![]() ![]() The body rolls a bit in tight corners, but the tires (15-inch Bridgestone Potenza RE92s on my touring-package tester) hang on long past the point you expect them to start protesting. The Protege's steering is among the best of frontdrivers', and its weighting is dead-on: appropriately hefty at high speeds and finger-twirl light in parking lots.Ī well-judged suspension backs up the steering with secure moves in turns. That the tilt-adjustable wheel offers excellent feedback, painting a clear picture of what the front tires are doing, is the master brushstroke. ![]() It out-classes those in many a more expensive car, some of which don't have a chrome/faux carbonfibre badge, an upscale touch. With four spokes, perforations where your hands grip, and perfectly formed thumb notches, it's easily the best helm to be found in a sub-$20,000 automobile. So good is it, in fact, that it's the reason I requested a week with the new Protege. The steering wheel is a masterpiece in perfectly shaped plastic, a pleasure to hold and to twirl. Storage bins — from laptop-sized door pockets through to enough room in the centre console for almost 20 compact discs to ingenious flip-folding cup holders — are numerous, well-finished and perfectly sized.īut the best news is one of the little pieces. The cabin is upright, and headroom excellent your feet have plenty of room to move. Room is generous, perhaps not quite as large as a Ford Focus or Chevy Cavalier, but certainly more useable. They lift what was a pleasant but monotonous interior into the realm of stylishness, especially in my tester's blue-gray cloth. Dimpled textures, such as those on a VW New Beetle, are prevalent so are newly, and luxuriously, chromed finishes on the top of the nicely reshaped gear lever, at the end of the parking brake and on the door handles. That build quality and materials are excellent for the class is expected: but small touches that elevate the entire cabin to near-luxury aren't. What impresses most about Protege is its interior, classy and comfortable above its price class. Compact in dimensions it may be, but the space and the degree of down-sized luxury it provides are unique.Īt less than $20,000, you get a car almost as satisfying as a 3 Series BMW without the attendant gas and payment bills, or the social stigma. If there's one unifying theme here, it's that this small car is characterized by a more grown-up, relaxed big-car demeanor. Driving it is like piloting a small, silent cocoon through the hurly-burly of rushhour traffic. Everything you touch seems designed to calm you down. This is a relaxing car in the best sense. Sometimes anonymity can be pleasurable, and so it was after seven days behind the wheel of a Mazda Protege LX.Īfter two weeks of candy-coloured Porsches, and a stint behind the wheel of the world's most overly-accessorized Ford Focus, my Protege LX's clean, elegant lines and disappear-into-the-background midnight blue paint were a welcome respite. ![]()
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