Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Great car, horrible dealership - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By njnyarea - March 8 - 10:46 pm

  Car handles absolutely awesome compared to my Lexus SC300. Not powerful at all, but the fun factor makes up for it. Its decently comfortable and roomy inside.

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  P5 Rocks - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By twentysixtwo - February 16 - 10:00 am

  Overall a great car. Traded in a Volvo S40 and never looked back.

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  Best car ever! - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By slttexas - February 6 - 12:30 pm

  I bought this car off the showroom floor in 02. In all these years I still get compliments and people are always asking if I just got a new car and what kind it is. It still drives solid and very comfortable. Only routine maint. has ever been required, weve never had any mechanical problems. The controls to everything are conveniant and the car has lots of room. With recent additions to the family I have hsd to purchase a new mini-van, and my husband took over my mazda...I sure do miss it.

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  A True Gem - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Tweek - January 30 - 9:10 pm

  I researched every other car in this class and deliberated for nearly four months before making up my mind and to this day Ive never looked back. Amazing on fuel, fun to drive (Id recommend the stick), shes beautiful to look at both inside and out and with the right aftermarket audio improvements shes a music lovers dream. There is so much I could say about my baby but if you own one you already know... and if you dont, well, I can save you the headaches of looking around. THIS IS THE CAR TO GET!!!... hands down.

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  Nothing better in its class! - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By js - January 29 - 4:00 pm

  We just purchased this vehicle and couldnt be more satisfied. From my first test drive I couldnt believe the incredble way this car drove. It feels solid and inspiring. No cheap plastic pieces used for the interior. And the exterior design very attractive. A total package for less than you might think!

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  Fun to drive with great value! - 2003 Mazda Protege5
  By SY - January 29 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car in Aug 02 out the door with tax for $19K. Now with 9K+ miles, great car to zoom around anywhere short or long distance. Can outhandle almost any car, but cannot outperform many cars, need to gun it to get it to move. A little bit of engine knock when using regular grade gas, but you make the call, premium-worthy enough to eliminate the knock? Cannot get to the storage behind cup holders when cups are there. Tiny armrest compartment can only hold CDs and can only rest one elbow. No cup holders for back passengers.

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  Zoom, zoom!!! - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Michael Hern - January 17 - 10:00 am

  All around great car!!!

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  My kingdom for 30 horses - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By Uncle Goo - January 10 - 10:00 am

  The Mazda Protege5 is one heck of car. It can carry 4 adults comfortably and haul an amazing amount of cargo. The handling is quite nice and the gas mileage is good for a 2.0L (30 mpg). All in all, this car packs a ton of value into an attractive package. Two quibbles, the roof rack does create a lot of wind noise on the highway and the car could sure use about 25-30 more horsepower and torque. Dont get me wrong, it scoots pretty good as is, but the trouble I could cause with 30 more foot pounds of torque...ahhhhh....

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  I love this car - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By 87mustang - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Ive got an yellow P5, automatic. Bought it on 8/19/01 and have 19600 miles as of 8/11/02. This car handles great, looks awesome and I have no regret that I bought this car. Mazdaspeed parts are coming out soon and should make this car faster than SVT Focus (too many problems with Focuses) or Civic SI (too ugly). Since its a hatchback, when you sit inside you get a feeling of openess and a much bigger car.

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  A latter day GTI? - 2002 Mazda Protege5
  By p5_in_ca - December 9 - 11:06 am

  My first car was an 83 VW GTI. This car reminds me of it in many ways. Great fun to drive. Reasonable straight line speed. An absolute blast in the twisty bits. Excellent ergonomics. Even the bad points are similar: too-low gearing (too many rpms at highway speed,) and so-so mileage (I get mid to high 20s for mixed use, and maybe 30 for highway.) This is my first Mazda, after 6 straight Hondas, and it is so much easier to work on compared to Hondas. I just changed brake pads and coolant in this car and a Honda Insight last weekend. Wow, what a contrast! The caliper swings up & stays up, out of the way. The coolant doesnt need to be filled and bled from four different places. Kudos Mazda!