#2004 mazda protege edmunds driver
#2004 mazda protege edmunds plus

Height remains about the same at 57.7 inches, but width has been expanded two inches, from 67.1 to 69.1, and there's a corresponding gain in front and rear track dimensions: 60.2/59.6 inches for the 3 versus 57.7/57.9 for the Protegé5.Īll the foregoing should add up to a roomier interior, and it does-with one significant proviso. At 176.6 inches, the new five-door is 6.1 inches longer than the Protegé5.

#2004 mazda protege edmunds plus

The wheelbase, common to both body styles, has been stretched to 103.9 inches, 1.1 inches longer than the Protegé and among the longest in this class, a plus in the ride department. Both are bigger than their corresponding numbers from the Protegé lineup. Like the Protegé, the 3 is offered in two body styles, a formal four-door sedan and a five-door hatch such as our test subject here. The electrohydraulic power rack-and-pinion steering system is accurate and quick at 2.8 turns lock-to-lock, and the all-disc brake system has bigger rotors, vented up front, and augmented, in our test car, by anti-lock, which is optional. Like the Protegé, the 3 is supported by struts up front, but there's a new multilink setup at the rear, similar to the system in use on the mid-size Mazda 6. After living with our test car for a week, we have no reason to doubt this assertion. This is an all-new car on a new platform, 40 percent stiffer than the Protegé's body shell, according to Mazda. The exuberant teenager is gone, replaced by a hip young adult.

#2004 mazda protege edmunds driver

Although it responds to driver commands as promptly as its predecessor did-more so, in fact-the puppyesque playfulness of the Protegé has given way to a more serious demeanor that's more purposeful, polished, and substantial. The 3 dances to more sophisticated music. Light on its feet and eager to please, the Protegé prevailed against cars with more power and, arguably, better value because of its high fun-to-drive index. What is surprising, though, is the character change that marks the transition from Protegé to 3. That's not a huge surprise, since the 3's predecessor, the Protegé, scored top marks in three successive compact free-for-alls ('Little Cars 6.1,' June 2000 ' Boxes, Size Small,' June 2002 ' Double-Dip Dreamboats,' November 2002). Aside from corporate hot rods such as Ford's SVT Focus, compact transportation appliances don't ordinarily generate much of a blip on the collective EKG trace around here.