Proton’s new Proton Savvy facelift was launched in Taiwan on the 3rd of January 2007, and sports a few changes, mainly on the rear end design as well as the interior. Previously we’ve tasted a sneak preview of the new Proton Savvy facelift at the A1 Grand Prix, where a few facelifted Proton Savvy cars were on the track, as seen in previous photos. The new Savvy facelift was supposed to be launched here in Malaysia sometime late last year shortly after the A1 Grand Prix, but it was postponed for reasons unknown at this point. Anyway, the Taiwan Proton Savvy facelift is a left hand drive car, so check out the post after the jump to see what’s new with the Proton Savvy facelift, as well as see what a left hand drive Proton Savvy looks like on the interior.
This is a welcome change, a modified rear end design. Proton seems to have removed the underdeveloped “conjoined sibling” in the form of a Proton Waja front end lookalike from the rear end of the Proton Savvy, so no more jokes about people getting confused if a particular car is a Proton Savvy reversing or a Proton Waja moving forwards. The new design removes the upsidedown triangle design, and moves the Proton logo higher.
The interior trim, mainly around the door panels are now gray and silver, instead of the previous Proton Savvy’s gray, black and cream mix which many thought did not suit the character of the car. A fully gray interior better suits the image the car is supposed to portray. Proton had realised this earlier though, and gave the Proton Satria Neo a fully gray interior as well.
Instead of our integrated Clarion head unit, the Taiwan spec Proton Savvy gets a DVD video and audio player which comes with an integrated LCD. I’m not sure if this is relevant to our market at all, but since I am reporting on the Taiwanese Savvy launch, I just thought I’d mention it.
It’s not known at this moment when this facelifted Proton Savvy will be launched in Malaysia, but if you prefer the current reversed Proton Waja design, do go out and buy your Proton Savvy now before they start selling the facelifted model.
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strange to launch the facelift in taiwan 1st. as usual export models are always much higher spec and still priced cheaper than local spec.
wrong colored LOTUS logo on the on the billboard!
go to PE Main Showroom in jalan Ampang,thy have two red facelifted savvy , not on display,bt parket at the garage near the entrance….bt its without the bodykit shown above
Shouldn't it be "DESIGN BY LG CNS"?
Only one thing is significant.
Proton seems to be more responsive of crititism and willing to make changes on short notice.
How more of that to come and maybe Proton would have a small chance of surviving.
The savvy isn't a particularly bad looking car, the proportions are correct, jsut minor details such as the tail lights, and odd waistline upkick that distracts from the otherwise sound design.
I still see a lot of cheap shiny hard plastics in the interior though. OK, maybe hard is not so bad (even the previous IS300 had hard plastic dash) but shiny and hollow sounding is never a good thing.
Hmmmm….yummy. I have always been in love with savvy, what more with the revised grill and rear. Looks great!
Hopefully I can afford one later…
I believe they are trying to clear all their old stock before launching the new Savvy, maybe Proton should sell the remaining Savvy to Govt agencies who really heavily using cars such as custom, police, the army etc, local govt etc
Anyway, I'm glad that Proton have moved for changes for better quality products. Proton Boleh!!!
sell as PRoton in taiwan,
but FORCED to sell as
LOTUS in CHINA.
what a JOKE,
and SHAME…
Wah oversea for DVD video and audio player which comes with an integrated LCD. Wondering will we have it or not. Always give the best to others people.
kendo mate,
i think proton is smart to isolate their corporate identity and branding from a similar chinese automaker call foton or photon engineering. it is not a joke or shame. just a decisive move on its branding strategy with lotus too. chinese are not from village these days. they are quite picky on brands too. they would not queue up for 3 hrs just to get an LV bag in shanghai, don't they?
jehutyz said,
January 17, 2007 @ 9:51 am
Wah oversea for DVD video and audio player which comes with an integrated LCD. Wondering will we have it or not. Always give the best to others people.
here wont have the lcd, with or without also wont affect the sales.
that mean malaysia proton images are SUCKED in china!
(tho taiwan is much developed than china, and chinese partner know NUT about auto biz.) Proton should just WALK out. Malu..
and it cheapened the LOTUS image.
'Lotus' SAVVY for 30K, Lotus GEN2 for 30K!
what a joke and SHAME,
a slap in the face of BRITISH too,
"see! how the Third world entity screw up our Imperial products"
(but not VW with their RR!)
The white words on the left meaning ' New BMW car exhibitions' ???
guys, they hv to sell it as a lotus in taiwan because the proton name is being used by a maker of electrical appliances like TV, fridge, etc. trademark issues.
haha… wat a bad reputation for a car company tat turns into a fridge… but damn proton puts the LCD DVD player in their taiwan savvy… and the interior is much nicer if compared to the local ones… damn proton sucks…!
kendo, your postings are just full of assumptions..
do you actually believe consumers in china have the same perception of the brand as you do? similarly, in taiwan.. they have no idea how the government here runs, or how our taxation system works.. they just see a car, that they know is from malaysia.. and they know it is proton. not lotus.
i was actually very surprised to read several articles about the savvy in different taiwanese magazines.. in direct comparisons with other car models, the savvy actually came out tops.. i think it doesnt get anymore neutral than that.
as for the lotus brand.. is it really screwed up as you say? i still think lotus products are still highly sought after by those who can afford one, and respected. ever read a bad lotus car review in the media? did you know jean todt recently bought a lotus?
i agree with honda_driver..
he said neutral things and with facts..:)
i just wondering if our malaysian spec would be like this when they launch the facelift…
this goes to show that local market doesnt really matter to them proton..
something wrong there…
1) why the signboard in mandarin reads " Proton Lotus" ? does Proton brand selling as Proton-Lotus in Taiwan? or they just simply join the two words? :D
2) the built in LCD screen seems to be too low, right?especially the driver keep changing gear and his hand keep blocking the LCD view…
correct me if im wrong :P
well proton now ave to focus on oversea`s market..this is very important since our local user think trice every time when buying a proton car..
savvy is a great losse to myvi last year..so proton dont want it to be a looooser in oversea market..thats why proton is keen making changes in priority to the oversea market demands..
so would u guys buy a savvy if the local one are just like this taiwan market model? would u?
The tailgate looks better now, so is the interior, I think it would look even better without those silvery bits.
yup, i have to concur with honda_driver.
kendo knows little abt corporate branding and identity rather attacked it because it is a proton. it is nothing to be a shame of that lotus is own by malaysia. MG Rover own by chinese, what about it?
when u say chinese knws nothing abt auto biz. for your information, they have been building VW and Audi before you weared Huggies.now they have the european working with them. give them another few years maybe you will be suprised with the build quality.
Isn't true with "Design by Lotus"? Supposely "Handling by Lotus" right?
Em, upgraded Savvy's cosmetics by Taiwanese? They are fast reaction with the market, so they make changes to this.
As we know, Savvy is good car, but the defect are the rear view (of course the triangle at back, rear bumper and maybe tail lamp too) and cheap plastic feeling for the interior. This can effect the decision of new buyer. Many testimonial said that drive this car is satisfied enough for it's price. Reasonable.
Ok Proton, What are u waiting for? As i said in past archives, make this car more fun, change your marketing strategy from 'build tough' to 'fun drive', as example. Then, make the new facelift for Savvy, (esp at the back!) with attractive bodykit. If need, wrap the plastic with fabric or PVC. It's cost effective and easy right?
If Proton dare, fit in with optional engine, Campro 1.3 Turbo, hehe!
I'm sure this effort can boost the sales and this improve the image as well.
This baby is growing…sir.
By looking at the SHOP image, its looks CHEAP. Just like A USED CAR shops at JALAN CHOWKIT. With such kind of IMAGE or LOOKs how did the CUSTOMER Feel about BUYING a LOTUS CAR and LOTUS Brand image in TAIWAN? Im sure its SUCKs!!!
Savvy shape really looks ULGY, no matters how the FACE was changed. Just looking at the Spoiler, Skirting and Color, I don't see any thing that MATCH with LOTUS designed! Interior ….CHEAP plastic nothing else to say.
Cheating at TAIWANese about " DESIGNED BY LOTUS" might be sued by Consumer's Organization too. PROTON Please CONTROL your Dealers and the Brand IMAGE. They can make PROTON Car Worst than in Malaysia.
Someone pointed out, THE LOGO COLORs is incorrect too. OOOOiiii……..MANA BOLEH!??
Well, Proton been treating us like " MORONS "
yah yah…Malaysian are plain stupid…..and they are laughing all the way to the bank….
I tried extremely hard… but I fail to like the Savvy. Not even a single bit. Like I read from somewhere that the car looks like it was designed by 2 designers, one for the front and one for the rear. Now that explains the odd joint which is where the front side glass got chopped off in a funny position.
On price and features, it is no longer a surprise that overseas model are better packed and priced compared to our Malaysian ones. Hurray for Malaysia.
Proton was asked to market their savvy and gen2 as
LOTUS in china, as 'UK product',
instead of Malaysian Proton products, that chinese think can't sell,
the best of all,
LOTUS products at a price range slightly above
CHina CHeap Cherry ranges,
Savvy vs QQ types…
instead of at par with Jazz, VW polo ranges.
Now that is the problem,
when on earth do LOTUS becomes so cheap!
if jeremy clarkson & co from top gear got news about potong selling the soul out of lotus…….. in china summore….. haiya….
you know lah how the influence of top gear comments can affect the future of any car / car manufacturer.
summore if it involve watering down / manipulate the image of their beloved lotus.
i believe even the 'true' lotus people in potong holding are crying / laughing.
i wonder what ex-ceo potong (TM) feels about this..
auctioncenter2u said,
By looking at the SHOP image, its looks CHEAP. Just like A USED CAR shops at JALAN CHOWKIT. With such kind of IMAGE or LOOKs how did the CUSTOMER Feel about BUYING a LOTUS CAR and LOTUS Brand image in TAIWAN? Im sure its SUCKs!!!
————————-
LOOK CAREFULLY! The Chinese words clearly stated "Si Che", mean car wash centre. First photo left-right red colour and partly hidden (by Satria Neo bunting and red signage) white writing with light blue background. Clearly there is glass partition for the shop behind Savvy clearly shown this is not car showroom but car wash centre! Also look at photo no. 5, the word shown behind Savvy is "car wash" clearly visible! What a pathetic.
Perhaps P1 likely sponsor the advertisement signboard on top of car wash centre and Satria Neo bunting at left hand side. Later park this chilly red Savvy in front and snap a photo! Damn cheap and no budget advertisement stunt! Savvy initially launched in our country as "built tougher ………" but in Taiwan "tumpang" car wash centre only!!!!!!!!!
He, he, he, he ……………………..
kendo, Chery QQ model selling in China with price starting from RM 9K +++ (Yuan 20K @ USD 2,480 – Yuan 40K).
Paul, you forgot to mention that the new facelifted Savvy uses a smaller wheel size. It is now 185/60R14s!
hey there as I've been told by the sales rep at mutiara damansara that the facelifted model of savvy wil be out next month and facelifted Waja wil b put 2…!!
WTF? Why not rear power windows????
chin spoiler is heavily over do, and its an old fashioned,
well ,not to count the quality, dash look conventionally neat,
i have to say the back still looks like a proton waja's front.
i don t see any significant changes besides the bodykit and DVD player. About the DVD player being placed too low from the driver(or even passenger) viewpoint, it is just pathetic and not well thought of.
nice…
but when will it come to egypt?
seen many brutun gen2s n wagas around here.. woo feel so proud
They should have changed a few other things. The stepped up rear door window aperture is really strange. Why? To create a more claustrophobic rear with less visibility? The steering wheel is the same squarish cross section one which isnt so comfortable and the meters have immature colouring. If they can fix all this and improve on perhaps some engine power and torque, the Savvy would be a nicer car.
nice job proton! keep it up.. though just minor facelift, it make savvy looks nicer.. proud to be Malaysian!
Heheheh, need 'Designed by Lotus' to help move its product line. I'm sorry, but that's really pathetic.
"Cheating at TAIWANese about †DESIGNED BY LOTUS†might be sued by Consumer’s Organization too. PROTON Please CONTROL your Dealers and the Brand IMAGE. They can make PROTON Car Worst than in Malaysia."
nothing but more assumptions.. none of you talking here actually knows the real deal or whatever.. i dont have all the answers myself.. and i'm not about to shoot myself in the foot and make a stupid baseless comment..
but in reality, japanese car makers spent millions rebranding toyota as lexus, and honda similarly with acura… why did they do that?
they wanted to "fool" the american public into thinking that these cars were not associated to the "cheap japanese tin-cans" that the toyota and honda brand were known for. Isn't that pathetic??? Are they cheating? can they be sued by the consumers association?
Similarly, proton owns lotus… they can use the brand for whatever purpose they see fit to sell cars tailored for different markets.. btw, if lotus even just designed the suspension setup, you can already say designed by lotus, its still not an inaccurate statement.
honda_driver,
I know why toyota and honda have to rebadge some of their products. It is non other than American spending most of their times in the court suing people. If Toyota and Honda have to close business in US, they just dissolve their Lexus and Acura…
The difference is that Honda and Toyota started out building their brand as Honda and Toyota FIRST associating their image with affordable and economical (to the Americans at least) cars. They did this all too well, up to a point where rich people won't want to buy a luxury 'Honda'. In order to sell luxury marques in US, Honda came up with a different brand for their upscale cars. Different image, different market, same technology. Toyota followed suit with Lexus (or was that Nissan with Infiniti second). Almost everyone knows that an Acura is a Honda or Lexus is a Toyota; but the difference is that they are upscale versions, packaged differently and aimed at a market different enough to have their own brand, and you can brag that you own a Lexus and immediately have people identify that you have something upscale.
Point is, they built up their reputation as their own brand FIRST. Proton took their lowest end model and immediately associated it with sports car manufacturer Lotus, a company ACQUIRED by them, not one with reputation built up by Proton themselves in order to capture some sales. That is PATHETIC.
can i know the selling price of Savvy in china market? thanks.
yayayay why malaysia savvy no dvd player !!!!the price is same !!!!
does anyone know the size of the dvd/lcd screen?