Used 2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege Sedan Consumer Reviews
Used Mazdaspeed Protege for sale
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Too bad I love to drive it...
CD, 05/25/2006
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
This is the most fun to drive car I have ever had, and that's the only reason it is still in my driveway. It has its own bay at the service department. I'm there for the same things over and over. I've had a new turbo, a new transmission, sway bar links at least 5 times, a rear subframe, two new alarms, new a/c compressor, multiple coolant leaks, multiple exhaust leaks, new exhaust manifold, the list goes on and on. I'm going to sell it when the warranty runs out, I just hope I can find something as fun to drive as this is when it's not in the shop. (Reviewed by a 32 year old female driving it to work, not a teenager abusing it) .
'03.5 Mazdaspeed Protege
Richard Manship, 08/02/2005
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I really dig this car. I had a Protege5 before it, and this was just the jump I was looking for. And the prices I paid was unbeatable at the time ($13.5k). There are know problems with this car, but if you do your research, they're easily fixed under warranty.
'03.5 msp
Denis, 12/18/2008
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 02/02 (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I bought this car to out-manuever drivers on cell phones! Handling is fabulous. Get dedicated winter wheels and you're good to go. Radio is painful to adjust; display way too bright at night. Other than that, just a wonderful car. Add a K&N air filter and noise-proof the trunk space.
Great car, Dont push it though or the Zoom Zoom will go BOOM!
chad92, 02/07/2013
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 02/02 (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
I bought the car with high mileage, around 114,XXX. I bought the car with some bushing issues and some tuning issues. I fixed the bushing issues, but let the tuning wait for a bit. If you dont know, these cars have problems with their bushings as they will go bad every 5-10k miles, the stock tune on these cars is rubbish, and the turbo system they put on the car is excellent, unfortunately they just stuck the system on a stock protege engine, I found this out after I put ~500 miles on it. I was driving in third gear around 3500 rpms, and the engine let go. No warning, no temp spikes, just exploded. Fortunately, I liked the rest of the car enough to spend some elbow grease/$ on a new one!
BUY THIS CAR IF YOU GET A CHANCE
johnny123456777, 06/14/2004
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 02/02 (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Extremely fun to drive. Everyone loves orange cars. Scare people with the blow off valve. THIS CAR IS A MUST HAVE.
Easily turned up
quikmsprotege, 09/19/2008
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
I have had this car almost two years, bought with 35k on it now I have over 80k to tell you how much I drive it. Didn't have Cruise control when I bought it so I had it installed at the dealer. But the motor is a little on the weak side when you get it. 170hp/170tq or somewhere around there. I have only put in about 2k in mods /pistons rods frontmount intercooler and piggyback controller and now it turns out a little over 330hp to the wheels. I run this car at the track every blue moon but it definitely lays down on evos and STI's.
Finally
Echo4HotelUSMC, 09/18/2007
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
I was finally able to get my hands on one of these machines after trying to find one since 2003. Since owning her from 42k, I've found out that her motor was replaced by Mazda @ 22k and the turbo had been replaced 3 times... wow! Repairs I've had to get done are small things. There was some oil getting into the plastic tubing? from the intercooler to the turbo, my rear stablizer bar needed new bushings and the subwoofer blew. My only gripe is that Mazda took the easy way out with this one. They simply attached a turbo to their 2.0 motor and then didnt take the time to tune it properly. The MSP runs very rich. It needs a turbo timer, a blow off valve, an a2f ratio gauge and real bucket seats.
car is good and bad
SoCalRyder7, 03/23/2010
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Bought the car with 103k. My LSD snapped, common with this car. Rear sway bar bushing not built properly by mazda, replace every 7k mi. small turbo and intercooler "slapped" on an engine neither designed for boost nor was it tuned to boost. suspension setup is GREAT! Tokiko blue, 20mm racing beat swaybars, racing hart wheels and a strut tie bar. For anyone who wants to build a super tuner, here is my final word, spend your time and money upgrading the transmission and engine (i.e. Forged internals, stronger gears ect...) but spare no supporting mod because you will break something. this is a "if your going to upgrade one thing, upgrade everything or itll break kinda car."
2003.5 Mazdaspeed protege
C_West, 04/01/2008
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
3 of 14 people found this review helpful
I love this car! It is my relatively cheap dream car and I am so excited that I finally was able to pick one up. I definitely recommend this car to anyone and everyone.
A Must-have Fun Sport Sedan
Titus Armstrong, 10/01/2002
2003 Mazda Mazdaspeed Protege 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 02/02 (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I like all Mazdaspeed Protege, SI, Mini Cooper S, SRT-4, WRX, Evo VII, SE-R, SVT, GTi,..... As RX-7 owner, I choose to own a Mazda again. I like the orange color, the 17 inch alloy rims and the interior is one of the niciest !!! The base price of $20,000+ was really light on my wallet. As a successful computer engineer,I still enjoy driving very much, I decided to go with something new to me - a sport little soup-up sedan. I have only put on 150+ miles so far and have not tested the ability of the car yet. But, man, if you have $20,000 + to spare, either get the WRX for 4 season fun or this little turbo-charged Progete for its look and performance.
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