Beautiful car, especially the outside. The inside is very nice too. I would not change anything in the looks department. Down curvy roads it feels great, but not a huge difference between it and my 88 mazda 323. Of course the reason I am interested in this car is because of my great experience with the 323. The Hatchback allows for some versatility. Probably going to be really reliable.

The stereo will come straight out of there if I buy one. Not really one of those "sporty half SUV/ half wagons," it''s a hatch back plain and simple. For a few thousand more you could get a WRX wagon with AWD and some major power. Might get beat in a lot of categories when the Matrix and Vibe come out.

Gave it a lengthy test drive and the bottom line for me is that it looks great, and feels great, but don''t let the exterier fool you, it''s not a sports car. I am interested in the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix and the Subaru WRX Wagon. As much as I liked the Protege5 I will probably wait until January to test drive the Matrix. And I''ll be driving the WRX in a few days too.

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88 Mazda 323-they are both similar, but the Protege5 has a little better handling and accel, and looks better. 98 Protege. I liked the way the Protege5 drove a little better. And it looks better.

Everything is terrific about this car. Interior room is as large as some midsize sedans. Good power with the 2.0 engine. Fit, finish and styling is superb, Mazda hit the mark on this compact sedan.

Don''t like the power door lock mounted on the door. No other weaknesses.

Just love my new, Mill. Red LX 2.0 Protege. What a nice car, it''s so solid and drives like a midsize. Handles very well on twisty roads. Took advantage of free moonroof, alloys and 0% for 48.

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great handling and suspension. decent sound system. interior looks great.

roof rack makes lots of wind noise over 45 mph (but this can be fixed by replacing the roof rack with plastic peices given to you by the factory). could use more power (say 160 hp and 170 ft. lbs. of torque)

this is a great car. i bought it about two weeks ago and already have over 1,100 miles on it. it is just very fun to drive. the first thing i noticed when i drove the car is the handling.......it had a very tight feel to it. if you buy this car you must get it in vivid yellow! My dad works for ford and we could have gotten $30 shaved off of the monthy price in any other color besides yellow. i decided to buy the car in yellow and fork out the $30 extra a month.

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exterior and interior design ... great handling .... a lot of space inside the car ...

not enough HP ...

great looking and sporty car .... even though it does''t have enough HP to ride this car .... i think it is enough to drive it in the local area ...

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Civic, Corolla, Sentra, and PT cruiser

It''s Japanese. Well put together. Handles wonderfully. Stable. Fun. I feel safe driving (something never felt in the Kia Sportage).

No storage pockets on backs of front seats. How weird is that?

This car is great! But then I knew it would be (I had a 1991 Protege for 8+ years, and they''ve made so many adjustments and refinements). I took a small hiatus to drive a piece of junk Kia Sportage 4WD, but I unloaded that bucket and am a happy camper with my totally loaded 2001 LX 2.0 Protege. This car offers a TON of options for not much money and considering Mazda financing (0% / 48 months) and incentives, you can''t go wrong. It''s a really fun and zippy car to drive. Having the 2.0 engine in a 5-speed is really the way to go. This Mazda deserves more recognition in its class, and unfortunately, probably a higher price tag down the road.

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Doesn''t handle like my old 93 Civic h/b (but then again I don''t thiunk anything will match the cornering ability of that car), but this Protege w/the 15" Potenzas rides sportier than the new Civic (which unless it''s the coupe I will never buy it--too conservative ride), Sentra, Cavalier, Corolla, Elantra, which I have test-driven before buying the Protege. Looks great, good price-performance ratio, very nice interior finich in charcoal black. Great dealer service to replace the CD player.

At 125-130km/h it revs at 3500RPM!!! I am worried about it as a I know that it a Honda engine revs at this speed w/mo problems, but I''m not sure yet of Mazdas. CD player had to be replaced after 1 week as one of my CD''s got stuck in it.

Protege ES 2.0. Auto, A/C, Spoiler, in silver. Owned it for 6 weeks now and I have 8000km on it! Took a road trip. Handles well, comfy and can pass. Originally wanted an Accorrd or Civic coupe, but since Honda Canada charges 8.6% interest over 4 yrs financing, I couldn''t afford to pay $7000+ in interest over 4 yrs. yes 8.6% to buy, 5.8% to lease!!! They''re nuts! When i sat in the Protege I said THIS IS IT! and have bought the car after a week. I only want to question for how long does Mazda expect this car to last w/oil changes recommended every 8000km?

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93 Civic DX hatch was a blast to drive, but had too many overheating trouble w/the car, so I had to sell it.

Excellent pick-up, gas mileage, cheap to fill up, roomy, power everything, style, spoiler,

I drove the car for about 8 hours one day and the seats were a little uncomfortable after a while. Wish it had a sunroof

This car kicks butt, I shopped around and had no intention of buying a protege, but a friend of mine working at the dealer told me to just give it a try, i signed the papers the next day!!!

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86 toyota corrola
91 honda accord

This 1.8L SOHC Engine is peppy!! Good A/C, Leg Room, Easy to Drive, Smooth Automatic, Really really goes fast on high speeds. Watch out once it hits 65mph!!!

Idles a lil high, Brakes could be a bit more responsive

This car was given to me by my Mom and Dad. This car is built like a tank! Im not a person who likes to be in the slow lane and the Protege never lets me down when it comes down to having power. I have driven a 1996 Nissan Sentra before and it doesn't even compare to the Protege when it comes to power. When you hit the gas on this car, it takes off!!! You can really feel the punch from that little 4 cylinder. This engine isn't even the DOHC model, its the standard SOHC!!! I can't complain. This car never ever gives me any trouble. Another great thing is that this car has alot ALOT of room inside of tall people which you can't find in most compact cars.

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1996 Nissan Sentra (Comfortable car, but it doesn't have the power like the Protege)

Obviously the increased gas mileage. And not a problem to report.

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Excellent handling car, visibility unmatched, I've logged every gallon of gas & have been recording the gas mileage. For the first 2,000 Km's I averaged 27 MPG,(Tight Engine). Im now at 24,000Km's & have increased the fuel efficiency to 47MPG. First changed to a Ethanol blend which increased the gas mileage from a now (33-41MPG). Second I removed the air intake box up to the air filter and this is how I got to 47 MPG. I have one more trick up my sleeve. But will wait until I get thru 10 more tanks of gas before I do the incredible.(A little SCIENCE). This MPG is based on a imperial gallon.
IMG=160 fl.oz/4.54Liters US=128 fl.oz/3.78Liters

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Previous ownership. 1987 Voyageur. And still the proud owner of an original 1980 Camaro Z28.

Good looking, non-pretentious style, roomy and handles very well. Handles corners handsomely. Air conditioning is more effective than with others in its class. The built in CD sounds pretty good and the amount of interior space is awesome. There is very little I dislike about this car.

I have the 1.5l engine which is underpowered. They newer entry level Proteges come with 1.6l which is a good thing because they feel more peppy.
I had one problem with the car: my windshield spray pump stopped working but KingMazda replaced it in a couple of hours for nothing (talk about low maintenance costs!). One of the clamps holding the exhaust pipes became slack and I had it tightened by the mechanics at KingMazda (again they did it for free even though there's no more warranty on the car). The exhaust pipe problems was actually to do with a number of awful holes in Saint John roads not with the car per se.

I adore this little car. It's slick looking, reliable, non-pretentious (v. important in the age of 1.8l cars with spoilers at the rear!). This is my first car that I own but used to drive my fathers cars on a regular basis including a 1991 Mazda 626 which was also a very sturdy vehicle. I went with a Mazda after my dad's incredible experience with his 626.

It is the best compact bar none. I test drove a Golf, a Sentra, couple of Civics, a Corolla but when I jumped behind the wheel of this baby I shouted spontaneously: "It's a Mazda"! Maybe it's my experience with the old 626 that makes me biased but there is something about protege's handling that makes it plain better than the competition. It's a smoother ride with a better handling and the brakes and gas react just the way I want it. I didn't have to 'get used' to this car. Normally I need a couple of hours before I feel comfortable behind the wheel of a new car. Not so with Mazdas they are just right for me. Protege is Mazda at it's finest.

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Toyota Corolla '96 (problems with shock absorbers), VW Passat '99 (gearbox went out after < 6 months), Mazda 626 '91 (just as good as protege but bigger and pricier).
Protege is the best of the above lot by far. Every single car my dad owned had reliability/manufacturing problems with the exception of Mazda626. Seems that my Protege is in every bit as good as my dad's 626 used to be.