THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CARS I HAVE EVER OWNED, RARELY HAVE I HAD A PROBLEM . PROBLEMS THAT OCCURED WERE ALWAYS MINOR IN NATURE.
THE CAR IS NOW NINE YEARS OLD AND STILL RIDES ON THE ORIGINAL TIRES.THE CAR IS AS QUIET TODAY AS THE DAY I BOUGHT IT FIVE YEARS AGO.(ORIGINAL MUFFLER) THE CAR GETS 450 KM PRE TANK ALMOST EVERY TIME. TODAY THE CAR HAS 83 OOO KM ON IT, I THINK I'LL KEEP IT FOR ATLEAST TEN MORE YEARS OR MORE BECAUSE IT IS SO TROUBLE FREE. IT'S A GREAT CAR TO DRIVE AND IS VERY DEPEDABLE. I DROVE THIS CAR FROM VICTORIA TO PORT HARDY AND BACK IN ONE DAY,A DISTANCE OF OVER 900 KM . THE TRIP TOOK SEVENTEEN HOURS FROM START TO FINSH AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM , NOR DID I THINK I WOULD.

POOR WINDOW DEFROSTER

IF YOU NEED A CAR THAT WILL NOT CAUSE YOU HEADACHES AND WILL NOT EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE OR MAINTAIN THIS IS THE CAR FOR YOU.

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I HAD TO BUY THIS CAR BECAUSE MY 93 INTREPID WAS SO UNRELIABE AND A REAL PIG ON GAS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CARS I HAVE EVER OWNED, RARELY HAVE I HAD A PROBLEM . PROBLEMS THAT OCCURED WERE ALWAYS MINOR IN NATURE.
THE CAR IS NOW NINE YEARS OLD AND STILL RIDES ON THE ORIGINAL TIRES.THE CAR IS AS QUIET TODAY AS THE DAY I BOUGHT IT FIVE YEARS AGO.(ORIGINAL MUFFLER) THE CAR GETS 450 KM PRE TANK ALMOST EVERY TIME. TODAY THE CAR HAS 83 OOO KM ON IT, I THINK I'LL KEEP IT FOR ATLEAST TEN MORE YEARS OR MORE BECAUSE IT IS SO TROUBLE FREE. IT'S A GREAT CAR TO DRIVE AND IS VERY DEPEDABLE. I DROVE THIS CAR FROM VICTORIA TO PORT HARDY AND BACK IN ONE DAY,A DISTANCE OF OVER 900 KM . THE TRIP TOOK SEVENTEEN HOURS FROM START TO FINSH AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM , NOR DID I THINK I WOULD.

POOR WINDOW DEFROSTER

IF YOU NEED A CAR THAT WILL NOT CAUSE YOU HEADACHES AND WILL NOT EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE OR MAINTAIN THIS IS THE CAR FOR YOU.

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I HAD TO BUY THIS CAR BECAUSE MY 93 INTREPID WAS SO UNRELIABE AND A REAL PIG ON GAS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CARS I HAVE EVER OWNED, RARELY HAVE I HAD A PROBLEM . PROBLEMS THAT OCCURED WERE ALWAYS MINOR IN NATURE.
THE CAR IS NOW NINE YEARS OLD AND STILL RIDES ON THE ORIGINAL TIRES.THE CAR IS AS QUIET TODAY AS THE DAY I BOUGHT IT FIVE YEARS AGO.(ORIGINAL MUFFLER) THE CAR GETS 450 KM PRE TANK ALMOST EVERY TIME. TODAY THE CAR HAS 83 OOO KM ON IT, I THINK I'LL KEEP IT FOR ATLEAST TEN MORE YEARS OR MORE BECAUSE IT IS SO TROUBLE FREE. IT'S A GREAT CAR TO DRIVE AND IS VERY DEPEDABLE. I DROVE THIS CAR FROM VICTORIA TO PORT HARDY AND BACK IN ONE DAY,A DISTANCE OF OVER 900 KM . THE TRIP TOOK SEVENTEEN HOURS FROM START TO FINSH AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM , NOR DID I THINK I WOULD.

POOR WINDOW DEFROSTER

IF YOU NEED A CAR THAT WILL NOT CAUSE YOU HEADACHES AND WILL NOT EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE OR MAINTAIN THIS IS THE CAR FOR YOU.

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I HAD TO BUY THIS CAR BECAUSE MY 93 INTREPID WAS SO UNRELIABE AND A REAL PIG ON GAS.

Understructible motor
Very good mileage
Quite roomy

A bore to drive
Seats not really comfortable
Shakes and rattles when at a red light (steering wheel)
Possibly the worst radio ever on the market
Brakes should be less spongy

Noisy, not really comfortable, shakes and rattles (steering wheel in particular), not really fun to drive but Man, what a motor!!!!

In February, we regularly face -30 degrees celcius and the car starts every morning of winter without any kind of problems (and we do not have a block heater!!!)

I am dead serious : If what you want is a very dependable car to take you and your family from point A to point B and you don't need the "look at me, I'm rich" kind of car to be happy with your life and who you are, go with the Protege. It has the very best 1.8 litres motor on the market since 1990.

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Toyota Corrola / Honda Civic

Reliability
Tight riding/feeling
Shiny Hubcaps
Good deal for the money
Can handle cross country driving

I wish it had more power. I wish it were easier to reach the radio controls from my seat. The console could be angled toward the driver.
I wish the interior came in light blue.

I would recommend this car because it's a good deal for the money. Right now I have 44k miles on it and there have been no problems with the car. I have the confidence that I can drive this car for over 100k miles plus. It rides slightly tighter than the toyota corolla and it is in the same price class as the toyota corolla. The interior leaves a little to be desired in that the console could be angled toward the driver to be easier to reach.

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Sit up higher and rides slightly tigher than the toyota corolla.

Reliability
Solidity
Quality
Room
Driveability
Engine
Longevity
Not a Honda or Toyota

Buzzes and rattles that come and go with the weather
Overly Sensitive Engine diagnostics
Some interior Materials could be better
5 speed is balky at times

I have been driving my emerald green 1995 Protege ES since February of 96, and for the money and my almost 5 years experience I couldn't be happier with it.
I purchased the 95 ES after trading up from my 94 protege after being won over on a Test Drive. The 94 version was much less structurally rigid, and had the the "basic" no frills trim (vinyl everything except seats). The 95ES was fully loaded with the 1.8 liter 122hp double overhead cam engine. From a driveability standpoint there was no comparison. Not that the 94 didn't drive and handle well, to the contrary it was a dream to drive- very refined and athletic for a subcompact. But the 95ES was in a different class entirely,and reminded me of how my 87 Toyota MR2 made me feel so long before. The ES held the road like glue, while the spunky high- revving engine pulled like a train to it's 7000 RPM redline. Absolutely wonderful and smooth, but unlike the MR2 extremely roomy and practical.

5 years later I am still enjoying my Protege, which now has almost 123,000 miles on it, but continues to run like a well-designed machine. Since owning my Protege I have driven Carollas (solid, but bland and boring), Nissan Sentras (well-made, but claustrophobic), Subaru's (all wheel drive is nice but what's with those damned frameless windows, and horrible interior ergonomics?) and my wife's 98 Honda Civic ES (I absolutely hated this car- it was unstable at speed, light, cramped, had horrible seats, and was boring even with despite it's great 5 speed and zippy engine. Lucklily we traded the Civic in for another great vehicle- a 97 Nissan Pathfinder- see my review on this SUV.

The Protege, aslo exhibited wonderful handling in the snow, while the Honda truly sucked. I could easily drive the Protege out of a parking space after a plow came by, while the Civic's similar frontwheel drive provided absolutely no escape from snow. In my honest opinion Honda's are way overrated anyhow. Dollar for Dollar the Protege is an Accord competitor, and trounces all over the "Toy" Civic.

Personally, I think Mazda built a great little car. Sure it's interior materials aren't as good as Honda's, but it is much more comfortable for my 6'2" frame, and over 123,000 miles none of the trim has come apart or broken. So it would seem as if the interiors's lack of tactility doesn't detract from it's durability.

The Protege shows no signs of dying anytime soon, and continues to be ultra reliable in any weather. It's structure continues to be solid and tight with the exception of plastic squeaks and wiring harness rattles that come and go with the weather(dampness and cold tend to make things start talking).

It's drivetrain is smooth 90% of the time, while the other 10% is punctuated by 5 speed balkiness, an overenthusiastic engine diagnostic light (caused mostly by my wife's driving style) and a suspension that is starting to show signs of age (I have yet to replace any part of the suspension, but the rear companents do tend to click on occasion). Other than those instances this car will easily take me into the 200,000 miles range as long as I continue to maintain it.

I have always been religious about maintaining my Protege. I believe it's quite ironic for people to forget about taking care of their cars when they spend so much damn money buying them. I think that part of the reason my car has been mechanically perfect is becasue I have religiously maintained it over the past 5 years, and continue to deal with small issues before they blow up into major failures.

Anyway, I digress, I would buy another Mazda product in a minute. In fact if Ford doesn't mess with Mazda's engineering practices I will find it hard to rationalize purchasing anything but another Protege for my growing family.

4 stars for value, considering I paid a pretty steep price for the ES new.
And 5 Stars for overall, considering the way the Protege has treated my over the years since I purchased it.

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Toyota Carolla (96)
Honda Civic (99)
Toyota Camry (98)
Volswagen Jette (95)
Mazda Protege (94)

AFTER TEST DRIVING ALL THE OTHER CARS :CIVIC,COROLLA,ELENTRA ,FOCUS, I DECIDED TO PURCHASE THIS CAR. I REALLY BELIEVE THIS CAR IS TOP IN ITS CLASS.ITS GOT GREAT LOOKS,RIDE,HANDLING ,INTERIOR (WITH ITS GREEN LIGHTED INSTRUMENT PANEL AND THE HIGH SEAT POSITION ,I FEEL LIKE IM IN A COCKPIT.) VERY GOOD,SPORTY ,SOLID HIGH QUALITY BUILD . IT HAS A VERY FIRM RIDE.

THE POTENZA TIRES TEND TO BE BIT ON THE LOUD SIDE,BUT THATS OK. IN RETURN
THEY STICK TO THE ROAD LIKE GLUE.
MORE HP WOULD BE GOOD.

im really happy that i purchased the protege. excellent handling,quality and reliability .money well spend ! i really like how some american cars look eg:sebring,cirrus, but thay tend to be unreliable and low quality build . for now i think i'll stick with the imports.

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CIVIC-NOISY,INFERIOR INTERIOR,YOU SIT TOO LOW
elentra-cheap,reliability problems
focus-too many recalls,obvious reliability problems
sentra -good car but very bland look

Build quality is much higher then Honda and Toyota have. Feel of the sport sedan similar to BMW 3-series. Things like folding mirrors and expensive plastics you can find only on $25k cars. Engine revs fast and provides enough power to accelerate. Esxcellent fuel economy. Excellent handling. Very informative steering and clutch. Long secong gear. Predictable behaviour in skids, easy to control skid turns. A lot of room for front and rear passengers.

* LX has only 105 HP - you need more horses with 4 passengers and a cargo. My next Mazda is ES.
* Needs premium fuel and oil to achieve good performance.
* Shifting is not as precise as BMW has

It's excellent value for the price. I recently bought my wife the same car but automatic.

You'll get feel of the luxury sport compact, crafted with Japanese quality
and reliability. When Corollas and Civics share parking space with weeds Mazda keeps running.

If you consider Acura Integra - take a look to Mazda Protege.
If you consider I4 Camry or Accord it also worth to take a look to Protege - for the smaller money you'll get almost the same size car.

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New Corollas and Civics look very cheap in comparasing with Mazda.

Strong performance from the 1.8L engine, sweet handling because of the stiffer suspension, very smooth automatic gearbox, nice interoir, extremely roomy and good built quarlity

None, beside fuel economy is only average, but given with its strong engine performance, it's definitely better then the other cars with better fuel economy but with weaker performance

I've been driving this car for more than a year now and I've faced no problems at all, if I have to buy a car with the same budget again I'll still pick this car. I've upgradeded the car with a 2 inch exhaust system, 4-2-1 header, cone air intake and a set of platinum spark plugs too, these give a noticable improvment in performance, I'd say about 20% improvment in power. I paid around A$26000 for the car (this is before GST is introduced in Australia), I got free on-the-road cost, 6 stack CD player, tinted windows and a A$2500 discount from the dealer too, so if u're looking to buy a Mazda in Sydney, I'd definitely recommand you to have a look at Eurocars Mazda in Artamon.

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I've drove my friends' Civics, Lancers and Corollas before, generally the 323 (Protege) is a much sportier car than those cars.

Extremely comfortable, peppy engine, great handling, incredible gas mileage, very roomy and comfortable, a totally fun car to drive

Have found nothing to complain about at all.

I just "downsized" from a 1995 Dodge Intrepid ES (with totally loaded) and was frankly a bit worried that I would not be very comfortable in such a smaller car. It took me six months of research and test drives to finally settle on the Mazda Protege ES, and boy am I delighted! First of all, it seems as large as my huge Intrepid on the inside, certainly in the front seats (although all my friends who have ridden in the back say it is very comfortable and they have tons of room!). I am six feet tall with long legs and I have plenty of stretch out leg room. But for me the best part is that it is more fun to drive than the Intrepid. While my Dodge had a 6 cyl. 3.5 litre engine and Mazda a 4 cyl. 1.8, the Mazda seems a lot peppier! It has that fun, European, BMW type of peppiness. The steering is tight, and it handles beautifully. Because I downsized, I got this ES loaded, so it has a moonroof, ABS brakes, both a CD AND a cassette (great for books on tape), a very nice sounding sound system, front AND side air bags... It has everything I need. Since I drive myself most of the time, and drive about 80 miles a day to work and back, I am most impressed with the gas mileage, which hovers between 30 and 33 mpg in combined city and highway. If you are interested in a fun, attractive, peppy and fun to drive car with great mileage, you should seriously consider the Mazda Protege, and I would especially recommend the little extra luxuries offered in the ES. I got it, by the way, for about $16,500 (that included a $1,000 rebate for the 2000... I don't know what the 2001 will cost, but it should be in the ball park).

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Looked at Hyundai Tiburons (Protege has much more room), bigger on the inside than a Corolla or Sentra or Civic.