The Mazdaspeed holds up pretty good. It does have some issues though that you should think about. The LSD tends to go out because Mazda decided not to weld it in 4 places. You can get it welded if you want but as long as you dont beat on the car with burnouts and such you should be fine. Another thing you have to remember is that the motor was not meant for boost. Because of this people have popped motors, even at stock boost, when boosting in 5th gear. It is a very rare occurance but it has happend. I really don't have a need to boost in 5th because 4th will take me up past 100 and I rarely feel the need to go much faster.

Really its a good, fun car to drive and looks pretty damn good if you ask me. If you go for the Mazdaspeed you can get two different body styles, theres the 03 (what you posted pictures of and what I have) and then the 03.5 which has a different front lip, rear lip, wing, shift knob, pedals. It also came in different colors than the 03. Definately check out msprotege.com mostly everyone there is very helpful.