2002 Mazda Protege 5 review from North America
"An expensive-looking, $20K, miserly sports-car with 4 doors and a huge "trunk" area."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Infiniti I30
It was a great car; I bought it with 40K miles, and drove it until 103K 2.5 years later (long commute). The main reason I got a new car was that the air conditioning compressor was going ($$$) and I would need brakes soon.
Protege5
Nothing yet, but I've only had it for 7 weeks.
General comments?
Infiniti I30
It was plenty powerful, comfortable, but took Premium fuel.
Protege5
This is the best-handling car I've ever had (and I've had a couple that were pitched as being "sports cars"). With about 30 more horses, it would handle even better (for powering out of curves), and the car could definitely handle it. The SportAT lets you have about 75% of the fun of a stick, but the convenience of automatic (for when your mobile rings).
Recommended reviews
| We got a lemon |
|
| Nice in a lot of ways, but overall unrefined and illogical |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 2002 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 gasoline (87 octane rating) Semi-Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 6 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 9 miles |
| Most recent distance | 3700 miles |
| Previous car | Infiniti I30 |
| Date of Entry | 26th November, 2002 |