2002 Mazda Protege PR5 from North America - Comments

Nothing.

The Good:

This car has been great. We only paid 17,900.00$ for it and it has been worth every penny.

It rides well (if not taunt.) Handles like a boyracer Hot-wheel. Feels fairly fast even though it could use about 30 more horsepower and looks fabulous.

The cargo space is outstanding.

We have built a 1320 ft fence with this little car by folding down the rear seats, laying out a tarp, and placing 4 ft tall (laid flat) 100 ft rolls of wire in it at a time and placing ten 10 ft 2x4's on the roof top carrier. It was quite amusing to watch all the construction types at Home Depot watching us load this little blue car full of fencing material over our 5 trips to the store.

We have racked up 27000 miles on it in 12 months and every oil change and tire rotation was paid for by our 400.00$ 6 yr unlimited mileage maintenance agreement; at 38.00$ a pop it will pay for itself soon.

Overall after a year of heavy use it looks, smells, and drives like new.

The Bad:

I can understand how some people are disturbed by the wind-noise it is a bit excessive at times. The stock radio does sound a little weak.

I could not agree with you anymore. I bought a Mazda Protege 5 in Aug. of 2002 and it is the 1st car I have ever owned. I bought it when I was 15 and a half and now I am 17, I would not trade it for anything in the world. You are right about the factory sterio, it is a little weak. I think that the car handles great also.