I'm looking at used cars, I was wondering if anyone has a Protege5? I'm looking at these because I want a cheap hatch that can fit bikes in the rear easily (up to ~3) vs having a rack (not my preference).

Anyone done this? Hard to get 3 bikes with me to a test drive.

Don't know about that particular car but I look for 48" floor to ceiling. That's the key dimension because that's about what I need to stand a bike upright. Front-to-back, with the bike's front wheels off, you need around 4 1/2 to 5', I doubt side-to-side will be an issue. You can put the middle bike in first handlebar to the front or turn all three handlebars at an angle.

If you don't have 48" height, you'll have to get creative about tipping the bikes on their sides or something. When you start doing stuff like that, you can force feed 3 bikes into almost anything. Since you're buying a car with transporting bikes in mind, however, that would be a deal breaker for me.

I've had an '03 P5 since new. Maybe my favorite car ever, fun to drive, fast enough, 34mpg even with 170,000 miles on it and no major problems, though it feels now like the clutch master or slave cylinder is beginning to go...
My 64cm Atlantis goes in easily (front wheel off and rear seat folded down, of course). I think I could get two bikes in there with some judicious disassembly (my wife is only 5'1"), but I don't remember ever doing it. We have a trunk-mount rack we use for two, plus a cartop Yakima that carried four when our kids lived at home.
I just went out and looked, and you MIGHT be able to wedge three in there if you took off the wheels, maybe the saddles and rotated the handlebars. Not three the size of mine, though. And you'd have to carry the wheels in your lap.
No chance of standing anything up back there. I can't even do that in my pickup with camper shell.

Looks like the Protege morphed into the Mazda 3 around 2005. Mazda 5 microvan - based on Mazda 3 - seems sorta descended from the Protege5. Definitely more cargo room in the Mazda 5. I can easily lay one shortwheelbase recumbent in the back of ours - or one longwheelbase 'bent with some effort

Mazda 5 and Protege5 are completely different cars. The P5 is a hot rod station wagon (sorry, "five-door") version of the Protege sedan, discontinued I think in 2004. The Mazda 5 is a "crossover," whatever that means. Lots bigger.

Yep. Mazda 5 is more like a mini mini van, with sliding doors and such.

P5 are also really cheap right now, and the only other thing in that range is probably a Focus wagon. I like the Focus, but I see more Mazdas for sale, and I also have heard they are bulletproof.

Does that 64cm Atlantis go in upright? My biggest problem with shoving bikes into a car is that in a sedan if you lay them horizontal there are about 50 ways they get tangled (pedals, GR skewers, spokes, cables, etc).

The Honda Fit, for example, is a smaller car, but more space economical, and about 3x the price. I've fit 3 road bikes (upright, front wheels off and opposing eachother; 2 facing front, 1 facing rear in the middle) and 3 people comfortably.

If you must load two or more bikes on their sides stacked up put a quilt type packing cloth on top of each one. It prevents tangling and reduces the chances for damage. Concentrate on not damaging the rear derailers.

Yeah. A doubled up moving pad works well. Two is OK, and I do that fairly routinely. Three can get a bit tricky and precarious.

If three in the back were my requirement, I'd try to find a vehicle where I could stand the bikes upright with front wheel off and held in fork clamps attached to a board. The height requirement would be dictated by the resultant height of the saddle. Removing the saddle and seatpost is kind of a hassle but would significantly reduce the height required. Having to remove the seastposts routinely would be a showstopper as far as I'm concerned, but doing it only occasionally for special trips would be OK, IMO.

LOL this is the whole reason I made and the basic question I am asking in this topic.

Removing the saddle is no biggie, get a quick release, and put a band of electrical tape around to mark your height. Pops in and out as easy as the front wheel. I have a QR on my MTB because I change the saddle height sometimes depending on the terrain.