I recently posted a question about the Mazda Protege?

Question

I got answers about good Oldsmobile's and dodges...I know they a really good cars because that is all I usually buy. I need some input on the Mazda Protege.I know that it will more then likely never compare to an older dodge or olds for power and durability but how good of a car are they?

Answer 1

the 98-03 protege compared very favorably to the sentra, corolla and civic.  it handled better and had more passenger room than any of them.  it was the sports car of the bunch... and in thsoe years had a reliability rating similar to the corolla and civic.

Answer 2

Try out Driverside. It's still in beta but for each model it has cost of ownership, quality ratings, lists of similar cars, technical specs and links to other sites that will help you out with more data.  The cost of ownership is very helpful.

http://www.driverside.com/car/mazda-prot...

Answer 3

Historically, they are very reliable.

You should always have any used car you intend to purchase inspected by an independent mechanic, but you should be able to find a good Protege.

The Protege was replaced by the Mazda 3 in 2004.  

Answer 4

Proteges are extremely reliable cars- one of the most reliable cars Mazda has ever built. They are probably better than those old cars in reliability even compared to when those old cars were new. They are actually considered underrated by practically every magazine. They are definitely on par with Civics and Corollas in terms of build quality,safety, fuel economy and reliability. The thing that makes them special as that they are even more fun to drive than those two and the Base models tend to have better appointed interiors than the Civic and Corolla Base models. The problem with them is that they are somewhat of a "hidden gem" because Mazdas marketing sucks. The only effective advertising they ever had was the "Zoom Zoom" theme. Unfortunately, by the time they developed this, it was too late. The new Protege has a new name, the Mazda 3. You can't go wrong with one. My personal favorites are the 1990-1994 Protege LX which had the 1.8 liter twin cam engine, and the limited edition 2001 Mazda Protege MP3 and the 2003 Mazdaspeed Proteges. The 2001 MP3 model actually outhandled the 2001 BMW M3 in the slaloms in the 2001 Motor Trend Car of the Year battle. The Mazdaspeed Protege was basically a turbocharged version of the MP3 offered in 2003.