Proton Satria Neo 1.3 and 1.6 Detailed Review

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Proton launched it’s iconic two-door hatchback, the Proton Satria back in December 1994. The Proton Satria was based on the Mitsubishi Colt and came in 1.3 litre and 1.6 litre variants. Two years later, it received it’s first minor facelift, with the number plate relocated to the hatch instead of on the bumper. Four years after it’s introduction, the sporty Satria GTI variant was released, featuring a sporty bodykit, Lotus tuned ride and handling as well as a powerful 1.8 litre twin-cam engine making 140 horsepower. In 2003, Proton introduced the Satria Special Edition which featured a new bodykit and a minor interior facelift. In 2004, the R3-tuned limited edition Satria R3 was launched.

The Satria is one of Proton’s more successful models, achieving near-cult status in hatchback-loving countries like the UK. We have been looking at spy photos of the Proton Satria Replacement Model for more then a year now, and the wait is now over. Proton has launched the Satria Replacement Model and it has been given the name Proton Satria Neo. Let’s have a look at the new Proton Satria Neo.

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The Proton Satria Neo is an all new platform developed from scratch. It is not based on the Waja/Gen2 chassis or the old Satria chassis. However for the sake of better economies of scale, it does share some components with the Proton Gen2. The new Proton Satria Neo’s exterior design projects a stout and intimidating image. Projector headlamps are of the Proton tiger eyes design first seen on the Proton Gen2. The headlamps are a 4-headlamp projector system which uses H1 bulbs. These H1 bulbs have a 2000-hour lifespan. Of course, the silhouette was designed to provide a good drag coefficient of 0.35, front lift coefficient of 0.01 and rear lift coefficient of 0.05. This is an improvement of the old Satria’s drag coefficient of 0.405 and the Satria GTI’s drag coefficient of 0.395. This will improve performance and fuel consumption.

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Bling bling “turbine”

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Bling bling covers for the 1.3 litre

The Proton Satria Neo 1.6 comes in specification levels: the M-Line and the H-Line. Both features 16 inch alloy wheels wrapped with Continental SportContact-1 tyres in 195/50/R16 88V size. The alloy wheels are of the bling bling design. Proton prefers to call this design a turbine design. This turbine design is symmetrical, which means the left and right sides of the car use different designs to ensure the turbine always “spins” forward. I still think they’re horrible, but then again wheels are something that are easily replaced and is one of the first things to be changed on a car. The Proton Satria Neo 1.3 L-Line base model uses 15 inch steel rims with bling bling turbine wheel covers. The tyres provided are Sime Astar Prima 195/55/R15 85V.

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The Satria Neo uses Proton’s self-developed Campro engines

The Proton Satria Neo uses Proton’s Campro engines. These are the same ones found in the Proton Gen2 and the Proton Waja Campro. The 1.3 litre Campro offers 94hp at 6000rpm with 120Nm of torque peaking at 4000rpm and the 1.6 litre Campro gives you 110hp at 6000rpm with a torque figure of 148Nm at 4000rpm. This is for a car that weighs about 1146kg for the 1.3 L-line manual up to 1184kg for the 1.6 litre auto. I took the car for a spin around Sepang. The 1.6 litre was a fun drive although it is seriously nothing fantastic. Not mind-blowing, just adequate. Performance was quite on par with my classic Proton Satria’s 1834cc SOHC engine. The Campro engine’s revs felt like it had a slightly heavy flywheel, though I suspect it must be because the engine has not fully run in yet. The engine is a bit noisy. At high revs from 5000rpm onwards it screamed with a very metallic sound which was too loud even with my helmet on. I think if you change the intake system to something less restrictive it would sound nicer, but in stock form it sounds abit painful at high revs towards the redline. Not very pleasant. But the power is there.

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The 1.6 H-Line comes with an engine cover but I think the engine looks sexier uncovered

As for the 1.3, I cannot imagine how the Gen2 1.3 auto’s performance is as I have not test driven that yet. But the Satria Neo is a lighter car than the Proton Gen2, and the 1.3 auto is really underpowered. The engine struggles to go under load but you don’t really go anywhere. I highly recommend you stay away from the 1.3 litre models unless you’re a really really slow driver who is very patient. By the way, the Campro’s torque dip at low RPM ranges is still there. To help with the 1.3’s performance, the manual transmission for the 1.3 model has a revised final drive ratio of 4.33 instead of the 1.6 model’s 4.05.

Here are the obligatory performance numbers:

Top Speed 0-100km/h
Proton Satria Neo 1.6 (A) 185 13.7
Proton Satria Neo 1.6 (M) 190 11.5
Proton Satria Neo 1.3 (A) 180 16.0
Proton Satria Neo 1.3 (M) 175 12.1

Notice the huge difference in the acceleration statistics for the 1.3 automatic and the 1.3 manual model. I think the 1.3 manual model would have acceleration numbers almost as bad as the 1.3 automatic if it were not for the new gear ratios. Hence the huge difference as compared to the difference between the 1.6 auto and the 1.6 manual.

The brakes are good, as expected from the sporty drive Proton promises. You’ll be happy to hear both the 1.3 and the 1.6 litre models come with disc brakes on all four wheels. The brakes are ventilated at the front, and solid at the rear. The Proton Satria Neo’s front disc brakes are larger than the Proton Gen2’s. The 1.6 high-line model comes with anti-lock brakes, while the 1.6 M-line and the 1.3 L-line models do not.

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Previously, spyshots and patent filings have indicated that the Satria Neo would come with a cream based interior like the Proton Gen2. Thankfully this was revised and the Proton Satria Neo now comes with a grey interior. A cream interior really does not lend to a sporty look. Proton calls this a Tempest Grey colour scheme. The interior is a combination of dark grey, light grey and silver. Air conditioning controls are arranged in a vertical arrangement below the integrated Blaupunkt CD player.

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The air cond vents are circular in shape. You twist the outer ring to adjust the amount of air flow. The vents can be adjusted independently from the outer ring for airflow direction. While I do not know if this is an original idea, it’s a clever design which reflects the minimalist concept of the interior. It is functional too once you get used to it. Interior air conditioning is an improvement over the Proton Gen2’s air conditioning system where there is a delay while the air conditioning system cools the air. This delay is not present in the Proton Satria Neo. The Proton Waja Campro also features this system. There is a glove box but it’s really very tiny. I think it’s just enough for you to put a case with your audio CDs and a Smart Tag transmitter in it.

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Tiny glove compartment

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Gear console design has a metal trim around it, like the Satria GTI’s. I like how the ball of the manual gearshift fits into my palm.

The meter panel is the standard symmetrical pod design used in all new Protons. The meter illumination is blue in colour. I’m not sure if this is a good idea since blue is a bit hard to focus on as a foreground colour. You can adjust the brightness of the meters via a dial to the right of the meters. Steering wheel is a three-spoke design with a silver ring in the middle and a Proton logo in-set. The 1.6 models have audio controls built into the left and right steering wheel spokes. The dashboard meter features a digital trip meter in the middle. The trip meter also has a fuel computer funtion which shows distance to empty and average fuel consumption. The whole interior looks very minimalist and modern, and it gives me a sporty feel. The plastics are softer than the typical hard Proton plastics so at least that is an improvement. I wish they’d given the steering wheel a better feel too. Somehow it feels really bare bones in my hands. The impression I get is “budget, budget, budget”.

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The audio system is powered by a Blaupunkt CD player. The 1.3 model features FM and CD, while the 1.6 model has the additional capability to play MP3 files. The 1.6 model comes with 4 speakers, while the 1.3 model comes with only 2 speakers. This Blaupunkt CD player also has options to interface with a CD changer or an iPod. These functions are optional accessories. The Satria Neo’s bee sting antenna is an active system in the 1.6 model, it actively searches for signals in poor reception areas like basements where passive antennas do not work.

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Modern door inset design. The half-moon shaped door handle looks dodgy, and the door knob looks cheap. I prefer a design integrated with the door handle like the classic Satria’s.

The interior is a bit cramped for me. I am 181cm tall. That’s about 5 foot 11 inches. When I got into the car, I had problems wearing my helmet for the track session. Sitting down in the front, my head was almost touching the ceiling of the car. With my helmet on, I could not even fit in the car properly. I had to slouch a little in my seat so that I could get the helmet on. This was the front, so imagine if I was sitting in the rear. The rear legroom is abit larger than the original Proton Satria but too little to make a difference. This is definitely not a car for large people. It’s a two-door hatch, do not expect it to give you wonders in terms of interior space like a four-door sedan or even a Perodua Myvi.

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The Satria Neo attacking the corners at Sepang

What about ride and handling? The Proton Satria Neo’s body is supposed to be 2 times stronger than previous Satrias and is built with high tensile steel. The Proton Satria Neo has a torsion ridigity of 13,300Nm per degree and a bending ridigity of 14,000Nm per millimeter. The front suspension is features MacPherson struts and the rear suspension is a multi-link setup with a rear anti-roll bar. My experiences with the Proton Satria Neo on the Sepang F1 circuit impressed me. The body behaviour was typical of a Lotus tuned suspension, however I had some qualms about the steering feel. I had expected more of the car’s reaction time to my quick steering actions. Perhaps I had overestimated the advertised Lotus handling, the car did not respond as quick as how I expected it to. You will get used to the steering feel sooner or later.

Let’s have a look at what Proton had done to improve the reliability of the Satria Neo. For one, the Proton Satria Neo has been tested at Spain’s stone pave circuit. The stone pave circuit like it’s namesake is a circuit paved with stone. It’s really rough and it shakes and stresses the car’s body and parts to ensure maximum endurance. The Proton Satria Neo underwent a 200,000km test on the Stone Pave Circuit, which is equal to 10 years of wear and tear. The Proton Satria Neo also comes with a 7-year anti rust corrosion warranty.

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An improved power window design

The power window switches are located in the center console area near the handbrake. The power window mechanism has been improved over the Proton Gen2 system and features a scissors type regulator which apparently provides for better reliability. The load bearing components are made out of stronger materials, and additional roller bearings reduce stress on the mechanism. There are also balance rails for the glass pane, and the motor is also an improved version.

As for safety features, the Proton Satria Neo does offer SRS airbags, pre-tensioner seatbelts, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), and anti-lock brakes (ABS) but these are only offered on the Proton Satria Neo 1.6 H-Line model which is the top of the range. So I expect Proton will get some criticism for not making it standard on all models. For your car’s security, the H-Line model also comes with a CAPTOR alarm and immobilizer system. The Proton Satria Neo has also passed EuroNCAP, GCC for Gulf Nations and ADR for Australian crash test standards.

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Cupholders, samurai sword handbrake, power window controls, 12V power socket, and electric wing mirror controls occupy the center console area

Other creature comfort accessories include powered wing mirrors, front fog lamp for the 1.6 models, cruise control for the automatic transmission 1.6 H-Line model, steering wheel audio controls for the 1.6 models, a 12V power socket in the center console area, reverse sensors, ignition key reminders which alert you when you leave your keys in the LOCK or ACC position, and lamp warning buzzers when you leave the car with your headlights on. The hazard lights blink automatically when you open your door while the engine is running to alert oncoming traffic. The rear seats also fold down in a 60:40 configuration to allow extended boot space. The 1.6 model has rear headrests. I am disappointed at the lack of an armrest. In the place of the arm rest are cupholders. Expect aftermarket armrest accessories to be out soon.

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L-R: Brilliant Red, Twilight Blue, Brilliant Red, Iridescent White

The Satria Neo comes in five colours, Liquid Orange, Brilliant Red, Twilight Blue, Iridescent White, and Metal Grey. To be honest, all the colours are nice making it hard for me to choose my favourites. But I seem to favour the red and blue the most. Twilight blue isn’t exactly the blue you expect, it’s almost black. Iridescent white is a very interesting colour. It’s like a mix of white and silver. All of them are excellent choices for the car. Good job Proton on the colour combination.

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Metal Grey

So, how much will this car cost you? These prices are on the road with insurance.

Proton Satria Neo 1.3 (M) L-line RM43,500
Proton Satria Neo 1.3 (A) L-line RM46,500
Proton Satria Neo 1.6 (M) M-line RM48,500
Proton Satria Neo 1.6 (A) M-line RM51,500
Proton Satria Neo 1.6 (M) H-line RM51,800
Proton Satria Neo 1.6 (A) H-line RM54,800

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An aggressive forward stance

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Rear seats for the 1.3 model. The 1.6 model has rear headrests.

Right, yadda yadda. I’ve tried to detail the specifications as much as I can. Now what do I think about the car? Personally I think the car is a good buy for those in the market for a two-door hatchback in the 45,000 to 55,000 ringgit price range. There’s nothing else in that market range actually and the Satria is a little dated now. Evergreen! But the 1.3 and 1.6 litre engines leave something to be desired, and I am more of a performance guy (as most people who buy sporty hatches?) so I’ll wait to see what Proton’s Race Rally Research team has up it’s sleeves for the Proton Satria Neo’s raw horsepower and torque numbers. The car might also be a little uncomfy for large people like me. Kudos for the grey interior though. I heard this was a last minute decision change from the original cream interior. This is definitely Proton’s best interior look so far.

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Another shot of the interior. Proton logo on the passenger airbag compartment seems out of place.

This might be Proton’s best car yet, and I can see it going in the right direction. If Proton improves with each model like this, I’d say the Waja replacement is going to be an excellent car once it finally comes around. Which is what the Malaysian market really needs right now actually, an economical comfortable 4-door family sedan. That fort is held by the Waja right now and that seems to be eaten away slowly by the Vios and City.

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The 1.6 and 1.6 H-Line versions feature a roof spoiler and rear wipers.

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The Satria Neo’s boot, sorry this is not very clear.

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The Twilight Blue is actually a very dark blue, almost black. You can see the blue highlights under a bright sun.

Proton intends to capture at least 0.5% of the growing 20-35 year old market segment with this Proton Satria Neo, which would be about 31,500 units a year.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:21 am

    nice shot of the car on the track.

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  • ichiban (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:21 am

    Paul,

    Good review. Just came back from COE. I have seen and tested it as well

    Noted on the major improvement done esp interior. Darker interior with excellent fit & finish. Bucket seat. I think Proton made a really good job which they willing to delay the launch after 4 years. People may say carry over old Satria or Gen2 platform but totally new platform with better NCAP achievement. Congratulation to Proton… I'm a bit old to use this with 4 kids.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • chang (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:23 am

    new car from proton??

    how about power window?

    anywhere, good luck to proton….

    dunt let us disappointed…

    but still worry about QC.

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  • chun202 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:26 am

    WOW!!! finally it out… have a test drive the car b4 booking… lol….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • chun202 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:27 am

    WOW!!! finally it out… have to test drive the car b4 booking… lol….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • demio121 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:27 am

    center console dun hv arm rest? those radio & control button looks much better den Gen2.

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  • supermojo (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:30 am

    Wow.. that is a sweet looking hood. And it goes well with the headlamps also. I can dig the total feline look. Shame about the exhaust though… me no like. :(

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  • Bbingbong (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:31 am

    nth 2 say,onli can give a smile =))….

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  • ichiban (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:41 am

    another jounarlist opinion:
    http://www.autoworld.com.my/emzine/

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  • whodz (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:43 am

    sporty. But 2 doors. good for satria's fans.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:46 am

    ichican only looking for MPV from PROTON

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:49 am

    i like the advert finale where the car slides on dirt and reveals the name. wonder the car can really do that?

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  • ShaolinTiger (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:51 am

    Ah looks ok, shame it's tight inside tho.

    The classic satria has a very comfortable cockpit, it easily encompasses me.

    Bigger than the Honda City/Civic too.

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  • sewell (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 2:59 am

    everything looks good. how about the quality??? the glove box is too small for me and the interior still need to improve. hope proton can success this time.

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  • haterade (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:01 am

    based on paul's review, car seems to be "desirable". hope to test drive it soon.

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  • Chapree Da Grande (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:07 am

    I'll definately wait for GTi and R3 version of Satria Neo. I believe this car have a lot of potiential and worth the wait for both sporty version.

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  • e-nabilll (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:13 am

    regarding the interior paul..its the same with gen2 wen it comes to being "tight"…im driving a gen2 bt the factory fited seats are jus too high..my hair always brushes the roof..wen i changed to Recaro seats…WOW! sudenly im siting low and theres so much headroom…i tink its a seat problem rather than dodgy interior space design…bt i luv the interior…!

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  • stephen_ksf (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:27 am

    great job paul…nice review!! btw paul is the performance beter than Gen2 or is it the same? how about the compartment? i dun seems to c much compartment to keep cds n etc…

    bravo to proton…good to c some improvement…not very good…but it shows proton can make what ppl want to :D….

    but too bad…specs for 1.3 is so not worth for the price :( ……

    now for test drive n the QC is issue….hope its good..

    next model….savvy facelift…expected to b launch in conjunction with merdeka day….this could really prove the new MD can bring proton fr the twilight zone…

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  • wyejon (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:30 am

    great writeup paul… i'm in love with Brilliant Red… hehehe… too bad I'm not looking for a hot hatch. I do hope they do a great job with the Waja Replacement Model.

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  • moby (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:38 am

    dont mind me but i have only one comment.

    the 'hood' covering the meter panel = 'bra cup'? it looks like the newer protons nowadays have this 18sx tagged to it.

    i dont mean to be offensive. pls forgive me.

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  • Dogster (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:39 am

    Hmm. exterior is good. Interior again plauged by copy and paste method. I would prefer them to redesign the air cond hole. Identical to the ones in SAGA. Very damn ugly. U call this sporty, proton? Handbreak,Door handle,Air conditioning controls all copy and paste. Bored, not creative at all.

    Personally, I would prefer a oval shaped or a face down 1/2 moon shape , not jutting design of the air cond outlet. a myvi type door handle and repositioning of the air conditionin controls into a horizontal position to give more room to the leg compartment. Sometime its hard to reach the bottom control of the air cond.

    The good part is the gear console , the front and especially the back light and the design of the boot compared to yucky savvy. The boot is very eye catching , If I was given the boot to judge the book by its cover, I would love it.

    Would been better if the car has 2 exhaust located on each sides instead of the middle. Radio buttons on the wheels are better compared to the gen2.The rims, goood. I love it when they put more logic and brains when come into designing these things.

    I have just one question, why did proton left the compartment between the air cond and the cdplayer empty? How abt shifing the radio up and the air cond controller into the x-radio compartment and making that into a compartment for storage.

    FInally, I would rate this car:

    Interior: 2.8/5

    Exterior: 4/5

    me 2 cents :P

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  • chang (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:48 am

    Ha….

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  • stephen_ksf (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:52 am

    Dogster > i agree wif u regarding the void on top of the cd player…they sho hav jz moved the cd player up n left the bottom wif a compartment wif cover as storage like those found in altis or worst come to worst…add a storage compartment to the space wifout shifting the cd player (sav budget mah) hope the aftermarket can do it together wif the armrest… :D

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:58 am

    dogster and stephen_ksf: true, good point, or they could have added the cupholders there instead. like the current satria's cupholders which you pull out from between the air cond vents and the cd player.

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  • MyBoy (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:08 am

    ichiban said,

    People may say carry over old Satria or Gen2 platform but totally new platform with better NCAP achievement. Congratulation to Proton.

    How many stars for Euro NCAP? I have just visit Euro NCAP website and found nothing.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:09 am

    MyBoy: They've not tested with the official EuroNCAP authorities yet. But their own internal tests passed EuroNCAP specifications.

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  • MyBoy (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:13 am

    Paul Tan said,

    The Proton Satria Neo has also passed EuroNCAP

    Paul, can u please share some info with us regarding how many stars this car has earned in Euro NCAP testing. I have just visit Euro NCAP website and found nothing.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:18 am

    MyBoy: test standards… not tests!

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  • imrik82 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:24 am

    love the car!, hate the fuel cover.! cant wait for the r3 version or the gti i wouldnt mind getting one. Great post paul T

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  • Wai (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:42 am

    Looks good and well packaged overall

    get the aftersales service right, and i think this is a winner

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Initial D (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:10 am

    the engine still the same louya ones…..haih……everythg's fine to me….onli the engine is a let down……

    anyway, overall its a gd car…

    Cheers!!!!!

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  • terence_toh (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:18 am

    proton should really improve on the Campro engine & the gearboxes. a nice looking and nice handling car is nothing if it doesn't have an equal engine to boot. anyway i must admit that satria neo is quite a looker although the back side as always could be improved. anyway where's the Kleeman connection i have been waiting ?

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  • Wawan (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:19 am

    seriously its AWSOME!! Proton Satria Neo.. perghh!! Totally AWSOME!! Congrate to Proton.. Malaysia Boleh!! ngahaha!! :p

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  • ingolstadt (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:26 am

    Tested the car as well. Again, it's the steering wheel. They have to learn this: A steering wheel is the first thing a driver touches with his bare hands at first, the quality of the steering, the overall cost involved with the steering, must be higher. This will give the buyer a very good first impression. I jumped in the car from the passenger side purposely as i'm walking towards it and notice the material used on the steering… hehe liked the glove box's gliding mechanism…. but but but… there were glitches, the show car i tested …. the glove box is already abit dodgy. and oh yes…. damn small.

    I'd get this car over the Bestari, for the interior. But i'd get Bestari over this, for modability.

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  • afhstingray (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:26 am

    18sx? …………

    have you seen the interior of the lotus elise or exige? dashboard design is the same.

    they designed a whole new platform for this? wow, i wasnt expecting that.. any clues as to when they intend to develop a waja replacement?

    would be sweet if they developed a 2.0-3.0 platform and used the petronas E01 with it. they could base the perdana replacement on it and the waja replacement on a derivative of this! the mitsu just looks too ugly:S

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  • DrA (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:27 am

    Tremendous effort by P1. Absolutely fantastic. Still room for improvement in terms of plastic quality and engine performance (0-100 in 16sec is just too long). The fit and finish is great. So far the best car from P1.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:32 am

    ingolstadt, I agree with you… the steering is the key

    I think Proton got it right in terms of steeringoperating effort in SAVVY and this one. Gen2 is to light. Savvy is very responsive and Neo feels very connected like you know you are twisting the tire rubber on the road. Both savvy and neo has fair better feedback from steering than most japs brands

    material of the steering is better in this that gen-2 and savvy (slippery)

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:35 am

    I am not sure lots of people will go for the H-line. In fact, most myvi's sold are not top of the line with the aribags in them, its just the basic thing. Still saving 1/2K for airbag cost.

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  • ingolstadt (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:36 am

    PAUL,

    Need you to confirm this rumour. Heard from the local APR guys (Audi Performance Racing). He met up with his friend who's testing the Neo at the time, he popped the bonet and showed him the (Supposed GTi of Neo, the one caught by spyshots with an intercooler) prototype, the engine is a longitude one, and turbo-charged. Apparently, its the Audi A4's 1.8T engine from Volkswagen, but since the drop off, the delay kick in, a few mods were made, hence the Neo launch in June.

    Is this true?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:37 am

    Paul,

    I have the benefit of doubts on the following statements: –

    1. "The Proton Satria Neo is an all new platform developed from scratch. It is not based on the Waja/Gen2 chassis or the old Satria chassis."

    I look at it with my "naked" eye, it is old Satria chassis. Check with the salesperson (he is not technical guy from P1) and one of P1 vendor known to me also informed the same. Any comment from you?

    2. "You’ll be happy to hear both the 1.3 and the 1.6 liter models come with disc brakes on all four wheels."

    1.6 have bling bling alloy wheel but I look at 1.3 wheel is cover with plastic base bling bling cover and also ask the sales person, it is drum brakes for all four tyre? Any clarification from you?

    Overall, this car quality built is better than old Satria but observe carefully when close the bonnet, the gap near tail lamp is not consistent for both side of the 2 cars on display that I had visited. Hopefully this is isolated case.

    As Paul mentioned, this car do not have the luxury of space for heavily built person. My personal opinion is Proton do a good job compare to previous model but is just consider "decent" work compare to Japs makes.

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:40 am

    You forgot one thing…what about the boot space? Looks like no one thought about it.

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  • GlowJo (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:41 am

    Malaysian don't really care about NCAP, but better than Chevrolet Aveo I guess, coz I see too many 1.5 Starr NCAP aveo on the road. Anybody know what is the NCAP rating for sutera????

    Tiny glove box I think It suits the concept of the car, it is a sports car not a family car where you can put in all stuff in the glove box, like the word 'glove box' it should be enough space for glove only.

    I agree with ichiban the head clearance is limited, better install bucket seat just like most of us do.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:41 am

    joe ooi

    i can confirm it is not from old satria chassis

    look carefully again… really lift the car on lifter and see

    read chips yap review. he highlights a lot of new stuff although some basic stuff is still shared with gen-2 for cost reasons

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:44 am

    Joe Ooi:

    1. it is a new chassis.

    2. the 1.3 model has disc brakes on all four wheels. just because the steel rims makes it hard for you to see doesn't mean it's not there. these days there are no cars with drum brakes on all four wheels. even the old satria 1.3 had discs in front.

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:49 am

    Aside from the bonnet, Can you flip both front chairs to reach the rear seats? Or its just the driver's side?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:51 am

    Paul, noted your comments, thanks.

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:03 am

    Joe Ooi: I want to know though, what made you think it was using the original Satria chassis?

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  • proton12vauto (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:13 am

    Joe Ooi..

    Remember this..

    Our Proton is special made.

    Japanese/Korean/Chinese or even Asean (other than Malaysia) is called asia car.

    Germany/British/France/Italy and the rest of Eroupe called continental car.

    Our proton called "Continental Asia Car" So designed like Asia, tasted like Continental….That's why VW like to have it!

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:19 am

    Finally.. its out… I am happy just to hear things have improved with the launch of this car… yeah, the interior is quite nice… but as my family is growing, this car is not for me.. furthermore what concern me is the persistence of proton’s technology in the future, as its’ strategic plan is still in dark…. Proton has mountains to climb, and this is just the beginning… Even though I am not a proton admirer, I welcome if proton continues to provide quality to msian people, not keep deliver quality at SC.. Quality is the only key for automotive industry success, not NAP…

    As for good support of technology, solution to cramp back seat & legroom, I am goin to book avanza anyway next week, Thx to our stiff auto competiton (especially myvi sales), finally I think now is the best offer….

    Good luck poton.. & happy motoring to SRM fans…..

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  • NoToLowQuality (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:32 am

    unfortunately, i cannot buy this car cause i have bought my self myvi lioa… hehehe.. no more proton for me at last!! free from proton's stupid problem!!

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:38 am

    Paul, based on my previous info from my friend as vendor to P1 who have close contact with debt head and also based on my today visit to P1 showroom with my "naked eye" assesment.

    But I still have the benefit of doubt ("less") as from my own literature search, develop new chassis required high engineering input in R & D stage. And from economic of scale perspective, any new chasis may involved RM billion investment and required to achieve minimum sales of 500,000 units during normal life cycle or "shelve life" of the mass produce models (Japs normally 4 -5 years and Conti may up to 7 years) in order to recoup the investments. But based on your comment, the yearly sale is projected at around 31,500 unit only per year.

    That means in 5 years, the projected sales is around 157,500 unit. To achieve minimum 500,000 units sales, Proton need to take approximately 16 years to achieve it. In other word, this model may be "2nd to Saga/Iswara model trend" that will be available in Bolehland for a longer time than necessary.

    If P1 want to be competitive and survive in open market, they must be at least sale 100,000 unit per year in order to be economically feasible and can compete in the open market? So, I "suspect" Proton use Satria chasis as I check with Proton website, there is no indication that they spend RM billion in R & D? But look at this section: –

    http://www.proton.com/about_proton/facts_figures/…

    Their R & D expenditure merely in aggregate of RM 34 Million from year 1999 to 2003. This expenditure included Gen-2 and Savvy models as well? So with this figure can Proton come out with new chasis? It must be another joking? Even many world class players like Nissan, Toyota (e.g. Innova, Fortuner and Hilux share same chassis), etc also have to share chassis for their models!

    Paul, anything to share or comments!

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:54 am

    dogster…i agree wit u too abt the compartment thing…looks quite strange there…

    btw..say it in reality…looks cute and ok rather than in the picture…i really dun like the tailpipe…really remain me of the penyu(savvy)…overall the exterior looks ok…better than other proton's line up…yup…the style feels like a conti car a bit…interior site..quite not impress me at all…the door handle,the handbrake and center console…not great at all…still feels cheap a bit but thanx to the dark interior color…can sv it frm feels cheap….it helps to feel it a bit classy and sporty…thank god not in the beige color…the steering is ok and i really like the spedometer area…feels like conti cars…hhhmmm…the driver's seat…quite ok 4 me…feel the grip when sit onto it…for the rear seat…feels a bit cramp….and not much legroom…if compare it with some other cars in its class…actually it is not important…it is a sporty cars and the rear seat is not for everyday use…

    still not test drive it yet…sooner or later i'll test drive it…and maybe this car is on my list among others in my wishlist to b considered to change it with my 3rd cars…..which is currently a national cars…maybe this car feels great if she is parking among my other cars in the garage…hhmmm…hv to think abt it…bt still worry abt the quality of this car…hhmm…

    so far my rate for this car is 3 out of 5…

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  • HMMaster (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:54 am

    paul, the boot space? bigger than savvy?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:55 am

    proton12vauto said,

    "Joe Ooi..

    Remember this..

    Our Proton is special made.

    Japanese/Korean/Chinese or even Asean (other than Malaysia) is called asia car.

    Germany/British/France/Italy and the rest of Eroupe called continental car.

    Our proton called “Continental Asia Car” So designed like Asia, tasted like Continental….That’s why VW like to have it!"

    Joe Ooi – What you mean by "special made", please define – "special made under NAP"?

    When and how you categorize as "Asia car". Is it because of geography location? If that is the case, then you are totally "BLIND" as far as geography is concern, Malaysia is geographically located at Asia continent! Don't try and "act intelligent" by coming up with "new term".

    Our Proton call "Sick car of Asia" as it need "NAP pills" to survive. If tasted like continental, then you have to talk to and convince Jeremy Clarkson it is tast so so …… and so far your comments on us is unacceptable, including his stupid blunder of "Proton Kelisa". If you think you can find a "new confident" with Satria Neo, then ask G to dismantle NAP then put up your show in level field. If cannot, and still need "NAP pills" – then it is still "P1 freak DNA".

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:02 am

    proton 12vauto…."Our proton called “Continental Asia Car” So designed like Asia, tasted like Continental…."

    i dun think proton is calssified as a special made…proton still a asia cars…like others carmakers…if u said so…wut about honda,toyota,nissan or others related to ur quote of designed like asia and tasted like continental…all of them hv achieved it for so many years….

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:17 am

    proton12vauto said – "Our proton called “Continental Asia Car” So designed like Asia, tasted like Continental….That’s why VW like to have it!"

    raybrig85, what he means are the design is by Asian (Mits Japs included) and tasted like Continental is means Lotus DNA, so conclusion is this is "cut and paste" car.

    For VW, they like Tanjong Malim new spanking car plant to CKD their cars, but Proton want to give them old Shah Alam plant, that is one of the reason the negotiation failed apart from can't agreed on VW 51: P 49 ownership structure. To say VW like P1 car is utterly ridiculous!

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  • Charger (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:38 am

    There's one behind me while waiting for the traffic lights and the other beside me.

    The one behind me had the foglight on, and damn! Proton better get those foglights fixed, as they are literally shooting at those airplanes in the sky.

    This is the first time I got blinded by foglights by looking at my rear mirror. :-

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  • wmzhaffran (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:42 am

    a big hug for proton >:D

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:57 am

    joe ooi

    about investment on chassis… WAJA alone cost 1 billion to make..

    gen2 was around 700 mill… media kit for this i think says 500 mill…

    try checking finacial report

    about NAP pill.. i thought PROTON same level playing field already what?

    on VW its not because of PROTON failed nego. it is because someone else got AP to sell VW here in Malaysia. Auto Stadt? siapa yer significant other yg dapat tu?

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  • bpkid (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 8:17 am

    paul, i've sent an e-mail to you two days ago. i hope you have read it.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:01 am

    saw the car just now. overall the build up of the outer chassis is flushed and smooth. overall the shape is not bad but the headlights shape is kinda overkill. the multi-bulge on the bonnet gives it a similar evo4 bonnet feeling – agressive. build quality of the interior is fair too. too bad they din opt for better type of steering wheel. the ones installed is plasticky to the touch. interior control knobs looks tidy and flushed and goes the same for the stereo system.

    first impression is on the fair side which good. but have yet to see it on the long run

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  • infinity (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:07 am

    i like the looks of the exterior..but the interior is a bit plain..the material used for the interior seems to be better quality ones as compared to gen2's..the space between the air vents and cd player should be made useable instead of being covered..and yes, the roof is abit too low..

    i expected it to be installed with the new campro with cps, as the prototype was at KLIMS06..too bad proton kept it for "further testing"..

    about the Proton logo on the passenger airbag compartment…i suspect the logo is there to cover the "SRS AIRBAG" word since the L-Line and the M-line dun hv such feature..

    from the report by paul, i believe satria neo really marks the new commitment of proton towards quality…kudos to proton!!

    p/s: i cant wait for a waja replacement model…

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  • neurra (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:33 am

    went to the showroom today.. forgot to check the bootspace like one of u pointed out.. -.-'

    the interior is much better than gen2 and waja.. the seat feel is nice! the gear knob feels bulky to me but still nice on the hands.. the headlamps are a tad too front.. if u view it from isometric viewing angle it looks rather ugly but from front, yes, kinda fierce looking.. the foglight somehow was like planted deep inside but still some of u say shooting the airplanes.. LoL.. dunno never see them on b4..

    hmm wat else.. the meter clusters look alright with the dim lit blue..

    cd player can play mp3 and attach ipod? that's sure a plus..

    the engine bay when i opened it was like, "wah.. kinda big for the car right".. i find the wheelbase kinda long but still it fits with the look of the whole car..

    that's all i guess.. overall it's a nice car.. and i like the sound of the door when it closes.. very un-proton.. ^_^

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  • cbljkkj (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 10:07 am

    Looking at the final product and having been to the Centre Of Excellence, I would say that it is almost as if Proton doesn't want anybody to tamper with the Satria Neo's look without removing the entire front and rear bumper.

    Examples would be the addition of a front lip and a rear bumper lip or even exhaust modifications. The "M5-ish" front lip that sports two flaps almost destroys any possibility of the addition of a front lip without making it ridiculous and the rear permits nothing apart from the centre placed exhaust making it impossible to modify.

    The biggest gripe i have with this car is that for city or highway driving, one would have to squeeze every ounce of torque at 4000 RPM making sure that the engine has to stress itself. This would be very inconvenient for people who need to speed up quickly and would have to drag the engine for a long time just to reach a certain speed.

    I would personally prefer the old Waja engine which produces good torque figures from 2,700 RPM if i'm not mistakened (long time never check, sorry ya Correct me if i am wrong).

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  • v0ices (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 10:49 am

    OMG, there are still people who thinks that there are front drum brakes around??

    and you can't assess a chassis with a "naked eye".

    To no one in particular

    Would you have known that Waja and Gen2 shared the same chassis if it was not published? Can you tell me some other cars that share same chassis (unlike some obvious ones ie: Volvo S40 & Ford Focus)? You will be surprised of the answers. and btw, correct me if I am wrong, the old Satria chassis belongs to Mitsubishi.

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  • darkquest (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:13 am

    Oh No…..Proton has done it again…

    Gen2 + Saga aeroback (the latest one) + Savvy = Proton Satria Neo

    What a ridiculuos combination… It is like a cut and paste car.. I would like to call it a "ROJAK" car as it uses the identity of those previous car mentioned above…

    Proton did not even think of redisingning the interior and exterior in order to give the satria own identity..They just cut here and there a bit from the previous car, insert it into this car and call it proton satria neo…RIDICULUOS..Ex..first impression from outside…it looks like a gen 2, first impression inside, it looks like a Saga (from dashboard to the round round air cond blower) and the gear handle looks exactly like the one in savvy…

    I am really dissapointed with Proton as I expect them to come out with a better car…at least not a car like this (belum ambik kira QC lagi tu)……I thought I am going to see a wholly new Proton Satria with its own identity with new dashboard compartment, steering and audio to name a few…Maybe I am expecting too much from them this time, as i thought they have learned from the competitors and our "pak lah" but it seems that they have not..aih…..

    Anyway, I am still confident that Proton can do better than this in the future as we are still waiting for the Perdana Replacement Model….

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  • acbc (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 12:03 pm

    Not bad… I wonder if they have a test drive model at Mutiara D'sara? Thinking of selling off my BMW E32 (w/ 2000cc road tax) for cheaps.

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  • demio121 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 12:18 pm

    Neo does look nice on the outside. Only issue i have, after the 2 years delay and numerous spy-pic the look is no longer surprising anymore.

    The interior qualoty and fitting is a lot of improvement from the days Gen2 was launch. However, personal choice tells me the interior is really not the attractive. Storage space is still no better den Gen2. Glove compartment is good for storing flat thing. anything thicker then 5 CD will probably not fit in. No arm rest…!!! Really dissapointed.

    Nice seat though… felt much better den the odd looking Gen2 seat.

    One thing i find funny is Malaysian have a real wierd way of looking at new car… mayb juz Proton car… every1 kept slamming the door….!!!

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  • demio121 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 12:21 pm

    another thing… safety is still not a primary concern at Proton. ABS and airbag is still a premium according to Proton.

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 12:59 pm

    wow too many comments to read through. I must say that Proton is spot on with the design, even if some of the materials give off a cheap-ish feel such as interior plastics and rims. Even the gen2-esque controls in the center console looks good in this car.

    My only qualms are the plastics, the rims and that they could have planned the storage holes better like some of you mentioned. They could've also used a space saver design for the handbrake.

    All round disc-brakes are an excellent decision. The 1.3 produces 94bhp? I think the old 1.3 made just over 70.

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 1:06 pm

    "One thing i find funny is Malaysian have a real wierd way of looking at new car… mayb juz Proton car… every1 kept slamming the door….!!!"

    That just cracked me up hahaha : )

    Oh yeah I also don't like the tiny glovebox. They really could've done better there.

    To advertise the new power window layout. Can we take this as admitting to their faults? I just hope it works.

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  • MyBoy (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 1:20 pm

    "Paul Tan said,

    MyBoy: They’ve not tested with the official EuroNCAP authorities yet. But their own internal tests passed EuroNCAP specifications."

    Still im eager to know how many stars it suppose to get. How many point the car has managed to earn can be easily translated into how many stars (eventhought it might not get it on a real/official Euro NCAP test).

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 1:28 pm

    "(Supposed GTi of Neo, the one caught by spyshots with an intercooler) prototype, the engine is a longitude one, and turbo-charged. Apparently, its the Audi A4’s 1.8T engine from Volkswagen"

    Wow ingolstadt, that'd be really cool. But as good as it sounds, I doubt that it'll happen. It doesn't really make much sense to design a car as tranverse engined then mod it for longitudinal engines. Unless…they're planning an AWD maybe?

    I personally think that they'd be better off with the Petronas E01. Lightweight and high-revving. Sure to go well with the type-R fans.

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:19 pm

    Joe Ooi: You do realise that the link you gave me, all four columns are related to R&D? the engine row is for engine development, and the product row is for product development. product development would include things like the chassis.

    to make it simple, you could say R&D research is the "R" in the word "R&D", and the other 3 rows listed there are the "D".

    this would mean a total of RM3.3 billion in product development over the period you observed.

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  • Zongtwi a.k.a Speed (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:35 pm

    Joe Ooi, I like the way of your thinking, trying to make sense of things. And you're absolutely right that the sales figures for this new car might not justify spending billions on chassis development. But try to think of it this way. Since platform sharing is the normal practice nowadays, what makes you think that this platform would only be used for this car? Proton, now with JVs with China etc might share this platform with other OEMs aswell? So it might not actually take 16 years for ROI.

    By the way, as a Lotus Engineer here in the UK, I can confirm that the platform used is a brand new one. And another thing, unless you are mistaken in what actually a chassis/platform means, it definitely can not be identified/assessed just by using the 'naked eye'.

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  • Zongtwi a.k.a Speed (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:41 pm

    I'd like to see a coupe version of the Neo ala the old putra from Proton. Pressure charging, rear wheel drive with Lotus tuned ride and handling. For the local drifters out there. That would be awesome.

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  • daffy (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 3:54 pm

    Looks good and they have improved. But there will be talk about

    43,500 for no safety features while 46,500 can get a MyVI with

    all safety features. Different class of market thought but good job

    from proton but they still haven't got their pricing.

    Do they still have a vendor problem ?

    Why can't they put more feature for the same price ?

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:11 pm

    joe ooi…if he said so…it is still the same…nissan and honda including toyota has done it b4…some of them has done 'design like asia and feel like american' also…:)

    Voices,

    i hv ur answer…like vw golf shared same chasis and platform with seat leon cupra…toyota aygo,citroen c1 and peugeot 107…shared the same chasis and platform…actually…many cars has done it….lots of to b listed to…

    btw voices…even merc has done it too for thier a-class and b-class…

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  • rosdi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 4:52 pm

    Proton Satria Neo…, This is THE ONE… I know it. I know it the moment I saw it.

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  • rosdi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:06 pm

    daffy said

    > while 46,500 can get a MyVI with all safety features….

    Airbag is just one of the factor that contributes to car safety. Airbag is meaningless if the body crumbless like aluminium can upon impact. How tahan is myvii's body?

    I have seen myvii's photo that crumble like milo can after accident, not sure how hard the impact was though. But I am sure I wont want to be in that car.

    Dont get me wrong, all I am saying is if u are into safety, look at ncap rating if possible (if any), dont too quick to make judgement.

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  • rexis (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:16 pm

    Seriously i think this car looks pretty good, kudos to proton! Just cant understand that why they so particular about the centre exhaust…

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  • jtshin (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:37 pm

    Well, first of all, the page is out of alignment again. Well, read all the comments last night. Found out that this Neo seems to be improve a lot if see from picture, still havent got chance to see in naked eye. One thing I like about the interior is the manual gear shift design. looks awesome for me. and the dark interior looks ncie, just like others said, the door handle doesn't look good. Wonder what is the blank space above the audio unit for? the audio unit seems misplaced… but one thing, if someone wants to change the original audio player to a 2-din, there're enough space and no aftermarket covers needed like the Gen-2 and Myvi. the meter cluster looks nice, but from wat Paul's report say, the interior quite small, so if this Neo sell in foreign coutries like UK n Aus, are the quite big sized westerners sit inside?? If can't sit, how are they going to buy? I mean for ordinary use, not for racing cos if racing they'll get recaros etc. This's really a fun car actually, not for family use. The rims look average only for me but the wheel over looks terrible, I prefer Gen-2 1.3's wheel cover…

    About the chassis, my opinion is that sharing chassis can save a lot of cost and many manufaturers did the same thing. chassis design really needs a big amoount of money.

    Price, I think the H-line is fine for the price with all the equipments. L-Line I think its a bit expensive as there're not fitted with many equipments and M-line I think bit expensive cos it doesn't come with many fittings as well, adding only around RM3000, u'll get ABS airbag, EBD, CAPTOR, etc. why bother to buy M-line? maybe for some ppl yes but for me I'll get the H-line if wanna get a 1.6

    Anyway, not a bad car… just that we still hv to see whether the QC got problems or not…

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 5:52 pm

    I think the use of the blockquote tag kills the alignment in Internet Explorer. I have to redo the CSS for this site… sigh. Too noob already.

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  • mits27 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 6:31 pm

    This is not what I have expected, this time they really made a very nice design from both exterior and interior, this satria is the best design of all proton models. But, too bad the airbag still not standard.

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  • jtshin (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:18 pm

    well, alignment is back to normal…

    yeah.. airbag still not standard for all range… hmmm… hope they can really make it as standard itmes in yrs to come in newer models… n really hope goverment will set airbags and other safety features be standard in all new cars…

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  • szw (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:31 pm

    in real , da car looks small .

    but its ok 4 m'sian market as ppl here still kindda small in size.

    personally i like dis car .

    especially da orange , it reminds me of ford focus ST which is one of da most powerful front engine-front wheel drive car .

    but da red oso looks nice which makes da car looks sportier .

    actually proton can make a performance car wif dis car by putting in a 2.0 litter petronas engine which will benefit petronas n proton .

    da engine bay is very big .

    i can oso say da interior has a very big improvement .

    da quality did improve compare to cars b4 .

    da steering wheel actually feels thick which is nice to hold . maybe dis is not da feeling when u starts to own da car . but u'll get use to it , lolz !

    not like da gen.2 which is skinny .

    i oso feel dat dis car is a good buy .

    dis is becoz da car actually price very near to myvi especially da 1.6 M-line .

    which wan would u go for if u wan a powerful car ?

    imagine R3 create a rear wheel drive satria.

    keep goin proton .

    we'll support u !

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  • Bigfoot (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 7:42 pm

    Friends,

    Off course Proton can standardize all car with airbags, EBD, ABS…but surely the price will go up. I tot Myvi 1.0 don't have airbag? No people talks about it. It's a matter of choice. Not everybody makes 2000 RM a month. Some people are just clerks at Banks…factory workers…they also want a piece of Neo. Off course it seems wrong not to offer airbag to every model, but hey, it's a matter of choice. If you want the top line…make some more money and quit your job today. Hopefully when Proton have the volume, maybe one day they will do it….just don't talk about that in export market they got this and that…their cost is costlier there.

    You want airbag? Why don't you buy Naza Sutera…with 0 crash rating…off course your face will remain intact..but sorry you lost both your legs cause China made car just don't have enough testing..It's true :P

    By the way the car looks awesome from every angle….as a conclusion, the car is not for everybody…not for family people but okay as a second car…This is a perfect car for hunting Bohjans …and for the tall people..you should forget Neo and just buy the Kenari…it's a really beautiful car…maybe Juara

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 8:07 pm

    Paul Tan said – "Joe Ooi: You do realise that the link you gave me, all four columns are related to R&D? the engine row is for engine development, and the product row is for product development. product development would include things like the chassis."

    The link I provide is included 2 sections: "R & D" and "Product Development". Let try to define or categories this 2 section: –

    1. R & D – Is stand for research and development. Historically, this concept can be trace back to Renaissance Period (circa 1400 – 1600). But by today perspective, Research normally refers to the "software" of the process, albeit "human's brain intelligent" and development is the "hardware" – the new products or inventions. This "new" invention from academic perspective is consider as "new findings", "improvement", "originality" and "enrich knowledge". Normally the "end result" of R & D may include but not necessary limited to "prototype", "model", "concept", "computer simulation", etc. In other word, the end stage of R & D does not include actual production process. So fairly to say any R & D required huge human and capital investment.

    2. Product Development – this include preparation and any cost (fixed and variable) required for carrying out production process.

    So where to draw the line between R & D and Product Development? Based on Proton Website link: –

    http://www.proton.com/about_proton/facts_figures/…

    The Proton investments are for R & D Facilities, Product, Engine and R & D Research (I wonder why since R is stand for Research yet put one more time after R & D)

    • R & D Facilities are building, experiment equipments, tools, office, etc or the like indirectly or directly related to facilitate or to enable R & D activities being carry out. This cost normally categories under development expenditure or “set up cost”.

    • Product is the “final” goods or services which in this case a car not limited to chassis but include all other component like engine, power window, meter, air-cond, mirror, no. plate, viper, car seat, steering and other thousand components.

    • Engine of course the cost involve in development of engine. In this case for Satria Neo it is Campro engine, also used in several models (Waja, Gen-2) which have SEPARATE R & D cost.

    • R & D Research also may involve any R & D activities by coming out new products, normally produce by Proton itself like engine, chassis, etc (excluding vendors component.).

    So talk about new chassis for Satria Neo, where to draw the line between R & D and Product Development since it might “overlap” or share with other model(s). Of course normal practice by accountant is to amortize or apportion it according to their standard of practice. But by the above “academic” definition, R & D should be limited to last item for “R & D Research” only (this one perhaps have to apportion further for other model(s) as well, including engine or other component(s) make by Proton itself), For R & D facilities cost, it shall amortize the cost over time. Product and Engine (have it own R & D cost) shall not form part of R & D cost for Satria chasis.

    This is only my “realistic” assessment, and better looks for Proton information on this matter as they have their own set of classification? This is because the “royalty” paid to Mitsubishi might included in Product Development as well!

    So far they produce 3 models (Gen-2, Savvy and Satira Neo) during this period. So equally divided for R& D facilities and R & D Research is 180 + 34 Million / 5 years = 42 Million per year for 3 models or 14 million per model. With this sum of money, may be enough to test Satria Neo under icy temperate weather or Australian extreme hot condition only? If the R & D cost so “cheap”, then any Ah Beng, Dick and Tom also can make car lol ……

    Not only limited to these 3 models, but look at below link: –

    http://www.proton.com/about_proton/facts_figures/…

    Proton as claimed in it website is “FACT”, the R & D activities comprise Cars, Bikes, Engines, Military, Boats, Planes and Buses as well as platform for other industries like electrical/electronic, safety, materials, energy and mechatronic? With “peanut” sum of money Proton can do so many R & D activities in so diverse industries? Must be another big joking? So, from many feedback even in your blog, many of Proton car are in fact is thru “copy and paste”, rebadge, restyling, cosmetic uplift, etc, etc, Perhaps for Satria Neo is a “major cosmetic change”? For me never complain if the quality is there, what to bother whether copy or original! My opinion also they do a good job by “Proton standard” but consider “decent” by world class standard.

    Paul – “to make it simple, you could say R&D research is the “R” in the word “R&D”, and the other 3 rows listed there are the “D”. this would mean a total of RM3.3 billion in product development over the period you observed.”

    So by your assumption RM 3.3 billion is R & D cost and all dump into and become Satria Chassis alone (excluding other model like Gen-2 or Savvy or other R & D cost incur for component produced by Proton it self – excluding vendors).

    The forecast car sales are 31,500 unit a year. Say the shelf life cycle of Satria Neo is 5 year. Total sales are 157,500. Assume there is no platform sharing (unless future announcement by Proton to do so), the R & D cost per unit is 3.3 Billion / 157,500 = approx. RM 21 K per unit. So, we observed the lowest selling price for the 1.3 is RM 43,500 (higher end is due to better specs). So R & D cost is approximately 48% of selling price? So it is definitely ridiculous the R & D comprise almost half of the selling price? For Proton definitely they are not worry because has big brother NAP to protect them mah ……. Any shortcoming, then can suck more money from rakyat to cover the big hole!

    So to be realistic, the sales have to achieve at least 100,000 unit per year in order to make it commercially viable! Or share this chassis for other future models! Can Proton do it? Sales are the most important KPI? No sale no talk? How about the actual sale is below forecast like Savvy, with sales approximately 1,000 per month? Ask my opinion, I believe Satria Neo can do better than Savvy but definitely won’t be able to beat MyVi which have few thousand pre launch booking!

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 8:34 pm

    No, I am not assuming RM3.3 billion is for the Satria Neo's chassis. They have many other products coming down the line. Unless we work in Proton product development, we won't know how much is spent on what. Proton has already stated the Satria Neo took RM500 million to develop.

    The Neo's chassis can still be used for other things like a Putra replacement or even an Iswara replacement chassis.

    As for how Proton is going to cover costs… first of all your formula is flawed because the Neo did not take 3.3 billion to develop. And if I knew exactly how to do that, I would be sitting somewhere one level below Syed Zainal himself and drawing a very nice salary wouldn't I? :)

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  • aesthari (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 8:58 pm

    Looks like Proton finally churned out a decent car! Gotta say i really like the design of this car, hope the quality of materials has improved. I think that the advertisement is nice too, though I wonder why they chose to put "Melakar Inspirasi" after all those english in the earlier part, seems half-hearted. Anyway, Proton did a good show, now I believe that it will improve.

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  • i'm run (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:09 pm

    Paul no pic of other Satria Neo. Satria Neo Desire, Satria Neo R3, and Satria Neo Symphony?. I heard the cars is very nice.

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  • keith (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:10 pm

    Well, just now i've gone to proton showroom.. Personally I don't like the interior for reason it's too empty at the middle, above the cd player it's like something is design to put over there but didn't assemble it. The Air Vend Hole area plastic is too plasticky feeling, I don't really like it. Then about the 1.3 Series, I don't like the doorknob, I'm more favourable over the 1.6 model doorknob. Please take note that the doorknob of both model is different. Other than these complaint at the moment, this car is impressed me. Well built actually, kodus to Proton Mgmt, hopefully more nice sedan with nice price is going to launch for Malaysian who have family.

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  • keith (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:14 pm

    About the quality, i'd say well done. Go test it, it's really nice welding and the problem with gen2 door closing doesn't exist in this model anymore, the door is easily close, not bad i must say :) The only thing left to concern is how the pickup, how the engine works, that'd after test drive only know, at the moment, they don't have any test drive available.

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  • keith (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:15 pm

    Oh ya, any previous Gen2 Owner here? How's the f/c of gen2? I think most likely it's going to be the same for this model.

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  • assimo (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:34 pm

    wahhh….so many posting already…..well,good move and good luck P1,hope everything will success and back to track…well done…;-)

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  • raptorclans (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 9:50 pm

    one theory… perhaps they plan to utilise the space above the radio in a future variant… OR… perhaps they originally intended to use an audio system similar to the GEN.2's…

    why did they use the Waja's side mirrors and not the GEN.2's? anyone noticed? hehehe…

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  • xefron (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 10:06 pm

    The R3 concept is out !!! seriously a very good looking….engine? dunno….

    http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=27922…

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 10:45 pm

    Went to the showroom just now… steady,solid, well built, but unfortunately this car is meant for 2 person only… back seat is terribly cramp.. for two 4 year old kids bole lah…. see if it can help P1 to recapture no.1 market, for 2 passengers car?.. haha.. i dunno think so, those who plans to buy smartfor2, can buy neo… wrong investment poton… told ya..

    ps: Cant blame MD SZ, this is not his project, but ah beng TM and friends..

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  • shera_usagi (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 10:45 pm

    hmm…i like da look of it from behind..huhu

    da front part not too stylo~~

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  • Wawan (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 10:55 pm

    rosdi said,

    June 17, 2006 @ 9:06 am

    daffy said

    > while 46,500 can get a MyVI with all safety features….

    Airbag is just one of the factor that contributes to car safety. Airbag is meaningless if the body crumbless like aluminium can upon impact. How tahan is myvii’s body?

    ____________________________________________

    hell yeeah~! :p

    I have seen myvii’s photo that crumble like milo can after accident, not sure how hard the impact was though. But I am sure I wont want to be in that car.

    Dont get me wrong, all I am saying is if u are into safety, look at ncap rating if possible (if any), dont too quick to make judgement.

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  • NeedGoodCar (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:10 pm

    For those of u who like p1 so much and seemed annoyed whenever we bashed p1, go and get yrself a unit now. As for me, thanks but no thanks. 2 doors? goodluck p1.

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  • imrik82 (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:25 pm

    paul! Guys check this out

    i love that white one nice… but urm scared nanti kena call an "ah beng"…..

    NeedGoodCar said,

    For those of u who like p1 so much and seemed annoyed whenever we bashed p1, go and get yrself a unit now. As for me, thanks but no thanks. 2 doors? goodluck p1.

    – personally i like hatch backs and 2 doors seems fine to me. That isnt a proton mistake at all. Besides if they didnt came out with a new hatch u prob be bashing them for still using the old satria with face lift … try to think there is people out there that like hatch backs, same goes the other way around.

    Does not mean u dont like 2 doors proton is making a mistake… typical 1+1 mentality…

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  • happymeal (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:26 pm

    paul, why u make a big fuss out of the "HVAC system" phrase?? quote : Interior air conditioning is a HVAC system, which means cooling is instant.

    fyi, HVAC actually means heating, ventilation and air conditioning. obviously in our hot tropical climate, we do not need the heater, hence its just VAC. plus, HVAC is just a general term for air-con. not a system of high performance cooling :) and the yanks usually use the 'HVAC' word when they talk about the air-con controls… ie 'the controls for the HVAC is very intuitive etc.' hope that clears something… nanti ppl think HVAC air-con system is some super new tech!

    the aircon vents look really tacky, reminds me of the red-black Saga quality. steering wheel is chunky and nicely sized, but GREY?? are we still in the 80s with grey wheel?? only the aircon vents and the grey wheel is a big turn-off to wat is a stylish hatch. wonder if the 1.3 will kill savvy sales… cannibalism in the making.

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:37 pm

    You all do relize that TM said that P1using parts from existing models, so aside from commenting on the "parts", how does it stand on its own?

    How does the rear headrest look like? Like Savvy? Then it will be a problem since you need to remove it in order to fold the seats.

    The boot space still no one has a clue about this?

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  • happymeal (Member) on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:38 pm

    raptorclan, on the side mirrors, that was one of the first things i noticed, and almost pengsan cos the mirrors totally looked out of place. gen2s 'floating' mirror design would definitely suit it better.

    now i know wat MT meant by trapezoidal beams on the door. paul, should make a mention on that since u its in bright red on your power window photo. i thought that photo was about the impact beams.

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 17, 2006 at 11:48 pm

    I have added a photo of the boot, though it's not very clear. Most of my photos turned out pretty bad, and I had expected Proton's media kit to have detailed photos. Turns out it didn't.

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:10 am

    happymeal: thanks. hopefully your comment will clear the air on the whole air conditioning jargon thing to whoever who was misled by my mention.

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  • Zongtwi a.k.a Speed (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:23 am

    Just a quick info for everyone.

    VW Golf 2Door S 1.6 FSI

    Power output 113 HP

    Fuel Consumption 5.6L/100km

    Kerb Weight 1359kg

    0-100 kmh 10.8s

    max speed 192kmh

    Neo Campro 1.6

    Power Output 110 HP

    Fuel Consumption 6L/100km

    Kerb Weight 1159kg

    0-100kmh 11.5s

    max speed 190kmh

    The Neo doesn't look too bad by comparing data from technical spec of the Golf (the 1.6FSI version, not the GTi version!). Infact, the Neo is quite impressive. Even though the Golf is heavier by a few hundred kilos, the FSI engine gives more lower band torque, which explains why the Golf, being heavier, accelerates faster to 100kmh. However, I'm absolutely positive around a track, the Neo would kill the Golf anytime, what with Lotus tuned handling and all.

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  • neurra (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:29 am

    wow.. all of the other neo models look nice.. the R3, Desire and Symphony.. from wat i can see R3 is R3 lah rite, Desire is a GTi model and Symphony is an entertainment model where ah bengs can blast their speakers when passing a mamak stall..

    btw, i like wat Bigfoot pointed out.. airbags are useless if body crumples and enters the cabin, or if seatbelts are unused.. any why bother crashing for safety? learn to drive properly la.. better to avoid doing mistakes causing accidents then to escape out of it safely right?

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:34 am

    Nice comparison, Zongtwi. Here's somemore "rivals" for the Neo, especially the hatches that are popular in the European market.

    Renault Megane 1.6 VVT

    Power output 111hp

    Kerb Weight 1200kg (?)

    0-100kmh 13.2s

    max speed 180kmh

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  • NeedGoodCar (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:34 am

    Guys, don just say how impressed u r with the neo, go and get one lah, action speaks louder than words, let's see how many can p1 sell…let's c…cakap kosong tak berbalai…

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  • retrofuturism (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:36 am

    Well, u can see waja'side mirror at the Lotus APX..first debut in Geneva motor show 06, same car as the KLIMS06 one….too bad they dont include indicator light….

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  • denarii (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 12:49 am

    Hey!!!!

    The car looks great.

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  • Bigfoot (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 1:05 am

    NeedGoodCar,

    You are so obsessed with numbers….Let me guess…maybe because Myvi sales is 7000 units per month?…It doesn't mean it is the best car in the world. I am not saying Neo is the best in the world but for some people, aka Bohjan looking for "late supper meal", this is a "badddddd car"….now, is there 7000 x 12 months = 84,000 bohjan in Malaysia? Maybe….maybe not….You tell me..if you are a bohsia…will you follow the guy driving a Myvi, or a R3 Neo?

    What is important, there is more choice for Malaysian out there…there are Myvi, Sutera, Bestari, Neo, Getz, whatever.

    Damn…I don't know what I'm mumbling here…what is important is that I just booked one this morning….perghh….trade in with my Kancil…good thing I am not a clerk…can afford airbag one… so long my Perodua Kancil 2002…I am sick with my broken air cond vent and lousy grinning engine…

    By the way, I am not a Bohjan…just happened to fall in love with Neo 1.6…err…any bohsia out there? Coz…Once you go Bigfoot in a Neo, you gonna end up on a wheel chair!!!!

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 1:51 am

    if u compare the neo with other rivals in term of speed…okla although still a way behind golf,focus,a3,147 and the leon…but i still eager the overall comment abt neo in term of handling,behind the wheels etc…i think still hard to match the list above…btw…for now..im quite happy the improvement of proton in thier neo….still eager to knoe the overall test abt the neo…and test drive it…and can conclude overall abt neo…

    bigfoot…dun say clerk cant afford the H-line package…they still can if they want too…the way u said like u "memperkecilkan" the profesion of clerk….btw…its good 4 u dat u can afford the H-line version…

    for the neo's boot…it is smaller than the old satria….quite dissapointed abt that…maybe they sacrifice the boot space to stretch the legroom of the rear…but still cramp at the rear…

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  • WIRA (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 1:55 am

    I was at the show room! Trying to feel the car with me….

    Walk to the car and I love the exterior, much huge and nicer then the old satria…. nearer and i have start seeing some defect on the door. The rubber seems to be deformed…..almost dropped! ahem! after 4 years!!!

    Then I walk around and saw the seat ….well the seats need an upgrade! looks like 1980 design to me…. love the speedometer! but hate the clock! why is it placed there? Love the gear also, i am interested to the 1.6 manual …as this promisses more satisfaction right?

    Overall, I like it …. then interior is almost the same as Gen2…. only missing 2 door. I saw some QC sticker … i am from Quality Dept for 8 years now…. I think the sticker is just for show!

    We have sacrifice alot for this NATIONAL CAR THINGY …. we are still behind if comparing to Toyota or Honda but at least there is some changes I like seeing….. but …it is TOO SLOW! Place the car price equal to the imported ones and we will see who win the race! From there, we learn to improve…

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:02 am

    yup….agree with u wira…that is wut happen to other country like in europe and japs….and thats the way they learn for improvement…bcoz of a lot of competition…it give them motivation to come out with a good and quality car to compete with others…and it seems fast and quite ok…maybe we should done it sooner or later…bt depends on G….

    btw…can c an improvement frm proton bt still slow..best of luck proton…u hv to b fast…

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  • Isamu (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:04 am

    Joe Ooi,

    If you take the two proven platforms, and combine the merits, you get a completely new platform with shorter time and lowered costs.

    On another note, to the best of my knowledge, the negotiation between Proton and VW was around the Tanjung Malim plant. There was supposed to be a new production line built within the plant specifically for the VW cars.

    Paul,

    Isn't the Iridescent White similar/same to the Perdana V6 colour? Anyhow, I think traditionally, colours that Proton offers are better than most if not all the other carmakers.

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  • Bigfoot (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:07 am

    Raybrig 85,

    Actually, that's my point….If Proton put all airbags, EBD+ABS on all variants, for sure, I say for sure the price will not be 43,000. I think Proton did this way so that all people from the intended market (which is not a person who dreams about Avanza), with different income to afford a Neo….why don't we put it in another way, Sutera is 36000 the cheapest…I am sure it will be a lot cheaper without the airbags and ABS….but then the car body is weak….so it's better to offer one anyway :)

    "We have sacrifice alot for this NATIONAL CAR THINGY …. we are still behind if comparing to Toyota or Honda but at least there is some changes I like seeing….. but …it is TOO SLOW! Place the car price equal to the imported ones and we will see who win the race! From there, we learn to improve…"

    Off course Proton has a lot to learn….but to say too slow is one thing…Off course if you rebadge a Boon into a myvi or a just reassemble a Vios…ypu can bet Proton can rebuild the badge in one day…or reassemble a Vios in six months the most…come on dude….sacrifice a lot….you have kill the country by bashing made in Malaysia product…think about the future dude…why don't you become a Thai citizen…ooh…our nation is good coz we make the Japs and westerner richer!! Me love you long time….

    NEO is not the best…but it is the nicest looking Malaysian designed car, rebadge tak kira…

    Myvi – The best selling Rebadged Daihatsu in Malaysia.

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:17 am

    To call the comments here proton loving is really unfair. To me its just a matter of giving credit where credit is due. From the photos, I'd say proton have done a good job designing a car that looks good…muscular even.

    About the quality and reliability issues, we wouldn't know as its just being launched. If/when (I'm more inclined to think when) they crop up then feel free to bash them.

    For the time being, let's be fair to them and see how they perform. The hatchback segment is not dead, otherwise you wouldn't see automakers like BMW entering the segment albeit a more upmarket premium hatch area.

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:20 am

    oh by the way Paul, for some reason this page refused to display in Opera. It showed during loading but disappeared after it was done. I tried IE and it was ok. I'm now reading this under Opera full-screen mode which seems to work.

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  • amir (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:37 am

    i went to showroom n look at this car…its cool la….

    finally proton did a wonderful job of interior n exterior in one car…

    usually they screw up with one thing in every car but this neo is awesome..

    PROTON don't stop here, just GO GO GO!!!!!

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  • WIRA (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:40 am

    I am a Malaysian and wanting to be a better Malaysian. If we hate making the westerner and japs richer (in which they deserved to be) we should make a better car & cheaper car. We have been a car manufacturer for more then 10 years now …. look …where are we?

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  • OvaBoost (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:54 am

    NEO is one SICK car dude!

    TRUE MALAYSIAN!! REBADGE TAK KIRA… TAK GITU BIG FOOT..

    Aku bekenan betul la budak bigfoot ni,anak saper la nih, buleh buat menantu…

    I'm sure Bigfoot is one of Proton's biggest fan…coz u sure know what you're talking about, facts straight up!!

    GAMBATE PROTON, GAMBATE LOTUS, GAMBATE BIG FOOT…

    ….eerrr, Bigfoot ahh, want to ask one question can or not ah?

    got internet ah in johor forest jungle?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 3:27 am

    Bigfoot said – "…come on dude….sacrifice a lot….you have kill the country by bashing made in Malaysia product…think about the future dude…why don’t you become a Thai citizen…ooh…our nation is good coz we make the Japs and westerner richer!! Me love you long time…."

    Joe Ooi – let me comment on your "freak Protonian DNA" mentality: –

    1. Sacrifice what? Ask rakyat handout more "patriotic contribution" in this CarTaxLand. Easily pay "extra tax" for more than RM 6 billion lol ……..

    2. In what way and how we kill our country by bashing made in Malaysia product? This is utterly-pathetic statement ever come out from "Bigmouth"?

    In which enactment, clause(s) or any laws currently in force in our country specifically stated bashing Made in Malaysia product is construe as kill the country. What evidence do you have or any statistical prove that can link or there is relationship between bashing Proton = Killing the country.

    If you ask MD Syed Zainal opinion on your statement I believe he also dare not agree with you.

    3. If think about the future dude… then the first thing to do is to remove everything to do with "inefficiency" in delivery and corruption in our country. Why you ask someone to become Thai citizen by virtue of bashing Proton? Sad to see that in this new millienium and ICT world there is still damn "narrow minded pest" can be found in Bolehland. So you mean Proton who used RM billion of tax payer money when setup and now still have to make RM billion "patriotic contribution" cannot criticize Proton? If you think Proton (which I believe MD SZ do not have this kind of opinion) cannot be criticize, then RETURN back all money to rakyat for the last 21 years ++ existence. Then abolish NAP and take it private (Sdn Bhd) then do whatever you want to do and nobody want to bother you!

    If you think and complaint Japs and Westener come to here is enriching them, Then they do it on solely competition by given best products at lowest price. This we have to respect people capability regardless of nationality. On a same argument, then you shall not ask those bashing Proton to become Thai Citizen or "jealous" on Japs and Westerner. But why don't with such hu, hu, ha, ha about Proton improvement on Satria Neo, the ask Proton to conqour the Japs and westerner market with Satria Neo, sale 1, 2, 3, or more million car in their country and bring back US Dollar, Yen, Yuan, Euro to enrich our nation? Can Proton do at Japs and western country the way the Japs and Westerner do in our country?

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 3:30 am

    Test driven the Satria a few hours ago. The experience as follows:

    – Got the key for the test driving of 1.6 manual. First thing noticed how solid the door closed. would have been better if the door panels used a combination of foamed plastic rather than an all plastic panel. key went in but didn't start. thought it was the immobilizer. Armed and disarmed but still won't start. Salesperson fiddled with the key a few times then finally started.

    -I notice that it is not easy to use the right hand to reach for the seatbelt because the gap between the seat and wall is very narrow. only way to get the seat belt is by left hand. plus the lock is too far back. prefer to have the lock together with the open door lever.

    -abit difficult to get ideal driving position, the bucket seats are too firm and narrow. would have been better to have seat height adjusters and increased upward adjustment for the steering wheel.

    – Interior functionality is adequete.

    – rear seats spacing is adequete for this two door hatch category

    – reversing out of the garage to go on test route. first thing i notice is that rear view is quite limited plus cannot see lower objects due to the position of the rear window.

    – steering assist is minimal but sufficient. the steering wheel gives a very plastic impression with warped plastics pieces on the centre steering wheel, the plastic cover for the handbrake & gear shift and on the cover of the passenger side SRS. Feeling is similar to being in Hyundai Getz n Naza Sutera.

    – gear shift is smooth but if this were to be a hothatch, short travel gear shift would be preferred. clutch engage position is very high like iswara manual. also using a gear boot is much much preferred than using a piece of sliding plastic.

    – car behaviour is adequete during the test drive. the ride is smooth, solid and minimal wind noise. steering is precise and nimble. with lotus setup and low profile tyres, alot of suspension feedback when going through rough roads making a bumpy ride.

    – when attempting WOT the car feels sluggish during acceleration giving a rough growl past 4000 rpms as if the car is using flywheels from a lorry. its got the sound, but not enough punch.

    my after thoughts:

    – interior scheme is a modified gen2 interior. functionality wise is similar to gen2 but modified outlook here and there.

    – The car feels sluggish and with unrefined engine. with plastic parts all around the cabin and another clutch engage position combo makes the drive exactly like driving in the newest iswara.

    -my favourite part of the car is the aircon control dials and the audio cluster. that is the only part which i notice has the highest build quality and refinement.

    -the interior is kinda cramped. due to the proximity of the seats to the doors, maybe the plastic panels are made thin to compensate. i find it unusual to reach for the seatbelt through the narrow gap.

    The Satria Neo is suppose to be more superior than the previous Satria GTI. But to compare it overall, driving an already aging Satria GTI unfortunately will still give you that comfort and performance rush. If I have 53K, I'll put it on a 2nd hand Satria GTI.

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  • revver (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 4:22 am

    i'd wait for another 1 month and 3 months before commenting on this neo-bie.

    looks good by the presentation n hope to be so. instead i already lost my trust on proton. don wanna be another 'menang sorak kampung tergadai'.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 4:26 am

    joe ooi.. explain how NAP helps PROTON? I thought that issue of lower tax to PROTON dah tak ade?

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  • jtshin (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 4:33 am

    Saw the pro hatch webpage just now. the Desire reallly looks nice!!! sporty enough with Momo stuffs… Lets really hope that Proton can continue make better design and quality cars wth reasonable prices. and yea.. why make the Neo smaller than older Satria… hmmm… izit gonna sell in European n australian markets? I think so… How are the bigger sized westerners sit inside it? wondering how Jeremy Clarkson is going to sit inside… I bet he's gonna bash it again… hmm… Lets see for another half more years…

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:02 am

    lenker achse – I do not need to explain on how NAP helps PROTON. What you need to do is check the Langkawi Island (not affected by NAP) imported cars prices, then it is self-explanatory on your request. I know Toyota local website have Langkawi pricing, just log in check the priced of Innova, Fortuner, Hilux, Camry, Corrola Altis, Yaris, etc then you can truely understand the effect of NAP.

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  • enerix (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:09 am

    Does anyone other than me feels like NEO is like an oversized Savvy? It looks good in the ads… but when you zoom out, it looks like an enlarged Savvy to me… Hmm…

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:09 am

    Isamu – Thanks for your info on chassis and VW issue. I like the way you put up your statement, which is as ichban described it as +ve comment on pros and cons. Thanks again.

    Cheers ………..

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  • rosdi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:13 am

    Here is the photos of Neo Desire, Neo Symphony, and Neo R3!

    The Neo Desire damn cun! The R3 damn ganas!!… The Neo Symphony looks a little ah beng la to my eyes… but ICE freak will love it.

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  • happymeal (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:34 am

    thanks for the quick summary of your test drive driven2020.

    the exhaust banyak 90 turns, alot of losses there… wished the pipe show-how can manage to get through the multilink straight to the muffler rather than another 2 90 bends. central exhaust looks too.. i dunno… salesman cakap "eh bang.. macam mini cooper S tau! " ..

    i think the interior is just as plastic-ky as the pre facelift vios. hard plastics everywhere. just that vios plastic feels thicker, so doesnt sound so crappy.

    thanks rosdi for the photos!! wheres that showroom? is it mutiara d'sara?

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  • happymeal (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:36 am

    oh.. just read its from centre of excellence, SA. oops.

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  • WIRA (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 5:47 am

    Joe you sound seasoned. At least there is a point included…. the race of car manufacturing or any manufacturing is not only on the performance and the product but also the reliability, customer service with low cost. I hope Proton have a gant on this… I hope there is a solution to this! It is not hard anymore to manufacture (today). It is how compatative we are comparing to the rest of the world. If China can manufacture a car, we can do better by adding in the Quality, reliability and services.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 6:14 am

    joe ooi. you are right tax is high… but for all makes including PROTON. Is that not level playing field?

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 6:15 am

    driven2020…thanx for ur info…maybe i should test it later….good info for me…

    btw bigfoot…

    bashing is kill the proton…dats not true…by bashing…by complain will give them motivation to improve thier product…if u saying no bashing for our product…then…the result is a rubbish car…jz buat kereta untuk untung tetapi x pikir sume aspek…by bashing and complaining…now we can see an improvement frm proton…by a lot of complains and bashing…now…they try to solve thier problem and see the result…hv improvement….bt still slow…they should move fast and try to compete seriously with the outsiders….if ppl complain and bashing abt our product….u should think +ve…with this…we knoe our kelemahan…and proton try to improve it….and some of u guyz jz figure out in term of the performance of the car….ok…proton can b with other carmakers…can compete….but wat about reliability,quality,driving pleasure,services….they are still a way behind….but now…they are trying to improve abt it….and u knoe bigfoot…this is bcoz of the bashing and complain thing frm the public and journalist make them realize to improve…it is not killing them…if dun hv all of these…they will TIDO menjage perut,pikir untung…penting diri x pikir the users…. so…there should be no problem to bash them…not proton…even other carmakers face it too by thier users or rakyat including journalist…it is not wrong for me…it is jz my opinion…i dunno if u can accept it or not…

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 6:17 am

    joe ooi. I've check. PROTON is even cheaper in Langkawi as others as you mention.

    even japs will benefit from NAP + FTA with japan (the one our PM trade local vegetables for japs cars)

    i still don't how this helps PROTON.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 6:20 am

    anyway… PAUL any news about GTi version.

    rumours saying AUDI TT engine?

    I bet SGTi CLub will have wet dream waiting for this

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  • e-nabilll (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 6:50 am

    Neo is a Satria Replacement NOT a GTI Replacement…Dont confuse

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:15 am

    lenker achse,

    …still don’t how this helps PROTON…

    how old r u lenker achse??.. did u read newspapers?.. how many times u read newspaper in a week? Did u read newspaper when gov announced NAP this year? did u checked our current tax structure?.. Check them out 1st, b4 u ask something stupid….some of us oso tired of talking the whole thing again & again….

    ps: If NAP does not help poton, why the gov didnt cancel it in the 1st place?.. ask yrself la lenker achse…

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:27 am

    lenker achse – Thing very fundamental mathematic calculation only.

    You can check website provide info for NAP (i.e. MITI). The tax structure for import duty is similar, the biggest different is excise duty. NAP have significant impact on the following: –

    1. At peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak, the excise duty for "national car" is lesser compare to imported makes, which may be up to in agregate of 280% (import + excise duty). That why Proton apart from can't achieve economy of scale and competitive (offer lowest price), the selling price is still relatively high (+ less duty). For example Waja 1.6 A selling at around RM 59K in Bolehland but in open market like US, Mits EVO 2.0L basic spec selling at around RM 40 K ++. Even Toyota Camry 2.4 L selling at around RM 67K! You can check MSN auto section under new passenger car segment.

    2. At Langkawi, the selling price for all makes (local or imported) is not affected by NAP by virtue of its free port status. So you can see all makes with lowest selling prices, but the different between imported and local is very "negligible", unlike in main land the price might even double for mini or small car like Toyota Yaris or RAV4.

    Talk about level playing field, then Langkawi Island is applicable but not other part of Bolehland. Other part of Bolehland have to wait (at least 2010) until FTA, WTO, AFTA, etc to come in and demolish blood sucking NAP.

    If ask my personal opinion, I am not necessary the proponent of FTAs but definitely I am strongly disagree with NAP. I disagree with NAP because it is a "breeding ground for freak gene crocs", AP King, inefficiency, cronies, etc. So without NAP, only these group of creatures will worry as there are no more blood to suck. Remember AP is illegal under WTO rules.

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  • Dogster (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:35 am

    147 posts and rising.in just 2 days!!!!!! WOW.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:40 am

    Bigfoot said – "Joe Oi, Sawadicrap…you’re comment is too long…this is not 1119 essay exam…boring No fun.Me thnk you love Japs long time..

    anyway..Aiman tak kisah… "

    Joe Ooi – Another "freak gene" statement from you. What do means by comment "too long". This is the only statement you can make on my comment? At least this demonstrate that you are unable to disagree with me? Definitely it is not 1119 essay exam but how do you know me love Japs long time ….? Where you get from? Read from your crystal ball or plug it from the sky? You tak kisah I also tak kisah you "Bigfoot from Rompin Jungle", with this kind of detritus statement, better "stay back at jungle to become scientist exploration or tourist attraction rather than coming in Paul Tan weblog".

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  • darkbrother (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:59 am

    a lot of comments off topic dy…

    anyway good job for proton for coming out with a good design. they getting very creative since gen2.

    its like proton finally have their own identity, look at gen2, savvy and now satria neo. all have proton unique shape and not cut and paste rojak models like wira saga etc.

    quality improved a lot since savvy and now satria neo. anyway there's still room for improvement.

    a lot of continental touches and feel been put into proton cars these days. i think they really moving towards asia's continental car.

    no wonder companies like vw want to take over proton imo.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 8:48 am

    lenker achse said – "Joe ooi, about investment on chassis… WAJA alone cost 1 billion to make..gen2 was around 700 mill… media kit for this i think says 500 mill…"

    Joe Ooi – try checking finacial report but can't locate info as mentioned by you. But look at previous link provided by me on Protn investment on R & D and Product Development does not show this figure. Where do you get these Waja RM 1billion, Gen-2 700 million and mediakit RM 500 million. Do you get it from press release by Proton. If that is the case, then definitely there are discrepencies or inconsistent info in press release and website? Which one to believe?

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  • Dogster (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:10 am

    Well now lets see what those idots over in TOPGEAR UK, will say abt this car eh?

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  • CrazyCarFans (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 10:13 am

    Well, to my point it really does the most prettier design in proton history, Proton does really tried their best part on this project…For me to rate this Satria NEO 100% passed! Interior also 80% passed!!

    Seriously thinking to change this car very soon…My dream car New Satria NEO. But I'm very worried about the quality of this vehical, my very own experience last 2 years, I bought a brand new Satria…I quite like it from the beginnning but after about one years, major problems start came out, when we're driving on unusual road like in penang or butterworth… Woww!! Door, Dashboard, came out with irritating sounds. But I seems like don't see any Honda or Toyota or BMW or whatever car got this sounds after many yearssSs been using.Only Proton got this problems, even Perodua also better quality than proton.

    For Example no offence, I saw 1 ad at BMW showrooms, they describe they 100% Muscle / 0% Fat…

    Guys, proton has been in history almost nearly 20 yrs if i'm not mistaken, still no improvement huh?

    I describle proton like = 0% Muscle but 100% Fat!

    How would made Proton came out with excellence results? When?

    Yeah! I believe this is the last chance for Proton, if this car can't prove any result or yet still many complained like B4…GEN2!!

    Proton gonna be over! Finish!

    We're all Malaysian, Support Local's Vehicle Support Proton, but what if Proton don't fullfil our needs? Good luck!! I still believe one day Proton will stand up say PROTON BOLEH~!!!

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  • little_momo (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 11:59 am

    satria NEO = A PIECE OF SHIT

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  • KingKong (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 1:35 pm

    "Well now lets see what those idots over in TOPGEAR UK, will say abt this car eh?"

    Jeremy is a pure-British typical.

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  • Bigjoe (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 2:23 pm

    Here is the thing. Given the small interior size, its not likely to be very exportable to many markets. So if its just local sales, achieving sales of 31,000 unit per year is still a challenge at price of 44K-55K. I think its sales will not exceed 20K per year after the initial enthusiasm. If Waja can match this, then it can hope to do better with export market but given the engine, the sedan will not be a spectacular success either.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 3:14 pm

    joe ooi… so PROTON is not FAVORED la in the tax scheme… but your are saying indirectly PROTON has made tax for ALL CARS high… right?

    I'm confuse because you sort of implied that PROTON is benefiting from NAP.

    Here is MY BELIEFS… ALL those other cars… say your 67k CAMRY. You try calculate tax by Government then add how much margin UMW take to macth prices here?

    tak payah tengok harga kat luar. Custom website ade declared price. Add tax to it calculate how much margin all those other cars are sucking?

    do you think all those other cars will bring down prices even is tax is reduced? they have brand premium here. I won't. If malaysian people can buy and they are buying by the boat load why should I lose my margin? hehehe…

    so how then PROTON can sell cheaper?

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  • raptorclans (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 6:21 pm

    Satria Neo = A piece of Gem

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:02 pm

    Dogster @ KingKong said – “Well now lets see what those idots over in TOPGEAR UK, will say abt this car eh?” Jeremy is a pure-British typical."

    Joe Ooi – Are you saying TOPGEAR UK have idiots? Where is your prove, but I know if they are, they won't be there as at today. At least they will get sue by somebody (especially world class car maker) and make them bankrupt! Not like Bolehland, crocs, AP King, cronies, etc not only can survive but "thrive" in our CarTaxLand for more than good 21 years ++!.

    You may see Jeremy is pure – British typical but at least he put up a good show which is not only attract British audience but many part of the world, including Bolehland. A person like you or any one in Bolehland can do that?

    Yes or No?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:32 pm

    lenker achse – You better study basic economy theory of free market and monopoly (close market). In US the RM 67K Camry is most competitve lowest price can sale in the market. This objective "apple-to-apple" comparison since this Camry is manufacture in US plant and we may get it from Thailand (definitely labour cost at US is much higher than Thailand).

    Of course if G allowed Toyota (without NAP) sale at this price in Bolehland (which fairly to say they are willing), then not only Perdana 2.0L have to "bungkus" but those 1.3L & 1.8L range also gone as Nissan, Toyota or Honda models like Sentra, Corrola Altis, Civic will be sale at same range with Satria Neo, below RM 60K. So what to boast about Satria Neo and hu, hu, ha, ha, there ……… Under NAP, the are restrictions on FREE entry of many cars, imposed prohibitive taxes, set quotas, come out with all kind of own funny "regulation, classification and definition" like CKD, CBU, AP, Local Content, "National car", etc, etc, etc, design to kill any potential threat/competition to "freak" P1 products. "Practically" NAP is King of 2 head King Cobra, 1 head is to "patuk" any foreign car players by imposed hefty tax so that they are out of reach for most of the rakyat. Another head is to "patuk" the rakyat so that they are "forced" to pay not only "patriotic contribution" but also get P1 lousy car. That create freak species only can be found in CarTaxLand like crocs, AP King, cronies, etc, etc, belly become big, 100% fat, 0% muscle!

    Hope Satria Neo can change this very unequal and very unfavourable NAP equation. But look at projected sale of 2,000 to 2,500 unit per month as mentioned in the Star dated 17/06/06, the hope is very "slim".

    Back to in free market, they imposed high standard on quality and safety standard only (no such thing as CKD, CBU, AP, etc), the rest is up to car manufacturer to compete in free market – survival of the fittest. If Japan have similar policy on CKD and CBU, how about Honda Accord which is export from US plant to their RisingSunLand? How to classify it?

    If one day say Proton become world class player and can set up plant with Chevy JV at Dragonland and export Proton car back to Bolehland? then how to argue about CKD, CBU, local content, etc, etc. If talk about local content, most of metal base material is not mine in Bolehland lombong, but perhaps from Australia?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:43 pm

    little_momo said – "satria NEO = A PIECE OF SHIT"

    This sttement is most likely applicable if export to countries with average big body size like European (especially German), Arabian countries, Pakistanis, Autralia. But to export to average small size like Asean, then have to compete with Japs, Conti, China makes on level playing field. So average big or small size, is "off limit" to Satria Neo – no export market potential?

    raptorclans said – "Satria Neo = A piece of Gem"

    This statement is most likely applicable to what Proton term as "niche market" for "young and trendy" market!

    Both statements are big NO NO for family car market!

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 18, 2006 at 7:46 pm

    Joe Ooi: Bear in mind Proton never positioned the Satria Neo as a family car. Why are you even comparing?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 8:17 pm

    Paul – already stated …. Proton term as “niche market” for “young and trendy” market!….already self-explanatory on Proton targeted market. Just put in additional comment on both little_momo and raptorclans statements (not compare Satria Neo car) are NOT applicable for family car market, which are also "consistent"! Trust the above explanation is in order.

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  • fookeatmin1989 (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 8:54 pm

    the first day of launch…..many people were amazed…..

    after 3 months….people will be disgusted by it..as applied to all of Proton's cheap product..

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  • wisdom_bin (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:24 pm

    fookeatmin, i know it's possible for such thing to happen but it is still premature for you to surely state that. I sure hope it will not be as u said..

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  • fadlee (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:29 pm

    Oit.. to those who think they are good enuff.. stop complaining.. and dont be like a sissy.. u cant expect anything to be perfect.. they are improving and they have done a bit..get it? whether its slow or what.. dont be like your mom la.. complainin stuff.. thts sick.. and it shows your level of knowledge is.. kiddies..

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  • Zlanu (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:32 pm

    This was a grand effort by Proton to stimulate their market and regain the trust of the people. From what I can see thus far, Proton is doing something right though as of now, its hard to say what is good and what is not. I think we shall truly see the efforts of Proton once the Perdana Replacement Model is released then you all can talk about Proton providing for a sedan for the family. Their final test and their test to see whether they deserve to remain in the market is in the Perdana Replacement Model. If the Satria Neo is any indication of the trend of Proton's commitment, they may just pull through.

    I sincerely hope that Proton will pull through. My faith in them has risen with this new release especially with the nice modifications in the Desire, Symphony and R3. I am sure they will have a market outside of Malaysia. The precinct in Britain that uses the GTi's will want them replaced with the Desires I bet. ^^

    From the 2 following videos comparing the Neo 1.6 and the Neo 1.3, you can again see that the Neo is in fact a well handling car with a lot of potential.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtVXjD_BTtw

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:39 pm

    joe ooi…. i agree with you about the tax… but the tax is the same now for everybody regionally. No favors. Yes cars are expensive. My Beliefs are that other cars are more expensive because of margin they take.

    the tax now is the same for all toyota under ASEAN. if tax is reduced, then Proton even CHEAPER LA… kan? but then again if people are willing to fork out money why reduce margin. free 35K per camry just for local importer/assembler.

    people like you blame it on government and PROTON. I get away free.

    probably la I should take my economics 101. It has been 10 years ago I graduated and work as bussiness admin

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  • p2supporter (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:45 pm

    Guys, sincerely I have to say PROTON finally has come out with improved and quality car. Two tumbs up fr P1. Worth waiting for quite sometime to have such good design, aerodynamic crafted evolution. Bravo to Satria Neo. All this while i admitted that Proton Quality is below expectation but now it shows that they really prepared this time. The colors also nice and I really love the Metal Grey it looks more like sport car such as Masaranti and Austin Martin. The Iridescen White or Pearl White is more like a BMW I series.

    Overall Design is fantastic, and one thing that I noticed is that the body is strong even the upper framework. Not like GEN.2. To me the most imprtant part of any vehicle is not the ABS or AIRBAG like what people always talk about. The most valid question is whtr the car is safe enough to drive? Answering to that from my observation, I can see that SATRIA NEO body structure is strong that provides optimum structural rigidity and crashworthhiness. Walaway, somemore got side impact cathcer for car less than RM 55K. I have to admit the car cabin look strong and confidance.

    Sorry P2 or P3 you guys should work harder cos now my confidance level is back to Proton if this car is trully their new batchmarking. Infact when I saw the design and seen the interior as well as exterior, I feel like selling my P2 Myvi. It looks louee and very fragile. Now the car is giving me such headace after almost 3 times going for service. As for P3 you guys should be ashame for just making profit and let down your customer. My friends bought new SUTERA and now not even 6 days the car is in due to harness problem. What is this guys? Try to learn more from P1 cos now they had unleashed the beast. Can't wait for their next line up which expected next year with more models and design.

    My last statement to all viewers, please have a test drive cos I surely believed that this car is not just a normal car. Ride and Handling if still LOTUS means dynamic. At RM 43,500 9 years I guest affordable cos it only cost you less than RM 500 not like other cars although 4 doors like MYVi still I think expensive after comparing with NEO.

    hey guys P1 you have done a great job…keep it up…I will come back..how much ah..my stupid MyVi? Anyone please advice? Year made 2005…Cant wait fr test drive somemore booking only RM 500. I heard the waiting period is approx 1 month..Not Bad cos my My-Vi fuhhh 5 months but after getting it..if feel like I am being cheated. Of cos partly my fault cos I am too into the comments from P2 lovers. Now I am making my own decision and I say BRAVO Proton…..Finally you stand up good and make other look like fool esp P3….

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:58 pm

    joe ooi… EU, Aussie, and the rest of the world impose some sort of barrier be it standards and regulationsand money down for deposit (india and indonesia), all have barrier.

    you think ALL malaysia version toyota can meet EU ka?

    latest is china prohibiting US cars by imposing fleet average on gas milleage.. smart! and all we want cheap cars

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  • NeedGoodCar (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 9:59 pm

    I wish to reiterate my point here : those of you who are so impressed with the neo, by all means go and get one….don’t just say, do it…

    “Niche market?” This is just another excuse for making the mistake by launching a product which doesn’t help the company in terms of financial contribution…how many neo can you sell? By “niche market” it is a segment within the overall market, in an environment where volume / economy of scale is the name of the game in the automotive industry, what you need is a product that appeals to the mass market, in the case of P1, market share is already down, you need to have a product that appeals to the mass market not just the niche market.

    Joe and the gang, we must appreciate that there will always be die hard p1 fans not matter what, no need to waste your air in educating them, see if they really drive a p1 and suffer the !@#$%^&*+-X/ experience as a result of low and cheap product, still remember car broke down in the middle of the road and wait for the tow truck to come…window cannot be wind up and it’s raining….I share your pain too

    I have a question to ask….WHAT IS GONNA TO HAPPEN IF ALL THE AUTOMOTIVE PLAYERS ARE COMPETING ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN BOLEHLAND?

    – IMPACT TO P1

    – IMPACT TO PEOPLE IN BOLEHLAND

    WHAT SAY U?

    GIVE ME YOUR VIEW

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 18, 2006 at 10:36 pm

    NeedGoodCar: Let me see if I have your line of thought right. Are you suggesting that Proton totally drop it's Satria line just because it's targetted at a niche market? Because if it were to keep it's Satria line, it obviously has to update it. And this is exactly what the Neo is for. Updates to the Waja will come later.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 10:37 pm

    Kinda agree with the comment first came out great then later bunch of problems crop up. this is the first time i see that any car maker will release not just the base modal, but the upgraded (R3) and pimped out version (Desire n Neo) all at the same time. To me it shows that they are trying to engrave a good impression on the car – an pathetic attemp to boost sales by being different. i can see this car's niche is definitely aimed for the younger lads.

    I'm really sick of reading catchy phrases inside p1's website – "The best in class", "Unrivaled performance", "extreme machine for extreme enjoyment" etc etc.. If u put p1 cars in auto car shows internationally, it will end up at the small corner where no one will ever notice coz the standard is literally not up to par yet, no matter how fancy the words tell you.

    I never see any car maker boasting how well the car is on the internet. other car makers publish the facts, not fiction n catchy phrases. Look the saga webiste for example:

    http://www.proton-edar.com.my/showroom/saga/saga_…

    go to overview n you'll see:

    STYLE WISE – Sporty style inspired by race tech interiors

    SPACE WISE – Unchallenged in its class for spaciousness

    POWER WISE – 83HP overpowers the competition

    VALUE WISE – Undisputedly the best value performance in its class

    STREET WISE – The uncomprimised sense of security you can only get from a full size aeroback

    The words says it all. How many of them are true? are they used because it is what they are designed for or to woo people to think its one of a kind? I cant find the interior section for this car too plus this is the only car in the website that does not feature the interior.

    it says unchallenged spaciousness in its class – so who else is in its class?

    83 hp that overpowers the rivals? with the aging 10++ ancient engine? who? kancil?

    Reading the p1 website is like watching Derek Zoolander.

    p1, walk the walk. not just literally talk the talk.

    to me p1 has not grown up to its internationally establishment. by right they first started, the key thing to do is to establish its dominance locally by producing quality, reliable and adequetely priced cars with adequete R&D. once their cars have reached international standards, then should look into export. when the sales for local and export has reached optimum income, then they should increase gradually on R&D, listen to customer feedback and to produce more types of designs so on and so forth..slow n steady is the key.

    So what did actually happen?

    p1 produced rebadged saga's in the 80's. met up with internationally imported rivals and asked G to protect national pride by enforcing multi conditioned AP. p1 then was in the glory days coz they know they dun have to spend so much money on R&D coz G going to protect them anyway plus the AP thing will make buying p1 the only cost effective way to do so. p1 also get funds from G or literally taxpayers money for development. just a cut n paste here n there, a redesign of that n this and wuallah! a new car!

    MALAYSIA IS THE ONE AND ONLY DOT IN THE GALAXY THAT HAS AP POLICY. ALIENS WILL GO LIKE "DAMN CAN'T BUY SPACE SHIPS FROM THERE, THEY GOT THE AP". IF YOUR MIND IS SET ON SATURN, THEN YOUR HEAD MUST BE IN URANUS.

    years gone by nation ask where all the money go. p1 then go on telling the globe that it has been put into R&D. the result is what we see in front of us. sales was not good coz years gone by quality of cars deterioted like a rotten apple. so they go look for the DNV, EuroNcap, Lotus yadda yadda yadda. Got all that but still the cars aren't what they are suppose to be..so much money have been injected to R&D up to a point where the cars shelf life is 10 over years e.g. our beloved saga n wira.

    The new satria will be around. Oh yes, for a very long long time.

    And what can we do? its true that its the only car you will want to buy, but reading the fine print it will say its the only car you can ever afford. all import car prices got yanked up like crazy due to AP anyway.

    dun worry, papa (G) is here to carry you (p1), n your milk bottle, ur hand, ur soiled diapers with full of crap. papa will do everything for you until u finish ur degree in chiplak uni. papa will just work harder to earn money (taxpayer) to raise you n you'll do me proud. i will protect you from any harm (imports by AP). dun worry about ur older brother (p2) he graduated 30 years ago from Yale. plus im quite suprised he din ask so much from me coz he worked part time when studying n years go by with going steady, patiently n hard work, he can stand on his own two feet without my support. but dun worry tho, you're my favourite son.

    I think they should have taken Idris Jala instead. Even he is daring enough to change MAS. I think the phrase "daring to change" should be with MAS, credit to Idris Jala.

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  • OvaBoost (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 10:39 pm

    Joe Oooii.. start your own blog la… sibuk la kat sini!!!

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 11:18 pm

    lenker achse said – “joe ooi… so PROTON is not FAVORED la in the tax scheme… but your are saying indirectly PROTON has made tax for ALL CARS high… right? I’m confused because you sort of implied that PROTON is benefiting from NAP.”

    Joe Ooi – It is a BIG YES, NAP protected Proton. NAP benefits Proton as imported cars were subjected to prohibitive tax up to in aggregate of 280%. This tax regime is design to kill off any potential threat or competition to Proton. If not benefits Proton, why G implement it in the first place? Then can dismantle it, or at least make necessary changes to the policy from “tax-based” to “consumer-based”. I mean our autos sector growth is not depend on “Proton factor”, but let consumer spending or purchasing power stimulate our autos sector growth which create multiplier effect. Let all car manufacturer offer the good quality, high safety standard and best “value for money” cars. Let market forces determine the supply-demand curve without unnecessary “interference” from NAP!

    Proton claim that their Satria Neo is entirely local make from scratch, including chassis. They can claim that spend hundred of million or billion for R & D in chassis. But when refer to their website for investment in R & D and product development, the figure is “peanut”? Which one is true? But I wonder why they still “desperate” for “strategic alliance”, and if they claim it is a good cars then next logical progression step have to plan to “conquer” the world market like Toyota or Mercs. Bring in Euro, Yen , Yuan, USD, Pound and enrich our nation! Not “bertelor sebiji, riuh satu kampong”, yet try to suck every RM they can from rakyat! Remember Proton sale Savvy (CBU) at UK lower than Bolehland yet equip with airbag? Where is the margin if take into consideration the logistic cost? So Bolehland consumer “so kind” subsidize UK consumer? Here no airbag – “tak apa” attitude excuse, high cost lah or Malaysian life is “cheap”. You can check UK Daily Telegraph online motoring section.

    lenker achse – “Here is MY BELIEFS… ALL those other cars… say your 67k CAMRY. You try calculate tax by Government then add how much margin UMW take to match prices here? tak payah tengok harga kat luar. Custom website ade declared price. Add tax to it calculate how much margin all those other cars are sucking?

    Joe Ooi – If you refer to MSN autos section, the Toyota Camry around RM 67K (MSRP USD 18,270) is selling price at distributor showroom. MSRP is abbreviation for “Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price”. That means it may equal to our “Selling Price” or “OTR” price. There is no detail breakdown available for MSRP. But even if we consider take out insurance and road tax from “OTR” price. The selling price in Bolehland is still more than double in US. This is objective “apple-to-apple” comparison as US Camry is produce in US plant and we may get from Thailand plant. Definitely the labour cost at US is higher than Thailand!

    lenker achse – “do you think all those other cars will bring down prices even is tax is reduced? they have brand premium here. I won’t. If Malaysian people can buy and they are buying by the boat load why should I lose my margin? hehehe…so how then PROTON can sell cheaper?

    Joe Ooi – To NeedGoodCar as well. If we embrace open market by dismantle NAP or make major changes to this policy from “tax-based” to “consumer spending-based” as described above, then price will reduce substantially to the lowest due to stiff competition as happen in electrical and electronic sector. I still remembered my father purchased “timber box” 25” Sony colour TV in 1980s, it is more than RM 3K. But today, you can get 29” TV for as low as RM 1 K ++ for “branded” products. If we buy China makes TV then few hundred RM only.

    On world wide basis, the supply capacity of the cars is exceed demand. But current NAP interference create artificial “shortage” (i.e. AP restriction) which tilt the supply-demand curve in favour of Proton, but very unfavorable or at the expense of consumers.

    Of course Toyota, Honda, Conti, etc have the volume, which achieve economy of scale. Therefore, they can compete in the open market by offer lowest price possible. In mass production cars biz, they fight for volume/turnover (Toyota selling more than 7 millions) to achieve their targeted margin. For Proton don’t have the necessary volume and not competitive, therefore they can’t afford to sell at lowest price as this may lead to lose margin/profit per unit or losing money. Some more, Proton “soft shell crab” cars if compete in open market, it will face the steely jaw of the like of Toyota, Satria Neo easily “munching like morning breakfast for cream cracker + kopi O” by these world class players! You see Toyota indirectly thru Perodua with MyVi product already beat Proton to second place. Saturday (17/6/06) Star reported MyVi delivered 8,018 units in May 06 alone! Proton based on current “xenophobia” set up and mainly operate limited to Bolehland territory won’t be able to offer lowest price. Unless they are open to strategic tie-up, at least similar to Perodua!

    So by buying by the boat load, Toyota can give the best product at lowest price as happen in US market! Their Camry sold in 2005 in US market alone is more than 400K unit, almost equivalent to total combine of our market for passenger cars from Kancil to S-Class Merc.

    Lenker aches – “joe ooi…. i agree with you about the tax… but the tax is the same now for everybody regionally. No favors. Yes cars are expensive. My Beliefs are that other cars are more expensive because of margin they take.”

    Joe Ooi – The tax is same for import duty only, but DIFFERENT for excise duty – import + excise = up to 280%. Please check the info to confirm this! Excise duty prohibitively high for imported makes, for Proton is “moderate”. So imported makes sale at “highest” price and Proton cars sales at “relatively high” price.

    lenker achse – “the tax now is the same for all toyota under ASEAN. if tax is reduced, then Proton even CHEAPER LA… kan? but then again if people are willing to fork out money why reduce margin. free 35K per camry just for local importer/assembler.”

    Joe Ooi – As I mentioned above, same for import duty for ASEAN, but not excise duty.

    lenker achse – “people like you blame it on government and PROTON. I get away free.”

    Joe Ooi – another kind of “low level of interpretation” as what happen in ichiban case? This statement does not put me in a right perspective. Your statement is not acceptable to me and from legal perspective the onus is on you to prove your allegations “beyond reasonable doubt”! Otherwise “I am not hesitate to take appropriate action including cannibalize your back side until bone also finish”.

    lenker achse – “joe ooi… EU, Aussie, and the rest of the world impose some sort of barrier be it standards and regulations and money down for deposit (india and indonesia), all have barrier.”

    Joe Ooi – Yes, most of country imposed some form of restriction and regulations but their policy is still fundamentally “consumer spending” friendly, not “tax-based” like our NAP.

    lenker achse – you think ALL malaysia version toyota can meet EU ka?

    Joe Ooi – Don’t ask me to think, it is not appropriate for me to do so. Check Toyota Motor Corporation website, they have “local best” (Innova, Hilux, Fortuner, Vios, etc.) and “world best” (Corrola Altis, Camry, Yaris, Lexus, Harrier, Estima etc.) products. Check with UMW on this matter. Even though I got answer, I won’t be answer on behalf of Toyota. Don’t treat me like I am info centre or I know everything!

    lenker achse – “latest is china prohibiting US cars by imposing fleet average on gas mileage. smart! and all we want cheap cars

    Joe Ooi – The Dragonland still enjoy the lowest price for all makes!

    OvaBoost said – Joe Oooii.. start your own blog la… sibuk la kat sini!!!

    Joe Ooi – Good suggestion, but can you give me financial support for set up and doing this fulltime? Look at this freak statement, “I got infected by P1 freak gene asking for allocation”! he, he, he, ……….. So ask G to implement “National Weblog Policy” (NWP) in favor of me, out law or make other “expensive” to operate so that I can monopoly Malaysian blog market! Another kind of joker know how to talk only but no action.

    Lastly, as NeedGoodCar say, I try not to make “long air” comment (unless necessary) yet not related to the topic of this blog – “review Satria Neo”. Sorry lol …… out of topic.

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  • bazet (Member) on Jun 18, 2006 at 11:42 pm

    Saw the car at PJ Sunday Sales at PJ. A crowd puller actually.

    I want just to comment on the wheel, Proton calls it a Turbine, very much alike BMW E34 M5 Turbine.

    Does the wheel on Neo suck air to cool down the disc brake ?

    If it does, that will be cool otherwise, I'll call it bling-bling.

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  • NeedGoodCar (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 12:02 am

    Paul, to me the keyword is "PRIORITY", with dwindling market share and fast changing business environment in the automotive industry, p1 needs a product that appeals to the mass market, to boost its sales volume, for whatever reasons, p1 got the priority wrong, they should have introduce models that appeals to the mass market, complemented by targetting niche markets.

    In layman terms, by now, we should see new/replacement models for Waja, Wira, Iswara or to a certain extent Perdana…not a 2-door version. Or maybe MPV, mini MPV.

    FACT – NO ORGANIZATION CAN SURVIVE TARGETTING NICHE MARKET UNLESS IT IS ECONOMICALLY SENSIBLE TO DO SO. MEANING

    THE NICHE MARKET IS LARGE ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE ECONOMICAL OF SCALE OR CONTRIBUTION MARGIN FROM THIS SEGMENT IS SO GOOD, ETC.

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 19, 2006 at 12:04 am

    The SRM was in development for quite some time already. And how do you know the models you mentioned are not already in development at Proton? I don't claim I know for sure, but I am not accusing Proton of not working on them either.

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  • AKM (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 12:21 am

    If we are not world class in many areas what make you think we can be world beater in producing car. Be patient. Support and encourage them to improve even further.

    Behind looks like a BWM 1 series

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 12:25 am

    Paul, I am not know for sure whether the Iswara, Wira, Perdana replacement are in development stage. But there are one strong indication, if they fail to find "strategic alliance", then likely nothing has been done on this! If VW alliance is materialize, then we may see Perdana Replacement Model likely will use Passat platform. Now "angin" want to use Mits 380 platform for PRM. So, we just observe what is the result of recently announced "feasibility study" in very near future!

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  • king (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 12:58 am

    Driven2020,

    although the saga is a stone-age car, proton is not exactly wrong in the statements they made. you see the saga is priced at 31k which is exactly the same price as kelisa 850. Therefore use your common sence for the following:

    STYLE WISE – Sporty style inspired by race tech interiors ( this is subjective)

    SPACE WISE – Unchallenged in its class for spaciousness ( more spacious than kelisa )

    POWER WISE – 83HP overpowers the competition ( kelisa 850 49hp only )

    VALUE WISE – Undisputedly the best value performance in its class ( kelisa dun even have alarm,central locking,power window etc…)

    STREET WISE – The uncomprimised sense of security you can only get from a full size aeroback ( probably safer than kelisa since it is bigger in size)

    So pls don't be biased in your comments and be logical…..if p1 cars are expensive and poor quality then definately p2 cars are even more expensive.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 1:13 am

    king – You also make biased comparison. Look at the keywords, it shall be tehnical and/or features comparison. In this case you take same price range product to make comparison on technical/features is unfair. If stone age Iswara 1.3L shall compare with same cc car like top range MyVi, Gen-2 1.3, Satria Neo 1.3, etc. What Driven 2020 comment on Iswara is "fair" but the Iswara price might justified the level of quality for this stone age product.

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  • NeedGoodCar (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 1:42 am

    to all p1 bashers, p1 supporter, neutral people…

    LOOK HOW MUCH CARS R BEING SOLD IN LANGKAWI/FT LABUAN…I CAN DRIVE HOME AN ACCORD 2.4 FOR 100K.. WHY DO WE NEED SUCH A DISCRIMINATORY PRICING STRUCTURE WITHIN THE SAME COUNTRY?

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  • king (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 1:48 am

    Joe,

    if you go and read more books, mags and websites you will find out that editors and car experts hardly compare cc to cc but rather price. Eg. when waja was launched it was compared with city and vios. cc or sizewise it should have been compared with altis 1.6 or sentra 1.6. My comparison here is based on price and i think it is the basis for most of us when choosing a car. therefore myvi ( even 1.0M basic is 39k )and the rest is too far out of the price range in terms of percentage to compare with iswara. So i believe my comparison is justified.

    Of course you have the right to compare it with anything you want- even with hyundai getz 1.3 or honda jazz 1.3 ( in Uk market). But probably proton was comparing it to the kelisa 850.

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  • lenker achse (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 2:42 am

    joe ooi check NAP doc tax bracket. PROTON pays the same tax as other players from this region. Unless you compare to luxury… sorry man.

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  • Si|v3rB|ooD (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 3:41 am

    Hey guys…. saw several pic of Proton Neo art-concept work modification in a website. It is a creative concept-modification that might be done to a proton neo by our "local street engineer"hehehehe… it gave a nice finishing to the look. Even make it look awesome… hu hu ha ha :P

    http://www.lowyat.net/v2/images/stories/neo_modif…

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  • RCM (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 3:44 am

    We all love our country and ourselve and our money..Critics good as it can improve proton…but over condemn it, people wont buy proton then proton will die..Praise the improvement, condemn the bad things..

    Facts shold drive this discussion, not emotion or hatred..You hit someone then the equal force will hit you…

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  • NeedGoodCar (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 4:40 am

    king,

    r u saying that if p1 waja is priced at 150k, we should compared it to camry 2.4? i don't understand!!!

    lenker achse

    if PROTON pays the same tax as other players from this region, then the selling price of vios in thailand and in malaysia should be the same in terms of thai bath or ringgit malaysia…r they the same?

    RCM,

    but over condemn it, people wont buy proton then proton will die, ha ha ha…if we go and over condenm merc/bm/audi/toyota/honda/nissan…u think people will stop buying them?

    enaf said…..like i said, make sure u support p1 by buying a unit of their car.

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  • Zlanu (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 5:23 am

    I think thats exactly what King is saying NeedGoodCar hence why the Proton Waja is not priced at 150k. >_>

    Technically, is the VIOS the same price as the Waja outside the country as well? In Thailand? I'm sure if compared there, the Waja is cheaper. Thats what I think. I have no idea about the exact figures.

    Still, I always thought it was compared by cc. ^^

    I will buy a unit of their car. I used to have an old Satria 1.3 long time ago in errr 96, kept it for around 5 years. Worked perfectly fine for me. Hardly had to go and service it. Of course, the power windows were a problem but easily remedied with a slight push. What I'm trying to say is, I haven't had a bad experience from Proton so I'd be glad to buy another product from them. This Neo will definately be a step up. Though right now I need a Perdana or a Waja instead of a Neo so I'll be waiting for one of the replacement models to come out from them. Shouldn't be long. End of this year methinks. I may buy the Neo as a second car for myself later. ^^

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  • z350 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:25 am

    i hav tested the car today, performance wise is good and one thing that surprise me is the body structure are stiffer compare to the older models, which proton should have practise many years ago.

    The interior design of the car seem… i would say a little stupid, and brainless. Proton are taken over the design of lotus and just "plug on it" without thinking whether it is suitable or not. Especially the storage compartment, is so small and is not practical. I have think of an additional quote for them to put on their advertisement "lotus interior, proton material" … lol :)

    Exterior design of proton neo for me, looks like a combination of many cars (what do u guys think?? no offence ah…) i.e. VW Golf, BMW, Lotus (exhaust pipe design…chuckle…), Peugeot side mirrors, Vauxhall Corsa side body, etc. So, for people like me who can't afford to own these cars… mayb can think of NEO… what do u reckon???!!?

    Again… many thanksssss to Proton

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  • RCM (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:54 am

    NeedGoodCar said if we go and over condenm merc/bm/audi/toyota/honda/nissan…u think people will stop buying them?

    Of course!!!

    Over comdemning give the impression its a bad car regardless its really bad or not.. People will tend to ignore the facts and trust the 'rumours'..its the same with any issue…

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:59 am

    wow…a lot of comment here…shocked of it…

    ppl in topgear uk idiot???nope…ure wrong…jeremy is one of the best journalist in the world…he is alwiz b honest of wut he was comment to…no matter wut car izit…no matter izit a branded car…if its wrong…he will bash that car….even a rubbish supercar will b bash by him…even 'the ultimate driving machine' been bash by him…ape lagi???ferrari,porsche,merc,audi been bash by him…so…i dun c he is an idiot…

    king…they are not comparing cc to cc….if ure saying by cc and cc…wut if they compare the waja 1.6 and bmw 316???or waja 1.8 with bmw 318???then…wut abt….hhhmmm…vw golf r32 and the merc e-class e320???wut abt that???still same cc…there are a lot of aspect actually to categorized the cars….in term of size,features,purpose of the cars etc…sori if im wrong…dat is wut im thinking of…and c others website to categorized of all cars…(my comment above is not abt the kelisa and saga,dat is not my issue)…and jz want to correct ur statement…actually…in overseas they are comparing the waja with honda accord,ford mondeo,vw passat,nissan primera and camry…corolla altis,civic,ford focus,bmw 1 series,alfa 147,audi a3,vw golf,renault megane,fiat stilo,seat leon etc…under one class…i dunno wut abt ere…mabe ure saying the truth they are comparing it with vios and city…maybe it refer to the prize….cheers..:)

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 7:33 am

    lenker achse said – "joe ooi check NAP doc tax bracket. PROTON pays the same tax as other players from this region. Unless you compare to luxury… sorry man."

    Joe Ooi – Just wasting my time give you detail explanation! Anyway respect your opinion, sorry man I stop here.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 7:42 am

    king – compare with same price, how about I take recond Merc 230E refit it with new leather seat and same price with Iswara 1.3L, then compare loh, everything mercs 230E will "slaughter" Iswara in every aspects?

    But anyway I am in the opinion raybrig85 comment is the most acceptable, subject to many variables. Of course I also saw previous comment by journalist. What they argue was with pricing below RM 60K, what car you can get in Malaysia?

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  • wcw47800 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:06 am

    I visited the showroom at Damansara Perdana today and had a full preview of all the different versions. I must say that Proton got it right this time. I am no Proton lover but have to admit that improvements have been made in many areas. Some of the comments by Mr Paul Tan is a bit harsh and based on personal preferences. You got to see for yourselves. Some examples:

    – he did not like the Proton badge on the AIRBAG cover. I think it lends a nice tough to the dashboard;

    – door knobs look cheap? I doubt so. I think they look good. The doors also close effortlessly and they are sooooo un-Proton-like. Wow! Great job

    – hate the rims. Funny, I found them nice. Different from the rest.

    Anyway, good job Paul and hope to get more previews from you!

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  • NoProbG2 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:56 am

    This Joe Ooi.. just wanna show he knows many things than others.. show-off idiot… but actually stupid.. Really hate to read ALL your comments.. no brain..

    .. to Paul… just leave that Ooi…

    if he is too good… Agree with Ovaboost..

    OvaBoost said – Joe Oooii.. start your own blog la… sibuk la kat sini!!!

    Not welcome people like Joe Ooiiiiiiii here!

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  • king (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:13 am

    joe, joe….u r arguing for the sake of arguing. why bring in a 2nd hand merc now? then it thrashes everything available in p2's offering as well.

    what if their budget was 30k for a new car?

    enuff said.

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  • nexustan (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 10:42 am

    It's nice for the exterior car look… but i worry about the quality of the satria neo that i saw it at the proton car dealer show room… felt a bit fragile overall at the exterior design material.

    Proton… good luck, dun make we malaysian to dissapoint you again.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 10:44 am

    King,

    alright, i accept ur argument saying for example iswara maybe comparing against kelisa due to the closeness in price.

    if so, would you be so kindly list out all the rival cars for each model u think will be in competition with p1. i think u have in mind logically what cars each p1 models are up against so not just me but i think all readers would like to hear ur point of view.

    look im not trying to argue with you nor insulting ur intelligence but rather i would like to hear ur opinion. if u think i sound provocative then tell me. we are here to discuss not to flame.

    plus i never touched the word pricing at my previous post. i raised attention about how cocky p1 tries to impress ppl with stupid catchy phrases by using iswara as an example. if u check my post again i used the word "for example". i apologise for sounding rude but u would have picked up earlier that my discussion theme was never about pricing at the first place.

    just to trickle ur imagination and logic thinking, lets just simulate the statement u based that iswara is rivalry to kelisa.

    iswara is derived from saga, from the very first car p1 produced. the saga was based on the mitsubishi lancer from 1983

    http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/corporate/museum…

    first the car never went developed from the ground up coz it was a rebadged car. the car up till now has went through countless plastic surgery and still maintained its mitsu engine till this very day after 23 years. essentially the iswara is literally the 1983 saga. all its components are 23 years old in design age.

    how about the kelisa? its a daihatsu rebadge of charade. i dunno when it was made let say around year 2000?

    now is it logical to compare a 23 year old car with a 6 year old car in all possible terms? is it the right thing to do for boasting in the internet about a 23 year old car? is it the right thing to do to sell a 23 year old car at 31K?

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  • wisdom_bin (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 11:40 am

    yeah, the design and technology is 23 yrs old as u said, but still it is newly manufactured by the factory. And also, y need 2 talk so much about how u compare cars. Let them be, however they compare car, that's their way, they see the cars thru different perspective..some look into pricing, some into design, some into technology.

    Different people, different perspective, so dont have to question the way of others compare cars. Anyway, arent we suppose to discuss on satria neo release here.?

    cheers, everyone..let malaysia be a peaceful country with good cars hopefully.

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  • wisdom_bin (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 11:45 am

    commenting on satria neo, i dont think the glove box space is needed that much for me. The largest thing i store in a glove box may probably be a service book. I never store large things in the glove box. I dunno about others. i'm just commenting, no plan of buying a car now.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 4:54 pm

    wisdom_bin,

    I agree others have their own point of view, that's why i invite whomever to show their opinion just to keep the records straight. this way we can see how different how each of us think. i respect other's judgement that's why this floor is open for discussion.

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 5:19 pm

    lenker achse,

    Import duty decrease, yes, but you forgot about ED tax for CKD & CBU…. do u think Yaris is a luxury cars??

    ps: Something is very wrong with ur general knowledge…

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 5:54 pm

    NoProbG2 said – "This Joe Ooi.. just wanna show he knows many things than others.. show-off idiot… but actually stupid.. Really hate to read ALL your comments.. no brain.."

    Joe Ooi – This is totally your opinion and defamatory statement against me. Your statement is totally out of context in respect of DO NOT put me in the right perspective. The onus is on you to prove your statement beyond reasonable doubt!

    You statements is tantamount to defamation and riddle with all kind of mala fide intention on the following ground: –

    1. When do I show off I know everything, for example part of my reply to lenker achse or other among other but not limited to please check with "Toyota website" on Langkawi price, check with MSN, Proton, etc website to get further info. etc. etc. …….. In one of statement to lenker achse I even stated very clearly "Don’t treat me like I am info centre or I know everything!"

    I try to do it with proper quote and refer to reliable source. So, if I "show-off idiot… but actually stupid.." and if the info for investment in R & D and product development were quote from Proton Holdings Bhd, then are you imply Proton also is the same, you are absolutely "out of touch" in term of objective argument! Prove me wrong?

    2. You show your "HATE" by saying that read all my statements? If my source of info are quote from Toyota Motor Corporation, Proton Holding Bhd, MSN, etc, etc, ……. then are you imply you "HATE: them as well. Please clarify? If that is the case, then better joint bigfoot stay at Rompin forest!

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  • olowokandi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 5:55 pm

    Went to see the car yesterday in Tmn Pertama.

    Overall, I agree with Paul that this might be one of the best cars produced by Proton so far. The exterior design is very eye-catching, even my often-anti-P1 girl friend also admit that the car look very sharp. The body of the car is very solid, no more milo tin like Wira. However, the interior disappointed me. The glove box is too small, and there are too little storage spaces provided else where. The design of the air–con control button is taking too many spaces…they should have made it horizontally…like most of the car does, so that bigger storage compartment can be inserted at the lower part. Also, they should have upgraded the engine…Campro without Campro is not good enough.

    Just like Paul said, a lot of people open-and-close the car door repeatedly…and this time, they are sure very happy with the assembling quality of the doors…just like I do.

    Although this is not the type of car I would buy, I am happy that Proton seems heading to the right way. I am looking forward to the Wira or Waja replacement model.

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  • biggie (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:14 pm

    driven,

    all country require AP for import. AP is also required for sugar/radio and whatever item you want to bring in. How it is dispersed vary from country to country (in the case of USA differ from state to state). In some country to import RC cars you need to get police clearance.

    Paul,

    Check on the safety feautres of Neo as it do not have a central member. The engine acts as a brake in point of collision.

    Joe

    stop with NAP… I have argued long and hard but as u seem to worship some jap company then any argument will not hold.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:26 pm

    king said – "joe, joe….u r arguing for the sake of arguing. why bring in a 2nd hand merc now? then it thrashes everything available in p2’s offering as well."

    Joe Ooi – I am NOT argue for the sake of arguing, your comparison is base on pricing alone. But in this case, apart from pricing take into consideration, I also take other factor like the launch date for these two models into consideration. Mercs E 230 was first launch in 1990s, more than 10 years, but Iswara was launch way back in 1980s, over 20 years. So this is "give and take" already. This is because I can't find in the market Mercs "stone age" product like Iswara! Latest Merc product can't compare because different price and cc?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:32 pm

    biggie – "Joe – stop with NAP… I have argued long and hard but as u seem to worship some jap company then any argument will not hold."

    Joe Ooi – Another "low level of interpretation" by "freak protonian", you don't put me in the right perspective, "please go and worship Ichiban and learn from him how to put me in the right perspective"! Your statement is unaceptable, you shall take reasonable action to remedy it.

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  • nuzzary (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:47 pm

    desire is nice.. wonder how many people will turn their Neo to Desire ;P

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  • pycazu (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 6:58 pm

    Woh Paul, really shocked with so many comments for this SRM, seem like P1 always a hot-rebate issue. Just focus on the car, i'd like the interior color for the 1.6 too. Even the cushion touch and feel is much better than any existing P1 models. I'm really sure that P1 do improve from this model. But the downside are: no armrest, too small glove compactment, and I really feel really annoying that P1 standardised to swap the signal light control with wiper control on right hand side. It's just such inconvenience!

    Overall, i believe this is the best car designed by P1, hope to see it extends to 4-door sedan to really catch the sales.

    Anyway, i'm quite holding back to P1 expecting that SRM to achieve its target of at least 3000 units/mth. It definitely launch at wrong timing. While same class challenger like Naza 206 and those small car models launching recently, all gonna give it a tough time.

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 7:10 pm

    Joe,

    Take it easy fren.. dun worry most of us know NAP suck oredi (our NAP is one of a kind in the whole world), some of us dun even know about NAP, ED, CKD or CBU, some of us dun read newspaper or watch news, some of us protonian, some of us gov staff, some of us spies, some of us college or school students, some of us dun even own a car, some of us work with poton vendors, some of us r ignorant, some of us etc…

    so expect the expected from their statements…

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  • Initial D (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 7:29 pm

    y suddely change topic to AP n NAP?

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 7:29 pm

    motorhead – "so expect the expected from their statements…" = 3rd world mentality!

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  • go_go (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:01 pm

    nice design… the desire version is cool… is it for sale?

    i wonder how the interest rate would be…. since toyota offer 2.6%, some honda models in 2.5% and naza's interest rate also quite competetive….

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:04 pm

    Biggie,

    I agree AP does exist in other parts of the world in one form or the other. My statement was about vehicle APs only. Reflecting on what you said, please kindly describe to us in brief, the cost difference of paying up for AP compared to other countries. Blatantly I'm asking:

    first scenario:

    If I were an American importing a Honda Civic EK9 from Japan. I may need an AP. Getting the car to export from Japan may not be the problem but now the car is in US customs. What do I need to do in terms fulfilling the regulations for import? what will be the cost incurred? How much do you need to pay to get the car out of customs?

    second scenario:

    If I were to import an EK9 too to Malaysia, with the same problem with the car at customs. what do I need to do to get the car out of customs and how much money is involved?

    you may use other countries to compare i u wish. lastly comment on whether you will rather pay for getting the car out of customs if u were the citizen of all countries you listed n state y. I would like to see your opinion on this.

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  • mycar_stolen (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:07 pm

    so funny there are altogether 213 comments before mine..I think I already advised dont wait if you want to buy…but if just for comparison or to study how bad/good P1 is then ok…

    remember this is the Satria Neo introduction unit(everything looks good)…once the one for "rakyats" is delivered here comes…all the problems…CamPro(CAME WITH PROBLEMS)

    Mr Paul your comments and review very good just wonder the Desire and Symphony do they come with price tag..or just to "fool" "rakyats" that this Satria Neo is…and "insaf" MODEL BY p1.

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:07 pm

    unfortunately, msia is a 3rd world country (or else msia should be in G15, not NAM).. the gov oso have 3rd world mentality.. what do u expect?

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  • Bigjoe (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 8:14 pm

    I find it so surprising that for what I assume are Malaysia's main auto-enthusiasts here are arguing whether Proton will survive based on this car.

    The truth is car companies cannot be revive based on one car anymore. It must rely on at least two or three continous hits to make it in the long run. For example Honda Civic and Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Trucks and Cruiser, Ford Taurus and Ranger, Volkswagen Golf and Audi, etc. That is why Proton will eventually be done because even if it comes close with something like this Neo (which I don't think so), it will still fail. In baseball, they call it putting a series of hits together. Because our market size is too small, this is literally impossible now. It may have been possible at one time but not now. Especially given the time frame under AFTA and WTO, the game is really over and the future of Proton is already set – the best that Proton can ever hope for is eventually be taken over by a global player at a good price.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:14 pm

    Agreed with Bigjoe, the rule of the game for world class car manufacturer are the QUALITY and QUANTITY (Economy of scale), Proton lack of both. Furthermore, apart from being taken over by a global player at a good price, another option available for Proton is become ASEAN biggest contract assembler by fully utilize the new spanking Tg Malim plant if they still want to maintain the ownership structure. If still prolong the operation like present day, in future foreign player may take over at "salvage value" and left the debt to rakyat!

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:20 pm

    Yeah bigjoe..

    I feel a bit disappointed, to see poton put so much effort for neo.. we all can see the difference with the other poton car (investment must be very big)… our market is very small oredi, & market for this coupe is much smaller.. with the current financial situation, this is not the time for poton mau main-main test market, they ve to perform, or die!.. poton should phase out SRM project, & focus to bigger cars where the market is bigger, domestic or international!.. small car is not necessary anymore as we ve P2.. which is now very competitive & comfortable with Daihatsu (Toyota) support… thx to NAP oso, produa get the benefit from it, & with poton current situation, produa can still smiling WIDE…..

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  • mycar_stolen (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:31 pm

    Proton is dying and the end is approaching faster.Cant wait to see Proton close shop…Proton wont make it, supporting them is useless once they satisfied with the share price they will sell over and let Proton go…die because Proton is a long time cursed for Malaysians…

    dont be fooled by this SATRIA NEO we have to set our mind to live without Proton.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:40 pm

    Look its pretty simple. Look at it this way. Die hard fans or not it does not matter.

    Give you a Satria Neo 1.6 and any competitive car for example, a Nissan Sentra 1.6 or any other brand 2 or 4 doors your pick. Assuming you know all the good and the bad and the historical track records of each brand you are looking at.

    If u plan to get Sentra and the car is right in front of you. will you go for the booking straight away? will you wait saying let see how the car performs and how the customer feedback on it?

    on the other hand, if u plan to get the Neo and the car is right in front, will you book the car straight away as well? will you wait for a year as well before decide to buy?

    The bottom line is that every products that has been produced and sold are dependant on the consumer's confidence towards it. I know in my heart which will give me the best confidence so I leave everybody to their own preferences. Talking too much won't make cars better, getting your hands dirty to squeeze out faults will.

    Will the Neo give us back the consumer confidence? only time will tell.

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  • Apherance (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:44 pm

    well done!! proton the ever first up to standard car ever produce…. yet the road is still far.. pricing at 4+ eventually will already beat cars like kenari but yet proton still need to work on few more expect replacemant model will be good to safe money and instead making new platform car which more money will be use…but still naza bestari might pull off some of neo market…yet 1.4 might slightly under power but for comfy is good enough…

    bravo to proton…yet please i hope proton will produce something innovative which selling point which others does not offer.

    work on it's body design and quality for the chassis and interior…..

    support all the way

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  • tanasi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 9:56 pm

    i thought nobody pays attention to proton anymore.

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  • jtshin (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 10:16 pm

    Driven2020 said,

    June 19, 2006 @ 1:40 pm

    Will the Neo give us back the consumer confidence? only time will tell.

    ______________________________________

    Well, it will depend on how Neo's selling volume. If more people uses the car, more feedbacks will be received. if the selling figures are bad, I think we can't get much response. Like the previous models, we'll get a lot of responses from users as there are many wira n waja… but I still think Neo got limited market with its 3 doors, so… lets just hope it can reach 3000 units per month as they aimed.

    Seems like Neo's launching lets the forum very hot here. some argued as well. Just be cool everyone… don shoot at each other's comments please. If wanna give comments on other's comments, please be kind and those who get some comments from others about their statement, please stay cool also and not shoot at them. all ppl hv pro n con and nobody is perfect in all statements. firing at each others' comments with harsh words only let everyone unhappy. Anyway, just wat I'm thinking about after so so so many comments from many ppl… no offence to anyone out there…

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  • skay (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 10:48 pm

    The Neo looks abit like Kia Rio. I saw a Rio outside the Proton plant and almost mistaken it for the Neo

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  • FAROUK (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 11:24 pm

    tanasi said,

    June 19, 2006 @ 1:56 pm

    i thought nobody pays attention to proton anymore.

    __________________________________________________________________

    thats wut i thought too.. well, until i spent the past weekend google searching the darn car and spent 3hrs jz to read thru all the comments. Some are very newsworthy while others i must tabik for the interesting issues and perspectives that they brought in. Im sure ppl at proton are using u ppl's comments as their reference book (probably they hav been reading all those proton bashing critics and finally took u ppl punya advice) cayala..

    lookin at NEO, i can summarize that ppl at proton must b really tired being critic slalu so they come up with a SAFE design. SAFE as in, the styling is kept simple and tight. Aim to please the mass market, which is fine with me.

    I repeatedly telling myself that I couldnt afford a new car rite now, but thats a bit hard to do once I came across NEO's Desire.. perghhhh…… wut can i say? i jz realized i hav a thing with white i guess. i seriously feel that Desire is A really.. really nice car. probably the car that i will smack my piggy bank for.. hope its in sale. huhuuu..

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  • rosdi (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 11:24 pm

    Paul is blogging about cars, and yet some people try to mix it with politic and try to be a smart aleck.. talk about afta, nap tax, langkawi ftz lah…

    Dont talk only la, if so smart then lead the country yourself la.. abolish this tax that tax u think proton is the only thing gomen is thinking aa? if only the equilibrium is that simple then easy la. zero tax for all cars, no road tax, no this tax no that tax so rakyat will be happy is it?

    Before you know it petrol price increase RM5 a litre, sugar, chicken no more controlled item, rice increase, water increase, inflation 10%, unemployemnt increase, then sleep lah in that stupid big car of yours.

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  • blunt (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 11:39 pm

    well said Mr Rosdi..

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  • demio121 (Member) on Jun 19, 2006 at 11:41 pm

    i couldn't agree more with the NST's CBT report on NEO. anything that Proton never fail since Waja is to dissapoint with poor interior finishing. the 2nd NEO i visit, i can see double-sided tape between gaps. very very glaring…!!! how in the world did the QC fella miss that???

    Those R&D guys may be good but their effort goes wated but the QC.

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  • jtshin (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 12:04 am

    there'll be British International Motor Show at 20-30 July at Docklands, London. Visit the page. www.britishmotorshow.co.uk for more information. By the way, until now in the exhibitor's list http://www.britishmotorshow.co.uk/content.asp?Cat… still not see Proton inside… why not exhibit? is it exhibit under Lotus booth? hmmm….

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  • mycar_stolen (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 12:04 am

    rosdi said,

    June 19, 2006 @ 3:24 pm

    Paul is blogging about cars, and yet some people try to mix it with politic and try to be a smart aleck.. talk about afta, nap tax, langkawi ftz lah…

    bla bla bla……..

    person like you either you yourself the crocs that squeezing rakyats almost dry…or the "super smart" malaysian whom supporting their own worst nightmare the super duper car manufacturer wannabe….

    why dont you criticised Proton itself why they selling locally made in local manufacturing plsnt 70% local parts with local labour at a whopping USD 10000 yes USD10K for cheapest saga 1.3 litre carburetor engine….

    case study Volkswagen selling cars in Argentina for Latin America market less than USD 10K , Europe brand in Latin America locally assemble….

    EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD ARE FREE TO CHOOSE WHICH CAR THEY WANT TO DRIVE…..BUT..WHAT ABOUT US MALAYSIANS….

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 12:11 am

    totally agree rosdi. i have mentioned many times here that there are many things in our country that is out of our control.. politics, petrol prices, car prices.. nap, ap..GLC's.. etc. Its all fine and great to make comments, and give opinions. but if those comments are not grounded in fact, but in the clouds, there is no basis for an educated debate whatsoever.

    Opinions should be grounded by reality of the situation.

    Back to the satria, in all honesty, there is still some ways to go to improve the interior finishing and some ergonomic issues. But in all fairness, i think its probably the best interior from proton yet. Exterior styling, its probably one of the best looking hatchbacks around…

    ..and jeremy clarkson, is a racist. ;) I have no idea why any asian person would have good things to say about him.

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 20, 2006 at 12:28 am

    This is getting too off-topic.

    From this point onwards, any comments related to the NAP or politics, crocodiles, alligators, kangaroos, or anything unrelated to the Proton Satria Neo will be deleted.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 12:31 am

    Good idea. At least the circle of conversation can be maintained with relevance to the topic.

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 1:08 am

    APPEAL: I respect the decision make by you to control the scope of this discussion that shall be limited to the topic for Satria Neo only.

    But I hope you can wholeheartedly consider my opinion that other shall be allowed as far as the statements are not inflammatory, racist, inappropriate language, "dirty word", etc which in your opinion create unhealthy or destructive debates! No doubt it is not related, but on macro view, Proton may need this kind of "+VE COMMENTS ON PROS AND CONS" in order to make necessary improvement.

    Anyway on Satria Neo, my comment is they do a good job by Proton standard compare to previous models, but "decent" by world standard. Still long way to go if want to be world class player.

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  • Tracks (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 1:14 am

    Thats is a good move Paul and I fully support it. I seriously think that we should get back to discussing cars instead and not the side issue. Worst is the personal attacks that had been going on.

    Until the release the new GTI, I would still opt to buy a second hand Satria GTI instead of the Satria Neo for its performance and handling. Looks wise the old GTI now really looks dated. However, I would foresee that many would favour the 1.6 version over the 1.3 due to the small difference in price.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 1:44 am

    the 1.6 hi-line especially, at the price, brand new. its starting to look like a real good buy. i think the spec sheet is pretty decent. mp3/cd player.. airbags, abs, ebd, pretensioner belts, and that interesting "door catch", that helps keep the door in place during a side impact.. never really seen that in other cars.. anyone?

    the facts are the facts, if i wanna buy a 2 door sporty hatch, brand new in malaysia.. i cant afford it.. so the satria is the best bet for the money.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 1:46 am

    Paul, is the new civics glovebox much larger than the satria neo? or about the same?

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 20, 2006 at 1:49 am

    The 2006 Civic's glovebox is also pretty tiny. Slightly bigger than the Satria Neo's glovebox, but still considered tiny compared to what we used to have in the Proton Wira/Satria/Putra.

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  • catchcart (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 2:01 am

    Hello all,

    Here is the Satria Neo R3 photo. I got this from anonymous chain mail. Have a look.
    http://satrianeo.fotopages.com/
    Cheers

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 2:04 am

    I guess the trend nowadays is to have tiny gloveboxes since we can't safely keep anything in our cars anymore. People would even smash windows just to get to the spare change in the ashtray.

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  • Matthew Seleigh (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 2:40 am

    Good call Paul.

    Matthew S.

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  • J (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 2:58 am

    OK come on you guys… I think you all still love Proton if Proton is doing a good job right ?

    Proton please give us a nicely design, value for money 1800cc 4-door sedan.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 3:33 am

    Dun forget too that the side pockets are small too. putting a cd wallet also a challenge. well the glovebox, in its own term is meant for small things anyway. but then again that is an awfully small glovebox.

    Anyway came across this while surfing. Seems we are not alone in the SRM monitoring rally.

    http://community.channel4.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/…

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  • WIRA (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 3:47 am

    This is a very good forum. Can we file this discussion and post it to Proton for feedback and improvement purposes?

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  • RCM (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 3:55 am

    Does anyone know about proton's latest 4 door sedan project? waja replecment or something? Based on this neo, i think their next project will be wonderful also…

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  • szw (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 6:07 am

    i heard dat proton is sellin waja kleemann on9 ler .

    izit true ?

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 6:58 am

    Neo with Kleemann supercharger? doesn't sound cheap tho. will be interesting how it will be priced and what sort of Kleemann parts used. if its around 55K then that will be really interesting.

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  • intermilan (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:35 am

    Seen it,

    for rm 55K, its the best 2-doors car your RM can get.

    for rm55K let hope it could be the top 3 best car your RM can get in Car Taxland.

    Hope to test drive it soon. If the handling at least like Savvy, i give thumb up for it. All other factor put aside for a while. Disappoint to hear 0-100km took 16 sec. If this is the figure for 1.6 manual then too bad lah.. this cool baby is too lembap to called itself a sporty car..

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  • vr4 (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:37 am

    Not nice at all.Front part exactly like Gen-2.This is not a sport car concept.

    They don't have new ideas to make new car.I hope this car won't be like Waja and Gen-2.FIA never approved this 2 car.That why it can't be sold in other country accept Malaysia.So to all of you,better check it out before you buy it.I prefer the old Satria model b'coz it's still under Mitsubishi Motor Company. Now the contract with Mitsubishi is no more.So now Malaysian are making the most ugly and stupid car…The price is unbeliveble.So **** EXSPENSIVE. Better luck next time.Bye.

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  • aksMs (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 1:50 pm

    Guys, check out this one… http://www.pro-hatch.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2…
    Find the white colour Neo.

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  • tanasi (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 5:00 pm

    actually the tiny glovebox is more due to the packaging issue around the dashboard as right behind the glove box is a huge crossbar that is part of the chassis.

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  • rosdi (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 5:09 pm

    If only the Auto version of the Neo is similar to Savvy, which is using Automated Manual Transmission, it would be super superb. But I guess it is not possible since Neo is using Proton own Campro engine unlike Savvy which is using Renault's.

    One question, can the Neo's back seat be folded flat to the floor like Savvy for more luggage room? Paul didnt mention this, so I guess it cannot.

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  • jtshin (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 5:20 pm

    From the pictures I saw at Pro-hatch.net, the back seats can be folded…

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  • derrickchai (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 5:27 pm

    I thnk the new Satria Neo's front design is much better than Gen2.. Cool! Unfortunately, I don thnk there will be a 4-doors version..

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  • biggie (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 5:55 pm

    Other carmakers has stopped making 2 door car quite some time ago as the market is considered small and it has move on. But P1 under T1 thought there is life here as Asean country and developing country particularly has some sort of baby boom as the health services getting better. So the young execs might like to look for a sporty car. The rest is Neo.

    vt4

    if u look at the new coilt, it do not resemble your satria at all. in fact it does look similar to neo with sharp lines etc.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 6:47 pm

    SOME FAQ ON SATRIA NEO:

    1.Who designed SRM?

    SRM is designed by Proton together with its engineering subsidiary, LOTUS.

    2.Is it a Mitsubishi based model?

    No. Since the WAJA, there have been NO other Mitsubishi-based models.

    The only “Mitsubishi” in this New Model is the Transmission only.

    3. What engine does this New model use?

    Proton very owned ‘CAMPRO’ engine. The same proven engine as in GEN.2

    and WAJA.

    4. What are the variants available?

    a) 1.3L – Manual and Automatic Transmission.

    b) 1.6L – Manual and Automatic Transmission (Medium spec).

    c) 1.6L – Manual and Automatic Transmission (Premium spec).

    5.. What are the differences between the 1.6L specifications (M-line)

    and Premium specifications (H-line)?

    Basically, the Premium specifications or High-Line have higher specifications

    such as Front Fog Lamp, Electric Remote Control Side Mirror, dual airbags and

    ABS.

    6. Why does the 1.3 variant has NO reverse sensor and Rear Wiper?

    This is basically product specifications variance. Product specifications go

    together with cost.

    7. Without the ABS and airbag, how safe is the 1.3 model?

    A key strength of PROTON vehicles is its Ride & Handling. This is achieved

    through total integrated body tuning and balancing. Good Ride & Handling,

    strong & tough body shell, will give you “Active” Safety. “Active” Safety is

    Preventive Safety – safe driving and accident avoidance.

    8. Why is the exhaust centered?

    It is purely design. Lotus cars have it, and so does the Porsche Boxter.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 7:20 pm

    Biggie said "Other carmakers has stopped making 2 door car quite some time ago"

    Other carmakers still making 2 door cars =

    toyota

    honda

    mazda

    daihatsu

    nissan

    Hyundai

    kia

    bmw

    mercedes

    peugeot

    renault

    volvo

    saab

    suzuki

    mini

    ford

    citreon

    fiat

    jaguar

    mitsubishi

    opel

    skoda

    seat

    volkswagen

    chrysler

    holden

    alfa romeo

    …etc.

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  • Bigjoe (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 7:26 pm

    Someone explain to me what is the rational for making both the Savvy and the Neo for a small car company like Proton? It looks like much of the customers are the same? Won't be surprised if Savvy sales fall off the roof.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 7:28 pm

    Said by VR4

    "Front part exactly like Gen-2."

    neo has totally different bonnet, bumper, grill, and headlights. I'm pretty sure the "similar look" is due to family resemblance. Example, all bmw's look almost exactly the same, same with volvo, ….etc. So i suppose its standard practice by all manufacturers.

    "This is not a sport car concept."

    its a 3dr Hatchback, not a sports car, and never will be a sports car. You dont call a VW golf Gti a sports car either.

    "FIA never approved this 2 car.That why it can’t be sold in other country accept Malaysia."

    FIA is the world motorsports body. They do not, have not, and never will have the ability to type-approve cars for sale on this planet or any other planet. All protons from the waja onwards meet all EU regulations for crash safety and emissions, euro3-4. in malaysia, the gov. only requires euro2. all proton models are currently sold in the UK. The satria is currently only for sale in Malaysia because it was just launched last friday.

    "Now the contract with Mitsubishi is no more."

    proton is still in a contract with mitsubishi. There is a new mitsu-proton model coming out early next year.

    get your facts right the next time before you say something that will bite you back.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 7:29 pm

    The shape for this SRM model …..is this same like old Satria?

    heheh let me answer…

    It is considered a sporty medium segment 3-door Hatchback. It resembles

    Satria at one glance but with new body and interior style.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 7:31 pm

    1.Is the car a replacement of the Proton Satria?

    No, it is a brand new model.

    2.Is it a Mitsubishi based model?

    No. Since the Waja, there has been NO Mitsubishi-based model.

    3. Is it a Volkswagen?

    No it’s not.

    4.Is it a Mitsubishi engine as in the Proton Satria?

    No.

    5.Is it the RENAULT engine?

    No

    6.Why not?

    The adopted engine suits this car best: in terms of size, weight &

    performance.

    7.So whose engine are you using?

    A Proton CAMPRO engine proven being used by GEN2 and

    WAJA CAMPro

    8. Does the engine meet current emission standards?

    Yes. The 1.3L and 1.6L CAMPRO engine meets and exceeds current

    international emission standards. It also meet future emission standard (EC Step 4)

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 7:32 pm

    big joe.. the biggest differentiation between the savvy and the satria, is still the 2dr vs 4dr argument.

    the person in the 4 dr market, will never ever buy a satria. thats the fact, and vice versa.

    a good example is the VW, 4dr lupo, and the 3dr lupo. Also, peuqeot 4dr 206, and 3dr 206. doesnt seem to make sense right? but they both have their own markets.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:19 pm

    haiyoooo…y r u guys very concern on the 2-door issue???? the most important things is it is very suitable for those who are still single and love sporty look…i've joined the test drive of s.neo last 2week ago together with all proton sales force nationwide..their comment??? REALLY COOL

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  • insiderz (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:25 pm

    Info from Insider;

    Platform:

    Waja shared same platform with Gen2.

    Savvy… new platform

    Neo … new platform

    All three platform done with help from Lotus and this is where their real value lies. You can expect for the next ten years Proton will use/ re-use/ and even sell the same three platforms. No matter how you calculate, in the long run, you will save. Anyway it will help to cut down the developement time considerably.

    As for Joe Ooi extensive comment on the R&D budget/expenses , just take it as a regular job of finance ppl moving the numbers around.

    For ride and handling, pls brother, give credits to the R&D Handling team in proton (100% Malaysian), they are the one working their ar** off in giving Neo the highly rated R&H package. Lotus only chip in a little right after Waja … but still thanks to them for the valuable knowledge pass-on.

    NCAP:

    As far as I know, Neo got 3 1/2 Star but the Top Gun would like at least 4, not sure if Neo got it as I haven't heard any re-test being carried out.

    Under the Hood:

    PRM – Someone mentioned Passat, not in the picture but Rover was used for feasibility study but scrap thereafter. Nothing going on in this segment unless Mitsubishi offer one of its model (again!!)

    Neo – Neo 4 doors brother is in the drawing board, should have been concurrent but no one force it through the Board Meeting.

    Savvy – Sedan version is also on the drawing board.

    MPV – In progress, Full Body Clay model is completed.

    Dun expect anything original till end of next year.

    VW Deal:

    The deal is off coz we (Khazanah) not gonna give them the say in the Company. As simple as tat. I dun think most Malaysian mind (or am I wrong) that Perodua isn't a national commodity anymore (a Jap company), re-badging as Naza and Perodua have been doing, no one mind, we care for the value, more models under 70k the better for us. So i'm not sure why eveyone making a big fuss of passing the torch to the Germans. (national pride – last grasp)

    Current Company Direction;

    Mahaleel has been making his top priority by building Proton brand name and the way he sees it is being strong in the niche market as you cant fight volume with the giant (never will). Good Job (despite not well done) for me.

    Current GM just want to focus on one thing. Quality and by doing so he hopes to capture back the confidence of our fellow Malaysian (true as most of us are patriotic BUT not to Malaysian goods… for the exception of Food). Proton will definitely leave the niche market strategy and making cars that people, Malaysia, Asean and fellow OIC members wanted. (hopefully)

    my 2 cent – Insiderz

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:25 pm

    Seems like neo's launching lets the forum very hot here…some argue as well. just be cool dont shoot others comments plz..if wanna give comments on others comments, plz b kind & dont shoot them again…all ppl hv pros & cons & nobody is perfect in all statement…firing at each others' comments wth harsh words only let everyone unhappy…

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:51 pm

    insiderz – If what your insider info is reliable, then P1 do not make a good commercial decision by making new chassis for Satria Neo suppose for mass market and now targeted as "nich market". So, P1 will take a long time to recoup it heavy investment on chassis given current projected sales figure. Then in future our grown up kid(s) or after 2020, they may still see Satria Neo on the market with many round of facelifts just like our stone age Iswara? This is the likely scenario we can't ignore (if P1 still exist after 2020?)

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 8:59 pm

    Hi Joe, for a start, i think the satria neo was always a niche car.. not a mass market car, suddenly targetted as a niche market car as you claimed.

    as for your theory of the satria still being around till 2020? its only 2006. i'm not holding my breath ;)

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 9:45 pm

    hond_driver – just my "reasoning", no offence, still subject to a lot of uncertainty! Cheers

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 10:02 pm

    Dear honda_driver & Joe Ooi,

    Demographic profile of SRM customers:

    • Single, newly employed.

    • Young married couple

    • Style conscious , techno-savvy buyers

    Buyers’ population: Approx 1.5 million

    • Age : 20 ~ 35 years old

    • Income : RM 1,800 ~ RM 3,000

    • Household income : RM 2,500 ~ RM 4,000

    • Occupation : Professional/Semi-Professional.

    • Buyers who have driving passion.

    • Buyers who make a statement of themselves.

    • Buyers who are sporty and appreciate active lifestyle.

    • Parent buying for their kids.

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  • insiderz (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 10:03 pm

    Just extra info, a total new design can be built using the same platform. Toyota managed to squeeze around 20 models of different size and class using one platform. It does save time and money, many giant comp shares platform across their subsidiaries.

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  • tbcheese (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:10 pm

    Nice summary of things you posted in your FAQ v. But I believe that ABS, ESP, EBD etc are grouped under active safety while the chassis strength itself is passive.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:26 pm

    you are right tbcheese.

    activesafety = preventive safety aka good handling, brakes..etc.

    passive safety = collision safety aka minimises occupant injury in a crash, chassis strength, seat belts, air bags….etc.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:31 pm

    Without the ABS and airbag, do u know how safe is the 1.3 model??

    A key strength of PROTON vehicles is its Ride & Handling. This is achieved

    through total integrated body tuning and balancing. Good Ride & Handling,

    strong & tough body shell, will give you “Active” Safety. “Active” Safety is

    Preventive Safety – safe driving and accident avoidance.

    The tailgate has no key lock is because it is an anti-theft measure. With less key lock on a vehicle, the security points are higher. It has been noted that the Key lock is a breakthrough point

    for car thieves.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:33 pm

    The statement that i have just posted is REALITY……..Trust me…not " cakap kosong"

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:36 pm

    szw…whatdo u meant with waja kleemann on9???? maybe i can help u..

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  • v (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:47 pm

    oh i got it…u r rite … the Kleeman will be at the market end of this year.Proton would be unveiling a new Proton Waja model which would be equipped with a Kleemann supercharger system by the end of the year 2006. Utusan Malaysia’s reporters were given the opportunity to see the model for themselves at an unnamed place in Malaysia

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:51 pm

    V: Please stay on topic. This thread is for the Satria Neo only. If you want to post about the Waja Supercharged, please go to the link below.

    http://paultan.org/archives/2006/06/07/proton-waj…

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 20, 2006 at 11:56 pm

    hi V, you are right that active safety equals good ride and handling. the stiff chassis or "strong chassis" contributes to this, allowing all the suspension components to work at the optimum level.

    i think its just a little vague,

    to be more specific the cars crash cell, how it handles a crash aka crumple zone…etc. is called passive safety.

    btw, that kleeman car.. has nothing to do with PROTON. its a 100% private initiative. i think utusan jumped the gun with their report. i'm pretty sure there will be no waja launched with a factory fitted supercharger.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 12:59 am

    sorry paul….im actually answering the inquirt of szw on waja kleemann

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 1:26 am

    v – just ask for info and your opinion, you give a lot of good technical explanation on safety feature for Satria Neo. However, 1.3 is without airbag and the reason for Proton is cost factor?

    But I wonder for Savvy case, just curious P1 also give a same reason but UK specs is with airbag (compulsory) and sale at lower price compare to Malaysia after currency conversion, yet if factor in logistic cost for Savvy as CBU into UK market, then the cost is higher? What is your comment on this matter, as previously there are remarks that our Malaysian life is "cheap". Do the same scenario will happen one Satria Neo is export to UK market?

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  • DrA (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 2:48 am

    It is under the European Legislation that all new cars should have airbags. In the future, all cars should also have ABS as standard. What do you mean the prices are cheaper? It’s the same. The basic model cost £5995, which is about RM 39000, the same as in Malaysia. Obviously P1 is getting less money per SAVVY they have sold in the UK. I bet if there were no such legislation in Europe no one would bother putting one.

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  • Ah Beng (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 6:50 am

    Big joe, savvy and neo have their own follower

    ppl choose savvy becoz of better FC , compact/small and as 2nd car

    whwere neo else targetting youngster and single couple

    just compare btw kelisa and kenari owner,.don't u think the customers are the same

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  • Arcane (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 9:58 am

    Hi there..I'm new, but i've been following the posts for quite some time now, not just this thread, but other threads as well..but, i've been following threads on the Neo closely, ever since the sneak peaks of the SRM 24 threads.

    Currently, my ride is the old Satria and I'm planning to get a new one to be used as my mode of transport to and from my university in tronoh, perak..and not to mention, to be use for in-campus in UTP and around towns and cities like ipoh, for example. I live in seremban 2, by the way, and the travel to my Uni is at least 4 hours, if that includes a single stop at tapah r&r. So, I initially opted to get the Neo as my new ride, but, i still didn't know how it will function (and perform) after what i would like to call the 'breakdown era' for (most) P1 cars. Of course the hype with the Neo, in its premiere launching is all great, but what will happen after a few months?

    To comment on the car, I love Neo's design, interior & exterior, generally, but I'm kinda a broad-shouldered-big-type guy at 5'10" so i felt slightly 'crammed in' when i tested it put the other day. Solution? I slid the driver's seat back to a comfortable position to accomodate my long legs. Problem solved, but then i noticed that the seat almost 'touched' the backseats, so i don't think anyone could be sitting directly behind me in the backseat. (possibly a lil' wee bit of difficulty to do a lil' romancin' there too, eh? =P) But anyhow, i still love the car.

    I'm not too familliar with the CamPro engines, in term of its performance and 'lifespan'. i quote the statement "Proton's very owned ‘CAMPRO’ engine. The same proven engine as in GEN.2 and WAJA." I'm wondering, how is the the 'proven' is defined? The Waja my family uses the Mit 4G18 engine, so i wouldn't know how the CamPro performs in the Waja CamPro..is it better? Is it worth putting in the Neo? Maintennance? Spare parts? Modability?

    Which bring the point of the Neo Desire. I love it! Is it for sale? If it's not, i think Neo owners would want to mod it up to be like one, rite? Is the Neo Desire the GTi version of the Neo or will Proton come up with the Neo GTi separately?

    Wuteva..i just need to wait, I guess..i hope neo would be better this time, so I would actually get to enjoy the car (i'm operating on the assumption of me actually getting the car) for long years to come, coz chicks would dig this car, and the best bet for the typical-solo-guys-hoping-to-faze-gurls-with-ride out there who couldn't afford a conti, jap, or a yankee coupe.

    like me.

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  • topgunthang (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 11:01 am

    i like the ad. too bad the car doesnt live up to it. just a face lifted mirage with stiffened suspension. and bad interior plastics. i think it will sell better than that horrible savvy even though both are bad.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 3:27 pm

    mmm…here are some guide for u guy that are interested to grab a satria neo..:

    1,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug gasket, w/shield cleaner, X-1R fuel treatment and Car wash. (Free Labor) – RM 149.00

    5,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug gasket, w/shield cleaner, X-1REngine treatment and car wash. (Free Labor) – RM 217.00

    10,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug, Spark plug, Air Filter,
    Radiator coolant, Wiper blade, windshield cleaner,X-1R fuel
    treatment, Wheel balancing & Alignment and Car Wash – RM 345.00

    20,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug, Air filter, Gasket, Radiator coolant, Wiper blade, w/shield cleaner , X-1R fuel treatment,
    Wheel balancing & Alignment, car wash and Labor – RM 535.00

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 5:35 pm

    topgun, what do you mean by facelifted mirage? you mean this car is a mitsubishi? please clarify.

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  • Tracks (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 6:55 pm

    Topgunthang, I disagree with your statement that it is a facelifted mirage. Many previous comments before had already mentioned that it a new chassis and not sourced from mitsubishi. But I agree with you that it should sell better than Savvy.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 9:53 pm

    Arcane, if u get the Neo, u have to change the seats too. I'm 5'7" and getting in the car is made abit difficult with the steering tilt not able to be adjusted higher. Get in one and see what i mean. for ur build u might feel the steering is abit too low. so better look out for that.

    I read before some gen2 users complained of headroom to little. some changed seats to settle the problem. one owner i read changed to proper semi bucket and solved the prob.

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  • triplesaber (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 10:08 pm

    i own an old 1.6M Satria, and the first impression i got when i saw Neo at a showroom was impressive. I like the overall look of it, sportier than my Satria and the body feels tougher too.

    However once i got inside the car, i felt the difference. Neo in my opinion has lesser room space compared to the old Satria and this is also comfirmed by the Proton salesman, scientifically true or not im not sure, but the difference is felt.

    Perhaps the problem now is, target market. Most Malaysians r buying more economical car with better FC and space is also a concern, as most of us dont have the privilidge of owning various cars for various reasons. We just buy one car and use it for work n play n balik kampung. With this Neo, its hard to tackle a more wider audience, as space is very very limited.. but only time will tell, maybe it will be a hit, maybe it wont..

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  • DeaDLocK (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 10:40 pm

    First post on this web site.

    I spent the last couple of days taking a good look around the Satria Neo. My main port of call was the EON Glenmarie showroom, as they have all five colours on show and they have four cars to test – a 1.3M, 1.3A, 1.6M and 1.6A – basically the whole stable.

    Impressions:

    – Smallish cabin. If you like storing all kinds of junk in your car then I don't think this is the car for you. Minimal cubby holes and storage space, though if you're like me and the only things you keep in the car at any time are the essentials (torch, pen, small umbrella, Smartag etc.) then I think the amount of space is adequate. The MP3 capability on the higher-end cars also reduces the need for carrying loads of CDs on the move.

    – Good build, especially the doors and the boot. The feel of the door and the hatch, when closed, is similar to that you'd find on a Continental car. Very solid and reassuring. The interior door handle is not so reassuring though, and I'm sure is a future weak point. Air con vents are not particularly well made, and there was some play in all of them. They also look quite weak. But other than that, the car feels solid (for a Proton), the plastics are adequate, and you leave with a general feeling of solidity.

    – Equipment levels are decent, especially on the H-Line (which has the safety gizmos, which in my opinion you CANNOT do without). Power window motors are smooth and very fast. Electric wing mirrors work well enough. Rear-view mirror is nasty, but thankfully this is not something you'll be touching a lot. Switchgear is okay – I would've preferred it to be a bit more tactile, but it is decent enough to not complain about. A/C worked well while sitting still in the hot sun. Audio system is terrible if you're even slightly fussy – at higher volumes there is terrible speaker vibration. Easily fixed with aftermarket gear and installation, of course. Lack of an armrest is telling. Steering wheel material is very nasty, but probably re-trimmable in leather or something at some point. I wear a 34 waist and the seat is slightly uncomfortably narrow, but this is something that can be fixed with an aftermarket seat of course (assuming the brand new seat doesn't mould to fit my posterior). Cheap plastics in places where nobody looks, but excusable I guess given the price.

    – Styling is good. Interior is modern and a happy enough place to be in. The outside is perhaps slightly spunky for a Proton, but that ain't a bad thing. I'm not in love with the look, but it's not bad. Colour choices are good – they all look fine.

    – I drove both the 1.6s. The auto is TERRIBLE. The gearbox simply did not know where it was and the throttle felt awfully disconnected from the drivetrain. There even seemed to be what felt like tremendous clutch-slip (which of course there cannot be with the slush-box). Foot to the floor the engine sounded like airwolf with not a lot happening on the speedo (tachymeter on the other hand went wild!). The manual was much, much, much more positive. More grunt and more response. Stick feel was good – not floppy like on the Peroduas, but with some stiffness and mechanical connection going on to the feel.

    – Ride is very firm, but not supple. Bad roads make it judder, and a small undulation while cornering will make the car step out of line. Lotus or not, it doesn't have handling finesse. But outright grip levels are very good, and the general road holding is good for a stock car. This ain't no Elise folks, but it's decent.

    That's about it for now. I've actually ordered one – a 1.6(M) H-Line in White. Delivery in about a month. Ask if you have any questions!

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  • superman (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 11:15 pm

    insiderz said,

    June 20, 2006 @ 12:25 pm

    For ride and handling, pls brother, give credits to the R&D Handling team in proton (100% Malaysian), they are the one working their ar** off in giving Neo the highly rated R&H package. Lotus only chip in a little right after Waja … but still thanks to them for the valuable knowledge pass-on.

    —————————————————————

    Yes the Waja, GEN-2, Savvy & now Neo were developed 100 % by Malaysians Engineers working in Proton R&D's Chassis Dept

    But Lotus did more than just chip-in.

    For a start. Proton's entire Chassis dept personell were trained by Lotus UK personell.

    A top Lotus UK R&H engineer was based in Proton for a few years guiding them.

    They were trained to "The Lotus R&H" way.

    For which I , for one, is thankful off.

    Proton may have bad plastics( so people say) but they're Ride & Handling impresses even straight from the showroom. Having Driven the Waja, Gen2, Savvy and now NEO proves it. They all handle well.

    And having met these Malaysian Chassis Engineers and Technicians I am very impressed.

    SYABAS!!!! to Proton's Ride & Handling Engineers.

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  • king (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 11:18 pm

    triplesaber,

    its true….. i own an old satria 1.3 and i can feel the space is less in neo especially the width although the dimensions prove otherwise. i think maybe the door panels are thicker. Even the bootspace is narrower but slightly deeper.

    After test driving the 1.3M, i come to the following conclusion:

    – handling is superior to old satria and as good as my souped up suspension 1.3 while the ride is decent considering this level of handling.

    – 1.3 campro quite disappointing and not as responsive as even my 10 year old engine. Maybe due to the fact that the Neo weights about 200kg more than the old satria. The campro revs up very high during gear change.

    – interior quite ok considering the price and a huge step forward compared to gen-2

    Solution: If you are gonna get this car, go for the 1.6(M) H-line which i believe is the most value for money.

    For me the looks alone are already enough to win me over to book this car. Just wait till i trade in my old car.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 11:27 pm

    mmm…here are some guide for u guy that are interested to grab a satria neo..:

    1,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug gasket, w/shield cleaner, X-1R fuel treatment and Car wash. (Free Labor) – RM 149.00

    5,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug gasket, w/shield cleaner, X-1REngine treatment and car wash. (Free Labor) – RM 217.00

    10,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug, Spark plug, Air Filter,

    Radiator coolant, Wiper blade, windshield cleaner,X-1R fuel

    treatment, Wheel balancing & Alignment and Car Wash – RM 345.00

    20,000 KMS – Change engine oil, oil filter, drain plug, Air filter, Gasket, Radiator coolant, Wiper blade, w/shield cleaner , X-1R fuel treatment,

    Wheel balancing & Alignment, car wash and Labor – RM 535.00

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  • thomas (Member) on Jun 21, 2006 at 11:45 pm

    v,

    i don't think u give good info; NEO used CAMPRO engine, should not so expensive;

    my GEN2 1st service RM87, 2nd service RM127, 3rd service RM170;

    20000, 40000 & 60000km around 350 to 380;

    30000 & 50000 around 220 to 270.

    Right now my GEN2 milage 68778.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 12:14 am

    JOE OOI…i were here to answer 1/2 of ur inquiry..

    the first thing the satria neo do not have aibags is bcoz the cc itself are small; 1.3…and not a high performance unless the car are 1.6L above…

    the second issue regarding the savvy …. UK specs is with airbag (compulsory) and sale at lower price compare to Malaysia after currency conversion because in Malaysia RTD have stated it is not compulsary in our country to fix the airbag but UK yes becoz it is due to their road structure reason…..

    that is what i got..will inform u back if i found the better reason k..chow

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  • demio121 (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 12:20 am

    w/sheild cleaner, X-1R, wiper blade & car wash… are these necessary when servicing???

    Just tell the SC to take those out. My old Iswara and Kembara service, i can tell the SC what i want (excpet the bare minimum lar…).

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  • v (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 12:53 am

    Dear…demio121,

    w/sheild cleaner, X-1R, wiper blade & car wash… are these necessary when servicing???

    its depend on the svs dealer/ branch itself either they offer u the service or not…it is actually not necessary unless if ur wide screen abit blur…

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  • v (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 12:53 am

    Dear…demio121,

    w/sheild cleaner, X-1R, wiper blade & car wash

    its depend on the svs dealer/ branch itself either they offer u the service or not…it is actually not necessary unless if ur wide screen abit blur…

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 1:36 am

    Insiderz..

    I am very happy with ur info… they r very useful.. unfortunately many things r still on drawing board.. really nice to see u around, pls give us more info in the future… tq

    "Mahaleel has been making his top priority by building Proton brand name and the way he sees it is being strong in the niche market as you cant fight volume with the giant (never will). Good Job (despite not well done) for me."

    I agree with this!

    ps: Really happy on the savvy sedan news…

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 1:55 am

    Insiderz,

    4 doors neo on the drawing board??.. do u have any idea when it will be out??..hahah… really2 nice to hear this… i still remember somebody bashed me when I talked about 4 doors neo!!… oke2.. marilah 4 doors neo brother.. i will patiently wait for u… now I hold any decision to book any car….

    Neo 1.3 can go up to 180kmp??.. this one I like.. 2 doors dont like… 4 doors neo??. love it!!!… hahaha… I am so happy, finally can be a speed demon again…

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 2:00 am

    sidetrack to what joe was saying about airbags and savvys, and just for info's sake.

    savvy lowspec (MT) in UK RM42,177 (after conversion (6.7)

    savvy (MT) in UK RM46,867

    savvy (AMT) in UK RM51,557

    Only 3 variants of savvy available in the UK, all have airbags as standard. the lowspec savvy has no alloys, foglamps.

    i believe all malaysian savvy's for sale now, are mid-spec cars, with alloys, foglamps as standard. they only miss having the airbags. but are definitely cheaper in direct comparison.

    1.2 M/T (Metallic) RM39974.20

    1.2 AMT (Metallic)) RM42916.32

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  • Arcane (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 2:08 am

    Hmm..with all these comments, i'm kinda facing a dilemma. I need a new ride, and i'm opting for the Neo, but now i'm a bit sceptical 'bout it.

    Is the CamPro engine's maintannace overall cost is cheaper bcoz its self-developed by P1?

    Paul..is the CAPTOR device a dependable one? i mean, does the Neo have immobilizer, gps, or stuffs like dat?

    Supposedly i need the car for my long-distance drives, maybe i would like the Manual transmission, but i frequently drive inter-city, so maybe the Auto is better, but i personally think the Manual is better than the Auto, coz the Auto has all these flaws. I especially like the H-line 1.6 MT.

    Are aftermarket bucket seats compatible with the Neo? The Neo is built on a new chassis, rite?

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  • v (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 3:36 am

    1.3 without airbag

    Satria Neo was developed with the safety factor in consideration.

    Safety factor come in 2 areas :

    Active safety (accident avoidance) which come thru good vehicle control & handling and ABS

    Passive Safety (injury reduction) which is the airbag / pre-tensioners and vehicle energy absorbance system.

    The reason for 1.3 L not having the airbag is not only ‘cost’ to provide affordable vehicle to customers but also to provide variants for the customers to choose from.

    If we compare product features with other model (i.e. My Vi), most of them only available in their H line / Premier Line version similar to us. This is the standard practice of auto industry.

    Even though without the airbag and ABS, the vehicle have some level of safety built into the design, which are good vehicle control, body structure energy absorbance and rigid cabin protection (i.e. energy absorbance structure, energy absorbance steering wheel, side door impact beam and seatbelt ). Those items will provide some basic protection to the occupant. To enhance those features then the airbag will come in place.

    As a responsible manufacturer, we have never considered Malaysian buyer life as ‘cheap’. That why we have develop a variant with airbag and abs together in the initial development stage. Off course, all things in life has a cost-benefit analysis which need to be balance. If the market required, we are always ready to provide it as the development has been done and completed.

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  • intermilan (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 5:56 am

    with all the positive vibes, lenghty textbook explainations abt the new satria …

    go lah buy buy buy the new satria…

    and always come back here wif feedback.

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  • Tracks (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 5:07 pm

    DeaDLocK, Great to hear that you have committed to buying the Satria Neo. Tell us more on your experience later.

    If I were to buy a Satria Neo, i would also opt for the 1.6 (M) H-Line for its safety and performance.

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  • v (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 5:41 pm

    thomas….. i took the information from proton wesite….am i wrong???? all that i have posted i got it from all those website that relate with automobile industry… im sorryyy

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  • pheonix_comet (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 7:19 pm

    what if they use a same design and come out a sedan… 4 door but spacing will be wider than vios… especially the back part…

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  • thomas (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 8:14 pm

    v,

    some of the additional oil treatment item can be removed;

    As a wise user, I don't use imported car because high mantainance & high depreciation;

    I will check my mantanace bill & bargain with SC.

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  • gokibin (Member) on Jun 22, 2006 at 8:29 pm

    the new front profile of neo looks just like the front profile of a pontiac sunbird or somethin from pontiac. it definitely looks good. the rear profile is nice too. thank god they didn't repeat savvy rear. that rear sucks. looks like the front profile of waja.

    my gripes wit neo are:

    1. doesn't anyone have a problem wit the palstic grills n the plastic fuel cover? haiya…

    2. headroom. i'm not tall but my head almost bumped the roof. plus when i get out of it, my head almost bumped into side roof. haiya…

    other than that (i haven't test driven it yet), i kinda like neo. my ideas for improvements… hmmm… 18" alloys, low profile tyre, lowered, and tinted golden frost (for orange color).

    looks very menacing. please keep the tiger eyes headlamp n the bmw-looking brake lites.

    maybe proton is moving on….

    let's see if p2 can out-do proton in style?

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  • NoProbG2 (Member) on Jun 23, 2006 at 3:24 am

    Considering to get one Neo for my wif but since there's rumours of 4-dr Neo.. better wait for it… Hope P1 will launce Neo 4-dr… definitely will kicked all the Getz, Aveo or Rio..

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  • pheonix_comet (Member) on Jun 23, 2006 at 4:31 pm

    Wiill proton add on the r3 kit? hope that they will add the front lip, side skirt, and back skirt

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  • craziqbal (Member) on Jun 23, 2006 at 7:13 pm

    hi…i'm looking to buy a used satria..any of you looking to sell ur old satria and buying the neo..contact me..

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  • Euphoria (Member) on Jun 23, 2006 at 7:40 pm

    Is a hard decision for me wheter is Neo or the Savvy R3, both the price for me is ok, just that the 1.3 Neo i'm not satisfied that without all the blings-blings that the 1.6 has…. anyway, can anyone tell me the difference interms of performance and reliability between these 2 cars? i love Savvy R3 at first sight, but Neo wins my attention too… well done, Proton!

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  • gabanpolis (Member) on Jun 24, 2006 at 12:44 am

    i'm just giving my 2 cents regarding the crumple zone, simple, imagine pounding onto a wall; you will lost your momentum instatenously. Your knuckle will bleed and hurt like hell. Now, pound onto a pillow, you will stop slowly, all your destructive force will be slowed down. Won't feel a thing. That's crumple zone. Helps to slow down your speed in an accidents. Thats why formula 1 driver after a crash of up to 200mph can just walk off without a scratch, hop into the spare car and continue to race after that.

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  • kt71 (Member) on Jun 24, 2006 at 6:01 pm

    I would consider buying this car AFTER they go for euroNcap test, not before. Thick steel with airbags doesn't mean safe. Crumple zone needs complex computer simulation and crash simulation which i don't think Boleh Berhad boleh. Researh in US shows that airbags could kill (if it's just 'airbags').

    Another thing is we tend to forget how Plotong make a fool out of us. Remember that when we buy our old Plotong, all seems solid and OK and cantik. But after a short while in the hot sun and bumpy roads, sini koyak sana koyak. Basically the kilang that makes these inferior components are the same, only that they have saved the money associating with TUV this time. Hahaha….

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  • mtay (Member) on Jun 25, 2006 at 2:25 am

    I like it. Nice exterior design. Whoever is designing the exterior of these cars, pat yourself on the back!!!

    BUT whoever is designing the interior should fly a kite in a thunderstorm.

    Here's why:

    a. Interior door handles are very flimsy and cheap feeling.

    b. The door handles are really tiny and round is definitely the wrong shape.

    b. Boot is really, really tiny.

    c. Glove compartment is really, really tiny.

    d. Interior is really, really tiny.

    e. Vertical alignment of air-conditioner controls is a HUGE waste of space in a car which is already really, really tiny. You can make better use of the space!

    e. Did I mention that there are some things that are really, really too tiny?

    Cheers.

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:33 am

    like somebody said, this car is for midget or dwarf, slim person waist not more than 27", heigth 1.5m only, weight not more 45kg, if u ve this criteria, this car is definately for u…

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  • mtay (Member) on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:51 am

    LOL, just realised that I've forgotten my ABCs… anyway, the glove compartment looks like it won't even fit a box of tissues. Really poorly thought.

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  • szw (Member) on Jun 26, 2006 at 5:28 am

    i think a PRM(putra replacement model) shud be done .

    dey can either take neo or waja looks on da new putra .

    i think dat putra is really a nice car n i heard dat alot of ppl still wanted da car .

    proton shud consider dat .

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  • gabanpolis (Member) on Jun 26, 2006 at 5:24 pm

    the engine mounts of the neo are designed to collapse in case of severe frontal collisions, to prevent the engine from crushing the firewall and injuring the occupants.

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  • fingercrack (Member) on Jun 26, 2006 at 7:42 pm

    nice but wait and see…they tend to be nice outerside..if your part came from third-world supplier,dont expect much the durability

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  • mycar_stolen (Member) on Jun 26, 2006 at 7:47 pm

    szw said,

    June 25, 2006 @ 9:28 pm

    i think a PRM(putra replacement model) shud be done

    your idea is good but you have to bear in mind that Proton never appreciate Msians as their main supporter,they only squeeze you dry.please stay away from Proton if you want to be patriotic there 1000s other way than buying "overpriced low class Proton".

    p/s please take note Gen2 and Saga(robot) WITHOUT THE GLOVE BOX..easy problem solution cant kame prob free glovebox just take it out.Proton better die sooner you are killing us.

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Jun 27, 2006 at 12:49 am

    huahuahuahua…this blog still alive…

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  • motorhead (Member) on Jun 27, 2006 at 5:41 pm

    ATTN: PROTON & MD SZ,

    Neo suppose for performance drivers, so please TAKE OUT the BUCKET SEATS… performance drivers no need to be so comfortable like sofa seat.. ur neo's performance is enuf to please the performance drivers.. SLIM & SPORTY SEATS re enuf & you can save more space for the passengers…

    PLS TAKE NOTE, coz i give thumb up to Neo's performance!! test drive oredi & satisfied! The best PROTON's car indeed…

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  • tenent_ec (Member) on Jun 29, 2006 at 6:02 am

    hmm 4 this momment, i would not say "yes" 2 proton …it seems that they did not have the identity for thier own product yet…still using peoples' idea..

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  • v (Member) on Jun 30, 2006 at 5:08 pm

    Why Savvy in UK is cheaper even with a/bag?

    Myvi 1.3L with a/bag is sold at similar price as Savvy in the UK. Market forces (+ regulation of course) determine the equipment level & the pricing!

    Basically we can put a/bags on all of Savvy/Neo regardless of engine capacity if there are strong demands.

    When we design our cars, we make sure that safety protection is optimised without the additional safety features (that the 'rich' customers can afford).

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  • v (Member) on Jun 30, 2006 at 5:10 pm

    Why Savvy in UK is cheaper even with a/bag?

    Myvi 1.3L with a/bag is sold at similar price as Savvy in the UK. Market forces (+ regulation of course) determine the equipment level & the pricing!

    Basically proton can put a/bags on all of Savvy/Neo regardless of engine capacity if there are strong demands. When Proton design cars, they make sure that safety protection is optimised without the additional safety features (that the 'rich' customers can afford).

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  • v (Member) on Jun 30, 2006 at 5:14 pm

    Why Savvy in UK is cheaper even with a/bag?

    Did i answering ur inquiry Joe Oi????

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  • Paul Tan on Jun 30, 2006 at 9:48 pm

    v: You seem to say when WE design OUR cars. Are you working for Proton?

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  • v (Member) on Jun 30, 2006 at 10:54 pm

    i have made the correction rite…. juz quote from the statement proton site la..

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  • DeaDLocK (Member) on Jul 01, 2006 at 12:31 am

    Okay, just took delivery of my new Neo. Any burning questions? Paul, care to tie up with an owner's road test report in a week or two? I must be one of the very first in the country to take delivery.

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  • schmitter (Member) on Jul 02, 2006 at 1:12 pm

    The neo is really something that i'm looking for at this moment. Question is, should I go ahead and purchase whats in offer now or should I wait till the GTI is out? question is, although rumors have mentioned that the GTI may include the kleeman supercharger, what kind of reality does that satement bring when the GTI does eventually come out @ the stipulated year (2007).At the same time, I wouldn't want to invest in something only to find that a much better option is available in time to come neither am I able to ensure that the GTI would be out by 2007…. especially since historically, the GTI only did make its way 4yrs after the launch of the original Satria…. hmmmmmmm

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  • Arcane (Member) on Jul 03, 2006 at 8:12 pm

    Is the Proton Satria Neo Desire the GTi version of the Neo? I'm still 'waiting' for any confirmations (or rumours) regarding the Satria Neo GTi..likely, it's gonna use a 'tweaked' CamPro engine, which of course, is another rumour.

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  • v (Member) on Jul 06, 2006 at 4:01 pm

    no one has test drive satria neo???? maybe we can share our experience

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  • LMF (Member) on Jul 07, 2006 at 10:52 pm

    Is it worth to buy a 2 door car with the price or RM51,800? I am finding for a new car now that my budget also around that. Still consider and compare Satria Neo with Gen-2 and Myvi. Anyone can gave me commens?

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  • Arcane (Member) on Jul 08, 2006 at 10:39 am

    LMF,

    the Satria Neo is a coupe*, thus it faces the typical situation coupes are infamous for – space. Coupes offers generous space in ratio for the driver and the front passenger, but just 'adequate' space for the occational, additional rear passengers. The Gen.2 and the MyVi is a relatively-good family car, and they're quite roomy and easily accessible in and out via four doors. Although neither the Gen.2 nor the MyVi is a sedan, it is still a good family car.

    A coupé is distinguished from a sedan primarily by interior volume; SAE standard J1100 defines a coupé as a fixed-roof automobile with less than 33 ft³ (0.93 m³, 934.6 L) of rear interior volume. A car with a greater interior volume is technically a two-door sedan, not a coupé, even if it has only two doors.

    Other than that, the Neo is targetted for certain buyers. The Neo is a sporty coupe with aggressive stature and look to it, and coupled with the Lotus-tuned handling, and the 'tweaked' performance for the occasional spirited drive, it is a car for the young, and young-at-heart. Likely, buyers of the Neo are the likes of young single individuals, or even young married couples.

    If you wanna be a playa..but your wheels ain't fly. Hook the Neo up..for a pimp'd up ride..Faze da laydees out there!..

    IMHO, I would prefer to be seen rollin' in a Satria Neo rather than a MyVi (assuming that my choices are only M'sian cars..don't get me wrong, coz i would love to be rollin in at least an RX-8 anyday =P)

    * A coupé (from the French for cut) or coupe is a car body style with a close-coupled interior offering either two seats or 2+2 seating (space for two passengers up front and for two occasional passengers in the rear)

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  • LMF (Member) on Jul 08, 2006 at 9:29 pm

    Dear Arcane,

    Thanks for ur time and ur good commens….

    Yes i know now among Malaysia car, i think Neo is very nice for the sporty looks and the interior is nice too (if compare gen-2). I seldom will fetch a lot of people or even family members. Eevrything is nice for me but i still hestitate about this 2 door car. 1 more things is the rear boot. The space not large at all. If i going travel wif 4 members, how can i put my laguage? And even i wan to put my guitar into the boot i think also got problem. Arcane, are u members of EON? coz u very understand Neo. By the way Myvi interior is not bad but the look realyl a bit sucks. I can't imagine if i drive Myvi with fast speed and turn with a sharp cornering….duno Myvi will "terbalik" or not. :P

    I am 29 this year…plan to sell my 10 years old wira and get a new car. Actually i got the same thinking as yours too. For Malaysia car we really dun have any choices. Nowe we got Waja, Gen-2, Neo only.

    Ohh..heard that Proton and Mitsubishi are combine and will launch new car on August or September?

    The brand should be Pro-Mitshu??

    lol….

    Well…i really hope to hear from u again Arcane and also hoep more ppl can post me a commend here ok. Thanks ya…

    :>

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  • zulkifli6 (Member) on Jul 09, 2006 at 9:41 pm

    love it, on track to own one!

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  • Kent (Member) on Jul 10, 2006 at 7:27 pm

    I got a satria neo recently and i encounter problems, just wanted to share and hope to let everyone know the feed back of the newly launch car. First is the rattle sound from the dash board. I got my car around 6 days ago and I started to hear noticeable rattle sound coming from the dashboard near to the glove box. i am sure i din put anything in the glove box and the sound definitely came from the inside compartment. The door near to the driver seat also has noticeable rattle sound. Second thing is the gear. Sometimes it’s very difficult to engage the 1st and 2nd gear. There was once I have to turn off the engine and restart the car to get the gear to shift and engage properly. Mine is manual btw. Third is the most disappointing. Last few days there it was raining and after the rain i drove my car, i heard water flowing at the back seat whenever i pedal the brake. It was obvious. This morning i heard it again and i check the floor on the back seat. To my surprise, the floor was very wet and floor at the passenger seat at the front too. There was no leakage on the window nor the door. It obviously comes from below. The seat is dry. I suspect that should be a leakage somewhere underneath the car. I am now about to bring the car to Service Center to see what is going on. Hope the can rectify the problem asap. Would appreciate if can let others know about it, so proton can improve their quality. I'm neither a proton basher nor a proton fan.

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  • LMF (Member) on Jul 13, 2006 at 6:43 pm

    Kent…really got so seious meh?

    then how is ur car now? settle already?

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  • Arcane (Member) on Jul 18, 2006 at 7:46 pm

    IMHO, no matter how much proton's effort are to 'improve' their cars, problems..and major ones is almost religiously present. Sheesh..I think it's true that the 'first batch' of proton cars would spring problems..look at the Waja – have u seen one without the peeled-off black matte paint of the wing side mirror? The first batch of the Gen.2 has door problems..and frankly, most if not all proton cars have power window problems. I for once had seriously thought that the Satria Neo would be 'different' this time, coz all the delay and launch postpone was due to the time proton took to correct all the problem that have been evident on proton cars before..But now Kent's Neo is leaking like a sinking ship?! Luckily I'd followed my instincts to delay the booking of the Neo for awhile..

    By the way, I'm neither a proton fan noir a proton basher too..and I'm NOT in any way affliated with proton, eon, or whatsoever.

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  • arishine (Member) on Jul 31, 2006 at 8:31 pm

    so Arcane… have u decided whether or not u were gonna get the Satria Neo? ahhh… the feeling of being one of the first people to be driving a Neo at UTP *grin*. i got mine last week…

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  • matmoto_5125 (Member) on Aug 10, 2006 at 12:05 am

    cit!so proud 2 be da first 2 drive da neo in utp??? lol…u've got da showroom car la..don't be so proud,nearly 100 people may hve test ur car. lol…

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  • arishine (Member) on Aug 18, 2006 at 12:47 am

    cheese, whatla, where got showroom car. n not me driving in utp ler, i know a fren last time was so excited of being the first person to drive a gen2 at campus, u can practically see the head growing big, haha.

    car seems ok, just hafta complain of the lousy proton service. u hand the car in good condition, n when u get it back u suddenly notices scratches on the interior that wasn't there b4. *sigh* n u mention to them in single english (or malay) some of the parts that needs minor adjustments, but when u get it back the problem still seems to be there. i'm starting to wonder if it's the people within proton n not the car that deters people into not buying proton.

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  • arishine (Member) on Sep 21, 2006 at 1:16 am

    the problems i face with my car: my fog light indicator's out. only after a few times using it at night. n my right sidemirror is shaking. i tightened the screws and yet they're still shaking T_T. n there's a weird unidentifiable sound coming from somewhere on the driver's side -_-.

    did i also mention i got hit from behind twice in the past 2 weeks? (O_O) my boss says people keeps admiring my ass. hahah, yeah, rite.

    oh oh, does anyone send their car for service at Proton COE? i tried calling them more than 10 times via 2 different numbers but noone even bothered to pick up the phone. u'd imagine with the name COE they'd have better service than that to leave a phone unattended. sigh.

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  • dasymad (Member) on Sep 21, 2006 at 4:09 am

    While nice words are put on the comment about Neo. But a Proton car is typical a proton car, besets with little problem, which they should avoid it and should not exist.(At the moment I have Perdana V6, Wira aeroback and Savvy too. All have little problems that very irritating since the first day taken out from the show room)

    The first day when i took out my neo from the showroom (after waited a month for that), one of the signal light was not working. I thought a blow-up bulb? But actually a loose housing. Then after the first week, one of the central locked windows was not working properly. Then one of the key's battery konk out!!

    Actually after bought the car for two months, I havent have enough chance to drive this car, as I'm very buzy with my work and my company has provided me a sedan car and 4wd with assigned driver. Besides I have few other cars in my garage. In other word this neo is really under-utilised.the car clocked about 1400km only. I just managed two drive out station 4 times during the two months ownership.One nite, last week I decided to go to out. After came back about 4 am, I just leave the car outside because I intend to go a long distance drive ti Tasek Bera that morning. (I avoid the hassle to remove other cars from the garage). Then there was heavy down pour. To my surprised, when i intend to drive the at 7.00am. There was flood of water interior of the car!! The car is leaking!! Water is everywhere!!

    I got to send the car to Proton Center at Kesas H-Way Shah Alam. They have to take one week to repair the leaking and wet carpet beside other problem of front wheel alignment, noisy from engine compartment (sign of some loose parts!!)

    Any other Neo owner has leaking problem??

    Is this typical problem of NEo!!

    If this is a typical problem…better watch out because I've seen few Neo stored openly without cover (roof) in dealer's yard around Lembah Klang!!

    Well other problems? The location some of the gadgets are a bit odd!! Like the location of power window switch!! What about the location power mirror switch?? The car's door line is quiet high not parralel to the steering.Its a bit odd to rest your elbow when driving on the highway. The glass area for rear and side is a bit small. Thus difficult to see was is happening on the rear and on the sideways.

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  • hotpink (Member) on Oct 25, 2006 at 10:43 pm

    hey paul, i find that you know very much about cars =) thanks for the info. but i'd really like to know your personal opinion… i dont know much about cars, but im in between myvi and satria neo. which is better?? i'm a student, and i dont do much driving in the city, but soon, i'll have to travel frm kl to ipoh often. can you help me? thnx

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  • infinity (Member) on Oct 28, 2006 at 2:14 am

    dear hotpink, if u travel tat much, then satria neo is the car…coz at high speeds, u need a good handling car…unlike myvi, satria neo is tuned by lotus, thus offering a very precise handling..and the campro engine is excellent at high speed..myvi is more suitable for city drive and for families..satria neo is more suitable for a student like u..believe me..u'll look great in it..

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  • Simon (Member) on Nov 01, 2006 at 2:24 am

    hi,

    I m new here, i have been reading abt all the stuff that you guys are writing. Real enlightenment! I m considering of getting a Satria Neo or a Myvi, however, there are so many negative history of proton.

    I wonder Satria Neo has actually improved. Non of my frens hav bought the neo simply because it's a first batch proton car. I went to have a peek at satria neo in the Maluri branch.

    It looks quite crampy internally especially the back seat. The door sounds hollow and the door handle looks really cheap and unconvincing. Another expected thing from Proton, the sales person is un responsive as a death person.

    Externally Neo looks good, but when it comes to quality and durability of PROTON. The Proton Lulus test standard is undeniably nt okie even after so many years. Do hope Proton has improve its quality and not only taking advantage on their own people, Malaysians.

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  • shahrul7873 (Member) on Nov 15, 2006 at 2:40 am

    hi,

    before i get my new neo, i do read a lot from many websites and one of the website that i visited was paultan website. well, i have a good pro and conts in his website and at last i decided to buy my new baby neo. i can say i m quite lucky coz my new neo not give much problems compared from others owner. i find the car is the nice handling car eventhough it is quite cramp at back seat and trunk. well for me neo is probadly created for those who are still bacholer. Neo is best car so far i drive and with that price, i proud to have this car. i hope i m not get married soon so that i dont have to change to the typical sedan type of car. cheers!

    shahrul

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  • BW (Member) on Mar 20, 2007 at 10:02 pm

    This Satria Neo is soooo nice… I like it alot…

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  • cowboy (Member) on May 31, 2007 at 9:06 am

    I have booked the 1.6 AT HLine more than one month ago and still waiting to take delivery. Thank you, Paul, for the in-depth comments that have answered many questions floating in my mind as I have neither driven one nor felt the interior. The closest that I have come to was viewing it at the IT Mall in PJ. The design is very sporty (suits my 57 years), knocking on the body sounds solid enough and the assembly reflects high quality workmanship. I am praying that it does not let in water. Wish me luck.

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  • wong (Member) on Jul 19, 2007 at 4:12 am

    i own a satria neo m line 1.6 and had passed 5000km,i would say i’m happy with it,its really fun, good suspension,ok fuel economy, a bit small inside but its ok for me,handles corners really well and can go to 160km/h smoothly, im surprise too,problems?the first day i drove the car the brakes feels wobbly,sent to proton service centre the next day and problems solved,they were very helpfull..but heres some comment..power windows switch position seems to be out of place,have to get use to it,steering wheel looks and feel plastic..sports rims is heavy so i got replaced to my liking, very much lighter ones,and the continental tyres are made to last long, good handling but a bit harsh on uneven roads, i changed it to falken 205/16,very comfortable now,other than that its a great car, no regrets at all!!!

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  • azacamis (Member) on Oct 11, 2007 at 7:11 pm

    if only Gen2 is this nice and it comes with AMT. 2 doors not practical

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  • JC (Member) on Dec 21, 2007 at 4:57 pm

    i’ve got my Satria Neo H-line 1.6l, almost 10k km already.
    i’ve seen many good review on it but not for mine in terms of performance.
    My car has a very slow pickup, slow at overtaking, feels heavy …. now the engine starts to have ‘clicking’ sound…
    plus fuel consumption very high RM0.24/km.
    i have checked wtih proton mechanics, they told me that “Neo is like this one..”
    Anyone face these problems or have any suggestions for me??
    Thanks!!!

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  • _Zephyre_ (Member) on Oct 14, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    Very informative. Too bad there aren’t pics of all the colours, though. Would be easier to compare.

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  • Juan PhiRuz on May 27, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    Well there… Any Lotus Tuned cars benefitted those who knows what really is driving…. They won't bless harsh drivers…

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  • ….is this car comfortble.. can anyone give me and opinion about satria neo 1.6..thank u!

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  • Hisyer on Jan 17, 2010 at 9:42 pm

    what do you think if they make Satria Neo a 5 door car.. what do they call it.. sedan..??

    I'm sorry (not an expert in car).. but I love car….

    because i saw the picture in the internet…

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  • Lynn Sabtu on Apr 09, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    I have Proton Satria Neo 2010. Recently, it broke down suddenly. The symptoms are, when we consumed fuel, the meter went down like vigorously. It’s like when you went for 1km within 471km (full fuel), it went to 430km. Then on the day it broken down, on the freeway, the ignition suddenly stopped, and there were warning on engine, battery and coolant. And there was a sound from the engine. After a few minutes and when the sound stopped, I tried to start the ignition again. It went okay then after a few minutes, the car stop again. I have tried like 5 times with same thing happen. Until we arrived home. If the ignition off (suddenly), the steering jammed.

    What seems the problems? Some say it is because of fuel pump, coil, engine computer, fuse and battery. But for battery, apparently we know and it was just replaced.

    Thank you.

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