A grown-up subcompact in a segment filled
with cartoons
Though it's conservatively styled, the Mazda Protege's refinement
and thoughtful interior quickly grow on you.
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Mazda Protegé LX
Test period: 03.23.98 to 03.30.98
Base price: $17,205
Options on test car: Automatic transmission, $950
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Mazda's a company that's changed its corporate logo twice in the
last ten years, something that's almost unprecedented in the realm of
car manufacturers. Ford's pumped money into it and has replaced its
top management. In the last year alone, their advertisements have
taken three different faces.
Marketing-identity crisis or not, Mazda still makes some darn fine
cars, most of which stand out distinctively in their often-mundane
market segments. Case in point is the 1998 Protegé, which,
despite my test car's goofy "Touring Edition" striping and rear wing,
is a decidedly grown-up-looking car in a class populated with big
round eyes and exuberant styling touches. Its low, thin headlights
and formal profile give it the feel of a much larger car, a welcome
relief in this cartoon class.
The interior continues the mature theme. Though not-very-stylish
and a little drab, especially in grey, its 2704 L of passenger-cabin
volume is the largest in its class, all of it useable. Headroom is
generous, and so long as you're not sitting behind someone from the
Raptors' starting lineup, rear legroom is fine, too.
Thoughtful little touches abound. The driver's seat in LX models
is height adjustable, and your left foot rests on a proper dead
pedal. There's a cupholder for the rear seats in addition to the two
in front. Storage cubbies are everywhere, from the neat two-level
center armrest to the space underneath the vent controls (the radio's
up high, where it should be.) A niche underneath the left-side vent
is nicely situated for stashing parking money, and there are trays on
the floor between the seats and the doors to catch change, tickets,
writing utensils. The map pockets are big enough to hold a laptop
computer.
Never mind the trunk, which is huge. So huge, in fact, that the
Protegé's owner's manual has a full-page warning telling you
emphatically not to carry people around in it. (Though it's hard to
see this little white Mazda as a car in which mobsters would tote
around dead bodies.)
Down the road, the LX's 122-horsepower 1.8-litre engine pulls the
car along with verve, and doesn't complain even as it reaches the
redline; it's the same basic design used in the previous-generation
Miata and sounds great. The four-speed automatic, though
smooth-shifting, is slow to kick down and hunts between gears on
hills unless you floor the throttle. Best to stick with the standard
5-speed and pocket $950.
Perhaps because of the phenomenal 65-series Pirelli Winter 190
Performance snow shredders fitted to my tester, a great deal of tire
roar made its way into the otherwise silent cockpit. The snow tires
may also have been responsible for the car's fidgety directional
stability on the highway and its above-average propensity to follow
ruts in the pavement. Michelin or Bridgestone all-season radials are
standard.
The Protegé handles beautifully, though, with its quick
steering and flat cornering stance; dicing through traffic is almost
too much fun. Brakes&emdash;four-wheel discs on the LX&emdash;provide
ample stopping power, though the pedal's spongy in its first couple
of inches of travel.
Prices for the Protegé have come down significantly in the
last couple of years, as Mazda's fiddled with equipment levels and
option packages to remain competitive. The base SE model checks in at
$14.545, with a 92-horsepower 1.5-litre engine, 13-inch tires and no
radio. The brakes alone almost make the extra $2260 for the LX worth
it; you also get the larger engine, 14-inch wheels and tires, a CD
stereo system and a nice but unnecessary power package.
Either trim level, though, nets you a thoughtfully designed
cockpit and grown-up looks and road manners. If you're tired of the
juvenile look and feel that seems to define the $15-19,000 market
segment, the Protegé might just be your out.