The MP3's 280-watt Kenwood Excelon Z919 head unit has a multicolor LCD that, when off, is populated by marine life and when on routinely performs a perfect imitation of Tokyo's Ginza district at midnight.įlip down the motorized faceplate (after locating the appropriate tiny button with an electron microscope), and a CD slot appears. It accepts regular store-bought discs or self-burned jobs encoded with MP3 digital audio computer files. Hence, the name of this car and a big chunk of its $2230 premium over a similarly equipped Protegé ES manual. The sumptuous sound from this radio and its 10-inch cochlea-compressing subwoofer seems as good as most bookshelf systems, but its presence alone isn't quite enough to get the resident rev heads here salivating. Particularly since the miniature controls require a degree in enigmatology - the hand-held remote is thankfully simpler - and the display vanishes like Brigadoon in direct sunlight.įortunately, the MP3 has some other noteworthy tweaks that bump the roadability value above the more pedestrian Protegé models. They include mild engine and suspension upgrades for which Mazda relied on tuner Racing Beat in Anaheim, California, an established company carrying street credibility with the slammed-Civic set. Co-founder Jim Mederer and his crew had helped put together the original MPS show car for last year's SEMA aftermarket-parts show and have delivered a production version virtually unchanged. Helping out the firmer springs and thicker roll bars are Tokico shocks and stiffer control-arm bushings.
#Lc62 66 830 mazda protege mp3 2.0 driver
They interface with the road through 17-inch cast aluminum Racing Hart wheels encased in 205/45ZR-17 Dunlop SP Sport 9000 rubber, and with the driver through a leather-bound Nardi three-spoke wheel. The 2.0-liter DOHC four gets an algorithmic stimulant in the form of reprogrammed ignition timing. That and the Racing Beat exhaust downstream of the catalyst are worth 10 horsepower and 7 pound-feet of torque, says Mazda, raising the cranking capability to 140 horsepower and 142 pound-feet of torque. Racing Beat gets featured billing on the MP3's trunk badge for its effort. The Protegé has long been a favorite around these parts. The last-generation car clobbered 12 other compact sedans in our "Little Cars 6.1" comparo in June 2000 with its fair impersonation of a BMW 2002.
In a rematch, the extra vigor of the Protegé MP3 would likely guarantee it the Stirling Moss Award. The major reason is that Mazda builds the econocar equivalent of a battleship hull and wires it with light, precise, and communicative controls.įrom the thick steering wheel, ergonomically sculpted buckets, and machined-steel pedals, the Protegé MP3 streams data to your appendages regarding lateral grip, slip angle, and road irregularity. You feel the car's organs working to digest corners. You also feel the understeer, but it rotates the MP3's rear satisfyingly when you back out of the throttle lightly, a trait that helped the car post a blazing 0.85 g on the skidpad. A new Protegé 5 wagon tested the same day riding on 16-inch Dunlops managed just 0.79 g.
#Lc62 66 830 mazda protege mp3 2.0 manual
In traffic, the manual MP3 has all the twist-and-lean squirt of a sport bike, minus the favorable power-to-weight ratio, though.
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