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Walkaround
We drove the top-line ES. The $15,040 base price includes such standard features as power windows, door locks and exterior mirrors, tilt steering column, rear defogger, power rack-and-pinion steering, cruise control, and 60/40-split fold-down rear seats. Our ES test model was equipped with two options: automatic transmission ($800), and a premium package that included front side-impact air bags, power sliding glass moonroof, and ABS with the aforementioned brake force distribution. Along with the $450 delivery charge, that kicked the total price up to $17,870.The redesigned Protege is based on the narrow-platform version of the Mazda 626 sedan that is sold in Japan and Europe. Mazda's designers have made no secret of the fact that they drew their styling inspiration from European cars. It shows. The Protege's rounded corners, sculpted hood line and clean, uncluttered shape suggests a variation on BMW's corporate look. The compact, chrome-accented grille, the distinctive front badging, the monochromatic body-side moldings, and the recessed door handles enhance that feeling. We love the big, bold wraparound tail lamps. More than just a vivid styling statement, these big tail lamps improve safety, making the car more visible to other drivers in rain, snow or fog.
Interior Features
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.
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