Article: Mazda's Protege and Toyota's Avalon offer styling, performance and comfort // Two for the road

The revamped new Mazda Protege economy sedan is among the best economy cars, and Toyota's roomy Avalon continues as the only Japanese full-size family sedan.

Mazda lacks the name recognition of larger rivals such as Toyota and Honda, so the $11,970-to-$14,925 Protege likely will go ignored by many folks who want a sophisticated small car. That's a pity, although generally conservative Mazda's new "edgy," youth-oriented Protege advertising may help.

Toyota doesn't make the somewhat pricey $24,568-to-$28,578 Avalon one of its high-profile cars but sells as many as it can make - or about 75,000 a year. Here's what I found while testing the two cars: Protege: The 1999 subcompact Protege is ...

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