Reply #13: I owned a 1996 Mazda Protege for 11 years [View All]

[nuxvomica]

It required surprisingly few major repairs in that period: a fuel pump was the biggest. My only complaint was that the windshield always fogged up in the rain and took a while to clear, and it had no air-conditioning. I traded it in finally after one Friday night trip to the vet clinic in the middle of a major snowstorm. The Protege is actually not bad in that type of weather but because of its size you don't feel like you're gonna make it. I'd say they are good, reliable cars.