2001 Mazda Protege ES review from North America

This particular Protege was extremely well-maintained and I had no problem with the high mileage. I paid less than trade-in value, based on the NADA site, which factors in mileage and is much better for buyers than Kelly or most other sites.

When I changed the oil for the first time, I found a factory Mazda filter, which I replaced with an auto parts store filter. They all perform about the same, but the presence of a factory filter confirmed that this car was maintained on a factory schedule, with factory parts. (That's good news...). The timing belt has only about 7,000 miles on it, so I'm feeling lucky to have made this deal.

The real news in this review is that in May, a guy from out of town ran a stop sign and wrecked this car. The impact snapped the tie rod and ruined the strut, axle, wheel and tire on the passenger side.

But I have a great body shop here, and they fixed it right, as always. Last weekend I finally had a chance to try out the new front end repairs by driving it hard on some back roads here in Pa. It passed the test and remains a great driver's car. Five speed stick, twin cam engine, etc. I'm hauling more weight than a Miata, but I have the same horsepower...

Still lovin' Mazda.

Matt.

This car is a step down from the 1992 Protege I previously owned, particularly in the interior. Both cars were very good on the curvy back roads of Pa., but the 2001 is a little bit better. Maybe. The '92 had a tight gear ratio that made it fast through the curves and hills, so it's hard to pick on over the other.

The Protege from 2001 -- and the other years for this model -- are rated a "best deal" by Consumer Reports. The Mazda 3, which replaced the Protege, is regarded as superior. I suppose I'll be looking those next, when they are old enough to be affordable.

Matt.