A coated article is provided with a coating or layer system that includes
at least one layer including zirconium (Zr) and/or zirconium nitride
(ZrN.sub.x) sandwiched between at least a pair of dielectric layers. In
certain example embodiments, the coating or layer system has good
corrosion resistance, good mechanical performance such as scratch
resistance, and/or good color stability (i.e., a low .DELTA.E* value(s))
upon heat treatment (HT).
