Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Decent Car that needs tweaking - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By ptben - November 2 - 2:00 am

  Theres a factory defect in the way a front knuckle was put in in the steering column. took several attempts to finally get the dealership to fix it. Good little car. Its just be in the shop for a new catalytic converter, new starter, new fly wheel, wears brakes quickly even though we drive very conservatively.

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  Mazda All the Way - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By DA2799 - October 14 - 5:06 am

  Purchased my Protege and have had 50k trouble free miles to date. What this little rocket lacks in power it makes up for in handling and sheer driving pleasure. Ive replaced the original tires with Pirelli PZero Neros and they are a blast on this car. Other than the lack of sheer power I love this car. Other than normal maintenance this is the most trouble free car Ive owned; starts always not a worry to report.

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  Mazda 626 - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By kvammen - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Every one is entitled to one mistake in their life, this was mine.

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  2000 Protege LX - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By JBC - October 2 - 10:00 am

  This has been an excellent vehicle. The interior design is delightful, and the quality for the money is outstanding. Mine has the older 1.6 liter engine which returns about 34 mpg in mixed driving. Although not very powerful, it is adequate and very willing powerplant. Cornering and general handling is very good. I would recommend ABS option for these cars as under hard braking (panic stop) sometimes the rear brakes will lock up early. Reliability has been perfect. A bit noisy on the highway (wind noise) but still comfortable for small car. Highly recommended!

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  This isnt your typical Ford-based Mazda - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By moichman - July 23 - 10:00 am

  Ford controls Mazda as you know, and a lot of previous Mazdas were Fords in disguise. And Ford had a BAD mid-90s run in quality, making Mazda just as bad. The Protege is made in Japan by Mazda, and it shows. Not one day of problems. Easy to work on myself, brakes made it 40k before changing, styling is good. Interior rattles are annoying, but it was a new body style this year. Starts every day, cold or hot. Original tires were dreadful, but upgrades have solved poor-weather handling dramatically.

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  I loved this Mazda - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By iheartmazda - March 27 - 12:36 am

  I have had my Protege for almost 9 years. I have had very few repairs over the year. Very reliable! It is sporty and fun to drive and easy to handle. I am only selling for another Mazda!

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  Precious Few Complaints - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Bob Ahnmeischaft - January 1 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our Protege ES in July 2000 and have since put 37K on it. It is solid and well-built, quick, and a good looking car. It also has the advantage of not being quite as common as, say, a Honda Civic. This is in fact the second Protege weve owned, our first being a 1991 LX model. If youre looking for a great small- medium sedan and dont want to pay that Civic or Corolla premium, but still want the upsides of those makes, go see your local Mazda dealer.

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  Fun and cheap economy car - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Jim Bob Henry Bob - August 20 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car for a while now and have come to love it. I test drove several similar cars at the time such as the civic, neon, sentra and corolla, but the protege was superior in almost every way. Interior looks upscale, the handling is awesome and the motor is pretty peppy. It still could use another 20 horsepower and some squeeks have worked in over time, but not many. Excellent car with no problems.

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  Best in class - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By wanorris - July 8 - 1:30 pm

  All cars in this class involve tradeoffs, but if you want an affordable, reliable drivers car, the Protege ES is unbeatable. Its got the best handling in the class, its the roomiest in its class, its as reliable as a Corolla, and its peppier than the Corolla or Civic. The Sentra SE has more under the hood, but it wont handle as well, and it will likely be in the shop some. Ive had this car for 2 years now, and I still absolutely love to drive it. Bottom line, this is an extremely practical car thats a lot of fun to drive. One final note: compared with the ES, the 2000 DX and LX have a smaller, underpowered engine. The ES is the one to own.

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  2000 mazda - 2000 Mazda Protege
  By Mike - June 14 - 2:46 pm

  I bought the car in 4/2002. Replaced battery and brakes only (besides normal maint. items). At around 185000 I need to replace the fuel filter. Mazda builds great cars.