2002 Mazda Protege5 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The lil red cargo rocket has been my favorite Mazda of the four I've owned. It did all I ever asked of it, from hauling three huge kayaks to puddle jumping through Northwest weather. It had great steering, brakes, leather(if you're into that - ooh, kinky) and hauled everything I ever tried to fit in it. Overall I recommend this car enthusiastically.Mar 11, 2014

I really miss this car. I loved it the minute I saw it. It handled everything I threw at it. Plenty of guts for having fun, but could use some mods to make it a blast. It was bone stock and well built. The only things I replaced were tires a windshield, and air intake. An attractive car (especially in black with tinted windows and flashy rims). I had the deluxe model with the black leather and all the bells and whistles, really nice. Gas could have been cheaper if I could have controlled my right foot, maintenence was inexpensive. Wish I would have kept this car.Sep 09, 2010

This car is fun to drive. It handles well. A lot of torque gets you out there. A good driver can do a lot with it. It has been relatively cheap to maintain. The only things I have done to it was add wheels and exhaust. It came with a cold air intake. I've replaced wear items...Tires, brakes, oil, timing belt, water pump, belts, & clutch. Gas mileage is about average 28 mpgs. I just enjoy driving it daily. Jun 11, 2010

This has been a fun car to drive, however, it has been a pain to do small things like change headlights or the battery. I'm also having some trouble with front alignment and tire wear... I don't expect the lo-pro tires to last forever, but they should make it more than 15,000 commuting miles... This has been an issue with the car rather than the tires unfortunately.Dec 07, 2009

First off- its not a station wagon; its a sport wagon. I call it The Bumblebee or Frank. This car is very fun to drive and looks great. It's not very fast from the factory, but it gets good gas mileage and the engine is very solidly built. It handles well- sporty and stiff but still streetable. The stock shifter is spongy and tall. I upgraded to a TWM Performance short shifter and it was well worth the money. There was too much road noise for my taste (I'm a music fanatic) so I have begun wrapping the inside of the car with Dynamat to reduce road noise and improve sound quality from my speakers. The car was not built with the sound system in mind. It's going to take a lot of work to improve the audio, including adding a subwoofer because the small speaker sizes in the doors aren't capable of producing the low notes. Overall the car is great, it just needs some fine-tuning and customizing to get it how I like it.Sep 18, 2009

Performance: Peppy little car. Good braking... but emergency break does not hold up to abuse. Handles good with right tires on. Build Quality: No complaints. A plus for car guys is it's loud. That would be a downer for non-car-enthusiasts. Appearance: At that point it was the best looking car that Mazda had made in a long time. Cost of ownership: Not great on gas, needs the usual maintenance... rust proofing is a good idea. Fun: Yes, but needs more power... lots more.Dec 23, 2008