Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  The most reliable/most boring car ever. - 1999 Mazda Protege
  By J. Victor - January 11 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned and driven this car going into my 3rd Michigan winter, and aside from routine oil changes and brake maintanence, have had ZERO problems with this car. Its been a rock solid little go-kart. Its also totally boring. I might think higher of it with a splash of color (as mine is silver with grey interior), and it has no fun toys to speak of (typical PW/PL/cruise) but I can count on it to run and run well. Engine still has some zoomzoom even after 170K miles. Very impressed with this things longevity.

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  This car needs a soul - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By icantdrive55 - January 7 - 2:00 am

  This is a good car for everyday driving, however it wont do much more than that. Whenever you need that extra oomph there is nothing there, and downshifting hardly does anything but make more noise. Overall it is a good car but it just seems to be lacking, maybe that ES would be better or even the new MazdaSpeed. I just wish it had some character to stand out from the rest of the everyday commuters.

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  Love it. - 1999 Mazda Protege
  By mazdalove - January 6 - 9:50 am

  Ive been with this car for 10 years. My parents bought it brand new and now its been in my ownership for a year now. Its been 10 years, and it is a great car. Its reliable and totally affordable. Fuel economy is great for the age of the car and it makes a great family car too. All in all, it is a nice car :)

• 

  Mazdas worst car. - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By thejackal86 - December 26 - 8:46 pm

  The transmission went out early on, which started a chain reaction of other problems months to follow. This car was nothing more than a money pit and certainly not one worth investing in. Ive replaced just about everything in the car besides the engine, which I hear is something Mazda actually does fairly well. I ended up finally trading the car in at around 153k miles. It seems like a lot, but not considering maintenance costs. In addition to the reliability issues, the interior was cheap and started to literally fall apart. Poor mpg as well. The only positive thing I can say about the car is that it was kind of fun to drive and had nice acceleration. It felt like a go-kart.

• 

  Maza vs. Subaru - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Matt - December 22 - 11:03 pm

  My wife drives the Mazda and I drive the Subaru. She loves it. Only issue so far - passenger window fell off the track. This vehicle comes with a 50,000 mile warranty. Dealer fixed it, no hassle. I raced my wife one time off the line with our 2000 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (165hp). She won! but not by much =). Weve been very pleased with this car. Never bought Mazda before, happy we did. Would definitely buy Mazda again.

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  Classy - 2002 Mazda Protege
  By Racer1978 - December 20 - 7:50 am

  I bought this car to replace my old 2002 Toyota Celica GT (engine went at 19,000mi). I had looked at other cars, namely the Audi A4 but decided against it due to high maintainence costs. Then I looked at this 2002 Mazda Protege ES which provided a BMW like driving experience along with an attractive, sporty interior/exterior. I have had this car almost 7 months; there have been no problems whatsoever. Which is suprising since I learned to drive standard on this car. You would think all the bucking, stalling and over revving would have damaged it, I guess not. The car is as strong as ever *knock on wood.* Great car for the money.

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  my new ESSA - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Curt1962 - December 14 - 10:00 am

  Overall, a very fine small car. I miss a stronger A/C that a V6 would provide. The handling is excellent and the ride is just firm enough to feel the road, but not so rough that my wife cant sleep while I am driving. The exterior design is sharp! I really like the 4 year/50,000 mile warranty also. I have a lot of faith in the Protege so I dont expect to use the warranty, but it provides peace of mind. This is the only new car I have ever bought that I have not had to take back to the dealer several times right away for minor stuff. Built solid!

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  Great car for the most part - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By bond_fanatic18 - December 9 - 7:31 am

  My dad bought a gold 01 Protege brand new when I was a kid. It was never driven much, mainly used as a backup car. When I got my licence it was my ride to high school and in general as I hated driving my mothers van. I drove it for a year before my dad traded it for a 2012 Honda CR-V. It did its job fine, got me to school and back without fuss, was fun to drive with the 5-speed and great on gas. The only problem I had was the alternator crapping out in the middle of the freeway and I had to have it towed. Apart from that it was pretty reliable. Id recommend it, just watch out for rust problems and keep it to a meticulous maintenance schedule. Also not the best car to learn stick on.

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  Awesome Little Car - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Flaming Moe - November 19 - 10:00 am

  This is a great little Car. I tried all of the other cars in its class, and I found this in a league of its own. I cant believe that some people buy a Cavalier over this little gem. You are getting half the car!!!

• 

  Great car - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By jonrpatrick - November 12 - 2:00 am

  After 15 years of pontificating the vices of japanese cars, I finally gave up on my slow, unrefined, unreliable american cars and bought this Mazda. Ill never look back. This car is rock-solid and after my first year, I still look forward to driving it (unlike my american cars of yore!) The Protege is a blast to drive (lots of zoom-zoom), handles great, and is pretty peppy when you dig into the gas. Its also roomy, with a fantastic interior (Mazda is making the best interiors in the business right now!!) and refinement, refinement, refinement.