European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 8, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13 a i plenty of room Strong performance car Corne Mazda protege strictly a Prodigy i us Mazda people Are a bit modest when Liev Point out in their information brochures tha t the new protege 4-door Sedan Quot feels just  after spending some time with the top of the line la version. We would say that a everything is just right Quot about this car. In fact its one of the Best compact sedans on the Road today. It s also an important automobile one that will Fly not Only the Mazda Banner but Ford s Blue Oval As Well Ford owns some 25 percent of Mazda. Both the Ford escort and Mercury tracer to debut in late april Are based on the new 323-series protege. It s All similar to the Ford probes relationship with the Mazda mx-6. We had the protege la 4-door Sedan on test recently from the Mazda military sales Auto Exchange and like everyone else who has driven it. We were quite impressed. The protege incorporates some elegant lines that make its shape a bit similar to the Mercedes 190e, a Point not missed by the Many German enthusiasts who enjoyed inspecting the test car in parking lots. The protege la of front wheel drive design not Only looks Good but it features Road holding and performance qualities that one would not expect from a car in the $12,000 Price Range. There Are three 4-door protege versions a the base be the More powerful la and the 4wd 4-wheel drive. The protege represents the Sedan series within the 323 Range and the protege name has been adopted to differentiate the vehicle from the 323 Hatchback. Mazda military sales is handling both these and la protege models but not the 4wd. And is also Selling the Mazda 323 and 323 be 3-door hatchbacks from the regular 323 series. The la protege is powered by a flexible and High revving 1.8-liter, 16-valve engine. With electronic fuel injection and twin overhead cams it delivers 125 horsepower at 6.500 rpm while the torque Reading is 114 . At 4,500. This engine takes the protege from Zero to 60 Miles per hour in 9.1 seconds our Best figure and there a a top Speed of at least 125 Mph on hand. We pegged 120 Mph in forceful winds on the autobahn and left it at that. The engine was new so there was no Point in pushing it but we have a Hunch that a top Speed of 130 Mph could be reached with i no problem. F. Through the gears the la hit 35 Mph in 60 in  85 in third All at the i11 a n Rcd no and 95 in fourth but pm at 000 rpm. Top Speed in overdrive fifth v As 25 Mph As noted at 80 Mph in to Lowas pulling Only 4,000 rpm. Out so rtl0 5-Speed Gearbox took some v3,uscd.t0 3 bit notch at times and j close together fifth gear slots quite drone Robt Lac an a As pedal Are Sel up Verv Roc  driving and the car is in if i0nsive 10 the Drivers input. You stronowv1 around turns with ease and i Lap Aad passing Power Are on t needed. The ride is comfortable the compact Mazda protege 4-door Sedan features a Low Hoo line in its aerodynamically clean design. A amps the 1.8-liter, 16-valve, 4-Cylinder engine puts out 125 he. A amps except for some rough edges Over bumpy roads. Overall the performance handling and Road holding of the protege la arc All quite praiseworthy. The la has disc brakes All around Power assist steering Independent suspension and anti Roll bars front and rear. The 185/60 radial tires Are mounted on 14-Inch Alloy wheels. Although the protege is a compact car. There a a surprising amount of room in it. Especially for the two or three passengers in Back. Both legroom and headroom arc generous for a car of this size and even a 6-footer could sit in Back without crouching. The front bucket scats meanwhile. Arc fully adjustable and quite comfortable. The trunk is Large a nearly 13 cubic feet a and the split rear scat backs 60-40 fold Down to provide additional cargo space. The trunks opening extends to the bumper for easy loading. Inside a modern a sculpted look prevails. And the Driver has a Good View of things because of the proteges Low Hood line and Low placement of the instrument panel. The top of the dash contains an indented area for maps and there Are mirrors on both sunshades. The protege la test car was equipped with Power windows Power Sunroof Power Central Locking and Power rear View mirrors. The window switches a Cluster for All four windows is located on the Driver s Side Are pulled up for Quot up Quot position and pushed Down for  a neat idea. The car seat passengers also have their own window switches and there Are child locks on the rear doors. A few other features included an am pm Auto reverse cassette stereo sound system storage panels at the Bottoms of the two front doors a Large storage pocket for use by those in Back grab bars at rear first rate dual map lights and a dual cup Holder. For those who can t remember everything. A Bell sounds if the lights Are left on. There s More but these Are the highlights. The protege la averaged 24 Miles per gallon this figure including several High Speed runs. Summing up. The protege la is attractive. A Strong performer and it offers plenty of room. And it proves conclusively that a family Sedan need not be Dull. In this Case anything but. The protege May be seen at All Mazda military Auto Exchange outlets with the la Model described in this report costing s14.150. The same car without Power Sunroof. Power windows Central Locking and Alloy wheels costs $12,895. The protege be. With single overhead Cam. 16-valve 1.8-Litcr engine of 103 horsepower Sells for $11,685. The 3-door Mazda 323 Hatchback with 1.6-liter engine costs $8,945 while its be stablemate Sells for $10,675. The prices All include a Home shipment  Randy Barnett Auto columnists smart tires to inflate and deflate automatically boost i r it a one Way to pics san it age 1s t0 increase tire Tancic w reduces rolling Resis  l re pressure Means a Nerine Abib Vrh a even surfaces and Cor a ability declines As Well. And a lotto a a year tire amp rubber co. Olus engineering of England Are collaborating on a Quot smart tire that would inflate and deflate in response to Road conditions. The tires would run at a fuel saving 45 pounds per Square Inch on smooth highways deflate to 25 . On a surface filled with potholes and then pump Back up to 45 . When the Road smoothed out again. The system which Goodyear Calls a Active air a would use Silicon sensors embedded in each tire. The sensors would Monitor pressure temperature and motion and transmit data to a computer processor in the car. Which would in turn regulate the tire pressure. A Small air compressor in the car would a inflate the tires As necessary. Quot smart tires would primarily be used with Active suspension a system developed by Lotus that uses computer controlled. High pressure Hydraulic cylinders. Goodyear and Lotus expect Active suspension to reach the Market in some cars by the 1992 Model year with a smart tires following a year or two later