Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  The Best Car Ive ever owned - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By queenb - October 14 - 5:10 am

  I have always loved the Protege. This one has over 165k and is still going strong. Makes me say "zoom zoom" every time I go around a corner fast. Never had a problem with it, it has never been in the shop for anything other than routine care. Everything still works great. No electrical problems at all. Someone just hit it, how do I part with the best car ever?

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  Great little car - 1999 Mazda Protege
  By Pete - October 13 - 10:56 am

  I have always been a truck person, but bought this car to limit my annual mileage on my truck. This has been a great car that I bought cheaply with 87K on it. I changed the timing belt, and change the oil every 6K with synthetic. I now have 143K on it, and it runs better than when I bought it. I use it like a truck, and even have hauled my jetski with it. It just has a little trouble pulling it out of the lake but manages. It gets between 30 and 34 MPG with a mix of freeway and town driving. Its not the fastest for sure, but it is sufficient, except on big hills.

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  good, reliable, fun car - 2002 Mazda Protege
  By SPC protege - October 2 - 6:43 am

  I love my Protege. It might not be the fastest car, or strongest car out there, but you can still leave a lil Civic in the dust. Im into the tuner world and IÂ’m trying to do some modifications to it but itÂ’s hard to find parts for it and when I do find some aftermarket parts, they are really expensive. All in all it is a great, reliable, and fun car to have.

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  Good pick overall!! - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By jridg - September 29 - 10:00 am

  Ive had the ES over 2 1/2 years with apprx. 40,000 highway miles. Its a very responsive car and handles well on the highway and off. It has very good zip at the start and rides well, but bogs down as soon as the air conditioning goes on. As far as room, Im 62 and this is, by far, the roomiest small car Ive been in. It even has more space than the Honda Accord!

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  The Best Car I have Owned - 2002 Mazda Protege
  By mazdazoom22 - September 28 - 7:50 am

  Before buying this car, I had previously owned a Chevy Malibu & Chevy Cavalier (both stunk!). Ive had the car for 4 years now and have 30,000 miles and not one major thing had gone wrong with it. Power is better than a Honda, with more style and character for the price. Easy to keep clean with no major defects and comfort is the best that I can find. I wanted value for my money and even my husband agrees that this car is the best value out there. My only caution would be to watch out for used ones that belonged to rowdy teenagers who didnt upkeep the car and liked to rev the engine up as much as possible. I love this car!

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  Fuuunnn - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By HUGO - September 12 - 10:00 am

  I Just bought this car 3 weeks ago and already put 1500 miles on it by just driving the backroads.

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  I loved my car. - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By zachisawesome - August 30 - 1:06 am

  I bought this car in 2004 and kept it until this year when I unfortunately crashed it. It was a wonderfully reliable car in the 5 years I owned it. The battery failed once but I cleaned the alternator and it was back to charging just fine, and never failed again. Handled great except in rain, but that could have been tires and brakes getting old. Never had a problem with the CD player volume not working like some people have said. Interior and exterior was still holding up well. It only went into the shop once for regular maintenance though needed to go back for brakes and suspension. Definitely a much nicer car than my friends civics and corollas, and just as reliable. I loved this car

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  mazda has a winner - 2002 Mazda Protege
  By mazman - August 18 - 10:00 am

  my mazda dx protege kicks it, a nice little car that handles really nice. only time will tell if its going to be reliable. I heard of some engine viberations when cold but nothing else negative. if any one has more information please let me know. I have an auto and it does alright.

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  Stylish, fun to drive daily commuter - 1999 Mazda Protege
  By zitro1987 - August 15 - 10:16 pm

  Background: My parents bought the car in 1999 and I got ownership by mid- 2005. The car is still doing well but starting to show its age. Despite being intended as an economical vehicle with great mileage, it looks beautiful in green and has above average handling for its class, making driving a more enjoyable experience. The fun is enhanced by its features such as cruise control. Driving on hilly roads can be a bit of issue due to small engine but it was a needed sacrifice for better mileage. Reliability is rather average as the car needed some costly repairs during these eleven years.

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  This car makes me grin. - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By WriterGuy - August 9 - 10:00 am

  The protege is a blast to drive. Its chassis responses are smooth and quick, and the steering is nicely weighted. Only problems have been the EGR valve, which stuck and caused a stalling problem, the brakes, which tend to squeal (but stop amazingly well), and the clutch, which has some chatter in cold weather. My protege has 60k miles on it and still feels new.