Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Best in class small Sedan - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By m1zd1 - August 1 - 2:00 am

  Great car so far, engine is responsive, manual shift is smooth, seats are comfortable, stearing is precise, suspension and tires give good handling, braking is good. Vehicle is roomy and comes with many options Standard. Price is lower than competition and 97% of Vehicle is made in Japan!

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  Buy a 5! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By maz - July 27 - 2:00 am

  I own the Protege 5 and love it. There are faster sport wagons, but the Mercedes styling and crisp handeling make the Protege a blast to drive. I feel it is the best bargin on the market. Get the 5 speed! If you dont drive a clutch, learn!

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  Beats the Civic in every way! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By ojbux - June 14 - 2:00 am

  Just purchased this car (LX) as a Christmas gift to myself. I was choosing between the Civic, Corolla, Matrix and Sentra. Im so glad i chose this one. It is so crisp and build quality is excellent. ConsumerReports Magazine rates its reliablity higher than the "almighty" honda civic and equal to the Accord. Interior is one of the best. Styling looks sharp and sophisicated unlike the cutesy-cutesy corolla or civic. It came with cool wheels, bright tip muffler,in-dash 6 cd changer. All in all, this car is much fun to drive.

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  my pretty car - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By emily - June 4 - 10:00 am

  i have had this car for a year and have never had any problems withit. it is very reliable, fun to drive and built well. i also like the features that came with it, like the alloy wheels and the tires.

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  Not a lot of buck, but a lot of bang - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By brb588 - May 16 - 2:00 am

  I totalled my previous car (02 Chevy Tracker) and was looking for a gently used car/SUV. I originally wanted a Honda CR-V, but it was way out of my price range. Thank God I looked at the 03 Protegé. It had about 11K miles, and I test drove it along side a brand new one, and they both drove excellently. The thick steering wheel and peppy engine were immediately noticable. Everything was nicely laid out, the seats were comfortable, and the car was rather attractive for its low price. I have had it for a month, and I simply love it. Forget a Civic, get a Protegé!

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  2003 protege nightmare - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By scott - May 14 - 1:16 pm

  I bought this car with 15 miles on it. Ive put alot of miles on it. currently i have just under 141, 000. Ive had to have the front bearing replaced 4 times! on each side. ive had the alternator replaced twice. ive changes the oil tank because it actually rusted through, as well as the front exhaust at the intake manifold. ive changed both the oxygen sensor and the speed sensor. Ive also changed the radiator twice. this is a car ive changed the oil and other scheduled maintained every 3-4k miles on it! I can;t believe it got this good of a reliability rating on Edmunds because mine has been a nightmare. plus mine is currently rusting to crap.....what happened?

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  Nice looking car but some major problems - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By LUKISS - May 8 - 5:13 am

  I bought the LX 2.0 in 2007 with 60,000 Ks on it. About 8 months later, anytime it rainied either overnight or in the day the car was parked, when I started up the car it would shake and sputter then the engine light would flash and then stay on. Oh and the big hit was when the transmission went on the car from a worn seal that probably costs .25 cents, it ended up costing me $2000.00 to get fixed and this was in April 2009 with about 98,000 kms on it. A friend has a Mazda Tribute and was having the same problems when it rains, it shakes and sputters. NEVER WILL I BUY A MAZDA PRODUCT AGAIN

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  Great in t-bone accidences!! - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Ali L - April 26 - 2:00 am

  The past week I was in a serious car accident with out Mazda Protege. A car t-boned use at an intersection. It was our mazda that saved my life with the side impact beams!

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  I would do it again - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By dsr1sdj - April 21 - 10:00 am

  I needed a replacement vehicle for the company car that was removed from me as part of a cost reduction. I have just under 5000 miles on the car currently with no problems to date ... I drove ALL competitive compact vehicles , yes I said all Toyota, Honda,Nissan,Ford,Chevy,Saturn,Mitsubis hi..Any way this Mazda was by far the best driving of all the cars I drove..Best handling and acceleration.least amount of noise at freeway speeds. Overall a pleasure to drive for a compact car.

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  Zoom Zoom - 2003 Mazda Protege
  By Johnnie - April 3 - 2:00 am

  Bought my protege with the year end incentives. Couldnt resist the Zero percent financing. Drove the Civic, Focus, Corolla...but they were not as fun to drive. The Mazda doesnt get as good of gas mileage... but its way fun to drive.