Front seating in the Millenia is excellent, with good bolstering and lateral support and a fully adequate range of electrical adjustment. New for 2001 is a power lumbar support for the driver's seat. The rear seats offer only average space, however, and cargo netting is affixed to the rear of the front seats, a fashion that has come and gone. A trunk pass-through feature incorporated in the rear fold-down center armrest makes it easy to load a pair of skis or other long items.

Also new for 2001 is a two-tone dashboard treatment, with the upper section finished in a soft, pleasing gray; and the lower part keyed to the earth tones of the rest of the interior. It is a rich, clean look, accentuated by tasteful splash of wood on the center console. Controls are formed of handsomely tapered shapes so that your eye is automatically directed to each function. "Optitron" gauges, also new for 2001, seem to disappear when the ignition is off; turn on the key, and first the red pointers, and then the white numbers, come alive in the darkness.

An electric steering-wheel adjuster allows infinite adjustment up and down, tailoring the driving position to individual taste. Auxiliary audio controls are mounted on the wheel. Less satisfactory is the power-window setup, with automatic-down on the driver's side only, and no automatic-up anywhere to be found. Some of the competition has one-upped Mazda here.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning system includes straightforward controls for mode (defrost/up/down), fan strength and a radial knob for selecting temperature. Also provided is an ambient outside temperature readout. The front and rear window defroster buttons are placed immediately next to one another, and at first, these symbols' similarity make you think twice. On the other hand, in frosty conditions you may need both simultaneously anyway.

Traction control is standard in the Millenia S, and can be switched off. That's a useful feature when, for instance, the car is being operated with snow chains. Base-model buyers can still get traction control as part of a $600 "4-Seasons" Package that also includes heated front seats, a heavy-duty wiper motor, a large-capacity wiper-fluid tank and two-position wipers. A $300 package adds the heated seats and heavy-duty wiping/washing equipment to the S-model.