There are touches of aluminum, like burnished pewter, all over, including the armrests, door handles, and the vertical control panel, where the AM/FM/CD and climate (HVAC) systems are located. It's also inset in faux carbon fiber. The simple, small three-spoke tilt steering wheel looks and feels especially neat. The tidy three gauges have off-white backgrounds and black numbers with amber illumination.

The Protege5 may be small but it doesn't feel cramped in front. Everything falls into place for the driver, with good foot room including a nice dead pedal. Visibility from inside is also very good. There's no whumping in your ear when just the driver's window is down. There's a small triangular window in the back third of the rear door glass.

For convenience, there are grab handles in the front armrests, storage pockets in each door (though none in the front seatbacks), a deep glovebox and good interior lighting. There are two flip-top cupholders forward of the five-speed shift lever, as well as a deep slot for small stuff, and a sloped coin slot with a lip, in the lower left dash. Between the seats lies the handbrake and a deep console. Power windows and locks, remote entry, rear window wiper and rear seat heater ducts are standard.

The rear seats are surprisingly roomy and comfortable for adults.

With the 60/40 split rear seats folded, there's 24.4 cubic feet of cargo space. Mazda measures at a height level with the top of the rear seats, as per EPA guidelines; some manufactures measure to the ceiling, making specs sometimes skewed. There's a space saver rear tire underneath the cargo bay floor, with a security cover. There's also an interior light switch back there, so you can leave the hatch open when the car is parked without stretching the battery.

The child seat anchors use the latest system, consisting of two sets of lower anchors on both sides of the rear passenger seat, and three top tether anchors for each rear seating position. With this system, the latest child seats can be secured without using the car's seatbelts.