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2000 Mazda ProtegeThe Protege offers an impressive amount of headroom and legroom. In fact the Protege is as roomy as many of the longer, wider and pricier mid-size sedans. Space is important for taller buyers and its something many compacts dont offer. Front-seat roominess is comparable to that of a Honda Civic EX sedan.
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61 Reviews from Shopping.com
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Outstanding Little Car
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Pros: Reliability, gas mileage
Cons: power door locks break, uncomfortable seats
The Bottom Line:
Excellent car. Only problems are defective power door locks and seats that are too firm. Other than that, four years of driving and hardly a problem at all.
I helped my girlfriend purchase a used 2000 dark green Protege LX in 2002 off a lot. The car had 24,000 miles at the time. Since then the car has been an excellent automobile. The engine and power train have had zero issues. The oil is still clean after every 3,000 miles. Overall, the build quality is first rate. After four years of driving, the car never had to visit the shop for a mechanical issue. My gripes are the following: The seats are so firm that they become uncomfortable after a couple hours of driving. Since it is a Mazda, the power band kicks in at a higher rpm and this translates to more cabin noise than some may like. Additionally, there is a design defect with the power door locks. The driver side locking mechanism has malfunctioned three times. Lastly, since the engine displacement is so small, I would strongly urge that any potential buyers choose the five speed standard transmission. The added pep in acceleration is a must when reaching highway speed in traffic, when merging from a stop, etc. All in all the car has performed admirably in town and on the highway and has been extremely cost effective to own. I would recommend this model to any economy conscious purchaser.
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