Mazda Protege Interior Review
The 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 it's something many compacts don't offer. Front-seat roominess is comparable to that of a Honda Civic EX sedan.
The rear seats are also roomy. Mazda's engineers cleverly mounted the front-seat tracks in a way that yielded more space for rear-seat passengers, whose knees are now mercifully spared from being scrunched up against the back of the driver's seat.
Just as important, the interior controls are easy to operate. The stereo is placed higher up on the dashboard than on many cars, which allows drivers to flip stations and fast forward to favorite tracks with just a quick glance away from the road.
We applaud the sturdy grab handles above the rear passenger windows. These handles work better for hanging up a sport coat or a dress than the puny plastic clips that come in many other cars. Another nice design touch is the use of a grippy dimpled pattern -- much like you'd find on the surface of a golf ball -- on the door handles. The seats are comfortable and supportive, though we found it a bit hard to turn the knob to adjust the angle of the driver's seatback. Rear-seat headroom is limited; at 5-feet, 11-inches, my hair brushed the headliner.
Mazda Protege Road Test
When Mazda redesigned the Protege in 1999, designers in Hiroshima made a number of chassis-strengthening improvements. They increased the bending strength by 22 percent and torsional (twisting) rigidity by 12 percent. Protege's crash protection also has been improved by the addition of side-impact reinforcements. This stiff unitbody chassis, working in concert with responsive rack-and-pinion steering and a four-wheel independent suspension, translate into a comfortable ride, good high-speed stability, and excellent handling.
We tested the Protege during a wintry week in Detroit. Not all compact cars handle snow particularly well, but the Protege was able to plow its way out of a foot of snow -- with no prior shoveling. Out on the highway, whether the pavement was wet, dry or covered with snow and ice, the Protege offered predictable handling and good grip.
Working with its 4-speed automatic, the 1.8-liter engine in our ES allowed us to pick through traffic without unnecessary theatrics. The car also offered good acceleration whether starting from a standstill or pulling out of corners. When coupled with the 5-speed manual transmission, the 1.8-liter powerplant will offer even better thrust in passing situations.
The Protege's brakes -- disc in the front and drums in the rear -- bring the car to a quick, stable stop under hard braking. They showed no evidence of fading or locking-up prematurely. Optional ABS allows the driver to maintain control of steering during panic stops.
Road noise and engine noise can be a problem with small cars, especially on the freeway, but Mazda has expertly damped it out, making the Protege one of the quietest cars in its class. It seems quieter than the $21,400 Infiniti G20.
Mazda Protege Lineup
The Mazda Protege comes in three trim levels: The top-line Protege ES ($15,040), mid-line LX ($13,245) and entry-level Protege DX ($11,970.)
Protege LX and DX models come with a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine that puts out 105 horsepower. (For California buyers, the 1.6-liter engine meets that state's standards as an ultra-low-emissions vehicle.) A five-speed manual transmission is standard. A 4-speed automatic transmission can be added as an $800 option.
The Protege ES is powered by a 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder, 122-horsepower engine that is essentially a slimmed-down version of the 2.0-liter engine that powers Mazda's 626 midsize sedan. Protege ES comes with bigger front disc brakes and a higher level of standard equipment.
Protege competitors include the top-line Toyota Corolla LE, with a 1.8-liter engine and manual transmission at a base price of $15,068. The top-line Honda Civic EX sedan, with a 1.6-liter engine and manual transmission, is steeper, with a base price of $16,830.