1996 Mazda Protege DX review from North America

Muffler practically fell off, though the car is driven through tons of salt every winter so I don't blame it.

For some reason that neither I nor my mechanic can figure out, the fan fuse goes every month or so and requires a 30 cent replacement. Made me fail an emissions inspection once, don't know how they were related, but so it goes.

The carpeting in the back seat tore from the body very easily.

I'll start off with the bad news. This car is weak and does not like hills whatsoever. You'll occasionally find yourself kicking off the overdrive just to go up a steep hill or to merge into traffic. I don't know if it's a fluke, but when I got the car, it took a couple of weeks for the carpeting in the back to rip off the body, which is quite ugly.

There is however, plenty of good news. I got the car very cheap after it was wrecked and abandoned. A buddy of mine who worked in the towing place fixed it up and sold it to me for very cheap. There was no internal damage, but the hood and one fender had to be replaced. After that accident, the car still runs quite fine and nothing outside the expected has gone wrong. The factory supplied speakers are better than any I've heard. The seats, front and back, are much more comfortable than seats in newer and more expensive cars. They are of the firm, but supportive ergonomic kind. That combined with a surprisingly roomy cabin (front and back) makes this one of the few small cars good for long trips. There is also a ton of trunk space. For someone looking for a relatively inexpensive (these devalue fast, for some reason), economical, and practical used car, this is a great choice. Don't buy that civic!