Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Great Looking and FUN! - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By westports94 - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Ive only had it a day, but this car is FUN! The P5 should be gaining in popularity since others, besides the 20- somethings to which its being marketed, are starting to discover it: hatchbacks are practical at any age. I gave up on my 1988 Civic hatch that I loved. I missed it, but not anymore. P5 is definitely an upgrade in handling, hp, looks, goodies. A sportyish ride, but reasonablely tame. Mostly it just feels like it wants to go, and begs to take corners. A short test drive did it for me. Compared to Acura RSX, which was too sporty for me (too low, no adult-height back seat), the P5 is more fun for thousands less. Looks GREAT, gets peoples attention... a test drive makes the sale.

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  Zoom Zoom Zoom - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By izoomzoom - July 26 - 3:10 pm

  Gotta love that catchy little tune. It looked good so I test drove it. Got a pretty good deal and I needed to go from 12 MPG to 30 MPG since my commute changed. Needs more power and the stock tires really stink. I had a Miata and had great success with Toyo Proxes 4s so I got a set of Proxes FZ4s for this and theyre great. Snow/rain/bone dry all very good and no slippage. Fun car to drive even in traffic. May consider the M3 if they do a hybrid when this car goes.

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  We Luv our Maz - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Chris - March 30 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car from new - 3 years and 40,000 miles ... nothing has gone wrong with it. Everything about it feels just right. Great for zooming around town but the often quoted lack of power is only noticed out on open country roads. Forget about the automatic - you just have to have the manual shift to get the most fun out of this car - it loves to rev. Love the looks from the front but never really got used to the hatchback end (ps. its not a wagon). Problems: clutch judder when cold but it hasnt got any worse since new, slightly gruff noise from engine for the first minute in the morning, stock Goodyears were very prone to potentially lethal aquaplaning.

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  High Mileage and Reliable - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Limric - August 30 - 4:06 pm

  I purchased my Protege5 as a new model after doing considerable research. I found it to have more features for the dollar than any of the competition. After 120,000 miles, it has been almost bullet proof. The only issue has been warping front brake rotors. Coming from an amateur racing backround I can say that it handles as well as cars costing 10s of thousands of dollars more and consistently get 34 mpg to boot. The only thing I wish it had more of is horsepower.

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  Great for the kids - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By dcbruin - April 23 - 2:10 am

  Bought this car for my new drivers and I have been very happy. So far, its been reliable and served them well. Great extras and good handling make it a fun car to drive. Lots of room for stuff too. The stiff suspension takes some getting use to. Its not a cushy ride at all. For going back and forth to school its great !

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  Zoom-Zoom - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Predator - March 16 - 2:00 am

  probably the most versitile, enonomical, fun-to-drive car on the market. Right at home in bumper-to- bumper traffic or carving up the twisties on a country road.

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  Protege5: Good, not great - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By rdcasey - March 9 - 10:00 am

  I had a 99 VW Jetta before buying this. Especially for longer distances, cant beat the Jetta for comfort, style and fun. The Protege5 is a great looker, but doesnt have the nice interior touches (lighting, seats, Monsoon stereo, materials) of the Jetta. Its MUCH lighter everywhere (doors, panels) and doesnt have the heavy, German clunk feel of the Jetta. The Jettas ride is much smoother...the Protege5 is tuned to feel the road - a bit too much - but it does corner great. But so did the Jetta.

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  P5 Good but Not Great - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By rbb4u - December 19 - 10:00 am

  Its fun, nimble, great value, but as predicted, signficantly underpowered with wind and road noise near limit. Periodic 1st gear (when cold-up to 5min)clutch slip (which, naturally, dealer cant replicate) is crazy making. Gets lot of attention - even in upscale sections of LA where seeing 10 SL500s a day is norm. Hope MAZDASPEED stuff is affordable. Thats next.

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  Sweet suspension - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By cdnt48 - November 7 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned more than 30 new cars (mostly sporty) and this is the second- best handling car after my Toyota MR2

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  Great Car, Terrible Electrical System - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Alison - November 6 - 10:13 am

  After looking at all the other cars in this category (subaru outback, toyota matrix, ford focus), I chose the Mazda Protege 5. It seemed like the best-made car of my choices. I also heard Mazda a good reputation for reliability and service. I enjoyed my car a great deal for the first year, but then I started to experience electrical trouble. If my car sits for more than 2-3 days, the battery is dead the next time I try to drive it.