Owners' Stories

Love my MP5. But agree with other reviewer... lots of rust starting to form. I live in MA and we get brutal winters. Other than that, great car. Had to put some money for basic things like brakes, battery, rotors and exhaust is on the horizon too, but you have to expect that once you get to 100,000 miles. It's at 135,000 miles and still going strong. I think it can go to 200,000. Not a bad deal for 7,000 bucks.

Likes: Handling is phenomenal. Quickest handling car I have ever driven and as a vehicle test engineer I drive LOTS of different cars. Fuel economy is adequate. Interior/eterior styling fit and finish is very good. Love the way it looks. Reliability has been overall very good. This is my 2nd small sport wagon and I love the utility. Mine is fully loaded with sunroof, leather, 6 CD changer, ABS, etc.. etc.. AND a 5 speed manual. This is a very inexpensive car to buy and own. I paid $11.5k for mine with 22k mis on it. Original sticker was over $19k. Dislikes: DO NOT BUY THIS CAR if you live in an area with real winter and salt on the roads. It will rust everywhere. The corrosion resistance of Mazdas is absolutely the worst in the industry. Car is geared very low so it really winds out the engine at 70 MPH which hurts the economy and makes a lot of engine noise. This car should have had a 6 speed. Power could be more, 108 BHP is just not enough. Ride quality is stiff but that gets the good handling. Overall I would not buy this car again because of the rust issue. Mine is a 2002 and the rear wheel wells are almost rusted through and I have seen this on almost every other MP5 in my area. (SE Michigan). I probably won't buy another Mazda unless I can afford a "winter" car also.

I love how this car handle..!!