Used Mazda Protege5 for Sale

This thing is just driver-centric. There's nothing that isn't perfectly placed for the driver, the gear shift and pedals are naturally positioned, the seats were comfortable for my rather large frame. The steering feels perfect, and at the limit you can feel it gradually start to break away. Extreme limits bring understeer, but any fwd. car will suffer that, and somehow the Protege5 almost didn't have it. You really had to push to get it there. It gripped tenaciously, like it was a slot car. High speed switchbacks and tight turns are where this little car shines. And I say little, but really, inside this thing can fit almost anything you need to carry short of construction supplies. The back seats fold flat. You can put a 50 inch TV in there, no problem. I can't say enough about how much this little car handled everything I threw at it, from heavy downpours in the South (I mean, it was in Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina, not in New Orleans, but still), to ice and snow in the New Mexico high desert, to a 2 mile long corrugated dirt/mud rode that was daily driven for 6 months. That last bit shook the daylights out of it twice a day for 6 months, never had a problem. Just keep the oil changed, tires rotated, and air filter clean and it was unstoppable. I still love that car.

This is a very durable vehicle. I've lived in very different climates (desert and mountains) and it's adapted fairly well to all of them. There is also a surprising amount of space once you fold the back seats down; I was able to make an entire interstate move in one trip. It's a smooth ride without much vibration.

The good gas mileage, reliability and low maintenance costs are my favorite advantages to owning this car. I also really like the hatchback storage space design because it has a excellent cover to conceal items and provides protection against inviting vandalism.