Exceptional car for the money

We owned a different car and it died. My husband had to rent a vehicle for the weekend. The car he ended up renting was a Mazda Protege. We had never driven a Mazda before so we drove it extensively that weekend. When we found out his "dead car" was really dead, we started looking for a new car. We looked at the Saturn and Fords and the Chevrolets We liked the Saturn but they were rather small for the price they were asking. So we went to the Mazda showroom.
The Protege is reasonably priced and looked good. It has everything equipped that we felt was important. It has dual airbags, a roomy trunk with a 60-40 split fold down rear seat that gives even more trunk space. The seats are roomy and the seat belts are long enough to fit larger people comfortably. There is plenty of leg room in the front passenger seat. Also, the back seats are not cramped. There is room for adults to sit comfortably. The air conditioner will freeze your knees in the summer and the heater warms you in the cold. There is a rear window defogger that works quickly on those cold mornings. There is also a CD player that has exceptional sound. The Protege has power windows and door locks. For families with children, there are child proof locks on the rear passenger doors.
Since owning the Protege for several months now, we are averaging 25 mpg in the city. The ride is quiet and smooth. In fact, the engine is very quiet and outside noise is almost non-existent.