Handling, reliability, interior space, fit and finish, great standard features, nice exterior styling, good price relative to closest competitor (Civic), great big trunk, comfortable seats.

Minor stuff only: crappy Mazda marketing, only one intermittent wiper setting, no trunk release on remote, windows should have darker tint, center armrest is too low and small. Not as zippy as I'd like with the automatic (buy the ES or a 5-speed, or both)

In 1999, it was time to replace my wife's old beater, a 1985 Chevy Citation with 135k miles and no AC--we were moving to Houston, so AC was a must, and this was her first new car. As we were starting the decision process, the auto show came to town and we got to sit in and bang around everything in this price class. I wouldn't have even thought of the Protege (great job marketing this, Mazda) if we hadn't seen it at the show. And wow, am I glad we saw it at the show!

This car is amazing for the price. The interior space, especially the back seat, is amazing for such a small car. The handling is spectacular. We've put 34k miles on it in two years and haven't had a snag--but don't listen to anecdotes on reliability: every car has some winners and some lemons. Look up the numbers on this car and you'll see this is a reliability champ. My wife routinely gets 33+ mpg commuting (mostly highway). We've added a baby since we bought it and it's perfect for the little one as well; I can't even imagine trying to work his car seat with base in the teensy back seat of a Corolla.

The only thing I'd have done differently if this car were primarily for me and not for my wife is that I would have gotten a 5-speed or upgraded to an ES, or both, as the car lacks zip with the automatic. This bothers her a lot less than it does me.

Car & Driver rated the ES version of this car as the best small sedan they'd ever driven in 1999, and in 2000 they rated it above everything in its price class. This is no accident. Unless you really require something substantially bigger, I can't imagine why people would spend more when the 2001 ES version of this car can be had for around $17k, pretty much loaded. Reasonable car payments are a Good Thing, and I don't feel like I'm sacrificing. C&D said it well: "This is a car that does everything well. And it has spirit. BMW verve for less than half the price. What's not to like?"

In fact, I like this car so much that my next car will also be a Protege, but mine will be a Protege5 with a 5-speed for the extra zip and little extra bit of hauling capacity.

No car is perfect, though, and I did list a few fairly minor complaints; those are all things Mazda could fix and it would add almost nothing to the cost of the car. It'd be nice if more other people knew what a great car this is, too.

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Looked at everyting in its price class for 1999, nothing was as good. Nothing. Civic was the next closest.

Manuverability, gas mileage, easy gear shifting for a manual transmission

low horsepower

Awesome car, cuz it handles and manuvers very nicely. And you can't beat the gas mileage.

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None

the way it takes off

i wich i haad a 5 speed mine is auto mattic

the car is awsome it rides great and am very happy with it im 42 and its making me feel young again its yellow like the commercial

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this car can park with the best of them

I love the way it looks, plus the 1.8 liter makes it powerfull. Been driving it for more than 6 months and so far i think is great and so far no problems at all.

The only think i dont like about it is when using A/C the engine power decrease to much so on the city the use of the A/C is not good at all. Plus it dont go more than 130 mph because of some system that wont let it go over that!! :)

I pay 13,500.00 with a high interest. Paying 364.00 a month.

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Civic same year and the there is to much of a difference. Civic make to much noise on the engine plus Protege more easy handling the steering wheel.

Bought the Canadian LX (US ES) version with AC and auto. Fun to drive, good handling and decent acceleration from stop. Competitive and catching up with the Civics and Corolla. Good value with the 0% interest Mazda special.

Engine and/or road noise seems higher now that I've driven it for a week. Engine has a slight natural "snarl" which may be irritating if you're used to the smoother Corollas. A bit too much feel in the steering wheel in that in terms of road and engine vibration. My trunk would not open once with either the key or remote latch in car. Had to crawl into the trunk via the rear seats to pull the emergency trunk lever before it would open. Seems fine now.

Paid Cad $500 above invoice with 0% interest for 3 years.
I would recommend it given the price and 0% especially since there's a long wait for Sentras which have no 0% incentives. 2000 Honda Civics are in their last year and Corollas are a bit boring.

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Less boring than the Corolla and Hoda coming out with new Civic line this year. Handling is slightly better than Corolla although I suspect that the Corolla engine is smoother.

-good car
-very reliable
-like the acelleration 0utta 10 give it 15
- nice interior
-sporty fist gen

none, would like a 2-door coupe style...????

I RECOMMEND THIS FIRST-GEN SPORTY TYPE SEDAN. THIS IS A REAL RELIABLE,DEPENDABLE,QUALITY AND GOOD BRAND SEDAN, FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT NEED FOR SPEED AND QUALITY THROWN IN TO THE SIDE.
IT'S KINDA FAST FOR A SEDAN AND I LOVE IT. MY 0-60SEC..WAS 7.86SEC.. THAT'S FAST. LATER ON IN THE FUTURE ADDED A FEW MODS TO THE SPEED-MACHINE. MY 0-60 SEC.. WAS 6.93SEC....!!!! I LOVE MY CAR IT'S BEEN GOOD AND HASN'T BROKE DOWN ONCE, OR GOT STRANDED ANWHERE I RECOMMEND THE FIRST GEN OVER ANY OTHER PROTEGE BESIDES, THE NEW MAZDA PROTEGE MP3 THAT'S A FLY RIDE!!!!!!!!

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00 CIVIC si (good v-tec motor not that much trq...)
94 INTEGRA GSR (same 1.8l, but protege stands better)
95 ECLIPSE GS-T (nice power, kinda looks like a saturn sc2 from the back)
95 MAXIMA SE (like the body,interior,big room not really quality)
00 SENTRA SE (wow performance is great,nice room and really comfortable)

VAST, HUGE amounts of interior space. It's as if you're stepping into a space-making magic machine. You can scarely believe how roomy it is--far more so than the 1990 Lexus 250 I had, or even the 1997 Lexus 300 a friend had, especially in the rear seats.

This may be about the best car I've owned for the money. I bought it in '96 with about 12,000 miles on it, which is apparently when Hertz at that time was putting its cars out for sale. It had the 1.5 liter engine coupled with the automatic transmission, and even on San Francisco hills the little baby did an admirable job. If lots of power is your thing, then obviosuly you will find this model "underpowered" and shouldn't consider it. But if you're satisfied with enough power to cruise at sensible speeds and rates of acceleration, then even this dinky 1.5 will do you fine. (Long ago I decided to buy only automatics--I'd wasted too much of my life shifting for no good reason. And in stop and go traffic it's a royal pain.)

I don't remember the MPG, but it was quite good.

Cloth interiors are prone to picking up odors and my dog generously contributed to the unique fragrance. At least leather or vinyl can be washed off more easily and effectively.

The brakes (no ABS) took a bit more stomping power than I would have liked, but this may also have reflected the G-forces from hurtling down Market St or Hyde. The A/C, of course, took it's toll on power, but even on a hot day up on a tour of Mt Diablo with 4 occupants, there was still plenty of sensible (yes, that word again) power.

I'm seriously addicted to buying new cars at the drop of a (financially painful) hat, so this was one of many since 1995 or so. But as I say, it was a fine value and had the added effect of making me feel a little smug as the dot-com boyz in their absurd ego machines roared past, fast on their way to deploying their airbags in a testosterone-tinged road duel gone bad with another of their clan.

On the other hand, my next car (see the review) was a '97 Saab 900 SE Turbo, which I often used as a BMW killer. So....

Sold the Protege after deciding to get a car that had more sex appeal for my girlfriend (sad, sad, but there you are--see the Saab story, above).

Now I'm about to sell a 2000 Expedition (great car; can't keep it) and am seriously considering getting a 2001 Protege. My need for travel across desert washes is now gone, as will be my bank account as the Expedition sucks down fuel at 10 mpg.

Zoom-zoom.

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'95 Escort Wagon--the Mazda was a much better overall value.

-BEAUTIFUL interior for a compact - alternating fabrics and textures, a snazzy console, and really comfortable seats make it feel like a 20k+ car, unlike the empty plastic of the others in this class.
-for engine, you can save about 2k by going for the lower engine, just be sure to get a manual. if you need automatic, you might want to move up to the 2.0. but having the 1.6 manual, I can say that this is the zippiest, peppiest 105-hp engine you'll ever drive. the car is very stiff, corners really well, and every gear has great torque in the upper RPM range. a treat to drive!
-price. cheaper than the civic, and with more to offer.
-style. both inside and out, it looks like a car from a higher class. reminds me of a camry, but sportier.
-space - really good backseat leg room, a must (yet a rarity) for a 4-door compact.

none in sight.

nothing much else to say. I was only "eh" after heading out with the intention of buying a civic. the dealer slipped and mentioned the protege, so I headed over to a mazda dealer and with one look inside the car, I never looked back. so now I'm doing my duty to get the word out. mazda doesn't advertise this car enough, but those who know, know - they hop off the dealer lots. you won't get more car for this price anywhere.

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civic, mirage, corolla. this one is the diamond in the rough for its class. they restyled it in 99, but went ahead and restyled it AGAIN for 2001, fixing the few gripes and turning out THE best compact around. watch for this one to steal all the headlines from the civic/corolla juggernaut in the next few years.

quick - spankes my buddys 2000 Civic
rattle free
solid handling

brake fade after a day of hard driving
factory tires stink

I love the Protege. It's quick and nible, has no problems in traffic or on the highway, gets great gas milage. The suspention offers a smooth but sporty ride with little body role or nose five. I wish the 99 had the four wheel disk brakes.

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2000 Civic
2000 Focus
1998 Golf

great gas mileage, good power seems reliable

cheap interior, noisy,not much else

ive only owned it for a few weeks but so far it has been excellent. got it for cheap and hope it lasts

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i had a 96 civic and it seemed immensely more refined