Regarding the starting acceleration, I am not suprised that a Ford F-150 has more acceleration off the line- what do you expect with a V-8?

I have to agree with the last comment, you can't compare the acceleration of an f150 to a 130hp engine that you would see in a Toyota Corolla - it's an economy car not a boat puller. Even a v6 f150 would have much more torque and acceleration than this 4cyl. What a horrible comparison.

I've owned my 2003 Protege5 for 2 years now. Its been my first Mazda and will definitely be my last. I use the vehicle primarily for travel for work putting about 50,000 miles per year on it. This was the main reason I purchased a Mazda, for the "supposed" reliability. After 64,000 miles (14,000 miles out of warranty),I had to put over $7,000 into replacing the motor due to severe internal damage with the rods and pistons. Before that I had to replace 3 faulty sensors/solenoids on the transmission, cooling system & cruise control. It's now been about a year since the engine replacement and after hearing noises from the transmission, I stopped at the local AAmaco to see what the diagnosis was - another $1400 to rebuild the trans. The car just rolled over a 100,000 miles and has had ALL the regular maintenance recommended by the manufacturer, which for a Mazda, I thought this was an average amount of miles to have on it. You would think with all these issues I might have a "lemon". I thought the same thing, but unfortunately, Mazda did not see it that way. I purchased the car for around $16,000 new with only (5 miles) on the odometer when it rolled off the lot. I have since put over $10,000 into it between regular maintenance and REPAIRS. That amount kind of puts a damper on the "good gas mileage" it gets. No more Mazdas for me thanks!