None

Everything

Everything about this car is awful. I've had it for 8 years. Bought it brand new and i only have 109,000 kilometers and it's falling apart. Replaced EGR valve twice. Shocks are finished. Replaced Rotors and breaks pads 3 times in the last year. Rotors keep warping and it has nothing to do with the way i drive. Changed wheel bearings twice. It's rusting like a thin can. Squeaks everywhere. Passenger seat belt latch broken. I can go on forever. Just does't seem right for a car with 109,000 kilometers(67,731 miles). Is all this simply bad luck??? Not likely. My neighbor has the same car as me. and she has even worse issues. Funny how this winter on a cold morning the only two cars on the block that wouldn't start was mine and my neighbor with a 2003 protege.And how can anyone say that one of the strengths is fuel economy?? sucks on gas. my wife has a nissan altima. bigger engine , bigger car. much better on gas then this crap. Enough said.

design is good

cheap quality and lousy service.

Just over 5 years old car, and costed me $1400 to replace the Gas pump and gas tank as the leaking gas tank. Called Mazda Co, but they did care at all. I did not complain the problem such as EGR, oil pan rust, and rust around the body. The gas tank leaking was a safty issue: therefore, I called Mazda for resolution, they did not care at all. I make a big mistake to buy Mazda Protege, they cut cost to produce this car. I will not buy any car from Mazda.

Similar Products Used:

Honda, Hyundai, Ford -- they have no gas tank leaking problems.

Steering, handling, cornering, braking are all top notch=fun to drive! 4 wheel disc brakes and 15inch tires.
Decent interior styling for price, steering wheel taken from the Miata I believe.
Decent exterior styling w/ the right colour, never like the beige one though.
Much less interior noise than integra and neon
Shifts nicely w/ manual tranny, 130hp engine is peppy w/ manual but you gotta rev it high
0-60 in 9.1 w/ manual, I've heard the auto's are rather sluggish though.
Interior room - spacious for a small sedan
Oil changes every 8000km
Am getting the suggested fuel economy, 25mpg city/32? highway, even with the A/C turned on (accelerate slowly though)

Tire thump and rattle over large bumps
Engine noise annoying at 120km/h and above - a problem with many 4 cyl in economy cars
Still not as quiet as larger sedans or Volks golf, thats for sure.
Seats still are not as comfortable as leather.
Paint gets micro scratches kinda easily.
Stereo as crappy as most econo boxes come with.

Bought it at 58,000 km, now up to 100,000km with no issues.

Is quieter and smoother than the integra, and w/ standard is comparable in power to an auto integra, but not a manual integra. Still not fast like a V6 accord and Volks GTI though.

The steering, handling, and braking though is great and w/ a manual tranny makes it fun to drive for a cheap price (cheaper than civics in my area by far).

You can tell much care was put into creating this car, when I compare it to sunfires, grand ams, or the neon, they just don't compare, the protege drives more like a sporty car, but without the power under the hood. Driving a standard neon just feels like a toy to me now, not up to par IMO.

Overall, I'm really satisfied, just remember its still an economy car and not a sports coupe. Buy it to save money in the long run with its great reliability, gas mileage, sporty feel!

Similar Products Used:

1996 Dodge Neon - noisier, head gasket problem, Tranny problems at 200,000km, engine groans like a diesel, slow automatic. Always something wrong w/ it!

1996 Acura Integra - loud tire noise, creaks and rattles a lot, great engine, peppy, reliable and fun to drive. Much loader than the protege though.

2000 Volkswagen GTI - quiet, smooth, fast, but protege still corners, steers, and stops similarly. Both have great steering feel and control. Volks have some reliability issues though and became much rougher on the road when lowered and added 18inch tires. Fuel economy suffers much in the city too. Similar quality interior although the Volks dash lights a much superior. I actually prefer the portege's steering wheel though!

Engine. Easy to work on.

Automatic transmissions, weatherstripping on doors.

When i bought my Mazda it looked great and drove perfect. However after having the car less than a year the transmission died. I hade to have it completely replaced. That is not it. I had to replace the transmission 3 more times in the car. Two of the times it was under warranty but the more I researched the more I found Mazda eat automatic transmissions. The great thing is other than the transmissions the car ran great. Nothing went out on it. I just traded it in for a more sporty Impala.

Similar Products Used:

1996 ponitac sunfire

-Power Steering
its very easily manuverable
-Tiny Design with definete and comfortable room within the cabin itself.
-Sporty looking
-Never have a problem with the engine(its good to go!)
-Great on gas
-hugs the road really well (saved my life)

There are a few (some important) weaknesses
-The airbags didnt deploy when I had the accident
-The passanger side locks don't unlock unless you do it manually
-bad pickup and momentum
-easily dented
-car really fogs up when you switch over from defrost to heat
-air conditioning has an off smell at first.
-Indicator didnt warn me that my breaks needed to be serviced.

Very fun and peppy car to drive. Great at getting you where you need to go. There are few minor things that aren't that great but they are not at all bothersome. The car kept me safe in a recent accident. Tough for a small car, but once again, wonderful to drive and great on gas. Real bang for your buck. Wonderful economy class car.

Handling, acceleration, very good ride for a smaller car. Overall sense of quality for a budget car. VERY roomy interior

Blown automatic transmission at 47,900 (If not under warranty cost was $3500!)
Even after tune up, car only averaged about 23-25 m.p.g. (2.0 liter!)
Broken door lock switch (2 hours of my time to hot-glue this from the inside panel)
Six-disk in dash cd player- display fades in and out.

Very nice smaller car. Loved everything about it. Meticulously maintained car. However, at 47,900 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION BLEW!! Would highly recommend never buying a Mazda with an automatic tranny. I purchased vehicle with 20,xxx miles on it.Careful review, Consumer reports recommendations, three personal recommendation, And the "Made In Japan" Sticker all lead me to buy this vehicle. Luckily it is still under factory warranty ($3500! For new transmission!)I hope this is a fluke and the car will turn out to live up to it's otherwise awesome reputation.

Similar Products Used:

1990 Ford Escort
1993 Ford Escort (Died at 178,596 still getting average 33 M.p.g. !!!!)

Great gas mileage! When it was only 2 yrs old, I was able to drive 360 miles for a full tank of gas (11gal). Now it's lower...I get about 28-30mpg, but still great!

I rarely see a Protege with all of its hupcaps on. I lost all four within the first year of ownership. They just don't stay on Proteges

I'm not the greatest driver in the world, but somehow my protege hung in there for the last 8 years that I've owned it. I've only done the basic maintenance and one major (replacement of one of the axles), but aside from that, no surprise repair needs.

Great mileage! Very easy to navigate as long as the roads are dry!

Driving this Mazda on snowy highways is near impossible!!! On sleet covered roads, snowy roads, or very wet roads the car tends to slide from side to side in the back. A HUGE hazard in Minnesota winters. Once took me 3 hours to drive what is normally a 45 minute drive on a snow covered highway.

This Mazda has been a great car... usual types of maintenance done regularly and haven't had any other unforseen problems.

A lot!
- fun to drive
- peppy engine
- great fuel economy
- handles much better than any comparable car (ES model)
- very roomy interior
- excellent sound quality
- reliability

There are a few,
- stiff ride on rough roads
- a somewhat cheap interior, and the cd headunit looks very alarm clockish. however i do like the orange lighting!

I have the Protege ES model with the 2.0 engine and 16 in. rims. It has all power options, 6 CD changer, and keyless. It is dark green w/ black interior. This car is so much fun to drive. So far I havent had any problems with it except for some noises coming from the brake rotors which I am still dealing with the dealer over. That is not the cars fault however. The ride is stiff. If you like tight, sporty driving, you will like this car. It is not a really smooth riding car, especially over bumpy road surfaces. Power is adequate, not too bad for a 4 cyl. The handling and steering are excellent, and the only car that I test drove that was as good was a Toyota Celica. Braking is also very good. Exterior styling is sharp and modern, and the interior is also nice, though a little on the cheap side when compared with Honda or Toyota. There is also alot of space in the interior, for such a small car. It is much better than any domestic car though. It is also an easy car to drive. It has great all around visibility and is a cinch to move in small, tight areas. Trunk space is adequate for a small car. Overall, the car has been a great buy for its all around reliability, value, and performance.

Similar Products Used:

1997 Ford Probe- actually felt less sporty than the Protege, but a very good car. Just got too many miles on it, because I drove it a TON
1997 Nissan Sentra- very cheap car that is extremely slow and unexciting to drive. it does get about 37 mpg even at 9 yrs. old though, and runs great.
1993 Chevy Cavalier- slow but decently reliable
Test drove- Focus, Civic, Celica, Stratus, Other Proteges, Mazda 6- Protege was better than all except 6. That car was awesome and too much $$$

Pretty much everything about it. Great looks, handling, and comfort!

Just that it scratches and dents easily, but other than that I love it.

So far I am very happy with this car. I bought it in August with 33,000 miles on it and now have 42,000 with no problems...just oil changes and tires so far. There are only 2 complaints that I can think of witch I was aware of before I bought the car, the cup holders are not great and the car dents and scratches easy.

Similar Products Used:

1991 Nissan Pickup