I'm curious about the 99-01 proteges. Does anyone have any first hand experience with them, do they go? How's fuel consumption? Any known repeat problems?

I have a 2002 Protege that I drove before I bought my car, and they are actually pretty good on gas if youre not flooring it all the time. Mine is a 4 cylinder 2.0L 130 HP, so lets just say its not for racing lol. But as long as you take care of it then it'll be the perfect car! As for the older Protege's, i really couldnt tell ya but I imagine they're the same.

99-00 is the older ones with a 1.6 or 1.8
01-03 would be the newer ones with the 2.0l

decent on gas

they're slow

i drive an 02 and i get fairly decent gas mileage, close to 550km per tank but thats through maintaining it well.....when i first got the car i had terrible gas mileage, like around 400km a tank sometimes less

as far as problems go for me, i haven't had any major issues and the car has close to 130000km on it now

yeah they are slow cars, but it gets me from point A to point B and thats all i really care about at this point....it will get me through college and thats all that matters

they look really cool and have superb handling, did i mention that they look really cool too

^^ haha mine doesnt, i have lots of sad dents... thats what happens when u work at a grocery store and people ram into your car with buggies :P

it is an alright looking car tho and out of all the cars we've had that ive drove its definitely the one that has handled the best

Yea the 2002's handle really well and I love the gas mileage on them. Theyre very slow but like you said, it gets u from point A to point B. I love the look of those 02-03 Proteges, sooo much better than those old ones. Mine is gold and has a nose mask, so its decent.

^^ they can't be much slower than a 1.6 civic 4 door

Either way, if we ever need a second car I thought I would get this (maybe in the 1.8L) in 5 speed - that would probably be much faster than the civic.

Any issues with these?

Yea it would be faster than a 1.6 L civic. If youre lookin for a 5 speed as a second car than that would be a good buy. As far as I know it shouldnt have problems but like I said mine was an 02 and it was auto. The standard 1.8L would be quicker than a 2.0L auto.

took one out for a test drive the other week....nice lil car....but yea needs more power....i guess thats y they made mazda speed protegy...

Yea the Mazda Speed has power. The 2007 Mazda 3 Speed has 263 HP lol.. thats fast as hell.. I dont know how fast Protege speed's are tho.

i had a 93 protege as my first ever car, so i have a soft spot for them :P

Cheap on insurance!

and they must be fairly roomy, cuz i was able to move my entire university dorm room contents in it.

I had a 1999 mazda protege 1.6 for about 4 month till my sister crashed it into the fairview welcome sign. I use to get 480 to the tank, but it only costs $32 to fill so its great on fuel. It was auto, but the pickup was better than my friend's 1999 civic, I am sure if it was standard, its even faster, so the acceleration is also good. The handling was also good. Overall, it was a great car, and they run you cheaper than civics (used not new)

I know this has nothing to do with a 99-01 but when I was younger one of the 1st vehicles I had was a 1993 Protege and I would have to say it was the best vehicle I have owned period.

Went throu a B2200, Mustang, Neon, Integra, 240sx and out of them all, the Protege as the most solid and completely reliable. I even went and test-drove a 2002 Protege after I sold my 93 and I was extremely pleased with it

Originally Posted by mazda_girl

i drive an 02 and i get fairly decent gas mileage, close to 550km per tank but thats through maintaining it well.....when i first got the car i had terrible gas mileage, like around 400km a tank sometimes less

as far as problems go for me, i haven't had any major issues and the car has close to 130000km on it now

yeah they are slow cars, but it gets me from point A to point B and thats all i really care about at this point....it will get me through college and thats all that matters

does it have a full bumper on it?

Originally Posted by 01Camry_XLE

Yea the Mazda Speed has power. The 2007 Mazda 3 Speed has 263 HP lol.. thats fast as hell.. I dont know how fast Protege speed's are tho.

yea i know
i went to mazda dealership...and they had MS3 for sale.....so i wanted to test drive it.......yea like they ever would let me do that...
they made a stupid exuse not to

^^ were u interested in buying the car? prolly not. why waste their time at work just so you can rip around in a brand new car?
doesn't sound like a good use of their time to me.
some people have no concept of the value of sales people's time at all.

My parents bought a 01 Protege 2.0L brand new 6 years ago. Its been a pretty decent car. It has 120000 kms on it now and the problems that i know of that the car's had are: struts - they just had to replace all 4 - dont know exactly how bad they were; overheating - ended up fixing it by doing a coolant flush; regular maintenance (tires, brakes, oil changes, oil spray). So overall its been an ok car with no major break-downs, but my parents want to sell it now and get something brand new again (possibly a mazda 3 hatchback or a matrix). The car was an automatic so it definatelly wasnt fast, but it wasnt terribly slow either. It was quick i guess, it had no problems passing cars on the highway when flooring it.

I really liked the interior in the Protege. Good quality and very functional and not too flashy. The gauges are white with red lettering - which is kinda different and it looks nice and the panels were black with black seats.
Handling on the car wasnt too bad either. With some struts bar it would handle quite nice imo.

Anyways, i've bored you enough lol Sorry for the long post

99 Protege http://www.edmunds.com/used/1999/maz...ege/index.html
2001 Protege(newer gen) http://www.edmunds.com/used/2001/maz...ege/index.html
and just for interest the 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege http://www.edmunds.com/used/2003/maz...ege/index.html

I Love Mazda. let me start off by stating that. Secondly I've owned a few Protege Models-Protege5 Sport Wagon(not station wagon ) and the Mazdaspeed. I've also had the pleasure of driving every model of Protege and most of the 323 models(no GTX yet-and only North American models). They may not be the fastest cars I've ever driven, however they do maintain 'pep' and quickness through agility.The interior is comfortable and durable for the most part. Space on the interior is to be expected from a compact but gives you enough room for your ass, a bag of grass and a tank of gas...the grass to be consumed after driving driving, obviously.

The ride in the Protege I find to be a very enjoyable smooth ride. Gas mileage is fairly good and a tank can last if you're driving smart(early shifts, no WOT, proper use of gears etc). Something to remember with these cars though is that they are made by Mazda, and racing history or not these cars are not strip cars at all. instead they are much more at home in the finese part of driving. Also known as the real part. The handling aspect of driving is very enjoyable and predictable in these cars. Infact I learned how to control a car in some of the most extreme situations I've ever been presented with and a Protege has helped me through each situation with a nervous giggle and tear of joy. You can enjoy all those corners with the yellow warning signs in this car and if you push it's limits it is a forgiving car. However do not rely on that, always drive within you're limits and only push them in controled situations where it is legal to do so.

Now that was all based on the Handling of a stock 2.0L 01-03 style Protege.Now this model will handle almost the same as the 99-00 1.6L and 1.8L as they are all 3rd gen. The major differences from that model to the 99-00 is engines avail. Theres the 1.6L and the 1.8L.Now unless I am mistaken the 1.8L and the 2.0L engines are very similar and the only major difference is in the stroke. With this in mind I do believe that if you plan on modifying your car I'd get the 1.8L because the shorter stroke makes it a more predictable and controllable engine when introducing forced induction(TC/SC).I may be way off because I read something about this a long time ago, I'll see if I can dig up what I was reading and verify this.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showt...hp?t=123636091
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117286 -this one has stock bore and stroke measurements for the 1.8L FP-DE VS the 2.0L FS-DE

As nice as the Mazdaspeed Protege is with it's unique-ness and all the upgrades and hooplaw, I wish I had of done the turbo system myself on a stock FS-DE as Callaway's sytem is quirky to say the least. Everything else is top-notch and makes the car certainly no slouch when it comes to being quick. Much faster straight sure...but the corners are a huge difference from a stock ride. Put the right tires on this car and it's a dream. Now I'll end my long wind for now until I dig up the information on that Engine thing. If anyone knows more about what I was trying to say let me know, but I'm sure the 1.8L and 2.0L are built off the same block and the difference is internals. The 1.8L being stronger bottom end and top. But thats if you plan on modifying and adding some form of forced induction.

only suggestion I got...is stay away from the Protege at Greg Vann Nissan...isnt exactly in great shape drivetrain wise, otherwise the low mileage is good and everything less is decent

^^ thanks for the 'long winded' help. I don't think it was too long at all. Sure beats a one line 'it's ok' phrase.

For some reason the mazdas drop much more then the civics, and you get more goodies in a mazda than a civic.... If the engine and tranny keeps on going, that will be my next car

i have two... good cars i liek them.. ya ya there not the fastest, but my 90 gt goes pretty damn good with the 1.8L dohc BP..