Faults:

Alternator and radiator had to be replaced at about 100,000 miles. Everything else is still fine at 165,000 miles.

I changed the timing belt at 120,000 miles, but not because of a problem, just regular maintenance (and I pushed it much longer than manufacturer's recommendation).

General Comments:

This car has performed beyond any expectations. AC still works, had to be recharged once, and could maybe use a recharge again.

It handles great, does not use much oil unless pushed hard (80 mph or more) for long drives. No engine trouble or transmission trouble ever.

The car still looks good, paint held up great, and so did the upholstery. I plan to put another 100,000 miles on this Mazda.

Faults:

I didn't take very good care of this car when I bought it. Whenever something went wrong, I would wait until the last minute to fix it, or until the car was simply undrivable. Just today in fact I had the transmission blow on me driving at 75km/h, and it's in getting fixed right now.

This car has had its share of problems, but that's greatly due to the way I treat it, (ie. kick the doors shut, I have a bad habit of riding the clutch when unnecessary, and teaching people to drive in the car, which causes wear and tear).

But if this car is well taken care of, then it's great. I had a lot of good problem free years; mind you it IS an 8 year old car, which isn't new, so you have to expect some wear and tear, but of course nothing major has needed replacing.

I HAVE had a lot of rusting problems, which is not my fault; any Mazda Protege 5 I've seen has had rust in the same spots (the silver Protege letters on the hatchback door mainly), so that would be the only problem I can think of; that's a problem I've seen on all Protege 5s.

And I also took it to a very unreliable place to get it fixed, which will remain unnamed, but I probably put more money into this car than what was needed. But who knows, I could be paranoid. :D.

General Comments:

The car performs well. Front wheel drive and very very light; it's too sporty to be a family car, performs more like a rally car than a family car, it's responsive and handles well.

Handles well and it hasn't dated like most other Mazda's. I find it's quite cool looking; the front is modern and the back is sporty in my opinion. Great car overall.

I've had good luck with Mazda's. I own a 6 now, and looking back at my previous experiences with not taking care of my cars, the 6 is phenomenal.

I would recommend this car to anyone; it's inexpensive, fun, sporty, cool and well worth the money.

Great value, fun and practical are 3 things Mazda promise, and they definitely keep their promises on this car. :)

Faults:

Suspension @ 180k.

Motor mounts @ 250k.

A few minor parts here and there, most due to aggressive driving.

General Comments:

I beat the crap out of this car, and it still works great.

It's not anything too exciting, but it has been extremely practical for me. I have never kept a vehicle past 200k, but this one has yet to run into any serious problems.

Faults:

At 28,000 miles an exhaust heat shield cracked at the mounting hole, causing the shield to vibrate at certain RPMs. The dealer replaced it under warranty.

General Comments:

Absolutely love it! I just had the timing belt replaced per the maintenance schedule.

The stock tires that were on the car when purchased were totally worthless.