Completing the look were side sill skirts that tied into the line from the front bumper to the rear valance. Combined with some very cool taillights, the rear end looked as good or maybe better than the front. Quite common now, these were still somewhat rare in 2002. Out back there was a little winglet over the rear window. It’s rarely foggy in the Twin Cities, so I hardly ever used them, but I really liked the look. Maybe the Impreza wagon and the soon to be launched Vibe/Matrix twins, but that was about it in the US.Ĭompared to the Protege sedan, the front end of the Protege5 added oversized fog lights and a more aggressive fascia. Mazda really had pretty minimal competition in small, inexpensive sport wagon niche. While this car didn’t have a particularly larger cargo area, it worked well enough as a second car. In the rear, both seats folded almost flat and the rear cargo area was covered by a hard, hinged panel. Mine had the cloth seats which looked great. With the requisite black on white instrument cluster, leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, this interior really worked for me. A 2.0 liter, DOHC engine making 130 hp and a 135 ft lbs of torque, complete with red tower brace. I suspect I was just a bit north of Mazda’s target demographic, but this car punched all the right buttons for me.
I do like red cars (and trucks).Īt the time of this purchase I was a 46 year old middle manager just looking for a little distraction from the stress of everyday life. And this wouldn’t be my last red car as you will see in future COALs. As a point of reference, this would be my sixth red car out of the thirteen I’ve owned up to that time. Next thing I know, I’m calling my wife to get her okay the trade of the Saturn in on this little red racer. I really wanted a 5 speed in yellow, but the only yellow one in stock was saddled with an automatic, so I took a red 5 speed for a test drive. I was already committed to buying one of these little wagons before I had even sat in one. She was enthusiastic, but not in a pushy way, and the buying experience went pretty well. My salesperson was a woman, a first for me. So anyway, one fine spring day, I headed over to Polar Chevrolet and Mazda in White Bear Lake to take a look at one of these little wagons. At least that’s how I rationalized it to my wife. The Saturn was fine, no issues, but it lacked the flexibility we wanted in a second car. Our second car was a 1996 Saturn SL2 which came into the fleet when I remarried in 2001. Since it was winter and I didn’t buy new cars in winter, the idea of going to take a look at the Protege5 just sort of simmered on the back burner. I came very close to pulling the trigger on the 323 derived Mercury Tracer wagon but ended up with a first gen Camry wagon instead. I have always liked the Mazda hatchbacks, going all the way back to the first gen GLC, but for multiple reasons ownership had continued to elude me.
MAZDA PROTEGE HATCHBACK BLUE DRIVER
This was back when Car and Driver was still relevant and I was still a subscriber. In the fall of 2001 I had received a mailing from Mazda promoting their new little hot hatch and coincidently, Car and Driver had run a favorable review in their October 2001 issue. If you’ve been keeping track, this was my fourth Mazda, all of which had premature rust. This piece by Michael Ionno from 2016 captures my experience perfectly, right down to the inevitable rust problems that continued to plague Mazdas in northern states. In fact, they’ve been the subject of two previous COAL articles. I suppose it should come as no surprise that the Protege5 has some fans here at Curbside Classic. the slightly twisted spokes on the 2002s. Mine were 2003 painted 5 spoke alloys with squared off spokes vs. The only difference I can remember was the wheels. My Protege5 was late enough in the cycle that the dealer actually called it a 2002-1/2. I’m ready for a change once the snow has melted. I always seem to buy my cars in spring I suspect the boredom of winter and six months of driving salt stained cars wears me down. I really wanted one of these in yellow, but I settled for a red one late in the 2002 model year.
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