Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  very happy owner - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By wtkidd1972 - July 7 - 1:23 pm

  I bought this car without truly being interested in a Mazda Protégé, just interested in a small, inexpensive, economical way to get to work. I had never owned a Mazda before, but the Protégé seemed like exactly what I was looking for. Six years and 95,000 miles later my Protégé runs just as well as the day I brought it home, and is still just as fun to drive. All I do is keep up with oil changes, and keep putting new tires on it. I’ve replaced the brakes once. This car has been amazing. Would love get a the new Mazda 6, but find it hard to get rid of the Protege when it still feels like a new car.

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  A Great Purchase ! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By 1960vw - July 7 - 10:00 am

  A great little car with plenty of pickup! Very roomy for two adults front and two in back. Very good gas milage.

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  Mazda is sooo underrated! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By lonestar - June 1 - 10:00 am

  Purchased a leftover 2003...cant believe it was still on the dealer lot. Havent owned a Mazda in 14 years...and had forgotten what I was missing, obviously. Selected the Protege over the Civic and Corolla.

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  Will not be shopping for another Protege - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By jenna - April 13 - 3:36 am

  A few days ago, my Protege was completely totaled by another driver in a very minor accident. So, its durability is questionable. Within the first year of owning it, I had a reoccurring problem with moisture on the inside of the car. Whenever it would rain, wells in the trunk would fill with water with no drainage route. Windshield took forever to defrost/fog. In the winter ice would form on the inside of the windshield -not a fabulous prerequisite to my morning commute. The weather stripping began to peel from the passenger door, and the door handle became loose one winter. Also, the car would rattle whenever stopped in traffic.

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  A sport car in sheep clothing - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By MoreZoom - February 26 - 2:00 am

  Ive test-driven Toyota Matrix base, 2002 Honda Civic LX and Mazda LX (all auto as gf wanted) before my final purchase of this Protege LX. Base Matrix was $16,000 plus, Civic LX was $15,000 plus, Mazda LX was $14,880 b/f tax to me with alloy wheels. Man, price was the prime deciding factor at first. Then, after test drives, I found that the Matrixs 130 horses was not enough to move the 2800-plus lbs of the auto, Honda - Na! No torgue! Protege won with 135 torgue and 130 hp for its 2700 lbs for the auto. Man, the road-holding is great! Fun-to-drive little car!

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  Great Car - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Bryan Lipson - January 25 - 1:56 am

  Had my protege almost 1 year now and have enjoyed all the driving. Racked up 16000 miles on road trips and driving to work and has been clear sailing thus far. Milage is still improving on all types of driving averaging about 28mpg and I dont get too uncomfortable even after 6 hours of straight driving. Babied this car the whole way and it is built to last. Cant beat the deal they offered late in the model year. Moonroof, 6-disc, abs all great options on a bargain car. Solid driving on sunny days and very controllable on snowy streets.

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  Great Car - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Brian2001 - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Bought the ES for my wife in August 2001. She still loves the car. Kudos to Mazda for making the car inexpensive, but not cheap. The fit/finish are first rate. It only has 20,000 Km (she doesnt drive much). Only one problem so far - a blown main fuse that disabled the stereo and key fob. Other than that, this is a very easy car to live with. I love the 50 series rubber - this thing corners. The power is good, but not great - another 20 hp would be great. I find the pedals hard to heel/toe. To sum up, it is rommy, fun to drive, cheap to run small car.

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  Great driving car - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By owned2ofthem - January 3 - 10:00 am

  This is the second Protege Ive owned and they keep getting better. The reliability of this car is excellent, the handling is outstanding for a car in this class and the looks are sharp and stylish.

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  Sad To See Go... - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By tanner - November 24 - 8:23 am

  i had a 03 protege dx for about 5 years...would still have it but someone rear ended me and totaled it. pros- good gas mileage..great head on look...reliable cons- poor seal on windows lets water it...not alot to it so highway and windy driving can create some excitement...lots of whistling and humming noises come from the engine at around 60k miles.... put around 50k on this...not major repairs...replaced brake pads once...tires once...changed the oil...never stranded or failed on me...some minor issues but a solid car for the category.

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  Great little car! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By nmendell - November 4 - 2:00 am

  This was a step-down for me... from a Jeep Cherokee. The transition was easy. I got the 5-speed and glad I did. I miss the power, but with the manual shift, you have a little more control. Comfortable interior and great sound system.