Zoom Zoom...

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. Moving onto the Protege... I heard about this little car and wanted to check it out, being a fan of Mazda's attention to design detail and known reputation for being innovative and cutting edge it compelled me to take a look. Going into the dealer, we saw basically the one we wanted and took it for a test drive. I was much happier with sitting lower to the ground, and the position of the seating. Presumably because of the smaller size, the pickup fealt comfortably eager, the steering wheel was well placed and considerably smaller and easier to grip. Needless to say, for what we wanted we were impressed.

The Competition
There were other cars put into equation for the 17-18k range. We did test drive the more family oriented Toyota Corolla CE, the more aggressively styled Ford Mustang Premium Coupe, the Ford Focus LX and the Dodge Neon SXT. Also the now discontinued Mercury Cougar was considered, but I guess the styling is an acquired taste (more of mine than his). We also considered the Honda Civic, but not seriously due to price and options (It would've cost a whopping 24,000$ for the options we wanted, and got in the Protege!). Many of the options in the Civic weren't as refined, and the performance just wasn't there. For that amount of money, I expect a vehicle capable of more than 127 crank horsepower and 115ft.lbs of torque. Options killed the Mustang, but the highly alluring style really grabbed both our attention. We still wish they offered a moonroof without looking into the aftermarket.

Toyota Corolla CE
Family oriented, less distinctive styling, not your aesthetic commuter. That's what you'll find in the Corolla. Forever now Japanese car competition has been fierce, and the Corolla is no different. Toyota really tries to compete with the Protege, and does so moderately successfully. The car in general was comfortable, but as with the Ranger it just didn't have that sporty edge we were looking for. It didn't seem to enjoy going from a full stop to freeway speeds as much, and the attention to detail and quality seemed to lack, despite the well-known Toyota name. So, the Mazda wins... this time.

NOTE: The CE is the model used in the test drive, as it was all they had on their lot waiting for the 2003 models to arrive. Engine specs, and other comparisons of available features remain the same.

Ford Mustang Premium Coupe
I've always been a fan of the Mustang, it's by far the most eye-catching car on the road and for good reason. Ford really took the time out to blow everyone away in terms of looks. The acceleration was freeway happy, and the suspension was tight. Handling was confident and eager for more. The size was somewhat large, and confidence levels were slightly diminished due to this factor. It had a reasonable abundance of stock features, but what killed it was price of vehicle, price of insurance and gas mileage. Also, the lack of a moonroof without looking into the aftermarket was a huge disappointment. Needless to say, at this time the Mustangs taste in our mouth was bittersweet. Put up another mark for the Protege...

Edit (Wednesday, July 03 2002): I also forgot to mention the fact that Ford completely abandoned the idea of a keyhole on the passengers side. Since all Mustangs get remote keyless entry it's not as big of a deal, but I think it's rather stupid (and cheap) of Ford to exclude them in the case that, say, the battery's were to die out on the remote keyless entry. I'm sorry to say that Ford's quality has seemingly gone downhill and the reason the other cars may have been so reliable is because the Escort we had was actually completely designed by Mazda as a renamed Protege and had a Ford logo on it. So with this in mind these two cars share a very close relationship and seeing how the older Escort GT's and 80's style Mustang's (two cars that were previously owned) were also closely related, it would explain them being reliable.

Ford Focus LX
We're still looking for the right car, and with the mileage being limited on the truck we went to rent a car (we also did this with the Mustang, and drove it for a total of 7 days to Gatlinburg, TN, then to Williamsburg, VA and all the way back to Ohio). The Ford Focus right off the bat left a taste reminiscent of manure. The seats sat high up and forward, the styling wasn't near as good as the Protege, the doors were heavy, the handling was hard to maneuver, the buttons were hard to press, the stereo was cheap and bad sounding, I could go on for quite a while but I'll spare you the pain. This is a depressing discovery considering many reviews rate the Focus as the best in class. But this is also why these things are largely considered subjective. So the melody of "Zoom Zoom" rings on...

Dodge Neon SXT
I like Ford, always have. Toyota being a secondary preference. But, this time I wanted to go all out. I wanted to see what was out there. Call it curiosity, call it the beginnings of a progressively more informed consumer, or wanting to be more informed, at least. I went into Dodge with an open mind. They can't be all that bad, I see them all over the place in Kentucky. So, onto the next consideration. Again we get into styling, and there was a definite look of refinement to the Neon. It had the round styling of cars in the early 90's that seem to be sadly disappearing more and more. The headlights were situated in the body in a fashion that reminded me of a less aggressively styled Porsche. Although the upgraded R/T was on our minds, all they had was the SXT. Okay, we can test drive this and take it with a grain of salt. After all, they can always order the R/T in. I was slightly disappointed by the heavy ratio of automatics vs. manuals. We want gas mileage here and manual is the only way to go for that. But again, we kept an open mind. Hoping our brains didn't fall out, we took a ride around the block a few times. The seats were comfy, the interior was less flashy but still had a nice common-sense feel to it. Although to this day, the foglight buttons placement remains a mystery to us. The stereo had a deep sound to it, this is uncommon in stock stereos and all things considered, it wasn't bad at all. The in-dash CD changer was however difficult to access, and made me slightly paranoid of damage to my ever so precious CD's. Yes I bring CD's along on test drives, I like to listen to music a lot. The acceleration did seem to lack, and breaking not as strong as our beloved Protege. We later came to read the automatic is supposedly only a 3 speed which deteriorates it's pickup. The R/T only comes with a manual, though. So we're still considering it, there is good with the bad. So far the choices are the Neon and the Protege.

The Competition: Summary
All of these cars had their ups and downs. some more reliable than others, some faster, some better looking. Each had bad points, some more major and some less. Understanding the car business seems to be a dog-eat-dog world, everyone's trying to compete with everyone. In fact, sometimes it seems they're trying to compete with themselves, or other companies under their domain. It comes as no surprise that every company also seems to target a slightly different audience even with the car they're trying to compete with, and often times they try to target the broadest possible audience. This doesn't help the decision any, and trust me sitting down and reading about cars for hours isn't my idea of fun. It took us quite a while to come to the conclusions that we did, and to let each and every model sink in a little more. But the choice for us came pretty simple after much thought and consideration of any and all factors, as the Mustang and Focus were already out of the picture because they're either not exactly what we want right now (not because it's a bad car) or because the car, well, reeks. The Neon was good, but appeared less reliable, and just because I've been raised around Fords fealt less comfortable. The Corolla didn't have that sporty edge that we wanted, so we're down to one choice. You guessed it, the Protege. and a good choice it was!

On a side note, Mazda is in fact owned by the Ford Motor Company.

The Look
The Protege sports a very distinctive and attractive look. It's extremely well thought out on the exterior. It stands out in a crowd, but it's not a yellow Ferrari, either. The size is practical, and the lines are clean. The stance is also fairly sporty. The interior is functional, the silver highlights set apart the void, the steering column is well situated, the gearbox is clean. The Mazda emblems are a brushed silver, and the "wings" logo is actually quite cute. The seats in the ES are only offered in "Charcoal", where I would have much preferred the LX's "Beige". The glove compartment is relatively large (unlike the Mustang's), there's adequate room for CD's, pens, bills and other miscellaneous interior cargo. Another feature that is much appreciated is the brake lights in the spoiler, although small I do personally think it adds to the overall look and feel of the car. Also, the tachometer. speedometer and other gauges are in white, with black lettering. This at first turned me off, but I'm getting more and more into actually enjoying it. The interior lights are red, which is new, different and refreshing. It hasn't appeared to take away from the ease of reading the instrumentation so far, and again the different look is refreshing and sets it slightly apart.

The Feel
Everything is placed in an arms reach, the buttons and switches are easy to find and operate. The steering wheel feels comfortable, and the grip is good if the situation where an extreme maneuver were needed. The keyless entry is small and easy to use, the buttons are big and easy to read. The cloth seats are comfortable, although a softer material would be preferred, it's not going to make me scoff at the car.

The Space Between
Yes, that is a Dave Matthews reference. No, I'm not a fan but I thought it fit nicely. The interior is unusually roomy, there's more than plenty room to move around. The rear passengers seats seem to even have enough room for a slightly tall person to fit into. The seats adjust well to your liking, and they recline back in a non-obnoxious comfortable way. The trunk is fairly roomy, and more than enough to fit cargo for extended road trips. There is also the added benefit of the cargo net, however I question when I'll actually use it. I probably will someday. Overall, the room is practical.

The Zoom Zoom
The acceleration, although not as gratifying as the Mustang is fun, and seems to be adequate. Going up a hill seems to need more gas than some other cars, but this may be due to me being less used to the Protege's characteristics.

The Wicked Winding Streets Of My World
The handling seems to enjoy a sharp turn less than the Mustang, but in terms of the competition for Front Wheel Drive compact sedans has the leading edge. It is enjoyable pressing in the gas slightly out of a corner, and is fairly confident going right into the next one.

The Lasting Impression
The cars life has been short lived, and as to be expected from any car, so far is flawless. I will update this as I go along, however reading what many others say Protege's in general hold their own.

Edit (Wednesday, July 03 2002): We're at around 4,000 miles, reliability has still been flawless, although a concern of a "clicking" sound was recently discovered it has gone away for now. We suspect rocks or something caught in the suspension. According to some this sound exists in many Protege's but does not in any way affect reliability. It is completely non-existent or at the very least inaudible in ours.

Edit (Wednesday, April 23 2003): Just a quick blip to let everyone know everything's been wonderful! Flawless reliability of all of the stock components, we're at around 20,000 miles now (I know, we racked on some miles FAST). The sound has not come back at all, or, as previously mentioned, is completely inaudible. Looking forward to the next (estimated) 3 years with our Protege! :)

Edit (Thursday, August 05 2004): We're at around 38,000 miles now, everything has been well within my expectations for reliability. I'm beginning to realize we're averaging almost 20,000 miles a year. If all goes to plan, at this rate we will be trading the car in at around 100,000 miles. We've both been eyeing the Audi A4 3.0 Quattro a little too closely. I think more for him than me. The other consideration for him has been the Mazda 6s. Me personally, the 350z and RX-8 keep calling my name. So, as far as the Protege goes, the interior components of the car have stood up so far. I just wiped it down really well not too long ago and the car still feels and looks brand new. We've babied it quite a bit, using K&N filters along with Mobil1 5w30 synthetic oils every 5,000 miles. I've seen to it that the best is used in the car, so I would hope that it's running smoothly even under the harsh conditions it is sometimes subjected to. One thing I wanted to mention that I haven't yet is the tires that come stock on the Protege aren't the greatest. Don't get me wrong, they grip EXTREMELY well (as well as any ultra high performance tire I've had experience with). The problem is, they wear out very quickly. I would suggest other Protege owners to purchase a set of Toyo Proxes. They grip about equally well, have better rain traction and last twice as long for about 2/3rds the cost. I also wanted to inform my readers that the 1991cc I4 FS-DE engine featured in the 3rd generation Protege (some models featured a 1.8 however, but all 3rd generation ES's featured the 2.0) has won several awards as most reliable engine ever built. It's even almost as strong as the track proven FE3 engine. I personally feel they're both about equal. Take that Honda! :)

The Safety and Reassurance
The Protege ES that we did get has ABS, Side Impact Air Bags, and Four Wheel Disc Breaks. These features combined make me feel safer under nearly any environment. The warranty is 36 months or 50,000 miles, which is a step above most warranty's that I've seen so far. They also have Roadside Assistance, and they will give you a loaner by request if it's out of service. This will certainly help me sleep slightly better at night...

The End Of All Good Things
As we come near completion of this review, it is in mine and your best interest to remind you that this is my opinion. It may or may not be shared by all, but it's what I've gathered through my little exploration. Overall the car is great, the only two complaints are the interior colour and also the not previously mentioned lack of a "lock/unlock" button on the passengers side. I have a feeling that this car will be enjoyed for many years to come, and for the most part Mazda has really taken the time to refine this car more and more. Given the current competition, I think this was certainly by far the best choice for me. Thank you for reading, and ta ta for now :).

Edit (Wednesday, July 03 2002): It should be noted that I have the 2002 version and not the 2002.5 which removes the cover on the cup holders and adds two speakers to the rear doors (the first 2002 has the door grills, but no speakers inside). I'm quite happy that I got this because the way I see it the stock stereo will be replaced and it just makes more work for removing the rear door ones and also the cover on the cup holder is worth more to me. This decision I leave up to you :).