2001 Mazda Protege Review (continued)
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Walkaround

For 2001, Mazda has redesigned the hood, front fenders, and front fascia. New headlamps and combination lamps along with a more integrated grille with mesh inserts give it a fresh new look. The Protege was totally redesigned just two years ago (for 1999) with a brand-new body style, and Mazda's designers drew styling inspiration from European cars. 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

This is a comfortable car. The Protege offers an impressive amount of headroom and legroom. It's as roomy as many 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 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.

The rear seats are 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. Rear-seat headroom is limited, however; at 5-feet, 11-inches, my hair brushed the headliner. The standard 60/40-split fold-down rear seatback now comes with a locking feature.

Trendy white-faced gauges are new for 2001. A new modular AM/FM audio system comes on all models (with standard CD on LX, LX-2.0, and ES-2.0). Mazda has revised the center panel and improved the cupholders. A new center console provides covered storage. Dual front map lights were added. DX and LX models get new two-tone interior trim.

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.

Sturdy grab handles above the rear passenger windows 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.