Used 2003 Mazda Protege5 Consumer Reviews
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Great Used Car
Sean Taylor, 04/30/2017
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Bought this car when I moved. Starting out, it had a TON of problems. However, after 1 year I had all problems fixed and it didn't even cost more than $1000. Parts are a little more expensive than your run-of-the-mill Honda, but the reliability of those parts is far greater. It handles like a dream and faster than any 4cyl I've ever owned. There is one CON to this car and it's the very common idle problems. The EGR Valve and IAC Valve crap out at least once in this cars lifetime. From experience I would highly recommend spending the money and getting the correct part. No need to pay dealership prices on installing because it's MUCH easier than it looks. All in all, I give this car a 9.5 out of 10. I will continue to drive this car until the end of its life.
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Running great 16 yrs and 176K later. Manuals Only!
ColleenF, 10/03/2018
updated 11/13/2018
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I still love this car after 16 years. It was my main car until Dec 2017 and is still my everyday car though I own a 2018 SUV. Air conditioning and heating have never been great but the Pro-5 has been more reliable than I ever imagined. Mazada only produced this model for 2 yrs (2001 & 2). I have always kept up on the maintenance, belts, oil and tune-ups. In 16 yrs I have replaced the front wheel bearings and the clutch as repair items. Before I drove it from California to Utah in 2017 (when I moved), my mechanic changed the water pump as a maintenance item. Not sure why he did that I wasn't having a problem. I have two complaints. 1)The frequency of the headlight low beam failure. I changed them at least 10 times as at least one seemed to blow 1st rain of the season. Also, the fog lamp lens broke and to change it you have to take off the entire bezel. Dumb design. This would be a great 1st car for your teenager. Big warning. Only buy the models with manual transmissions. A friend bought an automatic for his daughter because mine was so reliable. The automatic was a money pit so the difference must be between the auto and manual transmissions. Using that theory, if I see one in a parking lot I always peak in the window to check for a stick shift. In every case, the survivors are manuals and I see a fair amount of these still on the road. This car is very light so stability depends entirely on the tires. You must buy rain tires. Last time I bought they didn't have rain so I bought all weather. I've since moved to snow country and I cannot believe how well this little car held the road in the snow with the all-weather tires. The P5 is too low to drive in deep snow but for light dumps it's great. My granddaughter is getting her license soon and wants this car. I just don't know if I can part with it. I still drive it almost every day.
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2003 Mazda Protege5 for sale near you
3 of 5 listings
- Base WagonMSRP: $6,495364 mi away
- Base WagonMSRP: $5,7772,483 mi away
- Base WagonMSRP: $2,9882,518 mi away
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OUTSTANDING VALUE
dmarsh, 07/10/2006
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Purchased car used from the original owner in June '06. Car had only 15k on the odometer. Ride & handling are exceptional. My P5 is a 5 speed & I consistently average 30 mpg around town. Exterior fit & finish is terrific while the interior materials are comparable to those found in more expensive cars. The car feels tight & solid. Layout of all instruments is very intuitive. Red illuminated instrumentation is easy to read and looks sporty too. I absolutely love this car & find it to be superior to many of the small & midsize cars that GM currently manufactures (I am a former 15-year GM employee). This is not sour grapes, just the truth. Great engineering & content planning by the Mazda team!
Versatile, Reliable & Fun to Drive
Bill, 02/15/2018
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Used this little car as a commuter, weekend tripper, small load transporter. It never required any exceptional maintenance. It was pleasant for trips. Easy to drive, comfortable seating, adequate cooling, heating, and ventilation. My wife could fall asleep as a passenger. Excellent visibility all around. Easy to load and unload. Could carry bike & gear behind front seats or by folding down back seats more bikes, storage boxes, lumbers, etc. Fit easily into my garage. Paint held up well. Acceleration, braking, and handling were adequate. It felt nimble. My other cars are Porsches so I needed to adjust my performance expectations when driving the Protégé 5. I wish I could buy it again. (No more after 2003)
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Great car
eric90, 01/29/2011
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Me and my girlfriend have been driving this car 166 000 km (100 000 miles), since 2003. The car is great fun to drive, very reliable and comfortable for long road trips (many 6 hrs + trips in the bag). Other than standard maintenance, we've had few repairs on this car. Good fuel consumption for a sporty performance. Nothing bad to say about this car !