1999 Mazda Protege ES review from North America

My mechanic has told me that the seal is cracked and oil is leaking, but it's a very slow leak, after a month of being told this, I still have a full oil dipstick and have not had to "top up" my oil.

The rheostat has gone on my heating settings (IE the low-medium-high settings in this case 1-3 do not work, but the 4th setting blows air/heat into the car). I had replaced the rheostat and a week later it went again. My mechanic replaced it a third time, but it blew again a few days later. Turns out, he contacted a Mazda dealership the second time it went and they told him that both the rheostat and the motor needs to be replaced, but he thought they were trying to shake money out of him (and me) but I guess it's true. I still haven't replaced both items as I will use it until it totally does not work.

I bought the Protege because I had a gas guzzling Grand Prix (3.1 L engine) and while there was nothing too seriously wrong with it, I needed a more fuel efficient car which the Protege (1.6 L) offered.

I had all the bells and whistles with the GP and moved into a basic-definitely-not-loaded Protege, but the car is fun to drive and handles well. I'm 6'1" and am very comfortable in the car, although anyone sitting behind me can be cramped if they are over 5'. I moved to the country (almost 50km/30miles) from work and 80km/50 miles from my kids so I do quite a bit of highway driving and the protege is good on gas. It also has good acceleration for passing as I travel on mostly 2 lane roads/highways. I do miss my cruise control tho on longer trips and to ensure I'm staying within the speed limit. I've had the car up to 140km/h/80-85mph on long trips and not even realize it until I look at the speedometer, no shakes or rattles. In just a shade under 2 years that I have had the car, I have put on 80,000km/50,000 miles and figure I have saved a ton of cash on gas. Plus I ensure regular oil changes, preventative maintenance and tire rotation/replacement.

My girlfriend likes that I have good space in the car as she has used it to bring home 8' long 2X4's that fit easily inside the car with the back seats down, to the front panel and the trunk closed. The trunk is very big for a small vehicle and when the kids and I went for week long vacation, all our suitcases, gym bags, shoes, jackets etc fit easily and I did not have to remove my trunk caddy (carrying oil, tools, jumper cables etc) to make things fit.

My kids are getting bigger and my girlfriend and I are planning on buying a house that needs to be fixed up so now I'm looking for a Honda CV or Mazda Tribute for hauling stuff, otherwise (and hopefully) I would not trade in this car for anything else.