The cloth-covered bucket seats are on the firm side, but supportive and comfortable. If you flip the rear seats forward, long items like fishing rods and skis can be stowed inside the car. The Protege’s trunk can swallow 12.8 cubic feet of cargo.Īnd loading items in to the trunk will be easy because the lip of the trunk lid extends down to the bumper. If there’s a bigger trunk in a similar sized subcompact, I have yet to see it. A person who is 5-feet-11 or so can sit in the rear seat and not have to wedge his or her feet under the seat or struggle to get comfortable. The Protege is one subcompact car that was actually designed with the comfort of rear-seat passengers in mind. It feels solid and well built, nimble, agile and easy to drive. The car’s excellent front and rear visibility enhances your feeling of the car’s roadworthiness. The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is light and crisp, and the four-wheel disc brakes provide ample stopping power. Road noise is well muffled, and bumps are handled with finesse. The body does not lean much in hard cornering. Mazda has equipped the Protege with four-wheel independent suspension. The Protege’s excellent road manners make it a car you’d want to drive, even if you could afford something larger. I can remember when small cars were dull, and people bought them because they couldn’t afford anything else. It pulls strongly all the way to its 6,500 rpm limit, and the test car delivered a solid 26 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The engine runs as smoothly and quietly as a sewing machine. But even in the worst Interstate 4 traffic jam, I found the Protege to be civilized. Sometimes shifting can become tiresome, especially when you drive in heavy traffic. The Protege’s shifter and clutch pedal are easy to operate.
#1993 mazda protege manual
Our test car came with a five-speed manual transmission, but if you wish to avoid shifting, a computer-controlled four-speed automatic is available as an option. This fuel-injected power plant develops 125-horsepower. Overall performance rates excellent, thanks to the Protege’s double overhead cam 16-valve four cylinder. Unlike other small cars, the Protege LX doesn’t take long to accelerate. The Protege LX comes up a winner in most categories. And check the rebates and incentives to see who’s offering the best deal. Start by comparing the safety equipment that comes standard or that is available as an option. That’s why you’ll have to look beyond the obvious to get the best car for your money. Someof the best ones on the market include Saturn’s SL sedan, Chevy’s Geo Prizm, Honda’s Civic, Subaru’s new Impreza, Ford’s Escort and this week’s test car, the LX version of Mazda’s Protege.Īll of these cars made it to the top because they deliver solid value, exceptional quality, terrific performance and gas mileage, and exceptional handling. If you are looking for a solid, well-built small car, be prepared to wear out a bit of shoe leather.įrom foreign and domestic automakers, the market is jammed with excellent small cars.
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