Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Nice little car with electrical defects - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By joz - May 30 - 10:00 am

  Bought the car in 2003 as a new vehicle. Was good until 10000 miles, when a fuse blew that shorted out the tail lights, dash lights and lights on and door open chimes. Fuse was replaced and blew within a few weeks. Now the fuse blows as soon as the car is turned on. The car has been in the dealership for a week now, and they are stumped. Nobody seems to be able to determine the problem, but we have no car for my daughter to drive (unless she drives without tail lights). Mazda corporate didnt know anything about this problem, so it may be just a lemon, but buyer beware of the electrical problems with this car.

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  Pro5; love/hate relationship - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By jw82 - May 10 - 1:03 pm

  You know, I absolutely loved this car up until about 5k mile ago. I love everything about this car except for the poor design/build quality of the engine and wheel bearings. Had to replace right front wheel bearing at just under 60k, and now the engine is going out on it. My Mazda dealer says its either a wrist pin or rod bearing crapping out at ONLY 64,XXX miles. Other than that, this car would be absolutely perfect! If you plan on buying one of these beauties, be cautious and buy the extended service plan! Better safe than sorry

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  Fun - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By Mbeech - April 3 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car and fun to drive, I love the way it handles and lots of room for 4 people, or two adults and 3 kids.

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  economy car? - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By bklynbruce - March 23 - 2:00 am

  I previously owned an 1999 lx protege, the car was a nice car but lacked pizzaz.As soon as i saw and took my first test drive of this pr5 i knew i wanted it.I loved the 2.0 it had plenty of juice for a car this size,i was able to zip in and out of traffic with ease, the cargo space isnt huge but really great to have when the seats are down,there was more than enough room for my needs.

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  Great car - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By eric90 - February 5 - 6:48 pm

  Me and my girlfriend have been driving this car 166 000 km (100 000 miles), since 2003. The car is great fun to drive, very reliable and comfortable for long road trips (many 6 hrs + trips in the bag). Other than standard maintenance, weve had few repairs on this car. Good fuel consumption for a sporty performance. Nothing bad to say about this car !

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  Love My P5 - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By jake2 - January 28 - 10:00 am

  Power is poor, but handling is outstanding and brakes, clutch, transmission are flawless. And, of course, my fire-red P5 is second to none on cruise night!

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  Fun Drive, But Not Fun MPG - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By zoomguy - December 21 - 2:50 am

  I bought this car new in Dec. 2003 and it was the first new car purchase I have ever made. I loved the outside appearance and the five-door hatch design. I picked one that has about every option except the leather. With all the options there is little left to be desired when inside. Larger passengers have complained about not having enough room and four adults are a little cramped. Overall this is a very nice car for what I purchased it for. The fuel economy has never been all that great and the chrome wheels dont look great after two winters. The suspension is strictly for smooth roads. CD changer gets stuck occasionally. Heater is slow to warm up. Tires expensive to replace.

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  a very good urban transportation - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By Jason Lam - November 21 - 10:00 am

  Sporty design but not overdone. Good value even with the base model with features essential for safety, handling, comfort and space.Competitive pricing and factory incentives makes a great buy. A great choice for those who wants the space and convenience of a hatchback but not as big as the traditional wagon.

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  Bang for the buck - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By Cameron - November 20 - 8:50 pm

  Excellent car for the money. Leather interior, all power doors, windows, moon roof very good stereo w/ 6cd in-dash player, 6 speakers and subwoofer. Excellent mileage average 30 mixed. 73,000 miles and runs/looks exactly as brand new. Complaints include very noisy driving conditions. Engine revs very high, 5 speed needs to be upshifted very quickly to gain speed Car will not win many races. Not the most quiet, compliant ride but again this is a compact car.

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  Its been a good car, more or less - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By ceecee9 - November 10 - 3:57 pm

  I bought my 03 P5 in June of 05 with about 36,000. At 60 ish the head gaskets blew...which was an expensive fix. Other than that its been regular maintenance which is begining to become quite frequent. My one major complaint is the tires are expensive and hard to find. Oh- And my other major complaint is two of the rear seat belts are broken and are very expensive to fix. My car has 134,000...and im in the process of researching and buying a new one.