Even the cabin smells the same to the Gen.2(same materials) that you'd notice a different smell when you enter a Savvy.

You also get a stupid driving position in relation to the steering wheel(although a little less stupid than the Gen.2) when the seat is placed too tall, with the steering lowest position set too low. I mean, a cacat person with long legs and short torso would probably love the driving position!

The engine is weak than it should be(at low revs) and the noise that you get at 5000rpm is awful. What's up with that, Proton?

Credit is due where suspension is concerned, where it shines like a lighthouse on a dark night(ceh). Very, very good balance between firm and suppleness.

Celicazz – Do you know any car makers which made their car from a practical size to a smaller size? Please tell. Civics are becoming bigger, so are C classes. This new Satria is smaller. You can go and check it out yourself. And you cannot compare a Satria to an Alfa, It's not in the same league. Can I compare the Satria to a four seater Ferrari then? Or the RX8? Or the Supra? I would say that it's competitors would be the 2 door civics, Toyota Levin.

Raybrig85 – Yeah that's right, I compared it against the old Satria. The Satria is supposed to be a practical hatch like the 2 door Civic and the Levin. in that similar league.

ur statement maybe rite abt brera…bt in this case… u cant compare this neo with brera…they are in the different league…if u want to compare the brera…compare it with the new audi tt…they are in the same class…gt cramp legroom and not enough headroom for the backseat…these 2 cars(brera and tt) is a small coupe which mean normally this type of category had a backseat which is not enough for adult to seat there…really cramp…

one more thing…brera is not abt the good look anly…some of the journalist has make a comparison test between brera,rx8 and i cant remember other cars…brera has won the comparison test…but in his case…the journalist said abt the brera dun hv enough space for rear seat…okla…maybe ur opinion is on the look only…it is not wrong…bcoz that is ur opinion…

neo is a small hatch car…maybe it is logic of wut nasscmw is saying…maybe he is compare it wit other cars in the neo class…compare it with other cars in its class and ull c actually neo had not enough space and feel cramp a bit…for me the driver seat is ok…but the rear seat is really cramp….even the old satria feel a bit spacious…

what car u have test drived?

Kembara? MYVI? CIVIC? GEN2? VIOS?

we only talk about test drive experience?

We won't compare a 2 door hatch with mini MPV or 4 wheel drive.

we only can compare A to A; B to B.

50k to 50k.

just fair to "good work done "

What's good? Quality is better than anything they have put before. Better but doesn't mean that great. Seats and all are good. Stereo seems alright as well. I am damn curious to try it out! I like the overall look. I know I will never buy it but it looks good! And from a far it looks big!

What's bad? The space! Even tho i am 5ft 5, I felt claustrophobic when i sat in the driver's seat. It's as if the windshield is going to slam into me. I noticed that the leg room at the back isn't much. I moved the seat all the way back and holy crap!! No leg room at all! I'm like thinking that if my 6ft friend or anyone who could be around 5ft 10, actually buys this car there will be no room left at the back. Therefore it's as good as a two seater. I remembered that the Satria had more leg room at the back than this. The utilisation of space is really horrible. And the plastic fuel cover, even without the retard aluminium look it could have looked better. But plastic? Maybe there's an option to get a metal one. Yeah right!

On another note. What's the R3? Rally Racing and Research? Pure bull! What research? Just because they made a backwheel drive Waja for drifting doesn't mean it's research. Any good mechanics out there can make a front wheel drive car a back wheel drive car. And they used a Nissan engine and drivetrain isn't it? Like I said, pure bull. SO where's the Rally? PERT? I know they go for the BGTCC, at least they have that. Even the handling is from Lotus, (if it really is great handling). That's not research as well. The Gen 2 has interior they copied from the Elise and stupidly even copies the fact that the Elise has no glove compartment. Hell! That sucks!! There's no research on utlisation of space defintely!! Think am going to wait for whatever car they have next. NEXT!!

but i can say Neo is very nice from this time Proton is improve like Gen2 and Neo is nice …… only their Savvy come out too rush to fight on myvi but fail …. that y they hold neo for some time ……

btw…congrats to proton…hv seen thier improvement on this car…when i was behind the wheel of this car…i feel it is better than the waja and gen.2…the driving excitement….driving pos…better than waja and gen.2…good work frm proton…produce a better car but not good enough…after dat…when i sitting in my car back…immediately forgot the driving experience of the neo….still cannot match with my car…

but im happy proton had improve with this satria neo…bagus ade kesedaran kat protong…derang dah insaf sikit…but…had to wait abt a year first to c the reliability and quality of this car…how it goes…still like his siblings or improve…:)

Frankly speaking, the engine nothing special; but with the road handling; it became different. i spend 20minutes on high speed & extreme road condition; it didn't disppointed me. Well match & fine tune. At 4500rpm (speed about 170km) the noise/vibration is low; the engine is really smooth; better than C****, V***, C***, J***.

Further more, just half price.

Look for the 1.6 m/t.

they should at least design it to be more fresh and modern.

if they could use new Vauxhall Corsa or new Kia Rio rear design as basic elements in this Neo, gonna be awesome!!

"Malaysian car manufacturer Proton have launched the new Satria Neo three-door hatchback, which replaces the Satria model introduced 12 years ago. Having formerly sold re-badged and out-moded Mitsubishi-derived models, Proton have since established a relationship with Lotus Engineering that began with the Proton GTi.

Though cars such as the Elise demonstrate the depth of Lotus’ abilities, partnerships with other companies reflect their breadth. The Satria Neo succeeds that first venture: while the Proton GTi was based on the previous ovoid Mitsubishi Colt, the Neo has flatter surfaces with a more masculine look. The interior is described as having a minimalist theme and air-conditioning dials that "redefine style". Powered by a 16v DOHC engine, Proton assures that the Satria Neo is "capable of going really fast"."

i was chuckling while reading this…however,this review on satria neo is much better than the previous model (Savvy)..=)

Really exellent sport hatch; Engine very smooth & sound isollation also excellent (speed 140km); no vibration at all. Handle sharp cornering well & steering very sensitive. Honda CIVIC can't compare to it.

A/T version also good; but don't expect it can perform as good as M/T.

Really a quality car, better than KOREAN,

Ride & Handling also better than Japanese Hatch; don't need any modification.

Really Happy with the performance.

And aksMs, yeah I thought I saw a lady wearing headscarf under the helmet.

For once, I totally agree with you. Let the dusts settle and we'll see if Proton Edar or EON need new roofs.

what engineers do is actually tries to get most grip from both left and right tires. If imagine the roll stiffness is infinitely stiff all weight transfer at maximum G's (what ever number it is) will be to one side. there will no normal force pushing on the other side to generate more grip. what a waste.

so body roll is allowed to redistribute the essential normal force to generate grip for more lateral accelaration ability.

friction only works in normal force (to the friction face) is present.

your comment who will drive like that?

most people forget. all depends on the contact of your tire to ground that generate grip (friction). but this equation can easily be reduce lower magnitude by rain, trailing lori pasir etc. and this is beyond our control.

yes on good condition no normal driver would attemp this. but more often than not going down highway from ipoh to kuala kangsar. layan lap turun at 90km/h all at suddern a lorry overturn, accident happen just when you approach corner at high speed downhill to make it worst. a good balance ride and handling will (although with lower grip) gives the ability to control with its steering feedback, body roll rate and yaw rate).

so you see once in while everybody will be at limit.

No angry, no hard feeling, just trying to make my point…

let's keep it to what've Paul posted… it's NEO!!

hope we're cool Paul…

By the looks of the pictures, not surprised how Neo achieves good secondary ride since the Conti tire sidewall looks pretty soft in my reckoning. Note that it almost collapse in the pictures.

Driven the car, must say the cornering is the best part since it tucks in pretty well and responds rather fiercely (for this type of car) with throttle lift off in corner. Not overly fierce like the Integra DC5 Type-R (more of a track set up), but fun enough to the extent that you can actually trail brake oversteer in corners.

But how many drivers would attempt such a thing?

surprisingly these days Proton allows test drives.for all comers

I went to The Main showroom next to Kesas on the weekend and managed to get a test drive by just filling a form .

As a former kelisa driver/driver and current waja & rwd car owner/driver. I like the NEO.

Good steering feel, neutral handling , only a bit put off by the engine and gear ratios (need to really rev to get moving) and well put interior (compared to previous protons) lovely seat material and design cues on the interior, I like the dashboard and consoles. although headroom is a bit tight (feel the seat could be lower, but I'm 5"10)

Only question is the blank plastic cover above the radio. I was expecting a lid cover for a compartment but its just a cover….and the cupholder is a bit sad la.. where do I stuff my starbucks latte?.. it' s too shallow to hold a cup.

But for under RM50k for a manual I'd buy one