Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Never Again! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By elyarne7 - January 12 - 9:41 am

  I bought this car with 29,000 miles on it. That was 3 years ago. It now has 90,000 miles on it. It has only had problem after problem - battery, multiple wheel bearings, tire links, brakes, alternator. The alignment is easily messed up. The car is not well made - its cheap, lightweight and already starting to rust. Its a money pit. Do not buy it! Oh, and my Mazda is the automatic, not 5-speed standard.

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  Last Mazda For Me! - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Lamrin - April 2 - 4:43 pm

  This was my first new car. I regret the purchase. I should have gotten a Corolla. Gas mileage is a joke for a small 1.6L auto. I had the rad replaced twice under warranty. At 3 yrs I noticed rust on the bottom front passenger side door. I now have rust inside both rear wheel wells (winters are harsh where I live). AC no longer works and never blew very cold. CD player is extremely finicky. Sometimes it plays, sometimes not. I think it might be related to temperature and humidity. Volume goes up when turning it down. The OD button doesnt work anymore. Some dash lights in the tach are blown. The car is very reliable. Its never broken down on me. I like the interior and trunk space.

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  It held up...but.. - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Jussy_in_NJ - November 11 - 8:50 pm

  This car held up. I bought it with 68,000 miles on it. While it held up it had terrible handling. And the noises it made were embarrassing and ridiculous. It constantly sounded like it was dying. I never had this car stall and I drove about 40 miles to and from work daily. But if your looking for a nice car thats going to be a quiet ride.. this isnt for you.

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  The 1990-1994 Proteges are better - 2001 Mazda Protege
  By ProtegeOwner - April 22 - 10:00 am

  The new Mazda Proteges are ok...but they are way underpowered. I have a 1994 DX which is a 1.8L SOHC 4 cylinder. My SOHC engine, which is only 103hp just right out murders the 1.6L DOHC engine thats in the new Proteges. I was very disappointed in the 1.6L when I test drove it. That engine had no pep or pick up at all. Whats with all that Zoom Zoom talk when the new Proteges do not have any?!?!. The First Generation Proteges are far better than the new ones.

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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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  What happened? - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By buzz - March 28 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car new at the end of the model year. Just got it out of the shop, again. This is the second time in 1 1/2 years that the fuel injector had to be replaced. Both times I took the car in for repairs, it took a while to diagnose the problem. Overall the drive is clean. Only major complaint is inadequate power for acceleration when merging on the highway or driving up a hill (especially if the air conditioner is on--then you can forget it!!) As long as you can get a good "run" towards a hill the car will GO.

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  Ok - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Vince - March 23 - 8:30 am

  Just bought this used to act as commuter car. Styling is more boring than white paper. Engine is very loud at highway speeds. For a small car, gas mileage isnt too impressive. Probably due to the fact that engine is around 3500 RPMs when cruising @ 70 MPH. Fairly agile and nimble. Fun to drive backroads, unless you have a lot of hills, then expect a struggle. Not too shabby as a commuting car, but Im glad this isnt my pride and joy.