New Whip: 2004 SRT-4

[pf0sh0]

Nice. What did you replace? Last pic gotta be Mt. Royal College, right?haha

[dj_rice]

Won't get as many MPG as ur Saab but nice nonetheless

[A790]

This car replaces a 2003 MazdaSpeed Protege that I bought just five weeks ago. There are many reasons for my choosing to get rid of the MZP, but the bottom line is that the SRT-4 was there at the right time... when I was quasi-interested but not really looking.

The MazdaSpeed Protege was a great car that got good fuel economy, had a bit of pick up (but not too much), and decent looks. It had under 74,000 km when I traded it in and definitely drove like it. I added a FMIC from Speedtech and it perked the car right up, making the MZP what it should have been from the factory.

But, all was not well with me.

The bottom line is that just about every car I had before it (the 2003 Saab 9-3 Vector, the 1991 MR2 Turbo, the 1995 Eagle Talon TSi AWD, the 1997 Eagle Talon TSi AWD, and so on) spanked THE HELL out of the MZP. The MZP got boring, FAST, and the more I researched the car the more I realized that it just wasn't for me: parts were expensive, nobody knew how to work on it, and not enough companies even bothered making anything for it.

So the SRT-4 happened to be around when I started thinking about finding something to replace it. Checked it out, Norman was a good guy and showed me the run of it. I'm pretty sure that was one of the easiest sales he ever had- I walked in, test drove the car, checked out his paperwork on it, and bought it.

So far the impression has been good. Compared to the MZP the SRT-4 has TORQUE. It pulls, hard, especially in 2nd and 3rd. This particular car is solid. Not a scratch on it.

And, with the availability of parts, I'm hoping I won't get bored of it too quickly. The MZP made it 6 weeks, the Saab made it 7 months. We'll see how long the SRT-4 lasts :P

EDIT: And yea, the pics were definitely taken at MRC

[jsn]

As long as you're happy with the car, who cares what other people think. It's definitely a quick car.

[ShermanEF9]

saw one of these on the side of the road today.

enjoy your neon!

[euro_racer]

good choice! the srt4 should deffinately be a far better car with better potential...and also to mention the mazdaspeed is known for having a very weak bottom end making it very sencitive to modifications (zoom zoom boom :p)...with that said, i still miss mine from time to time

[Aleks]

I actually looked at a couple of stock ones a few months back. What I liked about them was how cheap you could get one now. Like 10 grand for under 100K. Definatelly fun for the $.

[dj techsta]

fun lil cars. Hope u have some fun

[Sorath]

noooooooooooo cammmmmmm. lol pick up a stage 3 kit

[Jlude]

Congrats... love the seats in those things.

They're fun little cars.

[heavyD]

Another thing I found was that the paint on my 2005 was very durable compared to the waterbased garbage paint coming out of Japan plants.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by heavyD
Another thing I found was that the paint on my 2005 was very durable compared to the waterbased garbage paint coming out of Japan plants.

I noticed that as well, my cobalt had some tough paint vs the wrx

[Sorath]

honda and subaru have it the worse when it comes to paint

[Redlyne_mr2]

Nice car man congrats, give those oem wheels a quick spray with the gunmetal wheel paint, car will look nuts.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Sorath
honda and subaru have it the worse when it comes to paint

I totally agree but I'm going to throw in Mitsubishi as well. My wife's 2007 Outlander paint has held up well but the paint on my EVO does not inspire confidence.