Has anyone gone from a Protege to a 3? If so, how do the cars compare, especially if you have driven a Protege 5. Also, has anyone compared an "i" sedan to an "s" sedan (Mazda 3). The horsepower difference isn't much and from what I understand, the "i" gets much better gas mileage. Is the small amount of HP worth more than $1000?

Thanks.

Dave

 

I've got the 3i with a 5-speed and love it. There is only a 10 hp difference. I drive mine fairly hard and still average 28-29 mpg. I've gotten as high as 35 mpg while still traveling 80 mph on the freeway.

The 3 is a much nicer car than the Protege. After ~3 years in production, it still does better in comparisons than the competition (Cobalt, Civic, Caliber, etc.)

 

Can't say much about the p5 vs. the 3. there are lots of people on www.msprotege.com that've made the switch, so you might want to look there.

there are some other differences between the s and i trims other than the engine. Namely the larger brakes on the s trim. Also if you're going ATX the s comes with a 5-speed, vs. the 4-speed on the i.

 

Thanks! I recall reading in Consumer reports, a couple of years ago that the Mazda 3i with auto achieved the highest gas mileage of any non-CVT auto-tranny vehicle they had ever tested. I am leaning toward a 5-speed (manual) 3i Touring so that I can teach my son how to drive a manual tranny. He is practicing driving with my 89 MX6 GT with auto tranny right now. I have seen a nice Protege 5 for $9500 in the area, but I wasn't sure how much better the 3 is when compared to this car.

Of course, I'd love to get the speed3, but I doubt any dealer would honor my family discount "key" at this time and for this particular car. I can get the 3i Touring for invoice price with the discount.

Dave

 

The 3i would be fine for a new driver. The MTX on this car is very forgiving, and insanely easy to learn on so he shouldn't have any problems on that count. With the 3i I'd suggest getting the touring and adding the ABS/SAB/SAC package. The 3 got poor side crash test results without the side airbags, and if my child were to be driving a car I'd like them to be as safe as possible.

 

You must've read my mind! Yes, if I get the 3i, it will have the side air bags. I think it's a $395 option and well worth it, IMO. Unfortunately, there are few dealers that have more than one, but I guess I won't be too picky about the color. It's a shame that copper mica color has been discontinued. I think it's very unique.

 

I think the copper red was only available on the s trim anyway, so you'd be out of luck anyway. I think the only colors on the i in 2007 that I'd go for are the silver and gray. Nothing else really floats my boat.

And lava oragne is even cooler than copper red. :P

 

Lava red IS nice! I'm not sure about metallic reds, but plain red tends to get destroyed by UV rays. My other car is magnetic red (metallic) and I cover it every time I take it to work (3 times a week). The 3i Touring/side air bags I may be interested in is silver/black interior. Invoice is about 16K. I just found out yesterday that at least one dealership in my area is getting 1K over MSRP for the Mazdaspeed 3.