mazda protoge/mp3

[Masas]

was looking at this car....i like it alot...but seems a little weak at 140hp....
anyone know if there is any market/aftermarket support for this car to push along the lines of 200hp or so?
THANKS~

 

[Gulzakar]

not likely , its a sweet car, just needs about 30 more ponies.

 

[Soulflare]

I'm sure Mazdaspeed and a whole bunch of other aftermarket parts companies
will be supporting the MP3.

 

[mattz]

probably can find a compatible nissan engine... takes a little tweaking to make it work. But you are probably better off with a different car... with Mazda cars... they run fine at first.. but when it starts to rain... it just pours... My mazda turned into a lemon overnight. :|

 

[Stifko]

I saw a new Subaru WRX hatchback in electric blue. It looked bad a$$, if I was getting a Jap pocket rocket, I'd look at the WRX. Wait till the mods for that come out.

 

[Jejunum]

i totally agree with mattz

with ford owning most of mazda now; it seems their quality has gone down significantly
my protege ran fine up until 70K miles; then the transmission concked out...it just wasnt worth it to replace it...sad aint it?

 

[vegetation]

Not impressed with this car. Too weak for its class. Since it's a new design and limited market, it will take years before any good aftermarket support comes along. I'd much rather get something powerful straight from the factory.

 

[psteng19]

the mp3 looks HOT (not the spoiler part), buts too weak compared with the new pocket rockets.
but get yourself a Sentra SE-R and with a couple of mods, you'd be hitting 200hp in no time.

drop your own MP3/CD HU in there if MP3 listening is your style too

Nissan ~ Driven

 

[BDawg]

Car and Driver did just rate the mp3 highest among the "cheap pony cars." It beat the SE-R and the Jetta GTX.

 

[BigSmooth]

<< Car and Driver did just rate the mp3 highest among the "cheap pony cars." It beat the SE-R and the Jetta GTX. >>


I read that comparo, it kind of confused me because the Protege MP3 had the worst performance numbers which is what I thought defined a "pony car" or "pocket rocket". Also, they were using a pre-production SE-R which they said had already been abused by other testers.

 

[BDawg]

The only category where the mp3 was outperformed was speed. Supposedly, it handled better and was a better car in all other categories.