Turn Of The Millenia For Mazda -- Luxury Sedan Comes With Improvements, Much Lower Price

1999 Mazda Millenia S.

Base price: $31,045. Price as tested: $32,295. EPA mileage: 20 mpg in city; 30 mpg highway. Safety: Anti-lock brakes, air bags, traction control. Finance note: Assuming a 10-percent down payment and a five-year new-car loan at the prevailing national rate of 8.44 percent, monthly payments for the tested car would be $595.49.

WASHINGTON - Winter here in the nation's capital had been thought dead but returned with fierce winds and plummeting temperatures. It was a seasonal resurrection appropriate for the car of the moment, the 1999 Mazda Millenia S, which once seemed destined for retail interment.

Mazda sold only 16,717 Millenias in the United States last year, 7.2 percent fewer than the 18,020 it sold in 1997. Those are death-knell numbers for most vehicle lines. But the Millenia, whose numbers have been low since its U.S. introduction in the spring of 1994, deserved a reprieve.

The car's poor market showing stemmed not so much from deficits in quality or performance as it did from Mazda's seeming inability to sell lemonade on a hot day. On-again, off-again marketing, and failure to establish an image for the Millenia, Mazda's premier sedan, all helped to deep-six sales.

But the Millenia survived because of its essential goodness and stunning beauty. It returns to us this year as an even more attractive version of its former self - and at a price, about $5,500 lower than previous models, that should move the metal.

The car is a jewel, a design standout. The lines flow from front to rear, uninterrupted by gimcrackery of any sort. The flush-mounted, crystal-lens headlamps round discreetly into the front fenders. And the reworked grille - a chrome-plated waterfall affair - is a delightful piece of brightwork that enhances the Millenia's overall appearance.

Supple cream-colored, leather-faced seats are inside. There are unobtrusive woodgrain accents on the center console and interior door panels. The instrument cluster - analog dials in an ellipsoidal setting - is intelligently designed.

I normally don't care much for "moonroofs" or "sunroofs" - rooftop apertures that seem to compromise climate-control systems. But I was taken with the one in the Millenia, because of the way it bathed the passenger cabin in soft, natural light.

Mazda again makes two engines available for the Millenia - a standard 2.5-liter, double-overhead-cam 24-valve V-6 for the base car and a Miller cycle 2.3-liter V-6 in the tested Millenia S. The standard engine is designed to produce 170 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 160 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm. Some critics have called it "sluggish." But I suspect most of those folks are recalcitrant throttle jockeys who refuse to abandon the idea that it's OK to break the speed limit.

The Miller cycle engine, made to deliver big-engine power with small-engine fuel consumption, produces 210 horsepower at 5,300 rpm and 210 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 rpm. It's more fun than the standard Millenia V-6, assuming you have a penchant for hunting vacant back roads to fully open the throttle.

Mazda tried to find the sweet middle between a sports ride and a luxury sedan ride in the Millenia, and judging from the performance of the test car, the company appears to have hit its mark.

Mazda says it is committed to making the 1999 Millenia a success in the United States. I hope this is true. This car is too darn good to suffer the sales embarrassment it has endured over the past four years.