That's because all the elements are there, like sharp feedback from the steering you might expect to find in a more powerful car, the excellent transmission (save for throws from fifth to third gear, which seemed a bit notchy in our tester) and an excellent suspension that countered roll even in tight, off-camber turns in our usual test circuit, which have fazed cars with much sportier pretenses.Īnd although we'd like more output, the capable, 130-horsepower, 2.0-liter motor is set up to hit its torque peak at a manageable 4,000 rpm, so you aren't deaf by the time the power comes on.īesides driving fun, the Protege5 gives good vibes for quality. Head down the road in the Protege5, and the first thing that becomes clear is that with an extra 75 horsepower this car could easily chase down BMWs. How bright? Come along for the test drive and find out.įrom The Driver's Seat | Should You Buy This Car? | Specs Whatever the case, the Protege5 is a bright prospect. (We will give the hatch movement a closer look in the near future and try to answer this question in greater detail.) What gives? Weren't car companies telling us that hatchbacks were dead just a few years ago? Well, clearly more than one carmaker has woken up to the possibility that this format not only works but is far sexier than the wagon. There's the pricier Acura RSX Type S we told you about Ford's Focus now comes in a hatch version (called the ZX5), which is much sharper-looking and more utile than the Focus with a trunk the racy Subaru WRX now comes in a five-door the newest Honda, the Civic Si, will come out as a hatch only starting around December and, of course, the Mini Cooper will arrive next year as the hatchback of the decade (at least that's the hope of parent company BMW). ![]() Great cockpit, handy layout, tight steering and suspension.īuzzy engine at speed relatively low horsepower output despite displacement.Īnd luckily this hot hatch is just one of many new, inexpensive, trunkless cars to arrive. Sure, there are some shortcomings: There could be more power, and we wish that fifth gear functioned more like an overdrive, dropping revs below the buzzy range at 70 mph on the freeway. So what's on the table? A five-door, $16,535 hatchback with decent power, great utility and very strong handling, all trimmed out with a high-quality interior and exterior and a sporty look. I still drive it and can go 60 mph if necessary, usually just around town.Well, Mazda has a variation on the MP3 Protege called the Protege5 that we like even more, mainly because it riffs off what the four-door Protege does so well and makes it even better, but keeps the overall price tag nice and low. This would be way more than the car is worth. If anyone has any thoughts on other simply tests I can make before I declare 4th gear (speed or whatever) is totally gone and have to replace transmission. Besides, these solenoids measure only 3 ohms or less that means if 12 volts were applied it would be drawing 4 amps or more. At one time I thought the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) was at fault because of the lower voltage on C, D, and E but 4 volts is fine. 4 volts was plenty - I made a test on that type solenoid and 2 volts or even less would operate it. Solenoid A had 12 volt application voltage and C, D, E had 4 volts. I compared that with a Shift Solenoid Application Chart (see attachment) and mine was correct with one exception - A was supposed to have voltage in reverse and mine did not (can't see that that would make any difference). I tapped into the wires going into the transmission and directly to Shift Solenoids A, C, D, and E and measured when the solenoids were applied voltage. I figured one or more Shift Solenoids were bad so I replaced all 6 of them with no change at all. It is hard to tell the difference between 2nd and 3rd. ![]() ![]() It comes up with an error code PO 762 or 767. I could shift over to manual (tiptronic) and shift into 3rd to continue to drive. When it was time to go into 4th it would just go into neutral. I started with intermittent losing 4th then after awhile it would not go into 4th. I have a 2002 Mazda protege 5, 2L engine, automatic 4 speed transmission (with Manual shifter) (4F27E) with 71000 miles.
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