 GLC 5 speed. He takes very good care of it. I told him about here but I might go down to Sunnyvale and visit so I can take photos and do a story. He is also the owner of a 1976 Celica Liftback and the original owner of a 1970 Datsun 521. So more potential stories. He even used the Datsun to taxi a plane across Moffett Field where he was restoring such.
Come to think of it I know another former Navy electronics guy who drives his 1995 Escort wagon daily and it has somewhere around 325,000 on it. Unbelievable!
Almost the same car as my friend recently replaced after 373,000kms it still drove but required lots of repairs to pass inspection so we took it to a wrecker, they must have repaired it as shes seen it on the road since good little cars another guy I know has a Ford Laser badged version for carting his tools to work.