2002 Mazda Protege

Pros: Style outside and in, handling/braking, exceptional interior/options, spacious/comfortable & good trunk. 

Cons: Likely fuel numbers will be less than competition, rougher ride at low speed. 

The Bottom Line: I've owned Ford & GM, Japanese car makers have been doing compact for so long, they just quite simply have the edge here. 

Review: My last two cars have been Subaru (one excellent experience and one less than but that's life, I still remain a fan of Subaru) but when shopping for a new car I had to admit that living downtown in a large city I really don't need AWD, gas is $$ in ...

Pros: Roomy, Moderately Peppy, Good Design, Good Handling, Sporty, Good Suspension, Good Warranty, Comfortable, more...

Cons: Not a land rocket, Lack of "lock/unlock" button on passengers side

The Bottom Line: All in all, in comparison to the cars in the same price range the Protege comes out on top. It's affordable, reliable, comfortably quick and wont chew through gas.

Review: Starting off... We were stuck with a 2000 Ford Ranger on a 3 year lease, and although it's a good truck it's a truck and not what we were looking for. We had originally purchased it in MN, and there we fealt as if we needed 4x4. ...

Pros: Superlative handling, great engine, roomy and comfortable, good looks

Cons: Well let's see..... hmmmm....

The Bottom Line: Quick and nimble and totally comfortable. The Protege could be my next car and my THIRD Mazda!

Review: After years of driving used cars with 100K plus miles, it is almost finally time to buy my first new car. The small car market has been dominated by a few main cars, the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla and the Ford Focus. But what about Mazda's entry,...

Pros:

Handling
Safety - ABS and side airbags are standard
Reliability
Gas mileage - low 30s w/regular gas

Cons:

Tires
CD player won't play burned CDs

The Bottom Line: This has been a great car.  It does everything I want it to do and never fails to make me smile.

Review: I bought my Protege ES new in Sept of 2002 to replace a wrecked 2000 Honda Civic LX as my daily driver. I have owned Hondas, Alfa Romeos, and a BMW, but in my opinion, this one has them all beat. It doesn't seem to have quite the power or the build ...

Pros: Good looking, reliable car, can be easily tweaked.

Cons: Very tight suspension, fuel economy could be better.

The Bottom Line: This is a good car, it's a good value used as well, just shop carefully.

Review: In 2002 I had to replace my Aging 1994 Ford Escort. It was in it's death throes as far as the transmission was concerned. And since I was happy with that car I replaced it with the Protege since the cars were the same in many ways. And I've been happy ...

Pros: reliability, handling, roominess

Cons: I got nothin'

The Bottom Line: I would recommend this car to anyone who asked.

Review: My 2002 Protege SE with the 1.6L is the most reliable car I've ever owned. It's also the first Japanese car I've owned. It has over 111,000km on it now and the only problem I've had so far is the radio display. It doesn't always show all of the ...

Pros: Very reliable and maintenance free (102,000 miles), great handling, CD player, roomy and comfortable.

Cons: Road noise and acceleration

The Bottom Line: If the 2002 is as reliable as the 1999, you wont be disappointed if you prefer handling over ride quality.

Review: I purchased a 1999 Protege LX, right after the new (and now current) body style was released for about $13,500.00 and haven't been disappointed since. I've driven over 75,000 trouble free miles and the car still drives like new. (With new tires and regul ...

Pros: price, inside space, power engine, style

Cons: noisy

The Bottom Line: It is not a family car as Corolla. I think it is designed for persons who want enjoy driving on the road, and want something different from others.

Review: Feel good to be the first one to write commends on Protege 2002. First of all, it is a nice car in its price range.

I have been waiting to buy a new Protege for one year, since my home is just 5 minutes walking from my office... Two days after...

Pros: Price, Comfort, style, ride

Cons: Wipers lack of speed, no tachometer

The Bottom Line: Great car for the money, don't buy a used 99 anything get a 2002 Protege instead with the 0% or 4.9 will save you money in the long run

Review: Now over 17 months I have had this car and its still perfect not a single problem other than the trunk keyhole has some rust on it as wel las the Mazda nameplate on the trunk but mazda service cleaned it right up. Unfortunatly they have discontinued the ...

Pros: Its a smooth ride, Great sound system, fuel economy is ok. Price is right.

Cons: None yet

The Bottom Line: The Protege is fun, great to look at, inexpensive and very reliable.

Review: My mind was set on a Nissan Sentra. I investigated the Focus and the Toyota Corolla. I didn't want the Focus because I heard about too many problems and it didn't seem reliable and the Corolla style was not what I wanted. I wanted the Nissan because...