It's not easy being an afterthought.
There are nearly 40 different nameplates vying for the attention of the American auto buyer, who often never even thinks about the smaller brands. That's the problem facing the newly redesigned Mazda Protege.
Mazda has flooded the market with new products over the last few years. Unfortunately, it hasn't had the money or marketing muscle to make its presence felt. In fact, you probably can't remember the last time you saw an ad for a Protege. It doesn't have the image or name recognition of cars such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic or Plymouth Neon.
According to the marketing experts, car buyers tend to seriously consider only the top two or three cars on their list. that's too bad for buyers who might otherwise find a pleasant surprise in this stylish, sophisticated package.
By definition, the Protege is classified as a subcompact. But slip inside and you're in for a shock: There's nearly as much room inside as in a luxury car. Chrysler has been billing this concept as cab forward engineering. Mazda prefers the term OptiSpace. You'll just call it roomy.
The price tag is, unfortunately, nearly as big as the interior. Unless You're willing to live with a stripped-down package, you'll pay a premium to drive this one off the dealer's lot. Is the Protege worth the money? Here's a closer look.
Spawning from the aging Mazda 323 line, Protege has become Mazda's best-selling model line, though the numbers remain small compared with other Japanese models such as the Civic.
The old Protege was a stodgy looking sedan. The 95 model, however, looks as if it was sculpted in the wind tunnel. Although it's certainly a lot more handsome than before, it's still sort of generic. The redesigned Protege has the same sort of jelly-bean styling that seems to characterize almost everything coming out of Japan these days.
The Protege will look good in your driveway but your neighbors may confuse it with a lot of other Asian automobiles. Of course, that may not be all bad. Some may mistake it for the hot new Mazda Millenia, a significantly more expensive and luxurious automobile.
It would take an engineer to see some of the biggest changes in the Protege's new unibody structure. Mazda claims the car has been stiffened a great deal. That means less flexing on rough roads and translates into both better handling and improved isolation.
To further reduce passenger compartment noise levels, Mazda has added sandwich sheet metal to areas like the engine compartment fire wall.
Side by side, You'll find the new Protege to be noticeably larger than the car it replaces: more than 3 in. longer, to be precise, with extra inches in length, width and wheelbase. Thankfully, the new Protege is also lighter. So we got more kick from the hard-working 1.5-liter engine in the Protege LX we test drove.
The Protege certainly measures up - at least when you're sitting inside. In the front or back, there's enough head- and legroom for a college basketball star. OptiSpace translates into 95.5 cu. ft. of passenger volume.
That's the largest in the subcompact segment, and only 2.5 cu. ft. less than the longer and more expensive Mazda 626.
Indeed, Mazda officials like to boast that the Protege has nearly the interior space of the Acura Legend, the BMW 5-Series, even the full-size Infiniti Q45.
The trunk is equally impressive, by the way, with 12.9 cu. ft. of cargo space - more than enough for an extended outing.
Space certainly isn't the only measure of luxury, and this car isn't in a class with BMW or even the Millenia. But Mazda did pay careful attention to the styling and fit-and-finish of the protege's interior.
The color coordination of the various plastics, vinyls and fabrics will please even the eye of a decorator.
Controls are generally quite well-placed, except for the radio, which is positioned near the bottom of the center console and requires a considerable stretch to operate. This is a weakness in many cars. You're likely to adjust the volume or change stations far more often than You'll tinker with the heater controls, so wouldn't it make sense to put the radio on top? The radio on our entry-level sedan, by the way, could best be described as tinny. It cried out for an upgrade.
