- sedan 176,966
- 2,995 overpriced
- Spokane, WA
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- autoshopper.com
1999 mazda protege review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. In the case of the protege, mazda has risen to the challenge by raising the bar--they've built luxury-car styling, comfort, and roominess into an economy car. A 4-speed automatic transmission can be added as an $800 option. we drove the lx, which carried a base price of $13,580 (including the $450 destination charge). Keyless entry is available for an additional $100 -- a convenient option. An optional power moonroof costs $700. A $1,350 lx premium package comes with anti-lock brakes. this newest generation protege is based on the narrow-platform version of the mazda 626 sedan that's sold in japan and europe. Mazda's designers have made no secret of the fact that they drew their styling inspiration from european cars. The new protege's rounded corners, sculpted hood line and clean, uncluttered shape suggests a variation on bmw's stately and sporty visage. that feel is enhanced by the compact, chrome-accented grille, the distinctive front badging and the monochromatic body-side mouldings and recessed door handles. we loved the big, bold wraparound taillamps in the rear. It's as roomy as longer, wider and pricier mid-size sedans. Front-seat roominess is comparable to that of a honda civic lx 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 is friendly with controls that are easy to operate. The stereo is placed higher up on the dashboard than on many cars, which means music freaks can flip stations and fast forward to favorite tracks without taking their eyes off the road for a nanosecond longer than they have to. we applaud the sturdy grab handles above the rear passenger windows. We found it a bit hard to turn the knob to adjust the back of the driver's seat. Rear-seat headroom was not nearly as plentiful as in the front; at 5-feet, 11-inches, i was brushing my head on the headliner. driving impressionwhen they redesigned the protege for 1999, mazda's designers in hiroshima made a number of chassis-strengthening improvements. They increased the bending strength by 22 percent and torsional rigidity by 12 percent. Not all compact cars handle snow particularly well. This car is stable under hard braking and the brakes showed no evidence of fading or locking. road noise and engine noise can be a problem with small cars, especially on the freeway, but mazda has expertly damped it out, making the protege one of the quietest cars in its class. This year, it's the protege's turn to play the seducer's role. for years, the honda civic and toyota corolla have been the kingpins of the economy car market, and with good reason: they offer a high-quality, reliable, durable product. But even before it was redesigned, the protege represented a high-quality car that could compete with the civic and corolla. The mazda comes with a 50,000-mile warranty, compared to the 36,000-mile coverage offered by most carmakers. now, with all of its improvements--from interior space to ride quality to quietude to handling--the protege has earned the right to be dubbed one of the best in its class. assembled inhiroshima, japan. options as testedair conditioning, carpeted floor mats. model testedprotege lx. Power Windows✔ Anti-lock Brakes✔ Bucket Seats✔ Cruise Control✔ Air Conditioning✔ Sunroof/Moonroof
2,995 Spokane, WASpokane, WA at autoshopper.com