Good morning! We’re continuing our decade-by-decade salute to stickshifts with a couple of cars from the days of Dubya and dubstep, the decade that gave us both American Idol and American Dad. (All that makes it sound a lot worse than it was, now that I think of it.) And both of today’s cars feature something that fascinated TV audiences for a while: a hatch.
We looked at a pair of ’90s convertibles yesterday, and I thought you’d all be happy with the choices. I mean, a V8 Mustang and a Miata? Both with sticks? There is no wrong choice here. From the sounds of the comments, it came down to condition, and for once, Miata was not the answer, by more than a two-to-one margin.
I agree, for what it’s worth. That Mustang is about as nice of an SN95 as I’ve seen for quite a while, at least for that price. Besides, I’ve already done the scruffy Miata thing. I had a lot of fun with it, but I don’t need to do it again. I have never had a Mustang, however, nor any V8/manual combination in any car, and I think that ought to be remedied someday.
I never quite understood America’s distaste for hatchbacks. Elsewhere in the world, they’re the most common bodystyle of car by far, and for good reason: they’re practical as hell. But Americans too often insist on turning small cars into three-box sedans with a separate trunk, making them both uglier and less practical. I guess nowadays, hatchbacks are OK as long as you put black plastic fender flares on them and call them “crossovers”?
There was a moment in the 2000s, though, when some really great hatchbacks were available here, in sporty trims that made them nice and fun to drive. They’re getting scarce in most places due to rust, but you can still find them in less-salty locales. Let’s look at a couple of them.
2002 Hyundai Elantra GT – $2,900
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Bothell, WA
Odometer reading: 229,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I had forgotten, until I started researching this car, that this is actually the third generation of Hyundai Elantra. I remembered the round blobby model that preceded it, but not the bland little box that was produced from 1990-94. Can’t picture it? Yeah, I’m not surprised. Honestly, it’s not until this third generation that the Elantra was worth thinking about at all. I guess you could say it’s a late bloomer.
This is the GT model, in five-door hatchback form. It’s got the same 2.0 liter engine as other US-market Elantras, but it includes leather seats, stiffer suspension, and some other sporty bits. The engine puts out a respectable-for-the-time 134 horsepower to the front wheels through a five-speed manual. Back in the days of lightweight economy cars, that was enough for some fun. This Elantra has had a lot of fun, 229,000 miles worth, all from a single owner. It runs and drives well, and comes with maintenance records.
The ad is a little short on interior photos, but from this view, it looks pretty good inside. The fake leather of the shifter boot has disintegrated, but that can be replaced; my wife made me a new boot for my Miata’s gearshift back when I had it, using the old one as a pattern. Tellingly, the left bolster of the driver’s seat isn’t shown in the photo, and I bet there’s a hole there. That’s where all high-mileage cars show wear, from both the seatbelt rubbing on it, and from the driver sliding in and out.
I like this dark blue color, and it looks rust-free, but it’s not without flaws. There’s a pretty good wrinkle in the right-rear door, right by the handle, and it looks like one side-marker light is held in place by clear packing tape. Surprisingly, though, it’s shiny everywhere that we can see; it’s not shedding clear coat like most twenty-year-old cars. Someone took care of this one.
2003 Mazda Protege5 – $3,750
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Coronado, CA
Odometer reading: 190,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Mazda Protege is another car with a boring predecessor; the BH-chassis Protege was a pretty forgettable car. This generation, based on Mazda’s BJ platform, was a lot more fun, especially after 2001 when Mazda made the 130-horsepower FS-DE engine standard across the range in the US. I had a 2002 Protege, the basic DX model, and loved it – though I always had a little bit of buyer’s remorse that I didn’t spend a little more for one of these.
The Protege5, introduced in 2001, marked the return of a wagon (at least I think it counts as a wagon) to Mazda’s small car lineup after twelve years, and also marked the start of Mazda’s dumb naming scheme with no space between the name and model number. This one is a two-owner car, and has lived in southern California all its life, so it has escaped the rusty fate of so many Mazdas of this era. It runs and drives well, and the seller says it has “many recent parts,” but doesn’t elaborate.
This ad is also lacking in interior photos, but it looks good from what I can see. The Protege5 came in only one trim level, roughly equivalent to the fancy ES trim of the sedan, with power windows and locks and whatnot all standard. It has cloth seats in really nice shape, and also comes with the original owner’s manual and window sticker, which is usually a good clue that a car has been well maintained. You don’t keep that stuff if you don’t care about the car.
Outside, it’s nice and straight, but the seller says it has been parked outside, and it has the sun-scorched paint to show for it. But just try finding a Protege5 this clean anywhere in the Midwest – you just won’t. The “Zoom-Zoom” sticker on the back window is a nice touch – Mazda was giving those out at dealerships back then. I might still have one somewhere.
Both of these are a good blend of fun and practicality. They won’t replace a proper sports car, of course, but they’ll haul a lot more stuff home from IKEA or Costco than you can fit in a Miata or an S2000, and they’re way more fun to drive than an Explorer or a Highlander. It’s a good compromise. You can still find vehicles this size and shape, more or less, but they no longer come with rev-happy twin-cam engines and five-speed sticks. And that, in my opinion, makes these better. Which one strikes your fancy?
(Image credits: sellers)
A friend years ago had a yellow Protoge5 with a stickshift. It was an awesome car to drive. #slowcarfast
Ive got some memories of both of these vehicles.
The PR5 I actually had 2 and they were really fun, tossable cars. No power but as a 17 year old, probably for the better. Great gas mileage, like a Miata in the sense you could rag on it and still be doing under the speed limit so not going to get into a ton of trouble and could fit a ton of crap in it with the seats lowered.
I do believe they had more trim levels if memory serves me right. I had a black one with chrome wheels and black leather and a sunroof.
Buddy in high school had one of the Elantra GT’s and he made this ridiculously jerry rigged triple intake on it with a double cold air intake under the hood and a roof mounted intake just behind the windshield. Don’t really remember how he got that into the engine bay but he did it somehow.
My money is on that Protege5. I would still take one today in a heartbeat.
The one new car I’ve ever purchased was actually the 2001 Hyundai Elantra GT with a 5-speed.It was actually a great little car for the time, and a solid bargain. It did have some quality issues, and the dealer support sucked, but I thoroughly enjoyed driving it. That being said, I have had four Mazdas – that Elantra got traded in on a lightly used 2001 Miata after about 6 years of ownership. I do miss it sometimes, which seems a mighty strange thing to say about a Hyundai of that era.
After I sold my 1991 Honda CR-X Si to a kid in Wisconsin (who was STOKED it had next to no rust) I bought a brand new 2004 Elantra GT. I put 197,000 miles on it over 9 years. Aside from a clutch that was starting to slip when I sold the car, it was extremely reliable. In fact, this is the car on which I developed my extremely limited wrenching skills (brakes, struts, fuel pump). It was very easy to service. I had wanted the brand-new Protege replacement, the Mazda3, but it was out of my financial reach at the time. I eventually replaced the Elantra with a 2013 Civic Si (a MUCH better car).
That Hyundai is *shockingly* nice looking for an ancient Hyundai with 230K miles on it. It has to be the nicest one left on the planet that isn’t in Hyundai’s own collection.
On the other hand, those turds are about as much fun as a case of the clap, so I will go for the Zoom-Zoom all day every day. Those things were pretty great until they dissolved.
I got a used 2007 Protege5, unfortunately with the auto, and I have fond memories of it. Got me through college, only real repair was a dead alternator. A friend had the 5 speed and it’s definitely an improvement on the fun factor.
I loved my new 2002 P5 back in the day, such a fun little car… shame they all disintegrated here in salt-spreading Canukistan.
An ex had one of those Hyundais. What an atrocious POS with stuff like the weatherstripping falling out of the window frames at about half the mileage this one has managed by some miracle. The control arms broke on her in traffic from rust. Luckily not on the highway. Ended up being a recall. Cheap, shitty junk with no redeemable feature.
The Mazda is also a miracle car, but only for not having rotted away 10 years ago. Even if it was rusted just a hair above being able to pass inspection, I’d still pick it.
I’ll add my vote to the Mazda, like a few others here I owned one for a long time, from new in 2002 until 2017. Here in Australia they don’t rust like the US ones seem to (no road salt helps!), it had almost 300,000km on it when I sold it and still looked great and drove amazingly. Kept the regular maintenance up and had zero issues, it was even still on its original clutch.
Drove that thing from the south to the far north of Australia more than once. It was a blast over roads such as the Great Alpine Rd in Victoria. Loved that car.
Last year I decided to do a search on the VIN and look up where it ended up. I shouldn’t have 🙁 RIP little buddy.
Yeah, definitely Mazda Zoom! Zoom!
This one will be a lot of fun.
Hyundai sucks
Public Service Announcement: Please, any readers from the Great Lakes region, do not look at the pictures of the Protege. Just looking at it on the internet will cause a chemical reaction between oxygen and the body.
Mazda.
Nothing wrong with the Hyundai apart from the fact that it’s going up against a better car that’s more fun to drive.