Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Poor Gas Mileage - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By t - October 11 - 3:46 pm

  Reliable transportation, like others noticed that volume went down when trying to go up. Then one day the cd player just quit. Not really happy with gas mileage - noticed that right away after buying it - not at all like my Civic. I had to fill up every third day with the Mazda - every fourth with a Civic. I get about 26 mpg.

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  Love my Protege! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Newcombe - October 5 - 10:00 am

  Its true! This is a really great car! We purchased the car primarily as our "Getting to the Train" car, but its so much fun to drive, we use it on the weekends too! Much "zippier" and more reliable than our VW Jetta. Better gas mileage, stereo and seats, too!

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  5 speed zip - 2002 Mazda Protege
  By stude30 - October 5 - 10:00 am

  I was at the dealer too look into purchasing a PT Cruiser. The maroon Protege was sitting on the showroom floor with a spoiler and regular wheels (not aluminum). It was a left over with all options except the wheels,sunroof and automatic. I drove the car and bought it as it handled fantatastically and had much more zip than a PT Crusier. My wife and I both love a manual trans. The gas mileage is around 28.7 in combined driving. The 130 HP four could use maybe 10-15 more horses as you have too wind it up to keep up with traffic from a light.

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  Almost Perfect - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Donilee - September 22 - 2:00 am

  I was very happy with my buying experience, with the dealership, from the salesman, to the service manager. I expected better gas mileage, but it gets about 28 or 29 mpg. Even on the open road it only gets 30 mpg if the a/c is off. It is very comfortable, and has ample room for elbows, etc. That was a big deal to me. It still looks like a new car, even after six months. It handles very well. If you want alot of get up and go, it is not as good as some others maybe, but it has enough for me.

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  Frequently overlooked - 1999 Mazda Protege
  By status - September 20 - 2:00 am

  Great little car with personality thats also painless to own. Comfortable and roomy, great ergonomics, nice styling. I bought the car over a Civic because Mazda got all the basics right for $1500 less. Its a completely underrated car.

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  Not for the over 50 drivers - 2002 Mazda Protege
  By elymae - September 20 - 2:00 am

  If youre looking for a lot of zoom, zoom, the 2002 Mazda Protege is the car for you. Excellent performance, sharp on turns, fast and sporty. Roomy interior with plenty of leg room, however, the seats are too hard and not very comfortable, and the suspension is too tight, making for a very uncomfortable ride. If you dont mind a rough ride, this sports car is a good choice in the mid priced compact sedans.

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  MP3 - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By philjessiann - September 3 - 2:00 am

  I love my MP3. I handles as well or better than any car that I have drive including corvette, camaro, prelude, integra type R. It it is definately sufficient in power but could use more. Biggest drawback is that it has no cruise! But all in all you cant beat the sound system, reliability, handling and fun to drive factor.

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  peoteges rock - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By vsesoulchild - September 3 - 2:00 am

  this car is a very good car, since i bought it i have enjoyed driving it. i never went to get a protege ES but thats is what i ended up with. i was going for that MP3. but now i like the ES much much better.

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  Great Car for the $$ - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By fasteddie - September 3 - 2:00 am

  I have 37,000 mile on my Protoge ES, no problems yet! Fun to drive, and biggest bang for your buck back then. I like Mazda cars, this is my third, my forth was a Tribute that my wife drives. I used to be a loyal Honda fanatic, (I had 4 Honda/Acura cars)but after experiencing what Mazda had to offer at a more reasonable price, I defected to the Mazda ranks. I am looking forward to the new mazda6 as my next car, although I might wait for the hatch.

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  A Fun to Drive Bargain - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By Flying_M - August 24 - 3:53 pm

  I bought my Protege in 2001 near the end of the season. I really enjoy driving this car. It holds the road well and is really fun to drive. I love the slick shifting 5 speed manual and the steering response. It has decent acceleration for a 2.0 liter and can really be thrown into corners. The interior space is a little smaller than some competitors and the seats are not comfortable for long trips. The only two complaints I have are the tires and CD player. The original tires wore too quickly (30k) and did not grip as well as the replacements do. The LCD on the CD players is sometimes missing pieces of numbers, making it hard to read. This happened after it was out of warranty.