Cloud drives a yellow Mazda Protege5. Visit his cardomain site to view pictures of his car!
The Mazda Protege5, introduced by Mazda in 2002, is a four door hatchback. Mazda insists, however, that it’s a five door sedan. Whatever it is, it’s definitely a great car. With a 130 horsepower engine, it’s definitely not the fastest of them and will sometimes have trouble keeping up with even a Honda Civic, but the drag strip is not its home turf.
Where the Protege5 truly shines is on the mountain back-roads, where it’ll bring a smile to your face around every corner. In a Slalom, it will keep up with, if not outright overperform a Subaru WRX, thanks to its magnificent chassis. That’s not to say that it’ll bruise your bottom going through poorly paved roads, either, because the ride is surprisingly comfortable, and the seats especially supportive, especially for a car that still fits into the economy class.
The car, however, was discontinued in 2003, just after its second production year, in favour of the new Mazda3. Many of its traits are carried over in 3, along with an extra touch of class. Having been in production for just two years, the car has become a bit of a rarity in some areas, though it’s still quite popular in Vancouver, and can be seen on an every day basis, even in the bright yellow color if you pay attention.
I am going to get an orange one someday.