Where each one leads
Mazda Protege
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Toyota Prius
- Against cars of the same year, the Toyota Prius comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 3% more often than average) than the Mazda Protege (fails 15% more often than average).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Toyota Prius uses 4.8 l/100 km, the 2003 Mazda Protege 9.0.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Mazda Protege | Toyota Prius | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1982–2006 | 1998–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 232,742 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 125,209 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 28,754 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 5,034 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Mazda Protege | Toyota Prius | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 79% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +7% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.2% | 2.0% |
| … against cars of the same year | +15% | +3% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 4.3% |
| US owner complaints | 1,076 | 12,522 |
| Most complaints about | Seat belts | Exterior lighting |
| Model year with most complaints | 1995 (165) | 2010 (2,823) |
| US recall campaigns | 6 | 35 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 889 | 5,488 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 12 | 45 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Mazda Protege | Toyota Prius | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Mazda Protege | Toyota Prius | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 9.0 l/100 km (2003) | 4.8 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 4.9 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 59 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 72 kW (97 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,551 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €35,790 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 213,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).