Peppy, stylish, cheap.

The 2003 Protege is a tremendous bargain. This was the last year for the model as it is now replaced by the Mazda 3. As such, it's going at a pretty cheap price, supplemented by the fact that the car was produced in huge numbers and then sold to rental agencies and other "outlets".

Let's first assume you're looking to buy. The car should cost you about $10K with under 15K miles for the LX version (power this, power that, maybe a spoiler or sunroof, definitely a/c and a host of other features that don't really matter but are important for resale, if you intend to sell this car rather quickly.) If you can find a DX version (minus all the power stuff), you're in for a treat. The car will cost you about 8K and often have less than 5K miles! Why? No one wants a car with roll-down windows, regular wheels (not alloy), no sunroof, etc. etc. However, if you intend to keep this car and drive it for 7-10 years, wow, what a bargain! A high quality car, nearly new, still under warranty, for the price of a crappy used car!

You have to shop around to find this car. There are lots and lots of them, but they don't seem to make it to all dealers. You'll need to find a big Mazda dealer who bought a fleet of ex-rental cars. When you find that dealer, you'll find hundreds of Proteges that must be sold and will be cheap, though, of course, you have to bargain.

I bought a green one with all the power things and a spoiler, CD player, etc., for 9K. It was a hard sell, given that I didn't need a new car, but know that when the dealer has a ton of these, you're going to get a good deal.

You will (or should) get a 5 year warranty with this car, bumper to bumper.

Performance is surprisingly good. It is a peppy car with a 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder engine. This doesn't mean much as many cars have this setup. However, versus the competition, this car wants to fly. It handles well, accelerates fine, and is comfortable for two.

The car usually has 4 doors but there's about zero legroom in the back as is typical for economy cars. Consider this a 2 seater with the back seat being a storage shelf.

Colors are not a big deal for most of us, but you'll find that this car is mostly available only in silver and beige. Boring. Beyond that, you probably won't find the combination you want. For example, I prefer a darker interior because stains and dirt/wear won't show over time. The Protege almost always has a beige interior. No choice here. This means also beigne floor mats which will soil quickly.

Problems you may find are that the cars show odd wear in unexpected areas. You may find the ignition area quite scratched. (No idea why - I say at least 40 of these cars before buying and they were all like that). The shifter area may be cracked - there's cheap plastic above the P,R,D area (I don't know what that's called - it's the part that shows what gear your in.)

The radio is problematic. The FM is unreliable and may cut out on you unexpectedly, although the rest of the functions haven't given me trouble (AM, CD, etc.) The search function may or may not work.

The steering wheel is adjustable, but it doesn't adjust to a good position. It is either too low, blocking the view of the instruments, or too "angled", facing your face and seeming wrong. (I imagine that the airbag will bruise you in this latter position, should it deploy.)

Storage is not that good. You have two cup holders, but they're more like storage cups for you to put pens and coins in. CD storage is lacking, although the will fit in the center armrest storage.

Gas mileage isn't what I expected. It seems rather low vs. my previous 96 Sentra. It has a big tank and seems to average about 12 miles a gallon - I expected 30. That may be due to the peppy engine - it has great pick up and I'm sure that burns gas.

The door locks are your typical push-down locks situated on the top of the doors. That makes it easy to stick a coat hanger in there and open the door. That's an invitation to theft, but then again, no one really want's to steal this car - it's to cheap. On the other hand, if you're use to locks not in this position (as I am), you will often rest your arm on the top of the door, thus inadvertently locking yourself in - no matter, just FYI.

The tires on this car are good. I say this because cheap cars often have bicycle tires that give you no traction and are quite unreliable. (I always change them to wider, better tires.) This car's tires don't need changing for you to feel comfortable. They're wide, strong tires.

The antenna on the car is junky. You will often find it bent or broken. Ask for it to be fixed (they will do that for you) and then tuck it in. The design here is flawed such that the antenna moves too much in the wind and loosens it. Just don't extend it all the way and you'll be fine.

Versus the competition, I think this is the better car. Toyota doesn't have a viable competitor as the Tercel is now gone. Honda's Civic might be a competitor if it weren't $10K more. American models still don't rival Japanese quality. The Jetta is not reliable enough. So, from what I can tell, the best competitor to this model is the Sentra. Versus the Sentra, the Protege is much better. You will find that the Sentra has many, many more perks that are quite attractive, like anti-lock brakes, side airbags, better storage for CDs, a sunglass holder, etc., etc. However, after driving the two, you'll find the Sentra underpowered, sluggish, lacking in performance. Given that, I think the Protege is better.

I think this car is a tremendous bargain. For the price, I'm willing to put up with the little problems. A Mazda easily runs for 100K miles and when you can get on this cheap at such low mileage, you've got a winner. In fact, this car cost exactly the same as my previous car, purchased in 1997 (a Sentra), and that car had 30K on it and needed the first (expensive) maintenance.

Time will tell more about this car, but given Mazda's track record, I expect few problems.