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No doubt about it – driving expensive new cars, loaded with options, beats work by a considerable margin. But there’s a certain sameness about that kind of carriage – for the most part they fulfill the lofty expectations that come with their high-flying price tags. And they better, or they’ll get savaged here.

And it’s interesting how quickly one becomes inured to what a few years ago were considered exotic options . . . actually, when I was growing up, not long after the demise of the velociraptor, we didn’t even give much thought to air conditioning – we’d have settled for a dashboard clock that worked. So it’s really a hoot to stumble across the occasional inexpensive machine that delights beyond all expectation, and then to be able to whisper its name to a few million friends.

(Sotto voce) Mazda Protege. I hesitate to shout the name, for fear of creating a stampede and forcing the price up.

Proteges start at an eye-opening $12,765 for the base or DX series, pass through $13,485 for the LX and hit $15,535 in the heavily-equipped ES series. In typical press-coddling fashion, Mazda sent me an ES with some options tacked on, but the bottom line was still a very friendly $16,895, with freight. And that’s for a handsome four-door compact sedan, not some miniature tin can on wheels. (This model is only available as a four-door, for now.)

This is the third year for the current Protege series – probably the midpoint of its existence – and in addition to a bit of makeup, it has been given some serious mechanical enhancements.

All series have been graced with a stiffer body structure for better handling and responsiveness, steering feel has been improved and more sound-deadening measures taken. The LX (optionally) and ES (standard) have a new engine, too. The interior has been spiffed up with a new modular entertainment center, new storage console, dual map lights and a lock on the fold-down 60/40 rear seats. Pebble-grained vinyl surfaces and contrasting cloth door inserts make for a very pleasant environment. The flight deck was roomy enough for an XXLT operator, although the back seats in this compact demand compact occupants. Trunk space is 12.9 cubic feet, which can be expanded by dropping one or both of the rear seats, 60/40. The sharp-eyed may pick up on exterior changes consisting of a mesh insert in the grille, a reworked hood, front fenders and fascia and a new headlamp look.

The standard engine for DX and LX series cars is a 1.6-liter double-overhead-cammer tuned for torque, 106 foot-pounds of it at 4,000 rpm. Horsepower peaks at 103 horses out at 5,500 rpm. That might be adequate, but it certainly would yield lackadaisical acceleration in a 2,500-pound auto.

Even the two-liter, also a 16-valve twin-cam four, which makes 130 hp (@6,000) and 135 foot-pounds of torque (@4,000), could not crack the 9-second 0-60 barrier, though it came close as I did my best job of slap-shifting the five-speed manual transmission while feeding gas. In this class, however, as in many others, 0-60 does not tell the whole tale.

The transmission shifted easily and precisely, and the engine loved to run right out to ignition cutoff, just past the 6,500 redline. When I kept the tachometer on the hot side of 3,000, response was quick and fairly energetic. The spacing of the top three gears is nearly ideal, facilitating wringing the most out of that little powerplant. I thought second might have been a bit lower – there was quite a gap between second and first, causing the revs to jump up and the car to jerk a bit when it was necessary to get down that low in a hurry. Both fourth and fifth are overdrive ratios – I think I’d move the whole 2-4 shebang down a bit. In fifth, each 1,000 engine rpm translates to about 21 mph, so they’re getting considerable mechanical advantage from the geartrain.

Even so, the Protege 2.0 gets 25 mpg city, 31 highway i tests. I spent most of my time having fun in the country, racing from Stringtown to Rabbit Hash, rowing the gears and stomping on the gas pedal, and it still only cost a gallon of regular every 27.3 miles. The DX and LX with 1.6 engine and manual shift are rated at 29/34, if that’s where your priorities lie.

This being an economy car, I broke it in gently, to see what it could do. I kept raising the bar, and the car kept clearing it nicely. Eventually I discovered that this unassuming-looking little sedan could hold its own with far more expensive and jazzier-looking sporty coupes and sedans.

They weren’t fibbing about the lack of body flex, and the steering feel was up near the head of the class. It’s not unduly fast, nor too light, but had excellent on-center feel and did a fine job of telegraphing to the driver what was going on in the nether regions.

It’s front-drive, of course, and with its relatively modest power, showed virtually no tendency to “torque steer,” or jerk the steering wheel when the jerk behind it demanded flank speed.

The Protege eats curves with the best FWD machines. While the DLX, being a sort of loss leader, is saddled with merely adequate 14-inch tires, the ES carries wide 195/50 rubber wrapped around 16-inch alloy wheels. Despite some venturesome corner assaults, I never found them to come up short.

The Protege pulled up short, though, when I climbed on the brakes in the simulated panic- stop exercise. The 70-0 times were far more impressive than the 0-60 record, thanks to those big skins and the generous disc brakes at all corners, ventilated up front, solid in the rear. Antilock is an option, unfortunately available only on two-liter LX and ES series cars, and comes bundled with side air bags for a reasonable $800. It worked as it should without clamor.

Speaking of clamor, a lot of tire and suspension noise penetrates the cabin. This is not unusual in this class, but could be dealt with.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-tested a 2000 Protege and gave it, on a five-star scale, 4 for driver and co-pilot protection in a frontal impact, 3 for front-seat protection in a side impact, and 4 for rear-seat protection in a lateral crash. One might expect those ratings to improve when they test a 2001, with its stronger frame and side air bags.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in its tougher barrier test, rated Protege acceptable for occupant protection. They did, however, rip it for “excessive” damage incurred when the rear bumper encountered a pole at just 5 mph. It sustained $2,800 worth of damage, which is ridiculous.

Consumer Reports shows the current series of Protégé garnered well above average marks for reliability in every category in its reader reports. The organization predicts the trend will continue.

There’s only one reason I could offer to hold off on buying the Proteg e to take a gander at the heavily-styled five-door version – called Protege5 – due soon. If you’re over 25, it probably won’t be your thing, although that rear hatch is nice. You can see it at www.mazdausa.com.

With the antilock/side air bag package, carpeted floor mats and freight, the tester listed at $16,895. Edmunds.com suggests you might be able to bargain that down by $500 or so.

Prime competitors are Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, Mitsubishi Mirage, Kia Spectra, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra. Make the Protege a must-test.

“The Gannett News Service”