2001 Mazda Protege 5 2.0L from North America

Summary:

Really fun to drive

Faults:

Driver side mirror vibration at highway speed. Dealer replaced, but still vibrates.

A dashboard rattle was fixed.

Finish on all 4 rims bubbled at ~35,000 km. Dealer re-finished.

Ball bearing replaced in front driver's wheel at 41,000 km.

General Comments:

Handling is excellent.

Despite modest 130 hp / 135 torque it "feels" quick.

9-11L / 100 km fuel economy.

Air-conditioning struggles to keep things cool when it's 30+ celcius.

Upholstery is not durable.

Stereo / speakers are average at best.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th July, 2004

2001 Mazda Protege 5 2.0L from North America

Summary:

Low cost fun from Mazda

Faults:

Bought the car brand new and drove it right out of the dealership. Have put on a little over 64000k on it in the 3 years that I have had it.

I have had what seems to be manufacturing problems (or at least that is what the dealer calls them). Within the first 3 months, the lights (all of them) would just shut right off! It was quite a pain at night time. Dealer replaced a faulty relay timer.

The driver side window also got "stuck" half way down. I drove straight to the dealer, and they fixed it within an hour. There seemed to be a flaw with the design inside the door which caused this problem.

At 59,000km, (1000k left on warranty) the paint on the rims bubbled and started to flake off. I got new rims from the dealer for "free" while the car was still under warranty. No real hassle from them at all.

General Comments:

Great Car for the price.

Handles well.

Standard transmission makes this car fun to drive.

A lot better on gas then the 89 Jeep Cherokee Ltd I had!

Wish for more cargo space in the trunk.

Everything is within reach from the drivers seat and where it should be.

Make sure you get winter rims and tires, as the low profiles with the 5 star are impossible to drive in, especially in Canadian winters. It is also a sin to ruin the rims and tires in all of the snow and salt.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd July, 2004

2001 Mazda Protege LX 2.0 from North America

Faults:

Clutch shudder is apparent.

Extremely noisy engine upon cold startup and acceleration until the engine is hot. This requires the replacement of the Variable Tumble Control valve and PCM reprogramming. Mazda will not cover even though it's only 2 months out of warranty and has only 30000kms on it.

Seat fabric is starting to wear

Needed to apply rust undercoating early as signs of rust were appearing

The factory radio is unimpressive and the back-light has failed.

Extremely variable idle when cold.

General Comments:

The car was reasonably priced

I fit into it better than any other subcompact (I am 6'4")

The brakes are very strong

The car handles very well

It accelerates well

The A/C is cold, must better than in my previous Honda Accord.

The site lines are very good.

The 2.0 engine revs at over 3000RPM at 100km/h. Om our 1994 626 the 2.0 revved at 2600.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th June, 2004

16th Apr 2005, 08:27

I've not driven many competitors, but I get more leg room in my Hyundai Accent (2002) than my Mazda Protege (1999). Try it out.

6th Feb 2007, 00:53

As I noted to another reviewer on this site, more RPM does not mean more engine stress. Indeed, it means less! Pushing a car 70 mph at 3500 RPM means the engine is doing less work per revolution than it would if it were running at 2500 RPM. Don't let your ears deceive you -- and Mazda really should figure out how to quiet the engine noise -- but higher revs are not bad for your engine, provided you stay below the red line.

At lower RPM you gain gas mileage at the expense of performance and engine wear. Gas prices are high in the USA right now, but for me, the performance is well worth the exchange!

Matt.

4th Aug 2008, 14:44

That is the first thing I noticed with my 2000 Mazda Protege LX. It revved very high for only going 110 kmph, which is the normal highway speed here in Atlantic Canada. It's almost as if the car should be a 6 speed. But I'm not complaining. It just caught me off guard. haha.