Topic: Bought a 2001 mazda protege

[gollumn]

got this car about a month ago. I did a fair bit of homework, and figured I'd share the pros and cons.

2001 Mazda Protege ES GT 2.0, 5 speed.
Pros:
-lots of pep
-corners very well
-easy to keep clean
-feels sporty overall
-roomy enough for me at 6'3"
-decent fuel economy
-seats are pretty comfortable on longer trips
-have had comments from a few girls on how much they like it :-)

cons:
-seats don't seem to have enough vertical grooves. I find my back gets sweaty very fast in this car. Will probably just pop in a back rest thingy.
-cupholders are too shallow
-heat shield on bottom of car started rattling, they removed it. not a biggie, just an annoying sound, now gone.
-some owners have told me that brakes are a thing to watch. E.g., have the rear caliper sliders lubed religiously??. Though, I haven't had that done yet.  
-strange steering. Not sure if this is warranted as a con really, but the steering on Proteges is different from most cars I've driven. It's hard to describe, but suffice it to say that bumps/shape of the road will pull the steering around. It's not bad, and kinda gives more direct sterring control, just odd to me. I'm used to GM cars where I can steer with my index finger if I wish :-)

Overall, very fun car to drive, quite happy to have it (so far).

[Careener]

I've got one of those too.  
Pros:
Handling
Peppy for a low cost vehicle
Amazing depreciation when buying used
Decent layout
Comfortable (enough) seats
I don't cry when my daughter spills juice everywhere (I would in my good car)

Cons
Cold Engine rattle --there's a PCM flash for this..haven't had it done yet
Clutch chatter -mid 2002s got a new clutch/flywheel to fix this..but none for us!
A/C is on when in any mode except 1-there's a way to disable this but it's a headache
Potholes on 401 can really be felt
Bushing noise when travelling over speed bumps
Wierd front-end (driver's side)vibration at speeds exceeding 120..is worse with the winters on but can be felt with the summers too.

I know what you mean about the steering. I find it's partly due to the V rated tires. My snows change the steering feel drastically. I'd describe it as "darty" with the summers on.
This is my third Mazda. I must say I'm wondering how well this car will age. The 2.0l engine isn't as smooth as the 2.0 I had in my 626, the seats are pilling and things are starting to rattle.

(Message edited by careener on July 19, 2005)

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The disc brakes and auto transmissions have been trouble spots on some of 'em. But still a great car.

[slybry]

I was surprised to see what might me a rusting problem on Proteges. My friend has a 2001 with 60,000 kms on it and it has rust on black trim around windows. Since then I have been eyeballing other Proteges and seen same problem occuring. Just saw a Mazda 5 yesterday with quite a bit of rust on window trim.

Not too impressive for cars that new.

[Shnak]

I was surprised to see what might me a rusting problem on Proteges. My friend has a 2001 with 60,000 kms on it and it has rust on black trim around windows. Since then I have been eyeballing other Proteges and seen same problem occuring. Just saw a Mazda 5 yesterday with quite a bit of rust on window trim.

Not too impressive for cars that new.

A Mazda5 with rust? Are you serious???

[thang]

-strange steering. Not sure if this is warranted as a con really, but the steering on Proteges is different from most cars I've driven. It's hard to describe, but suffice it to say that bumps/shape of the road will pull the steering around. It's not bad, and kinda gives more direct sterring control, just odd to me. I'm used to GM cars where I can steer with my index finger if I wish :-)

Mazda has "Variable assisted rack and pinion steering", even with this compact vehicle. This feature is only found in higher class of other manufactures

I think you don't get used to, if you get used to, you will like it. It's very dangerous when you have too much "power steering" on the highway

[weebl]

A/C is on when in any mode except 1-there's a way to disable this but it's a headache

I have a 2002, so it might be different from the 2001's, but the A/C is always on (for defogging) for windshield, windshield/floor and floor modes.  Why it comes on for the floor mode, I can't explain.  To defog your shoes maybe   The vent and vent/floor modes do not activate the A/C.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I was surprised to see what might me a rusting problem on Proteges. My friend has a 2001 with 60,000 kms on it and it has rust on black trim around windows. Since then I have been eyeballing other Proteges and seen same problem occuring. Just saw a Mazda 5 yesterday with quite a bit of rust on window trim.

Not too impressive for cars that new.

A Mazda5 with rust? Are you serious???

He means a Mazda Protegé5 I'm sure.

[Shnak]

I was surprised to see what might me a rusting problem on Proteges. My friend has a 2001 with 60,000 kms on it and it has rust on black trim around windows. Since then I have been eyeballing other Proteges and seen same problem occuring. Just saw a Mazda 5 yesterday with quite a bit of rust on window trim.

Not too impressive for cars that new.

A Mazda5 with rust? Are you serious???

He means a Mazda Protegé5 I'm sure.

Yeah ok that makes a bit more sense... but Protegé5's debuted when, 2002? A less than 4 year old car that has rust on it?? OUCH!!

[weebl]

I'm guessing that 2002 or 2003 Protege 5 was probably in an accident, then repaired (obviously quite poorly).  I don't think I've ever seen any car that age with rust like that.

[slybry]

The rust I saw is not on body panel it is on black trim around windows on the doors. It is litterally bubbling.  I first notice on my friend's protege and coul not believe what I was seeing. No this car was never in an accident.

I have now been on look-out and seen similar problems on other protege's and protege 5's.

Not a great sign for a fairly new car.

[wing]

My tiburon was rusting in all the trim areas after 3 years.

[makuribu]

My 94 Protege started bubbling on the black trim around the side windows at about the three year mark.  I whined at the dealer once and got nowhere and gave up. In 8 years the bubbling spread but not a whole lot.

[safristi]

..someone mentioned great depreciation...I see the opposite...especially with the Protege 5's they are still asking $15K's fer 3 year old models.......

[Careener]

..someone mentioned great depreciation...I see the opposite...especially with the Protege 5's they are still asking $15K's fer 3 year old models.......

It was the Protege sedan I was referring to. I bought an LX, 38 months old with 29K for $10,800.
There are lots of cheap Protege sedans available.

[safristi]

SO wots wif the 5 Waggins are they made of GOLD...!!!!!..that's an amazing anomoly..or a BIG BUMP on yer payments if'n ya want the extra 16" inches...!!!!!!!

[Careener]

Who knows? I couldn't justify shelling out the extra coin for the 5..I bought a roof coffin instead to make up for the difference in cargo volume and pocketed the difference.

[safristi]

..WELL knock me DEAD..why didn't eye thinka dat....!!!!!!