Used 1997 Mazda Protege for Sale near Syracuse, NY

I easily average 30mpgs even in Seattle rush hour, and for being a pretty small economy car, it's actually pretty fun to drive. I have the 5-speed manual, and the gears shift smoothly, and even with it's under-100hp, I still find myself yawning at the cars in front of me on an onramp to hurry up and get to 60 already. Fairly easy to service for the most part. The inline 4 is a piece of cake to change the plugs on. The seats are comfy (at least for me, a 5'7" female), and the controls simple and intuitive. The trunk is roomier than it looks, too. It's a small car, but I've been able to move at least medium furniture (dressers and the like) while in college. All in all, a great little car. I did have a phantom check engine light for several years that would come on and off intermittently without throwing a code. It drove me nuts. Of course, it turned into "the light that cried engine," and I ended up ignoring it for probably a lot longer than I should. Eventually it turned out I needed to replace the catalytic converter, of which there are TWO. Why such a small, high mpg vehicle needs two is beyond me. It cost probably more than the value of the car to replace them, and that was with a colleague that cut me a deal. Now that the catalytic converter(s) and the spark plugs were replaced, though, it runs like a dream.

Had it for 7 years and put 140,000 with no issues other than changing out brakes and batteries. Great car. It is a comfortable car that has needed little maintenance. I've been waiting for the clutch to go out, but it just keeps on going.

Owned since 2003. Car is ultra-reliable - has never broken down or needed major repairs, I've put on 110,000 km since purchasing it at 60,000. Solid, reliable car. I have a couple of very minor electrical issues - the power locks work, but central locking activated with the key in the driver's door doesn't work anymore. Also some of the LED's on the rear spoiler are dim/burnt out. This is an amazingly reliable vehicle and easy to maintain and drive.

tough little rig good commuter car

its alright very slow but likes to be revved the engine is quite peaky and has no bottom end. the suspension does a good job on a variety of surfaces including gravel at high speeds. The brakes work well once warm just like any other breaks. If coaxed properly the rear end will hang out rather nicely and as long as the driver wants it to hang out. The shifter isnt very good and the shift gates are very close together. The trunk provieds aduquate room for a car this size. The car is comfortable and is good on gas. With a good set of snow tires like the ones that I have on it right now it is a tank in the snow and is lots of fun.