1996 Mazda Protege

Pros: Fuel Economy, Interior Room, Braking, Handling, Optional Features, Price

Cons: Acceleration (DX & LX models), hard to find ES models

The Bottom Line: Simply the best choice if you are on a budget, and want a second car for fuel-economy daily-driver purposes. Better choice than Civic, Corolla, Sentra, Neon or Cavalier

Review: It seems the rising fuel costs have driven up the price of used small cars. I used to own a Ford Festiva, but didn't like how it handled so I sold it for $600. Today, if I were to put it on ebay, it would have easily fetched over $1250 and likely more ...

Pros: Handles nicely, good gas mileage, reliable, good standard safety features

Cons: Hills will give your Protege a problem, that O/D button is kind of a pain

Review: We needed a new car. Simple as that. My husband works nights and I stay at home with the kids and in case of an emergency we needed another vehicle. We searched the internet for every car rating you can possibly think of, and few did better than the...

Pros: value, quality, size

Cons: LX underpowered with automatic transmission

Review: I bought my Protege in 1996 after careful research on ConsumerReports.com and Edmunds.com. I also considered the Civic and Chevy Cavalier. The price was right, and the interior styling and size were superior to other cars, especially the Saturn and the...

Pros: That it is very dependable

Cons: better for a bank to finance than finance company

Review: The reason I brought my car. I was looking for a dependable car that would take me to and from work. Something that was really reliable and good on gas. This Mazda is my first car from the Mazda line of cars. All my other cars was by other manufacturers....

Pros: Reliable, good mileage, spacious interior

Cons: Not great in the mountains

Review: I have a '96 Protege and I have absolutely no complaints about it. It is a great value for the money.

The engine is what you expect from a 4-cylinder. It doesn't have a whole lot of pickup, but you don't have any problems accelerating to...

Pros: Fuel efficient

Cons: I can't say anything

Review: I got one for more than 2 year (since i am 16) and I always run it at his maximum and the 1.5 had never failed under the pressure. I never put a penny on this car and it is runnig way better than the 2002 dodge neon of my friend. The only car that can ...

Pros: Good engine feel, good stick feel, not too expensive.

Cons: Won't fit 5 comfortably, and it's still not a performance car.

Review: In the past 4 years, the one car that I have consistently driven is the 1996 Mazda Protege. My mother bought this car after I totalled her 1993 Mazda 323. Oops. Sorry mom.

The Protege is smaller than the 626, and is the smallest non-sports...

Pros: reliability, driving, gas mileage

Cons: minor driving annoyances

Review: I looked at the Protege because Consumer Reports had rated it highly. I compared it to:

- Civic: couldn't find any of them in town for even as little as recommended retail price. The ones I tried seemed under-powered. Not as much head room...

Pros: reliable, comfortable

Cons: lethal cup holders

Review: I bought my new 1996 Protege in 1996. At the time, it seemed difficult to find a low cost car that was not the size of a Tercel and that was not bottom of the barrel on comfort. The Protege fit the bill. Cruise control, power windows and locks, a...

Pros: Fuel Mileage 38 - 42 average, Comfortable seats, tight steering, fun car to drive.

Cons: road noise, EGR problems.

Review: When the fuel prices started inching towards $3.00 again I started looking for a commuter car that was dependable and got decent fuel mileage. My father in law owned a 1992 protege and never had many problems. I found a 1996 DX with the 1.5 liter engine ...