Here are some photos of the Satria Neo on the Sepang International Circuit track. We took the Satria Neo for a few spins around a half-track and it was a pretty enjoyable drive. The photos are taken by Shukor Janis using a Canon EOS-1D Mark II, and photos are courtesy of Proton Corporate Communications.
More photos for your viewing pleasure after the jump.
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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.
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Nice shots!!
Nice…make me drool…
as i look at it more, the front of neo really reminds me of the new Honda Civic..
If you tag NEO with a Mitsu badge, price it at 60k, it will rocket off the showroom faster than the Bestari. It just the brand name/quality that is holding back people, then again I might be wrong.
Paul, from the pix, looks like a soft ride pushing the car into those bends. Care to elaborate a lil' on what you mean enjoyable ride? still need to wait for 14 days before dealers allow test drives?
johanbey: it looks like a soft ride but it handles well. the spring rates/rebound/etcetc was tuned well. i dont claim to be an expert on tuning suspensions but my butt on the seat and my hands on the steering told me the car handled well lah, heheh. it was my first time on the track btw. i think the gti or r3 will offer an even stiffer suspension.
the black color looks very mean…i tink body lean in the pics dont tell the whole story…usually the less the lean the beter body control..bt its how in control u feel inside the car…same like the gen2..id does lean in fast corners..bt inside the car..and the way the steering comunicates..u feel like ur in total control..u neva feel ur abt to 'through' the car away…beside ofcourse..this is a road car..nt a track day car…it wil do beter with hardened springs n dampers sure..bt wd it be comfy on our 'smooth' roads?
clarleswkc, I know the NEO is a big improvement, but lets not get emotional bout it coz a Honda Civic is WAY out of Proton's league. Even tough beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but try not to go Civic but do consider Vios or perhaps a City, but definately not Civic. Cheers!
hi johan, test drives were happening since last saturday. i was at proton showroom next to kesas, and many people were queueing up for test drives.
last nite on astro news, they reported that there are 1,000+ bookings for the satria already since launching last friday.
i own a civic, but i cant stand the look of the new civics front-end. much prefer the neos "face".
1000+ bookings…? hope the figures are true as last time when the savvy launched, the tv keep on reporting about the figures of the bookings… they tell that it reaches 2000 already… then 2xxx already after half hour etc… then after few months the news tells that Savvy's sales figures are bad… hmmm… if really 1000+ bookings, then I think is a good start for a 3 door car….
By the way, is there any over steer or under steer happening during bents? the shots are nice. Thanks Paul.
Thanks Paul.
I went to 2 showroom over the weekend, neither sales team can answer me why Proton opted plastic fuel cover. Doesn't that risk getting your petrol stollen at carpark? Any1 got a solid answer?
The gear throw seem to be long and doesnt have the gated feel of the old satria (still think the GTi the best product from Proton stable, R3 GTi is too loud for me). Paul, as a Satria driver yourself, what was your experience? Was it easy to engage the gear box? I felt the clutch was a bit too high for fast gear change, except you have large feet. Did you try doing left foot braking or heel braking?
My gf loved the Neo Desire, Paul, care to enlighthen me if Proton ever going to put those mod kit in to the market?
if this car uses qg15de engine, i dont mind booking 3 units for my whole family
Let the "dust" settle down perhaps after 2 weeks of enthusiaism. Then the real challenge for Satria Neo is the statistical figure for sales! Let sales figure speak "loudest" as how good the Satria Neo. MyVi already prove it in our market.
The suspension is kinda… hm… anyway, I think it is fine, considering this is a road car…
This thing should do better than Savvy but to hit 30K unit is still a challenge unless they subsidize oversea sales. I think the Kancil replacement will decide if they can do 30K.
jtshin: The new Civic is very much a leapfrog design from current design concepts and trends. Like the Bangle inspired Beemers, they wanted to kill the Chief Designer when his 1st master piece came out – current 7 series. Now they claim he created the future of the Bavarian Motorworks. I though the Civic hatch with the 1 piece headlights/grill look awful, but then Civic lovers will run me over with their VTECs. Do you think the facelifted City looked better? I prefer the original version. Current is just to auntinize for Tesco shopping, like my Avanza (LOL)!
I skipped the Center of Excellence after the Launch Day crowd. Booked with the one near Jalan Ampang. Prefer to drive it after the car is run in by other test drives. Then I will know if the quality did improved. Cheers!
BTW paul, what's the top speed u get wit NEO? Pedal to metal?
its quite a surprise proton actually have that amount of bookings in the first place.
its after all, a niche model car. No way you can compare it to myvvi, as its purely a high volume mass market car. Perodua themselves were probably caught off guard by its popularity. i actually believe its unnatural market demand actually.
btw ricc, if you've ever driven in sepang, you will know why the car is rolling that way.. those pics were taken in turn 1 and 2. they may be some of the slowest corners on the track, but even a stock standard evo rolls over like that in those corners. Btw, those pics, the 5th pic from the top, the red satria neo with 2 people in the car, the driver is yskhong, ex-toyota works driver, and 4 time malaysian rally champion.
I agree with OvaBoost, that NEO does not compete with MyVi. I think at the top end it competes with Honda Civic which it will lose no doubt and at the low end, its either Kancil or Kelisa replacement. That is why I think it will not hit 30K per year or even if it does, it won't last.
Joe Ooi: After all the heated comments you have, perhaps you should let your dust settle a bit before your next critical comment on Proton. I think all bloggers of paultan.org gets your message about Proton by now, TOTALLY WITH YOU DUDE! but even deathrow criminal gets a re-trails sometimes. So as much as you love to hate your Waja (including thousands of others) lets wait and see how Neo turn out, chill?
Hey, maybe you should write to the new MD, heard he is quite customer oriented. Cheers! Happy Motoring!
nice shots n da cars looks nice .
Lovely shots of the NEO. Goes to show you that NEO's handling is top notch. Will wait and see whether it gets the R3 treatment.
However, I seriously wonder whether NEO buyers will subject their car to that kind of driving on their everyday driving route.
The front looks too soft hehe, the car looks almost ready to go tripod in one of the pics, otherwise, nice car hehe.
Paul, perhaps you should monitor some of these bloggers…. if not later jadi gangsta paradise, LOL!
Joe Ooi: Always enjoy your comment, hard stuff, but enlightening. I dont think anyone made a comment like OvaBoost before. But as an open forum, everyone is entitled to their comment. Lets not get personal. Keep this about motoring, cool? ISA nanti tutup this blog, kesian paul, no more test drives.
Perhaps all of us need a lil' bit of Guido of Cars (Pixar).
whopper, thats the good point about "active safety" aka good handling.
if someone thrashes the car hard on track,and it still performs well, the car will most likely be extremely safe to drive, in terms of grip, braking performance..etc. when a regular driver drives it at slower speeds.
wow waaaa woo wuu nice shots paul.. err felling a bit wierd, i notice sumthing missing here lol ~!
Bbingbong: The photos were not taken by me.
After 10 long years, comes the emergence of the Satria Neo, which is really nothing great in all honesty. Why do I say so? Because the car looks simply like the old one from afar. There is nothing impressive about the car. The handles inside is horrible, the steering wheel is some old mass produced model, the rims are pure ugly but i must say they create some nice effects when moving…
For me, the car looks good in the photos but in all reality, i don't like one bit, the emphasis on the front wheels when in the corner. It makes me believe the car would probably overturn if you take it too hard!
So then again, it's down to rear or all wheels for me. It will sell well, simply because the Satria has been one of the reasons why Proton has survived. But if you give me a choice between a GTi and the new one,, I'd take the GTi anytime.
I must admit one thing. Fit a wide body and offset rims to the Neo and it would look sweet. I can't wait for the R3 version to come out. I'm sure it will be great.
Proton plastics disappoint me again. My 14 year old car has better plastics, and i'm not kidding
johanbey – "So as much as you love to hate your Waja (including thousands of others) lets wait and see how Neo turn out, chill?"
Noted your comments, but just want to rewording the above statement which in my opinion do not put me in the right perspective. I do not prefer "love to hate" to describe me on Proton because in legal perspective it may put me in the position of "burden to remedy something". I prefer the satement to be read as follow: –
"So as much as you are very "unhappy" about your Waja ………….
Anyway, Paul Tan as the owner of this blog, I am sorry for the outburst and cheers to everyone, including OvaBoost as our purpose to visit this site is to share our knowledge, exchange of info, and learn to accommodate differences of opinion, "agree on disagree" and respect other opinion! No offence …….
hi karheng, you have made some fair comments there on the car.
but i cant agree with you on the car will almost overturn bit. if you read my posting about sepang's turn 1 and 2, you will understand what i mean.
quite substantial body roll..
>honda_driver said,
>
>June 20, 2006 @ 3:09 pm
>
>hi karheng, you have made some fair comments there on the car.
i prefer "WIN-WIN" situations/comments/bash between us.
no P1/P2/P3 supporters no fun, no bashers turns flat, overbust become boring
love this blog , give me lots of auto industries info . Thanks all!
Good handing……
PROTON NEO
handing
by lotus…….!
Great!!!
those fender flares are looking sweeeeeeeeeeeet.
=P
Enjoyed the nice pan shots! Thanx!
johanbey said,
June 20, 2006 @ 1:27 pm
clarleswkc, I know the NEO is a big improvement, but lets not get emotional bout it coz a Honda Civic is WAY out of Proton’s league. Even tough beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but try not to go Civic but do consider Vios or perhaps a City, but definately not Civic. Cheers!
> I just said the front reminds me of Civic. I'm NOT emotional, I'm NOT comparing price, comparing performance etc. I din even say it's the same as Civic. Gosh!
If I just put my thoughts like this and have ppl replying this way.. I dare not write anything already man..
YS Khong a.k.a ex rally driver/autoworld journalist ???
review on new satria neo… http://www.autoworld.com.my/EMZine/Review/viewart…
charleswkc: relax man. miscommunication is common everywhere.
ah missed it. But it does explain why it was so steep. I tot it was the 3rd final corner with the orange marker there. That corner isn't that sharp….if it's 1 and 2…then yes it's a different story altogether. But i won't say much until i take a test drive on my own..which i won't know when because i ain't buying it. Hahah
karheng,
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 :-)
can a vehicle overturn in a corner? not in ideal conditions. Not in most conditions in fact. The physics just don't allow that to happen. Unless you get a big overturning moment around the longitudinal axis (caused by contact with the kerb, some weird potholes, etc). Otherwise, on a reasonably smooth road, the tire will simply break lateral traction, and you slide (plough over, or spin around, depending on which axle saturates first).
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?
I'm telling the truth here… no lie, true only!!
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…
tanasi – good explaination (r u in the field also)
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.
KY – ability to take corner at generate high lateral G's is not so much a function of stiffer springs or stiffer anti roll bars.
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.
Joe Ooi,
For once, I totally agree with you. Let the dusts settle and we'll see if Proton Edar or EON need new roofs. :)
Eh? Is it something wrong wit my eyes or that's a woman driver in the 3rd pic?
Yes, there are woman journalists too.
iam quite impressed with the shoots taken and judging from those pic… neo handles pretty well.. wait till the GTI version come along.. iam sure it will be a pocket rocket! i still dont like the rims and i hope something else they fit for the GTI. saw some of the R3 neo with its bodykit… it sure looks the bomb! really like what those R3 guys did to it.. all it needs is just a tuned engine with a different displacement….
Alotta rolling around the corners, no?
And aksMs, yeah I thought I saw a lady wearing headscarf under the helmet.
Test drived NEO 1.6A/T & M/T; for M/T version, Gear shifting not as smooth as R3.
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.
man this is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thomas…wut abt the engine???ok???or underpowered..wut is ur opinion???ive test the manual version…felt the engine a bit underpowered…low of torque i think…if im not mistaken…btw…the handling is ok…quite nice…u cant compare it with the r3 thomas…abt the engine again…quite noisy..i mean not a great noise to feel…jz feel like the car is stress…cannot feel the power of the car…
I just want to share some info with you guys about satria neo from my personal favourite website www.cardesignnews.com
"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)..=)
the rear design no different than previous Satria.
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!!
raybrig85,
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.
yeah..ure rite…the handling is quite ok for me…jz i dun like the engine feel…thats all…jz not fun with that…hhmmm..ic…at 170km/h it still stable???quite suprise…that mean still got grip when u reached that speed???i jz cruised around 110 to 120km/h…but still feel ok but to reached that speed still slowly…not as quick as my car…i dunnola..maybe i jz compare it with my car….which is 1.6 too….
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…:)
i think its good car, and i think we should test drive it before commenting about it.
everyone have a own opinion some one like Proton some one not ….. dont bang here n there wut a point for myself i prefer Perodua ….
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 ……
I have just checked out the NEO.
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!!
retrofuturism…you cannot compare with Savvy, Neo and savvy is different…but the handling of Savvy is superb!
nasscmw,
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 "
nasscmw, have u ever see what they got in Alfa Brera? the worst legroom ever…but, how come the car gets so many attentions? good looks alone…
celicazz…
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…
Thomas Said – If I were to ever compare cars, it would be in it's similar league. I said that I compared the car to it's previous model, i.e. is the Satria not any other MPVs or whatsoever. Read it again and you would see that that is what I said. I do know that take the RX7, had very bad space when it has 4 seats, but that's a different league all together.
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.
driver seat is not quite comfortable for tall people, head reaching the roof. the seat cannot be adjust lower, just tilting a bit.. some source said, they re hiding something like computer box under the driver seat. don't it's true or not, i haven't check it. i like the design quite a lot, but the panel trimming is cheap look, cost cut and easy production maybe.. larger headlight coukd make it more nice.
driver seat is not quite comfortable for tall people, head reaching the roof. the seat cannot be adjust lower, just tilting a bit.. some source said, they re hiding something like computer box under the driver seat. don't it's true or not, i haven't check it. i like the design quite a lot, but the panel trimming is cheap look, cost cut and easy production maybe.. larger headlight could make it more nice.
Yeah, the Neo certainly bears a lot of DNA of the Gen.2(and I'm not talking about looks). This is because the vendors are the same and they use the same kind of thinking that went into the Gen.2(not so for the Savvy).
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.
Last time during my way back to K.Terengganu,i saw two lorries carried those Satria Neo to Pantai Timur.At the moment i thought i was an Europe cars.Finally Satria has the new replacement.But,how about other Proton cars?Just wait…
I have neo,suzuki and wira, neo is the best road holder.