2002 Mazda Protege 5 review from North America
"Overall, it's a great car, but ..."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
I live in Colorado, and during the winter, If the heat is switched to the windshield defog position, it forces the intake of air from the outside.
Therefore, if you are stuck in a highway commute, there's no solution, but smelling fumes from traffic. Really annoying...
The A/C is not powerful enough, and it takes a loooong time to cool the cabin. The flow is insufficient to the back seats.
The low-profile tires lasted only 20k miles, and are very expensive to replace.
I didn't realize how bad the tires were until I got caught in small "incident" during a snow storm. I lost control at a very slow speed and ended up hitting the curb. Front axle broke, 600 bucks to fix.
If you get the sunroof, the wind deflector is definitely required, for about $60.
General comments?
The stereo and the speakers are not that great, but I never bothered to spend more money on that anyway...
Despite all of these complains, I would recommend it: For about 17.5 k, with a 100k Miles extended warranty, it is a great buy.
Overall, it is a very nice car. It averages about 29 Mi/gal in a commute/city traffic. Very nice looking and it has a GREAT interior finishing.
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 Manual |
| Performance marks | 7/10 |
| Reliability marks | 9/10 |
| Comfort marks | 8/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 9/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 0 miles |
| Most recent distance | 25000 miles |
| Previous car | Honda Civic |
| Date of Entry | 18th May, 2003 |