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Used 2003 Mazda Protege5 Consumer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
304 reviews

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4.88 out of 5 stars

Excellent car

Rob, 10/08/2008
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I have 110K on my car, bought it new and do the req. maint. on time. Only ever had two complaints about this car. The first was the original tires that came with it... TERRIBLE. They were Dunlop tires and 2 of the tires developed bulges in the side walls. They also had terrible traction, especially in the rain. The other is gas mileage. For a small car, with a 2.0L engine (5 speed manual trans.) the best it can do on the highway is 32-35. I had a Honda Civic (5 spd.) that routinely got 40-45 and a Dodge Stratus (5 spd too) that got between 35-40 hwy. Otherwise, I LOVE this car. I drive it everyday. It's reliable, comfortable and fun to drive; handles great with the new Kumho tires

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4.88 out of 5 stars

Takes a lickin...

webby32, 04/19/2010
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Purchased my Protege5 in 2006 with 44500 miles on it, only issues I've had is a pesky ABS light. Aside from that Oil changes and a pair of brake pads. Great car from a reliability stand point, great mileage. Mazda had the right idea when they built this car should get 200000 miles easily.

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5 out of 5 stars

Zoom-Zoom!

adam, 10/14/2006
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Bought this car brand new in spring of 03 and couldn't be happier with it. I have kept up with most suggested maintenance and oil changes and have not had to service at all except for brake pads! Car has over 60,000 miles and is running wonderfully. Pickup is still excellent, as is fuel economy. LOVE the six disc in-dash CD changer and the stereo quality is good for stock. Only problem is that FM reception isn't the best.

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5 out of 5 stars

the perfect car

happyP5, 12/05/2010
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
2 of 5 people found this review helpful

I have owned many cars. None have performed like my Protege5. It is fun; it is roomy; and it has never needed any significant work. I take long trips with it. I use it for weekend ski trips, kayak trips, canoe trips, camping, and every day to and from work. At 90,000 miles, I paid about $1000 to have a total overhaul including new timing belt/chain. Other than that, I've never done anything more than routine oil changes. I don't think the newer Mazda 3 is this good. In fact, it's about $5k more (I bought my protege5 for $14,999) and not as good quality and not as fun. I'm a lucky man! Oh, the cd stopped working, so I have an aftermarket Sony stereo. Everything else is stock.

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3.63 out of 5 stars

Love the car, dissappointed in service

yellowstoneguy, 05/06/2010
2003 Mazda Protege5 4dr Wagon (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful

I bought my car new and loved it for 45,000 miles. Had a screw come loose from the intake and go through the engine prior to a recall for that very thing. Fixed the misfire, but started having black/blue smoke issues and had to replaced smashed plug. Whitten Bros. "did" the recall work and claimed no problems, yet when I had to rebuild the engine 1 year later due to smoke, discovered in fact that one of the screws they'd "checked and replaced" had indeed gone through my engine, pitted pistons, destroyed catalytic, fouled engine. Runs great again now, but had to rebuild myself because Whitten Brothers wouldn't live up to what happened and didn't have money/trust for the stealership to fix.

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