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"         As a mechanically curious kind of guy, it warms the mitral valve of my heart when a new car introduction includes a table-full of interesting components that wouldn&amp;#039;t normally be seen. At &amp;#039;s event introducing the revamped 2001 Proteg\u00E9, the parts du jour were large metal stampings welded together to form suspension subframes, painted in regulation semi-gloss black.   Nothing unusual here (other than the presentation itself being held at the end of a pier), but as we&amp;#039;d later find out on our drive inland of La Jolla, California, these strengthened pieces turn an already fun-to-drive machine into a precision tool for cornering.   Specifically, thicker-gauge metal now forms the front subframe, a piece further fortified with a bolt-on stamped plate connecting the control-arm attachment points. At the rear, anchor points for the struts&amp;#039; lower transverse links have been suitably reinforced, as have two other brackets that tie the subframe to the car&amp;#039;s structure. Rear spindles (which, on the ES model, carry standard disc brakes) are also more rigid. Factor in the ES&amp;#039;s standard 16-in. alloy wheels (an inch larger for 2001) wearing 195/50R-16 tires and stiffer front and rear anti-roll bars, and you have one crisp-handling car.   In hard numbers, Mazda claims an 18-percent improvement in response time (from when the steering wheel is moved until the car actually starts to turn) over last year&amp;#039;s Proteg\u00E9 ES. And, as you can see in the photo, body lean is extremely well controlled; again quoting Mazda&amp;#039;s figures, it&amp;#039;s just 2 degrees at 0.5g lateral acceleration.   As always, there&amp;#039;s a price to pay: about 100 additional lb., which partially offsets the torque gains of the new 130-bhp 2.0-liter dohc 16-valve engine, shared with the 626\u2014with a peak of 135 lb.-ft. at 4000 rpm, it&amp;#039;s up 15 lb.-ft. (and 8 bhp) on the 1.8 it replaces.   Although a decent performer and quite smooth, this ULEV-certified powerplant lacks the willingness to rev and midrange response of some other 2.0-liter competitors, such as Ford&amp;#039;s Zetec or Chrysler&amp;#039;s single-cam Neon engine. A chassis this good deserves better.   Thankfully, the Proteg\u00E9&amp;#039;s manual 5-speed shift linkage remains as robust as ever, and the available 4-speed automatic we sampled was crisp-shifting and showed little tendency to hunt on grades. The twincam 1.6-liter remains as the base engine, but with 103 bhp pulling about 2500 lb. of Proteg\u00E9, you&amp;#039;d have to be content just keeping up with traffic. At least this year, the 2.0-liter is also available in the LX version, the middle trim level.   We&amp;#039;ve always admired the taut, European- inspired lines of this Proteg\u00E9 iteration, and the car&amp;#039;s new beak continues the theme, possibly with a bit of Ford&amp;#039;s New Edge design in the hood&amp;#039;s sharp creases and headlights&amp;#039; angrier glower. Inside, white-face gauges with red markings (on ES models) look great in the daytime but start to hemorrhage and lose definition at night.           Also new is a redesigned center console, metallic accents on the dash, new sound system options that include a 6-CD in-dash player, and significantly improved, more supportive seats. Climate-control knobs are also upsized from the somewhat miniaturized versions of last year&amp;#039;s model.   There are two other nice surprises, both under $20,000. On sale in mid-May, the Proteg\u00E9 Sport Wagon will be offered, only in ES trim. With a rally-inspired front fascia, yellow foglights, chrome-behind-glass taillights, 16-in. alloy wheels and the &amp;#039;s 3-spoke steering wheel, this creation should take all the &amp;quot;family&amp;quot; stigma out of owning a wagon, and account for 20 percent of Proteg\u00E9 sales.   For the hardcore performance freaks among us, the MP3, a 150-bhp version of the sedan that&amp;#039;s been co-developed with longtime Mazda tuner Racing Beat, should be available as you read this. Equipment includes 17-in. Racing Hart wheels shod with 205-width high-performance radials that go with a retuned suspension. Production volume is pegged at 1500 a year.   Considering all the changes, price increases are modest, with the base 1.6-liter DX starting at $12,700 and the manual-transmission ES-2.0 going for $16,100. These are reasonable sums indeed for buyers looking for a solidly-built compact sedan with smile- inducing levels of grip and handling. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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