Mazda's 1990 replacement for the 323 sedan diverges from the old car by being bigger and more powerful.
The name Protege was chosen to give a separate identity to the car, which Mazda hopes will bridge the gap between economy and midsize luxury.That means the car is considered competition for the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, two models that the Protege rivals in interior space but not overall size or price.
The Protege reflects the growing trend toward roomier cars that have more luxury and power than those once found in this small sedan class. Everybody's moving upscale, and Mazda's new small car is no exception.
In many ways, Mazda's new small sedan looks a lot like a two-thirds-size Mercedes-Benz 190, especially in the area around the back doors and trunk.
Simple without being plain, the Protege's cockpit has a spare, almost Teutonic, style. Instruments are simple dials, the dashboard is spare without being spartan, and the seats are plain cloth-covered buckets.
That means that the front seats don't have the side bolsters and articulated cushions found in a sports car, but their support is quite good nevertheless. There is no adjustment of bottom seat cushion angle, and after some time on the highway I wished there was more under-thigh support.
There's plenty of space inside, with front head and leg room just slightly different from a Toyota Camry.
The back seat has adequate leg room for adults, and the back seat folds forward in a 60/40 split to increase cargo room. With the back seat folded flat, the cargo area is big enough to hold a bicycle with its front wheel removed.
The trunk is fairly good-sized, even though the wheelbase is 98.4 inches. That's 4 inches less than a Toyota Camry.
But performance is one thing that sets the Protege apart, noticeably so in the upgraded LX model, which has 16 valves and 125 horsepower. The 1.8-liter engine that comes standard in the Protege has a single overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder and 103 horsepower. In the LX, the same engine gets a double overhead camshaft head with four valves per cylinder. That's what was in the test car.
Even with the automatic transmission, acceleration was snappy. Hold the throttle to the floor, and the engine revs quickly to its 7,000-rpm limit. That means that freeway merges are a piece of cake. Fun, in fact. Reining in the power of the LX are four-wheel disc brakes.
The Protege cruises at highway speed with so little fuss you have to watch the speedometer carefully. Wind noise is minimal, thanks to the new shape, but not so for road noise and tire whine, which were louder than expected. Perhaps the lack of wind noise makes the other sounds more obvious.
The rear suspension of the Protege uses Mazda's twin trapezoid link design, which helps control the rear axle during cornering. In practice, that means that the car has only a little front-wheel-drive understeer, or tendency to go straight when turned. Letting off the throttle when you take a turn at high speed makes the Protege react almost as if it had rear-wheel drive. Body roll is minimal.
Mazda's small cars have often been designed to perform and handle with sportiness, and this one is no different. To get sporty handling, Mazda has given the Protege a firm ride that borders on being harsh.
For those who want first-rate all-weather handling, Mazda will release a full-time four-wheel-drive model later this year.
The Protege comes in SE and LX models. The LX is the more luxurious. The test car was equipped with a power sunroof, power windows and locks, air conditioning, a stereo AM/FM radio, a cassette tape player with four speakers, automatic seat belts, power outside mirrors and a rear-window defogger. The sticker price was $13,198.