![]() ![]() Mazda anticipates that two-thirds of the 3's projected 70,000 annual sales in North America will go to the more conservative sedan, essentially a scaled-down version of the Mazda 6 four-door. Cargo capacity, on the other hand, has improved, and like the Protegé5, the five-door version of the 3 includes hatchback cargo versatility, thanks to its folding rear seatbacks. Although rear-seat legroom has improved, a cross-car structural beam encroaches on rear footroom, negating, to some degree, the other volumetric increases. Height remains about the same at 57.7 inches, but width has been expanded two inches, from 67.1 to 69.1, and there's a corresponding gain in front and rear track dimensions: 60.2/59.6 inches for the 3 versus 57.7/57.9 for the Protegé5.Īll the foregoing should add up to a roomier interior, and it does-with one significant proviso. At 176.6 inches, the new five-door is 6.1 inches longer than the Protegé5. The wheelbase, common to both body styles, has been stretched to 103.9 inches, 1.1 inches longer than the Protegé and among the longest in this class, a plus in the ride department. Both are bigger than their corresponding numbers from the Protegé lineup. Like the Protegé, the 3 is offered in two body styles, a formal four-door sedan and a five-door hatch such as our test subject here. The electrohydraulic power rack-and-pinion steering system is accurate and quick at 2.8 turns lock-to-lock, and the all-disc brake system has bigger rotors, vented up front, and augmented, in our test car, by anti-lock, which is optional. Like the Protegé, the 3 is supported by struts up front, but there's a new multilink setup at the rear, similar to the system in use on the mid-size Mazda 6. After living with our test car for a week, we have no reason to doubt this assertion. This is an all-new car on a new platform, 40 percent stiffer than the Protegé's body shell, according to Mazda. The exuberant teenager is gone, replaced by a hip young adult. Although it responds to driver commands as promptly as its predecessor did-more so, in fact-the puppyesque playfulness of the Protegé has given way to a more serious demeanor that's more purposeful, polished, and substantial. The 3 dances to more sophisticated music. Light on its feet and eager to please, the Protegé prevailed against cars with more power and, arguably, better value because of its high fun-to-drive index. What is surprising, though, is the character change that marks the transition from Protegé to 3. That's not a huge surprise, since the 3's predecessor, the Protegé, scored top marks in three successive compact free-for-alls ("Little Cars 6.1," June 2000 " Boxes, Size Small," June 2002 " Double-Dip Dreamboats," November 2002). Car is now in Nevada away from salt.Aside from corporate hot rods such as Ford's SVT Focus, compact transportation appliances don't ordinarily generate much of a blip on the collective EKG trace around here. The exhaust rusted apart just after the downpipe so it's a little loud but fixing that means a full exhaust replacement. There is now a hole in the back seat floorboard from rust and the seat belt mechanism broke - replaced with junk yard piece. Still runs great, which means in over 155k miles it has never had a mechanical problem. 16 years later, it's now the teenager's car. Repaired the hood and front-end plastics myself summer 2019. Hopefully it doesn't cost too much because this car still has LOTS of useful life in it. I have not had an estimate for repairs yet, but the hood is crumpled, the grille is gone and headlights smashed, but the fenders seem OK. Shortly after 150,000, my son rear-ended another car. It runs perfectly - if it wasn't for rust, it would look and work very much like new. Both passenger side electric locks no longer work. Still no mechanical problems or break-downs. Rust wreaks havoc on these cars, though not as bad as some other cars. The timing belt et al has been changed and the car continues to run great. The worst thing on it by far is the rust in the rear fender wells.Īfter 105,000 miles, everything else still works great.Īt 150,000, I've replaced the right rear strut because it rusted apart. The passenger side electric door lock stopped working at about 50,000 miles. The sway bar bushings wore out at 85,000 miles and the tubing to the mass air flow sensor cracked, but a redneck duct tape fix still works. It's been a great car, extremely reliable and is still fun to drive. I bought my 2003 Protege ES new based on handling and ride - and looks. ![]()
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