MAZDA PROTEGE MP3 PLUS
MAZDA PROTEGE MP3 SERIES

The appeal of the car mainly comes from the special cosmetics, interior upgrades, unique wheels, spiffy stereo, and 'Factory Special Edition' cachet.

MAZDA PROTEGE MP3 PLUS

IMHO the MP3 is the Protege equivalent of the M-Edition Miata, plus handling upgrades. OTOH I'm not sure that these parts are still available thru Mazda now that they're no longer selling the Protege, but the shocks were Tokicos that are now available through the aftermarket, and you can probably pick up the springs and swaybars on Fleabay. :)ДЇWIW Mazda used to sell every piece of the MP3's and later the MSP's suspension out of their Protege accessory catalog.

So I guess you're point is to get a 'regular' ES Protege and beef up the suspension? And maybe add a few things to make the engine breathe easier? I wouldn't mind doing that either. Furthermore, the fastest N/A 3rd-gen Protege is the 99-00 1.8L ES although it's rated at 122 hp, it only dynos 3-4 FWHP different than the '130 hp' 2.0L engine (see above), and the car weighs ~120 lbs less than a 01+ Protege in equivalent trim (~200 lbs less than an MP3), due mostly to rubbery sound-deadening goop slathered all over the 01+ cars to reduce road noise. The bottom line is that the MP3 really isn't any faster than a regular Protege. Regular 01+ 2.0L Proteges seem to run out of breath at high RPM, and I've been told that the MP3 isn't any different, just louder. The only things that are different with the MP3' engine are a mild intake, mild exhaust, and a special ECU. Second, many Protege enthusiasts doubt whether the MP3 really delivers the rated 140 hp- dyno tests have shown that the regular 01+ 2.0L engine's '130 hp' rating is a bit on the optimistic side. First, keep in mind that the MP3 is slightly heavier (~70 lbs) than the garden-variety Protege ES due to the ground effects, spoilers, fancy stereo, etc. Yes, they handle well, but they're slightly underpowered at 140hp. They only made like 3,000 MP3s, half blue and half yellow. Keep in mind that the MSP has an LSD, while the MP3 does not, and this will have some effect on the handling. The MSP's suspension is mildly stiffer than the MP3's. I believe that the MP3 and the MS Protege have similar if not the same suspension so they should handle similarly. The Protege has now moved up on the list of possible OTM's. 5 speed, peppy, handled very well, very solid and tight, and it seemed like it would be a very utilitarian substitute for the soon to be gone Grand Cherokee.

I also recently drove a 2002 Protege 5 and was very impressed. I'm curious if the MazdaSpeed Protege's handling is up to par with the MP3, because a guy here at work has one that I think I can get for a reasonable price. They can be had for some reasonable money on the used market and I am now seriously leaning toward one. Just thought I would share with the forum. I must admit that it keeps some pretty impressive company in this article.ДЄnyway. Then low and behold I came across this article in Road & Track where it was as one of the top 8 best handling cars. Sort of a predecessor to the MazdaSpeed Protege, a factory tuner car if you will, that was ostensibly built around the fact that it had an MP3 player in it, with the added bonus that the suspension was tweaked by Racing Beat. While searching Autotrader I came across a Mazda Protege MP3.

Not a bad SUV by the way, but I want something smaller, more fun to drive and more efficient as a daily driver.ДЄnyhoo.

MAZDA PROTEGE MP3 SERIES

Various smaller and sporty cars from the BMW 3 series to the Mazda Protege and Protege 5 and all kinds of things in between in anticipation of finally ridding myself of the '04 Grand Cherokee. I have been doing quite a bit of researching, pricing, test driving, etc.

Mazda protege mp3