We were fortunate enough to be invited to a preview of the new Proton P3-90A, which is supposed to be a replacement for the Proton Waja, and positioned above the Proton Persona in the Proton product line-up. It’s no secret by now that this new model is based on the current generation Mitsubishi Lancer.
Look after the jump for our first impressions based on the preview drive.
The car will be ‘soft launched’ tomorrow, which means the name will be unveiled and bookings will be opened. There will be 3 models – a 1.8 litre manual, a 1.8 litre CVT and a 2.0 litre CVT. All three models use Mitsubishi engines from the 4B family, with the 1.8 litre using the 4B10 and the 2.0 litre using the 4B11. Of course, many of you probably know the name of the car already as sales brochures have been scanned and unleashed onto the internet, possibly by sales personnel eager to secure bookings tomorrow.
The case for a new Proton Waja replacement
Proton’s most expensive car right now (other than special editions and the Perdana) is the Proton Exora, which retails at RM76,998 for the Exora MC H-Line. There are various reasons for Proton to introduce a new Waja. Right now, anyone who manages to break beyond the RM60k affordability barrier for a passenger sedan will probably step up to the RM80k to RM100k range, which are currently dominated by the two Japanese brands and complemented by various other makes.
The new P3-90A will allow Proton to offer a model to those wanting to upgrade to something better and bigger than the current Saga, Persona or Waja that they have. It will allow Proton to increase its customer retention as the budget of the customer increases.
And of course, Proton has to serve the Malaysian government, the government’s fleet manager SPANCO, and other fleet buyers such as the police.
Badge engineering a Mitsubishi product – have we gone backwards?
Since news first broke of a new Waja replacement car based on a Mitsubishi Lancer, Proton has undergone much criticism as consumers are perceiving this as the national car company stepping backwards. This is understandable as most laymen who do not track the auto industry as closely as enthusiasts would not know that the modern trend is to badge engineer your non-core models (or even your core models!) to save on development costs so that cash can be focused on core models.
What they know is that Proton started off rebadging Mitsubishis – the Lancer in particular – and now they are back to rebadging a Lancer. In their minds, they’re probably asking what is the point of a national carmaker then, especially one that is perceived to be the reason that the Japanese brands that they want to buy are so expensive?
Datuk Syed Zainal told us at the post-drive media roundtable that it was not an easy decision for Proton to decide to use a reengineered Lancer for the new P3-90A. Not only will the rakyat grill them but there will surely be drama in the Parliament. However, it was a business decision, and a rational one.
Here’s why – at the recent Vios launch, UMW Toyota announced that it was aiming to sell 2,700 units of the Vios a month. The Vios starts at a lower price than the P3-90A – it has a smaller engine and a smaller B-segment body compared to the P3-90A’s C-segment body and 1.8 litre as well as 2.0 litre engines. The amount of consumers who will have accessibility/affordability of car will be lower, and it also has to compete with plenty of competitors such as the Kia Forte along with the B-segment Japanese makes.
Proton aims to sell less than 2,000 units a month of the new Waja replacement. According to DSZ, it would not be wise to invest a big sum of money to develop a new model for the Waja replacement’s segment and price range for a relatively low sales volume. Proton cannot repeat the mistakes of its past, investing a huge amount of money to sell models that ended up not having a very high volume – it would take forever for the entire product to start turning a profit!
According to Datuk Syed Zainal, Proton intends to focus its R&D budget on its core models. Proton is still recovering from its “dark days” and the new management led by Datuk Syed Zainal and Datuk Nadzmi Salleh is still working hard to bring the company to where it once was. It needs to re-invest its precious profits into the high volume products which are cars like the Saga and the Persona replacement, which DSZ referred to as the Persona R. The Persona R is already under development and work on the next generation Saga has to start pretty soon if not already as the Saga will likely get its mid-life facelift end of this year or early next year.
This logic is not uncommon in the industry. Aston Martin is rebadging the Toyota iQ as the kind of car that Cygnet is not a core Aston Martin model. Dodge makes big American type of cars and it is not good with small B-segment cars thus it has rebadged the Hyundai Accent as the Dodge Attitude. Honda wasn’t very good at SUVs in the past so it rebadged a Land Rover Discovery Series I as an early Honda Crossroad before the CR-V ever existed. The modern Ford Ka shares platform with the modern Fiat 500, and Ford and Fiat do not share any stake in each other.
Volkswagen sells a large minivan in the US known as the Volkswagen Routan and it’s based on a Chrysler Town & Country, which is also sold as a Dodge as the Grand Caravan. Chrysler and Dodge are owned by the same company but Volkswagen has no shareholding connection with the American company. Coming back to Mitsubishi – they’ve supplied the i-MiEV electric car as well as the Mitsubishi Outlander to PSA Peugeot Citroen. The Outlander is sold as the Peugeot 4007 and the Citroen C-Crosser.
The Lancer-based Waja replacement is designed to be an interim model to fill in the gap for the need of a product in its segment without having to invest heavily. Proton intends for it to be a “place holder” model to keep Proton in a required market segment until it has the resources to develop a permanent solution to serve the segment. Development of the new P3-90A took 17 months compared to 24 months if developed internally. The local vendor ecosystem is also supported as Proton will start off with 40% local content shortly after launch, with the aims to increase it to about 65% within a year.
Proton shopped around for various cars to be considered as the base for the P3-90A and Mitsubishi was picked because they’ve been traditional partners for the last 25 years thus they already have some form of history together. The Perdana has stopped production in March 2010 BTW!
What are the differences between the P3-90A and the Lancer?
The entire front end has changed, with the Proton version carrying an “inverted” Lancer grille. The Proton version looks more similar to the original Lancer as compared to the Taiwanese market Lancer Fortis, which in my opinion had softened the look of the Lancer too much. Unlike the Taiwanese styling exercise, for the P3-90A the same reflector headlamps of the Lancer remains.
At the rear end, there is a new rear bumper that has an integrated diffuser-like design. Tail lamps are the same as the Lancer. The 2.0 CVT model gets a small bootlid spoiler to differentiate it from the 1.8 litre models. Speaking of models, while the Lancer only comes with a 2.0 litre engine mated to a CVT here in Malaysia with two trim levels – EX and GT, for Proton there are 3 variants, all with different engine and gearbox combinations as well as equipment levels.
The baseline model will be the 1.8L model with 143 PS and 177Nm of torque. This is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The mid-range model is also a 1.8L model but with a CVT transmission instead of a manual. The CVT on this model has a manual shift mode but only via the gear lever – there are no column mounted paddle shifts on this model. The top of the line does come with the paddle shifts, and has a 2.0L engine to match the CVT transmission. All of these engines are Mitsubishi GEMA 4B family engines, in which the base block are shared with Chrysler as well as Hyundai-Kia. I wrote quite a detailed article in the past about the 4B engines so you can refer to that story here: The new 4B11 Engine.
Mitsubishi did not allow Proton to touch the engine and the ECU of the Lancer, so everything is exactly the same as per supplied by Mitsubishi. But as Proton has changed the front end look of the car, it is able to do certain things such as install air guides for the transmission cooler, so that the CVT transmission fluid will be less likely to overheat. At the Lancer’s media drive years back, driving at very high speeds for prolonged periods of time (not something we’d do everyday to be honest) resulted in the gearbox heating up over a certain level which then resulted in the car cutting power and displaying an overheat warning on the multi-info display in order to protect the gearbox from being damaged.
Proton’s engineers were very well aware of this during their testing so they thought of a solution to fix it. Proton’s improvement of the airflow into the engine bay has given more air cooling for the transmission cooler, intending to help prevent the transmission from overheating.
Mitsubishi was also quite reluctant to let Proton do anything of the suspension of the car at first, so we almost got a vanilla Lancer without any “Lotus DNA” but later in the development process Proton managed to convince them to let them modify the settings. However it was already quite some time into the development process at that point, but the ride and handling engineers at Proton still managed to work their magic with the P3-90A. The absorber and spring settings are completely different, and there are also some small changes to the suspension bushes. Most of the work was on the roll and vertical rates. Proton matched all of this with 16 inch wheels wrapped with Continental CC5 silica compound tyres to maintain ride comfort. I’m sure everyone will be seriously curious to find out how much different a car can feel just with different suspension settings.
How does the P3-90A drive?
Naturally the 1.8 litre manual felt like the best driver’s car of the lot. The steering somehow felt more precise and had better feedback compared to the other models. According to Proton, the entire setup was designed mainly on the 1.8L manual version so that could be why it felt sharper, and it could also be that the 1.8L manual had a lighter front end compared to the models with the presumably heavier CVT transmission and even the larger engine block for the 2.0L model.
Ride comfort is better than the Lancer GT, because of the different tyres used, and the P3-90A just had a natural stability that’s hard to unsettle even at the extremes, and that helps the driver feel so much more confident in controlling the vehicle. I didn’t feel any issues with the 5 gear ratios of the manual transmission nor the way the gears slotted into position so I suppose if I don’t feel annoyed they should be properly spread. The clutch is also light and easy to control. I think the model I like the most is the manual.
The roads down from Genting and the Karak Highway blurred by as the long sweeping corners were taken at high speeds and I noticed that never once did I feel the car was about to lose control and there was only occasional times where the tyres started to protest. The Lancer GT drives well but a lot agree that its 18 inch Yokohama Advans contributing to a lot of the work while the P3-90A has its good ride and handling built into the chassis settings and once you have a good base from there it’s hard to go wrong! The Lancer GT feels a little stiffer and it has slightly less body roll than the P3-90A but the P3-90A remains very composed.
I didn’t get to drive the 1.8L CVT but we’ll bring you impressions of that after the official media test drive at the end of this month. The 2.0L CVT model didn’t feel very much different from the Lancer that we can already buy now, and you really have to get used to the way the CVT slips up the rev range without any progress before suddenly ‘locking up’ and increasing its forward momentum. CVTs are of course a good thing engineering-wise as it allows the engine to be in its most optimum rev range for the kind of driving you want but no doubt eager drivers are going to be using the paddle shifters a lot. The car’s progress just feels so much better in the virtual 6-speed manual mode although technically it’s less efficient to drive that way.
Other details?
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1613]
I can’t comment on the interior quality and texture yet as the cars were pre-production cars and the interior dashboard had all the necessary shapes but were “flat”. Think of it more like a mock up. I guess I’ll find out the actual interior look at the launch. There are four colour options – red, silver, white and black. I think they all look pretty good and I’m torn between the red and black.
In terms of safety features – ALL models have dual airbags and ABS brakes.
Booking opens tomorrow when the name is unveiled and booking fee is RM1,000.
If I missed anything you want to know feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer everything, if it’s something I can answer.
Great, hope to see some interior pictures too!
80k min..then i rather buy honda city or toyota vios….
bro….with that price (8ok) u got 1.8cc car….compare to honda city or toyota vios 1.5cc engine….sendiri fikir ler bro…
:) forgive him bro, some people likes to compare apple with bananas
mitsu lancer GT at langkawi only cost 71k…how u gonna explain that??!
umnosukapitnah, majoriti rakyat msia beli kreta bukan kat langkawi. ape benda lah kau cite ni. org mcm hang boleh ler pg bli smp kat langkawi sana. tp org selatan tak sanggup aih nak pi sana semata2 angkut proton sebijik. kalau semua org pk cam hang, bungkuih dah proton. jgn kata proton, mercedes pun bangkrap der, kalau semua org pi bli kreta kat langkawi. ramai lah rakyat msia pakai bentley kalau mcm tu. hahahaha. pikiaq dulu der, sebelum ckp.
bro, you can buy cheap car at Langkawi, but consideration of buying house I bet on you its more expensive than buying a apartment at Ampang. Nothing special nowadays..
woi gila..80k import car interest berapa???ni 80k 3.9 bos interest dia..apa la..ko ingat ko nak beli cash ke??haha
lol….excellent reply :)
umnosukopitnah..kete kat langkawi murah sbb xde tax,duty free zone. ko beli..pakai kat sana, dpt la rege tu.murah. cuba ko beli..pastu ko bwk masuk semenanjung. sanggup ke bayar tax bai..? ngops tol.prffttttt
Ye la..forgive him bro…budak baru keluar sekolah
aiya… for that price , u probably get a car that u need to send in factory for repair more often then the japanese car…. pity u la … and the 1.8L engine, i doubt about the output and reliability….. u thought mitsubishi will be that stupid , let us “copy” entirely their lancer? there must be some different in their engine , gearbox, and maybe their body construction….. think about it , they wont bring their death , just for u a small malaysian carmaker… please… noob
Aiya kalo jual harga seperti di Langkawi, Proton tak akan bankrap….tetapi laig teruk kesan sampingan…nanti cukai kita kena dinaikkan.
Biar macam sekarang pun ok, bole pilih Pesona atau Exora kalau Inspi terlalu mahal.
RM 80k untuk model yg paling murah shj.
eee…..gerom btol aku baca sstgh komen2 tu…..ade ke duk kompare ngan harga kat langkawi…..nak sgt pakai mitsu rm71k tu kat lgkawi pi lah idup kat langkawi….. nnt tym kene pindah duk kat semenanjung ka , sabah ka , sarawak ka, botak kepala lah kene bayar cukai…..kete mmg le murah tapi mana boleh bermaustatin kat bumi semenanjung ker,sabah ker,,,srwak ker..kat pulau tu je lah dia boleh bmstautin…..aiyaaa…apada….pi lah beli kete tu kat langkawi..kalau nak murah sgt
T & H die hard n proton basher… hard to change the mentality..
umnosukopitnah…..71k in langkawi….and me stay in labuan cost RM72k only…but be realistic la man langkawi/labuan free duty…try bring out from langkawi and calculate the tax….even the tax will be RM32k (and remember tax have to pay in cash)…then…your RM72k car + tax RM32k = RM104k…hahaa..some more u pay RM32k CASH for tax…just imagine with that RM32k if you pay Downpayment for the same car outside Langkawi/labuan which give you more benefit in less payment year and loan and interest? adoiiii..ada jugak org minda camni…
True but those 1.5’s are no ordinary engine. The honda for example has a powerful120ps engine with i-vtec technology and 5 speed automatic. It might lose a bit in terms of power compared to the 1.8 mitsi’s engine but the honda clearly has much better fuel consumption.
fc depends on how strong is ur right foot, not the engine…
Don’t forget to mention the after sales service from Honda.Way better than Proton even if you buy a Perdana.
perdana is mnore better la, 2.0 with V6 engine, and u still say vios or city better? pls la, malaysia cars also did’t worse as u though !!!! :/
u want good fc go buy viva 1.0 la wei
want good FC, ride kapcai la wei…
full tank only RM6…
oh wow cool you can read a brochure!
u want better fc. use bicycle. no need fuel at all. will not break down.
“fc depends on how strong is ur right foot, not the engine…”
You mean that if I drive a 6.0 litre Bentley Continental Flying Spur with a light foot I can easily get fuel consumption as good as err… a 660cc Kancil?
C’mon man!! FC relies heavily on the engine itself. Your right foot is just part of it.
Adoi.. Lagi mau bising pasal fc ka??? What fuel guzzler??? Those who buy this Inspira can afford it la…. someone have viva, then he borrow someone Pajero, then he will worried about fc…. For the pajero owner, that is not a problem.. coz they can afford it… Kamon la… if we use viva, just think about our viva fc, if we use volvo, just think about our volvo… i’m using 2.0 Peugeot, so i only think about my Peugeot fc… The other car fc does not effect our money… only our car will effect our pocket.. Ikut taraf hidup la… orang kalo pakai viva, pastu naik gen2, mesti dia risau pasal minyak, sebab taraf hidup dia sesuai untuk minyak viva je… bagi yg naik perdana pulak, kalo naik gen2, dia xkan rasa apa2, sebab taraf hidup dia lain… Kesimpulannya, kita beli kereta, ikutlah kemampuan diri sendiri…. Kalau kita mampu pakai kancil, pakai la kancil, jgn nak beli waja, Kalau kita mampu pakai mercedes beli la mercedes… Memang la kalau ikutkan hati, semua orang nak beli kereta idaman hati… Tapi kita kena la ukur baju di badan sendiri.. memang la x fair, tapi ni la hakikat dunia… Yg jadi masaalah ni bila orang yg sepatutnya pakai Kancil, xnak pakai kancil, dia pi beli
spectra… tu yg jadi masaalah tu.. Sebab terlalu ikut nafsu… Xsalah kita pakai kancil, kereta jugak. selamat jugak kalo drive baik2… Hujan x basah… Kalau rasa sempit tu beli la kereta lain, tapi harga biarla dalam lingkungan kancil… Beli la Wira 1.3 secondhand.., kos servis pon x lari jauh, fc pon x lari jauh.. Kalo bagi alasan, orang lain naik kereta selesa, kita pon nak jugak… tapi kena la pikir, kita hidup bukan dalam kereta… kalo dalam kereta ja selesa, tapi tido malam x lena pikir bayar kereta ngan duit minyak, x guna jugak..
He jus statin wat he would rather do wif 80k. Some ppl go wif engine, some would rather go for brand perception. Most people mentality is if they can afford a jap brand, y would they buy a local brand for the same price. Kenapa semua marah sangat?
definately agree with mars
Well, this particular blog entry talks about proton’s new car. This and that. That and this. It’s not about what kind of car you can get for 80k. It’s about a particular car and what you get with it. No mention about the exact price also.
Suddenly a joker tells the world what he wants to do with his 80k. Why here? Why? And it’s the first comment!!! Did he even read the article or he just wanted to be the first poster?
Of course la people get mad. People were talking about pisang and the nice thing you can do with it: pisang goreng, lepat, pengat, kek pisang etc etc… suddenly one snobbish id10t says “I like apple better” in a fake London accent.
And you ask “why you mad bro?” ???
its okay bro, this bro’s gotta learn how to crunch in numbers and calculate pound for pound value..
well, if it aint due to tax, vios and city would cost as much as waja…
Vios is suck.. I not anti-toyota.. I love toyota Hiace so much.. Seriously… I like Honda city… I like Honda Jazz… But, if i need to choose, i’ll go for Inspira or Forte… or mbe Avante…
so wat if 1.5 cc? at least the car is not copy n paste n the quality is confirm 100% better than thundercat logo proton….
Test drive first la bro… I’m sure even Jeremy Clarkson will approve of the Proton more…
POWERRRRR~~~~
will he? i doubt it. JC wont even want to give even a damn good point and will only highlight all the bad points on Malaysian cars. looks like this brit wont even the over the fact that their proud Lotus is in hands of Malaysian company.
People like you are just biased. When Hyundai/Kia were rubbish a few years ago, he pointed that out. But now, when they have improved greatly, there is no more so called bashing from him anymore!
Heck, a Kia is their Reasonably Priced Car.
But one reason why he won’t give good comments about this car is because it’s rebadged. Not saying it’s a bad thing, but most of the engineering is by Mitsubishi, so he’ll probably give THEM credit.
Well at least James May did comment on Persona one of the best marque from SEA and inform that Proton are going to the right direction if you the fact in TG way.
JC will approve coz overall peformance done by mitsubishi not proton…. handling lotus? then what else? wana cooment abt the quality sorry to proton they sux…. sux sux sux…. sucking out our malaysian money! 60% mitsubishi 40% proton for sure JC will say OK….. once they tune more with the engine more comments to come frm him….. now itself the inspira engine been tuned compare to original lancer… imagine what else they would have done…. even had modified the suspension…. maybe the original can last 203 years more than the proton modified suspension….
i think he is one proud honda city owner untill he know about this wajalancer price.
aiyo
++ compare to vios and city..++
+good high performance ori Mitsubishi engine
+ good CVT transmission
+ lotus DNA
+ 5 star crash test
+ 2 years free service! ++ free labour and free parts!!
++ how u can get this on a dugong vios and city?
then what happens after two years ? power window rosak….door handle rosak…..butang radio rosak……sini rosak sana rosak…..
o,before you label me a “diehard japanese car”…..i would love to inform u that i dont own a car…..
i prefer public transportation,especially the train,bus not safe….long live KTM !!
“o,before you label me a “diehard japanese car”…..i would love to inform u that i dont own a car…..”
then, it more obvious that you shouldnt give comment in first place. it’s not from your experience nor it make any sense.
since you dont own any car, and prefer to take public transport, you sir, are an arse. you are more worst than owners who bash other brand and owners who bash their own brand.
This is my 7 year using proton car (Gen2). I dont have a major problem with my car. So is that means proton is not a good car. If you have a problem you may consider that unlucky. Give it I try first then you can comment about that. One more thing even good car also have a problem exp BMW and Honda at the end the call back their car for inspection.
releks la bro…all car got their own defect..why just looking at proton? basher la lu beb…
my 3 years neo..just change the front brake pad after 2year plus usage and havent change yet the rear pad till now cz still can be use….but my 2008 accord…rear brake pad have to change after 1 year usage…
3 years used neo..never got any major complain and fault..but my accord….electric seat faulty after a month use….steereng problem and haih now 2 years dah my electric seat still make a problem again….so…which one worth the value? RM48k neo or RM172k accord?
so..jangan la nampak buruk kat proton saje bro…
nxid – not owning one doesn’t mean not driven or sit in one before. It’s a forum ff s!! anyone can comment.
xord – oh dear!
shi – did anyone mentioned anything about BMW or a Honda has got no problem? So from now on anyone who owns a problematic Proton is just simply “unlucky”. That’s your reason for Proton being a good car?
There is nothing wrong with someone who prefers the public transport and in this forum about Proton, you get 1 basher and 5 lovers. When it’s about a Jap car, these lovers will turn basher!
By the way, I love my 12yr old Proton.
lol @ resident of moronia, how to get 5-star crash test with only TWO/DUA/2 airbags??? Stoopid potong lover.
Just because its a rebadged Lancer.
It doesn’t meant that the waja is a 5 star crash test.
Assembly line is different. All the steps and procedures are also different.
Challenge me, Proton…
Go ahead and take the Euro crash test with these WAJAs…..
See whether u get the same rating as the Mitsubishi Lancer or not……
cannot take euro crash test if didn’t sell at europe la bro
For your info….
EXORA is been awarded Euro NCAP 4 star
Exora currently not in sale in Europe…
I don’t about Exora have been awarded Euro NCAP 4 star
but i heard they has been tested to be similar/ equal to euro NCAP 4 star
even they are not tested in Europe. i think at south America la..
I think you should also look at whether the Perodua, Toyota and Honda manufactured here meets those status as well to be fair. Skin may be the same, but by reducing parts quality and number of welds, they save time and money. Malaysia belum lagi ada NCAP standard benchmark. You cant compare cars made in Malaysia CKD and their brothers in Japan and European Union. Lain factory, lain suppliers.
btw it’s not Lotus DNA, Mitsu didn’t wanna let Proton do anything to the suspensions, cept a little into production tweaking.
dont forget..40% proton DNA maaa..cit!!
compare cabin space will do, spend 80k to get a city / vios kotak mancis space for wat?
hahahaha…why would u buy a city or vios…hahahaha.. incomparable la bro…hahhaa…different league of car, this is c-sagment car…civic or altis can la compare…those are 100k, this u get 80k….forte also a good competitor…
i think forte is the best to compare…
agree with u bro…
sme ppl dnt know how to cmpare
setuju dengan exlive3, kenapa pulak nak compare P3-90A dengan Vios @ City…Vios n City in different sagment…kalau nak compare kenalah sagmen yg betul seperti Civic, Altis, Forte
they are comparing price of vios and waja replacement model. without seeing the car class.
i will rather go for new waja.
why?
bigger engine(more power and speed)
bigger space
about same price as [email protected]
2 year warraty..
and most of all its engine is mitsubishi..
For H & T Lovers, pls think deeply…do they use Aluminium Engine?
The answer is NO, and proton is using it with CVT technoloy…
C’mon, pls compare Nasi Lemak to Nasi Lemak, not Roti Canai…
Its different. Btw, I am a 10 year old Wira A/B user, my car clocked 220,500km already, no major issue except battery, tyre & wiper wear & tear.
Who say Proton can’t be reliable? I have friend whose brand new Beemer 525i completely stalled after 2 days driving out from showroom…due to electronic failure….what a shame..
Compare apple to apple, new waja must compare to the likes like toyota altis, honda civic, kia forte, nissan syphly, hyundai elantra. Not compare to vios or city, different segment !!!!!!!!! Be reasonable in comparison
i owned waja now… still love waja even the price is going down now… but.. i still can speeding… at least 190km/hr maa… sonang2 jo dapt eeiii… if i got this new waja replacement… first thing i do is… test the engine… hahhaha….
Forte 0-100 km/h plan skit then vios
So?
me too!
Now we heard Mr. Bean talking.
typical malaysian thinking..sceptical to all local produce eventhough it is originated from well known name. i would love to see more about this new waja replacement model. i will compare with my 80k vios. bitter or not, if they are better than my vios, i will say “yes, they are better than mine”. no need to say that your vios or honda city superior than this model because at the first place, you had not neither see that nor test drive the car. how could you justify it all without knowledge? wait and see first larr..let Paul test drive and give comment. at least we have the idea of that car. then only you can say..yahh my vios or city is much better, if it is true lah. otherwise, shut your mouth and take your family to enjoy sate kajang..
dude, talk so much, let’s see you put your money where your mouth is and buy this ‘car’ then. stoopid potong lover, asking people to shut their mouth.
wtf r u talking about ? did he say he loves proton or anything like that ? All he said is unless u have driven the car, dont simply say things bout it. How would u like it if i say you’re an idiot simply by looking at ur nickname ?
Sate kajang susah nak parking …. try sate hj samuri @ presint 16 putrajaya … easier a bit
I heard there also got sate kajang in Silicon Valley, isn’t?
too positive thinking i’m afraid it might ended u with the great sadness..y do u armeng compare with vios?its yes that vios is similiar price range, but how much interest bank of vios???this 80k proton 1.8 with proton emblem, pay 10 percent d/p still u need to pay rm901 for 9 years (3.9%) interest…so how?can u explain to me? then vios also u would pay 900 but for 7 years..can u see wat the different?even thou im a mitsu fan, but im still abit dissapointed with price proton and its obvious it is to “jaga” Persona, gen2 and Neo CPS. for rm901 per month for 9 years i suggest Mitsu fan to wwait for Next edition Lancer..sure the gearbox and handling will be improve..by the way, do u know guys the body and chassis Lancer is verry2 low quality if u cmpare with Evo 10..but then, dun compare to Honda civic as Honda will launch new edition Civic in 2011 to beat Altis and Sonata.tq
high interest is BANK decision, not P1. you shoot wrong people for wrong fault.
Actually the Evo X and Lancer share the same chassis….. whats different is the engine, trim lvl, equipments etc… As far as i know the the chassis or should i say the body structure is the same….
how much interest for VIOS bro?
i heard this insider news from somewhere else. proton gonna stop production for inspira if it still cant meet the quota..
and today news July 24th, an inspira malay owner died due to tyre burst..
and i wanna to correct some mistake about the interest part- 2.33 lowest interest for 5 years, 2.67 for 7 years and 2.89 for 9 years …. latest promotion 5k rebate cash or 5 years warranty …. correct me if wrong..
Last Question, if someone bought this inspira and mod into EVO X or lancer gt, the warranty is still there ??? thanks
this is laymen Paul talk about…
in mass production, the higher process complexity you have, the higher cost you have to bear… so, i think, it just same chassis…
you think it is easy to make a chassis eh?
you better learn vehicle structure engineering…
yeah…the chassic were same but safety point diff due diff engine setting. but, it not mean lancer chassic very low. honda civic also put extra safety point for their type r…and can we consider normal civic got low chassuc….
yeah…the chassic were same but safety point diff due diff engine setting. but, it not mean lancer chassic very low. honda civic also put extra safety point for their type r…and can we consider normal civic got low chassic….
i think the car loan interest rate now has been standardize for both local and imported car.. you can no more enjoy 2.3% for vios.. i quess the interest rate now is between 3.5-4%.. depend la on the BLR set by govn..
correct me if i’m wrong
high interest is bank decision? why bank decision is like that? BNM control by G and P1 oso same, control by G? dun u ever realize who i was pointed?
by the way, i am not from mechanical engineering???? haih, im not telling u this if i duno..and im a designer far far away harder compare to the Car..wawa.. design a stuff that prvide worlwide to use the tool for exploration is simple as car??haha..cmon, they even need to consider material type, mechanical n material prperties, collapse pressure, and watever..and for AutoJohdoe, wat i learned b4 was far beyond strutural vehicle engineering. U shuld think before u write, n dun think that u r smarter ppl here.
Salamander, developed country has all benefit to their resident..how oso sample u may take, i duno la..but dun take singapore la coz spore dun have natural resource and only depend to the tax so that is not suprise if spore had too much tax that need to be pay..haha, i had been in europe for many time not long time agoooo..i duno which coutry u stay b4, but in france ptrol maybe euro 1.2 current (maybe), then all the resident got their meal coupon (daily), all got pencen private sector or govern all same..haha…and all salary structure is very nice..so dun think that we are Negara MAJU..haha..
bro.. u tau buat business ka?
u come out with new model that kill off sales of all ur existing models NEO PERSONA GEN2 etc…
and P1 is investing heavily on persona
u mau bankrupt ka?
and we are a developing country not a DEVELOPED country * wink*
i respect your comment….i also same won’t be a fool go use 80k buy a entry level low spec buy proton…my pocket money 80k-90k range will go for Honda City / Toyota Vios definitely… for national car budget max 65k is consider high lolzzz….
what toyota offer u with the 80k vios?nothing except the vvti engine..the rest are normal..nothing special at all. when i entered vios G spec, my first word about the interior is : “aik..ni je ke interior dia??” tp i cakap dlm hati la..kang kecik ati plak member i pemilik vios tuh..
but really, 80k for vios is tooooo much expensive..
for those who said better go for vios…better sit and list down pro n con between this model n vios..
Akina, i totally agree with. Nothing special about the Vios & City, except the engine and CVT gearbox. The rest nothing to shout about..
hakhak..walawei, 2010 car, proton use technology 2005/6? these fellow duno wats the problem of lancer..this is not rebadge from lancer gt dude..then do you think proton care about you so much r?hahaha..80k?is it worth for u to buy? maybe yes, maybe not. CVT? c’mon, this is old technology? but then, yes Inspira is better car than vios, only i disagree with 80k price tag.shuld be around 73-75k for lowest spec! Akina, toyota might sell it 60k if not because of tax from G just to cover the P1 car..cmon.. open your eyes, P1 use our money to build this car dun u realise? then y they still want to sell 80k with 3.9-4.0 interest or 4.1% full loan? haha???
To Civic 1.7RS on what basis of economical knowledge are you saying that the pricetag should be 73-75K? Proton also need to pay tax to the government, have you take that into consideration? Not to mention that they also need to make some profit for future development.
And please stop blaming the government for the Tax and saying proton uses our money. Have you been to other developed country that have their own Automotive industry? they also imposed high tax rate for foreign car sold in their country. So why should there be any different here?
For people who brag that they are a designer, your comment is a bit shallow.
and if u compare inspira with city..why?because city has a padle shift?hay, inspira also have what..
so nothing special anymore about city :-)
“P1 use our money to build this car dun u realise? ”
how much tax that you pay to the G? only peanut la… common think about it.
Vios N City C segment la bro…
This 1 Proton Inspira is C-Segment Car…
Cabin also bigger than your dugong vios or boxy city…
Typical Japanesse Wanabe…
vios n city B segment…..
I suppose this is a car, you’d go for if you want a bit more grunt for your 80k…
in Brunei, Mitsu GT model cost around 27k-30k. Convert to Ringgit, it is 30K x 2.37. That is also RM71k. That price is for Bruneien, whose income per capita is higher than Malaysian. And they get cheaper cars.
then… wait until the oil all gone…
Our oil not yet gone also like this then can’t imagine if all gone…at least Bruneians get to enjoy first rather we suffer all the way….
Brunei do not require automotive tax. Enough said.
kepada jim….ade ke ptt ko gi compare dgn harge honda city or vios…skrg nih dgn harge 80k, ko dh dpt enjin 1.8l….original dr mitsubishi sendiri….tp kalau la kete lancer yg harge 80k, for sure ko sendiri akan angkat lancer….hanye org yg kurang cerdik je pkr mcm ko….
I hope the quality of this car is not same as the other protons….
i thk that going to be the same unchanged…same style doing things…won’t bring much surprise for u…u may feel not as good as lancer quality…since quality is alway big problems for proton…new waja will be expect to hv lower quality as well…try compare past history wira & lancer…what u facing in wira in term quality…so hope u don’t expect high from proton…we jz look a their trends for comparing the quality…then how for current lineup gen2, persona, savvy & neo???
At launch, already 40-something percent LOCAL content. How not to be the same?
Eventhough it’s local.. dIfferent supplier maybe? What Harris is hoping for is better supplier unlike what happened to previous management. This is the first rebadge from Mitsu under DSZ, wake up people…
err… my 2yrs old Saga BLM outside door handle broken twice already… once on front left… and 2 month later on the driver side… hmmm… and not warrantable… :( how sad..
I think proton has to look after the vendor more to supply them with quality parts…
But anyhow others works well….. and I’m happy with Proton so far.
This Lancer based Proton should be good if they maintain less local content…
mmmm, typical example of speak first think later. something like american cowboy, shoot first ask later.
man, i refer this to jim:
’80k min..then i rather buy honda city or toyota vios….’
same r interior.. IP got ckd also
2.0 L mivec Gema engine with timing chain, sure sales like hot cake
wow timing chain aaa?? nice
Best buy of this car model is 1.8L Manual!!! Cheaper & more fun to drive!!!
let us see whether really a lot of ppl buy this 1.8 manual or not. becuase normally ppl who can afford to buy 70-80K and above cars are ppl with job involving a lot of thinking. and they rather the gearbox do the thinking itself while being driven.
anyway, thumbs up to proton for not letting down the manual option.
Yeah, the 1.8 manual sounds delicious.
I am sure lots of petrolheads will be really happy.
I was considering the Hyundai i30 manual, but now I have this. Woo hoo!
Naza please rebadge all Proton cars….so the price will be more cheaper…..& less monthly commitment for all malaysian
wow ! Mitsubishi tech + lotus ride ! cool ~ considering 1.8 , it sound really good ! Thanks Proton !
Inspira had given me inspiration to continue further with Proton..my Waja had contribute a lot me and I would luv to own the new waja(inspira).
I believe the handling is better.
hope the quality and QC is 5 star… because from my experience… proton style is … launch 1st and let local buyers/owners be their QC’s… if there a prob.. local people will let people’s at proton’s know… that what happen with my new proton last time i bought one… don’t be cruel to our local buyers… we really want to support our brands…. anyways good luck proton!
wow!
Great..can’t wait for the preview :)
woo hoo ! finally !
Proton should maintain wif Mitsui a long2 time ago….
For “kaki lari”…this is the best time for u all to buy Inspira…..
MIVEC wif INVEC III, CVT gearbox, timing chain [email protected] (1.8cc) or [email protected] (2.0cc)
nah…original frm Japan…New …tak payah nak convert lagi engine..
Think Proton Inspira, Think Lancer GT…..
could it be “think lancer GT, Think Proton inspira” ? :p
The 2.0 output not the same as Lancer GT…..147ps/177kw torque vs 155ps/199kw
You are referring to the output of the 4B10 1.8L of course it’s less. Proton has both the 1.8L and 2.0L.
Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_4B1_engine
Sorry paul my bad……read the motor trader review……..well I hope the change the rear light to LED or something……put more electronics gadget on the car such as touch screen GPS and more safety features such as more 6 airbags….. Traction control…..Hid light ….dreaming am I….hehehehe : ))
aiyaa…..
the lower class RM80k Vios/City also don’t get all those…
might as well say they should put everything else also….
Is Proton getting the 4B11T with the turbo?
Nope!
Paul, is there a 1.8 Manual variant?
bem69 nih..x baca ke posting PT yg panjang lebar kat atas tuh..?? konpom x baca la neh..haihh. penat je PT type panjang2..
only stupid crazy company would sell 4B11T engined cars under RM100k loool.
want a T? make it 4B11BOT
hahaha…agreed with u
maybe in R3 or limited edition
huhu no chance mitsu giving the evo10 engine
argghhh… small rims…
16 inch with Continental ContiComfortContact5 tyres for all variants.
aiyoooo continential arr??? my pug come with conti only 4 month pecah liaw.
wa~ ganas sia u drive.. My car’s front continental for 4 months(changed in June) also still good.. not harden yet. =)
i dont know why,, but must check manufacture date first,, many pug 308 hv same problem..
my continental dated at 1310. =) the 13th week of 2010.
my car with continental tyres 3 years never changed the tyre lol
Perhaps its the problem with specific batch of tires?
Could be lor…
Or
Prob with the driver ! Haha…
Aiya production where got 100% one…sure got some not so perfect that leak through QC.
So many factors from material to equipment…….haiz.
aiyaaa bro…..kasi rim/tyres mcm mana cantek pun, orang tukar juga maaaaa
this segment car, org yg beli semua ada duit…buat lawa2 pun org still mod juga..
Better fuel consumption mah
Ive been riding on 15 inch Cinti CC5, damn comfort and nice grip ! Beliv me !
even they give 20inch, people still want to change it…
thanks sharing with us.. :)
Oh dear, how long proton need to do this rebadge thingy…..
I’ll explain in my story, but it’s a “case by case” rebadge strategy, same as every other global manufacturer’s strategy. There’s no ‘shame’ to it.
Thank you very much Paul for stating the truth! Perhaps when it comes from you people will believe in it. Man, I want the Proton Inspira!
proton targetting rebadge models for their small quanity and niche market only like waja dan perdana.. whereas core models like persona, exora, saga their will continue own development…
this is normal strategy for other global car maker..
That’s why Proton targeted sale for this Inspira only 1000/month. Kata CEO Proton. Reasoabe la.
..and i don’t think it’s about the no “shame”. rather the “merry go round” ride over the two decade.
we all know already paul.. u mention it 1 year+ ago.. those who donno pls go back read history
In his book ” Dr Mahathir’s selected letters to the world leaders” , Mahathir said, ” Perception is more important than reality ! “, which I totally agree.
PEOPLE AROUND ME STILL HAVE THE PERCEPTION THAT REBADGE HAS NO ORIGINALITY.
Shame or no shame ? Go and do a survey before anyone can make any conclusion :)
nothing we can do about personal perception..but this is business….it`s nothing new in automotive industry…hanya yg `buta ilmu` shj akan `tembak` suka2 hati….at the end, we have our own choice…mana lagi malu kalau perabih duit juta2…akhirnya tanggung rugi…duit habis, kereta xbleh jual…huhhh?
no thanx to mahathir, malaysians have to face with either P1/P2 or nothing becuase the car prices were jacked up too high and require an even longer repayment period.
bravo tun.
its not about the quality of the cars really. most of the people here argue about the policy. just to protect P1 then all the rakyat suffer with poor car. more people died on the Malaysian road using tin sardin than the war in iraq.
would you want your family to starve only to show off having branded items in your house. thats the thing with Perception. and no… reality is more important than perception.
not all Malaysian died on the rood using Malaysia tin sardin, some also in jap & europe tin sardin , also my friend.
Heya Paul
Personally I do think the only “shame” here is that this plotong will inevitably affect existing Lancer owners …
Sure – it makes business sense to rebadge cars , but to sell the rebadged version along side with the original at the same place & same time seems pretty odd don’t u think ?
Case in Point –
Eg: You don’t see them selling the PASSO and MYVI side by side do you ?
Surely this will affect the owners to the original ?
Mitsu stops selling lancer, they are about to do the sportback instead, only proton sell the sedan version
…but to sell the rebadged version along side with the original at the same place & same time seems pretty odd don’t u think ?
i’m a malaysian student who is currently studying in Jakarta.
well u see, in Indonesia, they are selling rebadged version of car together with the original ones. for example, here they sell Daihatsu Xenia along side Toyota Avanza. they also sell Suzuki APV along side Mitsubishi’s rebadged Suzuki APV. and like what Proton has done, the rebadged cars are different from the original model in terms of engine capacity and safety features.
but i saw perodua nautica and toyota rush side by side. so what is your comment?
haha, true tokan..
and it kills nautica..
rush jugak yg bersepah on the road..
well said lim coffee…
Dear Paul,
what about those who already own a mitsu lancer ? : (
mitsu owners commit suicide, perhaps? nahh.. they have the money to spend. but better hurry and sell their cars now – just timely.
Trade in to get a new car, is new :D
as a lancer owner I don’t think of selling it….I’ve owned Protons more than 10 years,including a brand new one which lasted only 2years and too many times in the SC, quality issues again…even my old E36 is much better…some comedians here suggesting selling it for a Proton…
I think Perodua Nortika and Toyota Rush are the same model and both are sold in Malaysia.
…because Toyota owns Daihatsu and Daihatsu owns Perodua… so basically same… different stories with Proton and Mitsubishi…
Hi DukeKTM,
You obviously did not read Paul’s article.
Please read to find out which car companies are rebadging competitors’ other cars.
good paul…
at least lesser mind ppl will know what proton practice is the same with other makes globally…
WELL EXPLAIN…
good one Paul…
at least they know what is going with the car world…
instead of bashing without their facts right…
they only learn about car world at diving school only I think….
Paul, pleas forgive him(zul), he still a child : ) , dont know about businnes and motoring
Re badge strategy, there’s no ‘shame’ to it.
But a re badge car with such price (79.999K ~ 94K) and Proton’s assembly quality??? There’s no ‘shame’ to it ???
PT..people (referring to bashers & haters) just seemed to never understand. feel pity for them actually..
Myvi is a rebadged passo. whats the big deal about rebadging cars. its to save cost and the consumer gets to choose which brand he wants.
p2 all rebadged daihatsu
P2 semua rebadge.. and then proudly mengaku National Car!.. What a shame..
also toyota (certain) models rite..?
basically, they never have a toyota….
all they got are Daihatsu… never a toyota…
wow law >> good job proton
The problem is that they are not sold side by side ,
but Lancer and this Wa-Lan is !
dear Lim Kopi, check out this link:
http://www.ktb.co.id/products.php?mnu=1&kid=27
its the rebadged Suzuki APV i mention earlier. they sell this along side the original Suzuki APV in Indonesia. And i don’t see any problem with that.
Indon car market and ours not exactly the same right ?
Lancer is originally a C – segment car but now with WaLan becomes almost a B-seg ….
no adverse effect meh like that ?
Haiyaa Lim,
How about Nautica and Rush…Same concept lor….People already going forward, so you better start thinking forward asso lorrr.
I think that’s the reason why you don’t see any Nauticas on the road….
Alo Ice, not that im not thinking forward, BUT
DO U THEN SEE ANYONE BUY NAUTICA AH ?
Pointless for having a Lancer around now isn’t it ?
toyota rush AND perodua nautica.enuff said (dont talk about how many seat they have,its still the same)
Peugot & Citreon also rebadge MMC
VW also rebadge Suzuki
Subaru also rebadge Daihatsu
haiya, katak bawah tempurung
my friends.
all the other car maker rebadge due to reduce cost n their got shared in the company.
vw got suzuki.
toyota have daihatsu,perodua n small share in subaru.
renault also got some share in nissan.their rebadge with small entry cost.but proton?where got share with mitsubishi?their already kick mitsubishi in late 90s.
just my half cents
pug does not hav equity in mitsu..only patnership..still they rebadge mitsu….same goes to mitsu-proton
oi..baca la kat atas tu….aston martin ada share dgn toyota ke????diorang rebatch toyota iq jadi aston martin cygnet ko tak bising pulak….stupid dumbass….suruh baca malas…tau komplen jer…kenapa ko tak cakap aston martin takde duit pemalas buat keje???
rebadge have nothing to do with market share….its only easier if the company have relation…but even without any relation..any manufacturer was free to have discussion to do some bussines together…..what??u only sell nasi lemak to your family members ah??is it wrong to sell the exactly same nasi lemak at your warung and supply the “uprated-kopitiam” as well???? same nasi lemak..same taste..same ingredient….but different price….
think properly la……
yeah.. 100% agree with you…
We are talking about the price strategy.
If they got relation with Mitsubishi, I think the price will be much cheaper comparing to the announced price.
And not to forget also that a Proton(or Perodua) Cars in Malaysia is much expensive to compare to other country that imported Malaysian cars.
Please check in the internet first.
But, if the price is affordable enough, then another story.
And that Aston Martin selling price how much?
Toyota and Aston Martin, which one got exclusive brand?
forever and ever
Proton can rebadge a VW GTi and sell it for RM100k for all I care. Always welcome to cheaper car price
To rebadge a car in my opinion is not an easy as ABC. There should involve really complex agreement that MIGHT cause very2 big loss to the so called re-badger.
Even to rebadge a car it still takes millions of ringgit and 17 months of development.
to get the tools, and production line setup, to get vendor to submit approved material, anything less than 2 years is a good job.
even if its rebadge. need to train engineer and operator, smoothen the process line, even to work out the QA process and incoming, and then buy off process takes forever, and well, its not like a real rebadge by changing badge.
this is what concern me the most, they spend millions for re-badge, for better or worst?
you r rite fly, it takes alot of work i guess….if its not a rebadge by changing badge only …rite
Get it straight, Proton can be heavily funded by Gov and GLC.
And as we know, proton change of management did improve a bit.
But not at its best as Malaysian expected it to be after so many years of buying support. We have top brains but thick skull previous decision managers that build design that is backwards and highly unimaginable design outcome!
Get this time right P1. Brings forward technology that is suppose to be more futuristic, low CG, sporty and with more curve profiles on edges and side doors. This you can never go wrong no matter what rubbish is hiding inside the engine otherwise!
yeah…good mystvearn!! welcome cheep car, i love it too :)
Yeah keep it going Proton… next up, a rebadged McLaren for me…. Please, pretty pls…
heck even Aston Martin is rebadging the Agyo as their Cygnet…..
bro naim, dont lah give misleading info. the cygnet was not rebadged from Aygo, but iQ
The Aygo is rebadged as Citroen C1 and Peugoet 107.
Aiyo, this fella don`t study economics or business….
Can somebody pls enlighten him… haiz
Horray….
can u give us the final price for this car? cause they so many rumours.. i bit confuse which price is really true..
They didn’t unveil the confirmed price unfortunately but it’s definitely below RM100k for the most expensive version.
price starting RM79,XXX
hehe
my fren from Protong gave to me this evening
saw a shot of it interior in TV3,
It seem the Inspira will came with paddle shift. or is it just for the 2.0 version?
If not mistaken the 1.8L come only with 5-speed manual while the 2.0 is full spec version wif CVT + paddle shift. Auto for 1.8L still haven confirm yet, but believe it wont be the same as 2.0L..
1.8L auto also uses the CVT but no paddle shift.
Ouh thanks for the info, one last thing though,
Is the paddle integrated with the wheel, or fixed to the column just like the original Lancer?
It’s fixed onto the column as per the original Lancer.
Paul, any manual transmission?
1.8L will come with 2 variant Manual and Auto (CVT), and the 2.0L will come with Auto (CVT) + paddle shift and Plus minus at the gear and olso have an extra body kit. And for the rims it they just put 16″ .
Why… they all didnt fread the article or what…. pity Paul type banyak2….. they even bother to read :(
Finally Proton using a CVT (albeit not in-house version)… they shud have introduced the Lotus version with the CamXpro long time ago…. they really missed a chance to lead the way…
aww man , why can’t they come out with some REAL gearboxes ? :)
REAL gearboxes? I don’t think they put LEGO parts as their gearboxes. Hehehe.
Do you mean their OWN gearbox?
frossonice ….
You do know what a CVT actually is , do you ?
CVT = = Cerun Very Teruk
after this special edition will come with spoiler and sport rim like lancer gt. next limited edition..and bla bla bla edition :)
I think it looks better than the Lancer. And it just begs to be modded. The Sunway boys are going to have a field day being the supplier.
Can’t wait to see who will be the first in Malaysia to transplant EVO X engine to this Proton.
All it takes is a turbo kit to make Inspira turned into Evo X.
Proton Inspirax. Sounds like a pharmacy drug. :)
lancer is much better than this….
Talking before seeing the actual result.. typical basher
Damn stupid, even the car expert says this more comfort, he make himself look idiot !
How much better when they are practically the same thing? Read the article first. They have done only minor modification and tuning and that’s all.
Typical a**h***.
Sorry to hear your newly bought lancer has lost 50% of its value… dont cry..
what is proton did with lotus ride and handling? better handling wif this waja compared to lancer GT??
Paul, you know where we can get good Evo modification? :)
hahaha is it??inspira’s rim also doesnt hav a chance 2 stand by Lancer GT…i wonder y its 16’….
Malaysian Made car always never siap one..
moving out from showroom, then go to accessories car shop to add more make-up
that’s the beauty.
It translates into good business for the accessories guys. its a win-win situation.
malaysian car is taking like japanaese car..they do the normal, if u wanna big power go to shop tune it. but for “lazyness” europian, they built the normal n tune car. then the driver only show off thier big car, n when the car broke down. call someone else, nothing can do on your own.
cant wait for your review paul.. hope the lotus ride and handling do superb cornering :)
The Lotus DNA is definitely there. The car has been transformed.
Wow then Civic, Altis, Lancer will be eating smoke :)
Lancer with Lotus technology??
That’s awesome!
Bravo Proton!
The car has been transformed, so the new chassis have been test? i mean crash test? or they simply use the 5 star came from the old chassis.. kongsi2 kan yer paul..
chassis and suspension system is quite different. Read the article, will you. Paul never mentioned about chassis tweak or modification.
There is a fully unmasked picture of this car without the bumper black stickers and proton logo circulating on facebook :P
On another note, since you say preview, meaning launch date very very soon? Can tell us when? Saw a newspaper ad today saying starting RM 79 xxx
It’s soft launching TOMORROW with the name unveiled. Actual launch is in November.
Yeah…it’s on the 11th of November…rite Paul
what is soft launching….??? is there some kind of website that i can surf….???
are u a 3rd grade or something? LOLS!!! It’s just a private launch, not for everyone…. Take it easy, bro.
soft launch can be explained in simple words as in, they announce the existence of the car, let everyone drool over it, but no actual car rolling off show room yet. Where actual launch is the day the 1st customer can get their key n their new toy.
Basically means, soft launch is for people to look at the car, starts collecting money for mods n start booking/designing new body kit for his/her/gay/les car while dream of it everynight. Actual launch will be the day he/she/gay/les go and pasang all those above items and start rolling with style.
faham? :D
it is not a big launching like exora…
soft launching is just small launching without much gimmick… thats all
hello.. u r at the right place already lah..duh!
why proton didnt update the car???… such as putting LED brakelamp, side mirror with signal lamp etc….. persona and exora have those things….and i hope this car have the self illuminate meter thing….. i love those things…
The part about LED tail lamps did go through my mind. Even the spyshots of the Saga facelift show LED tail lamps. Takpe, got aftermarket solution :P
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6706/1275395296886e7a3b449c3.jpg
wow… it looks nice… thanks paul…..
wahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…. so audi ish
Erm…
U have to extract more $ to it… pity poor people…
I prefer they produce it for SE model maybe?
Proton Audi lol… Well the basic idea was to cut development cost, so it makes no sense to start costing extra by fiddling around with the bum.
they can’t design it…..ehehehehehehe
LED Rear Light make the car like china standard, just look at the Pasar Road shops, many are selling those LED light for multiple applications.
i hope they don’t change/add too much things from the original spec of lancer, nanti karang got problem (power window la, whatever things bashers commonly likes to bash), jadi isu lama pulak
Paul why 2.0 & 1.8 ??? Why not 1.8 and 2.0 Light pressure turbo or super charge??? If 1.8 & 2.0 not much different la……. Proton should have tied up with VW. Then we can have Proton Jetta……. & Proton Polo. Wake me up guys I’m still dreaming……
Mitsubishi did not allow them to touch the engine bay mechanicals, so the engine and ECU settings are all the same as per Mitsubishi.
any posibility this mitsubishi engine change to campro or other type engine? cause i heard they will change this?
I dun think la sir, since campro engine labeled as “dirty engine” which mean did not comply Euro Env specs I guess, so since this MMC engine more “clean” specs engine and using current de-facto engine also.
no la bro..change engine mean need to change engine mounting,,, this p390a is 90% ckd…no stamp part for big part…only roughly 1500 unit to be made monthly…
after this proton will venture into more new project…electric car, new global small car, P321A (persona R), saga r and exora r….
Is there any possibility that Proton will plonk in Campro CPS 1.8 and 2.0 in the Inspira?
paul > will mitsubishi allow this mivec engine to be used by other proton car like exora?
So Paul, what ur saying is that its literally POINTLESS for Mitsubishi Malaysia to sell the LANCER now ? :)
There will always be buyers who will want the Mitsubishi badge, plus they have the hatchback version coming up.
http://paultan.org/2010/09/13/mitsubishi-lancer-sportback-test-drive-report-from-japan/
What has a RM 123k Mitsu 2.0 GT has to offer to buyers? Inspira 2.0 has same body, engine & gearbox (plus paddle shift) for RM 95k? Inspira has Lotus handling which is a Big plus.
The badge can be easily changed to Mitsu badge, the rims can also be easily upgraded to 18 inch rim. By next year, there might be many Evo look alike on the road… How could Mitsubishi Lancer compete in Malaysia?
Everybody can buy their car and do reverse engineering.
why 95k so expensive?? same price like forte 2.0 and thats imported.
Lotus-tuned suspensions and Proton-improved CVT air cooler don’t come cheap lol. and Proton cars also kena tax heavily too.
btw, Mitsu’s CVT cooling systems are very problematic you know. step hard on the throttle for too long and gearbox ‘OVERHEAT’ warning will flash all over the speedometer screen. Proton has improved the cooling so no problem lah.
for your info that was for the 2007 models. all the latest model have cooler for the gearbox
Better still be a real driver and control the car yourself with a manual transmission.
imported doesn’t mean it is good. It may be called proton waja, but most of the parts and especially the design is of mitsubishi. that is Mitsubishi vs Kia.
Totolly agreed with you. Why Kia can produce so cheap car as it is CBU, the taxes will be 150% – 200%. CKD will be around 100%. When proton is produce in locally, the tax is only 45%. So i think proton is producing the car cheaper. I think it is because high make up from the vendor supplying the product to proton. As i know that from my fren which one of the supplier to proton. The product goes through many hand b4 reaching Proton. Some of the company is just shelf company which got the contract then sub out to factory to do it. they just earn the money they want so qoute high price to proton. that y our car so exp la…………. haizzzz if this is not solve, proton will be always expensive. :(
good la for forte, and then every month masuk service centre balik, spare-part no where to found.
How sure are you regarding this statement? Are you one of the owner of forte? As far as I know from some forte’s owner. There is no such symptom as per said in your statement. If you did not own the car or facts about it. Don’t just simply put your own perception in it.
Yes! Forte is good from the owner here. No such symptom mentioned from comments.
Hope you all can continue focus to Proton Inspira!!!
This is good car based on the spec & price!
Keep it up!
Didn’t noe that Forte got CVT paddle shift and Lotus Handling…
yea, the company that has evo cannot tune a car properly. LOL.
forte got 6 airbags, so you can choose safety or go faster.
yeah, put turbo for more power, spoiler, winglet, big exhaust, carbon fiber hood etc
Yessssssssssssss! this is it!
Well on the brighter side, now more choice in the 70k – 100k range and bringing a good Japanese car to the masses.
It’s not always a gloom case la, everyone complains and wants a good + reasonably affordable car so now Proton has done it so give it a chance. I’m all for choices, that’s it, Regardless of brand.
P/s : expecting traffic jam in sunway soon then :)
Yes i agree with you my friend. affordable pricing is good for the consumers.
Here’s the leaked brochure. PROTON INSPIRA. Cantik namanya…
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2686/inspiraflyers.jpg
Proton Ispira? If this is meant as a Waja replacement, why call it Inspira? Why not just call it Waja? Proton seems to create way too many “new” model names instead of a proper replacement i.e. continuation of existing model name but with new design…
It works if the new model’s a continuation of the previous model, but this clearly isn’t. Engine displacement different, segment different.
nothing weird if car maker changing their product name.
Nissan Bluebird, where now?
Nissan Sentra, where now?
Toyota Camry, where now?
Volvo also change their product name
Hyundai also change their product name
Hey Camry is still around, last time I looked.
bro, what’s wrong with it?
Like Tiara replacement they called it Savvy…
Satria replacement they added in the Neo…
Wira…market replace by Gen 2 and Persona…
Inspira is quit a good name…
Waja is quit old soundish…dunt u think?
Proton is going global now and they have to use global name for their models because words like waja, iswara, wira etc sound too domestic.
Cos they scared people will surely call it WA-LAN mah (as in Waja Lancer) :)
life go on for proton, ala wira replacement is named Gen2 / Persona, apa nak bising if Waja replacement named Inspira
wow ada paddle shift… proton here i come next month.. hahahaha.. seronok dpt keje kat sana.. mau sambar satu
price is out of reach for many ah bengs & ah lians.
Looks like current Lancer GT owners “not hit very hard”.
If 1.8 Variant is RM80K, then how much will d 2.0 variant cost?
Ah Beng and Ah Lian are poor people?
What makes you think that ?
this gonna be awesome… lotus DNA (said by paul) .. hahaha… all “ori” mitsubishi lancer will be smoked later when this car on road…
but i don’t have the money…. too expensive for me… lol….
lotus neva produce a powerfull engine la..
but we r happy that the engine is originally from mitsu..
and the handling from lotus DNA..
yeah ori mitsu will be smoke off.. LOL
Engine is not campro engine?
No its the 4B series by Mitsubishi.
wow that’s good!thanks paul tan!
Perhaps later Proton will add the 1.6 CPS engine.
paul.. apa itu 4B series, suatu ketika dulu ada gambar new wajar yg ada body chassis numbering, dari body chassis numbering itu code untuk enjin new waja ialah ( 4 ),, setahu saya 4 bermaksud 1.4cc.. mcm campro 1.3cc code dia ialah ( 3 ), 1.6cc ( 6 ) plzz terangkan,,,
Different manufacturers use different naming for their engines. For Mitsu, 4 is 4 cylinder, B is the engine family.
boleh refer kat sini…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_4B1_engine
semua dapat thumd down? huhuhuh maksud saya ialah number ni… PL1CY4STRAF000007
in la dia number body, code enjin yg ker enam (4) merujuk kepada 1.4cc,, ini la yg saya hairan..
sy tau 4b10, 4b11, 4g13 and 4g15,, ni nama enjin..
comment ni cuma nk terangkan soalan sy sebelum ni.. TQ..
First 3 digits are WMI World Manufacturer indicator, PL1 = Malaysia Proton
4-9 digits are VDS Vehicle Descriptor Section; vehicle type, platform, body style amongst others.
10th digit shows year of make, A = 2010
11-17th digit are VIS Vehicle Identifier Section; like IC number lah. may also be used to show options on the car.
http://funtastickodesign.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/lancer-proton-10.jpg
i read somewhere… proton target 1k++ sales per month
why so low??
dugong monthly sales is around 2k++ /month
i think inspira can do better
this is for niche market
the mass one would be new persona and emas
Malaysians prefer badge over the cars. People will still buy the dugong even though there are choices of better car at similar price.
Paul, this is just my speculation. Is it because mitsu do not really have any factory in SEA, that’s why they allow proton to do this? By utilizing tg. malim and proton as their partner to export/market lancer, so mitsu can benefit from lower manufacturing cost.
This seems like a good deal for both parties.
Yeah, it could be a precursor to something bigger. If done properly it can also a ‘testimony’ of Tanjung Malim’s ability to assemble third party cars with good quality, so Proton can possibly do contract assembly jobs for other automakers.
good for economic and p1 itself
agrees, let see what’s coming
if that is so then why did vw doing their contract assembly in pekan, certainly tg malim is the newer and bigger plant?
tanjung malim is proton plant…..their contract is with HICOM..so pekan plant
VW hv been official announcement in the press that German worry too much high possibility proton will steal their intelligent property for own use or to 3rd party or to their rivals…VW hv well exp in this matter when come to JV b4 coming in M’sia…VW afraid their award winning dual clutch DSG & turbocharged TSI engine leak out & fall to their competitors…
Yeah but the same thing can happen at the Pekan plant. I think it is just becos VW want more control over the JV or any rebadging venture. Pekan guys dont mind the partner taking charge, no pun intended.
Proton tanjung malim is the best “car plant” in malaysia.. masuk jer kita boleh tukar bendera jepun, just some stupid proton ppl how made this cpny suck.. waste more money in rental palnt “shah alam”, proton boleh keluarkan kereta yg ada “Q” di tanjung malim.. dgn syarat vendor yg supply part ada “quality”, TAPI. proton have to pay more la,, dont simply cut cost, ok?,..
Not in Malaysia lah.. Discovery channel said that Proton palnt in Tanjung Malim is The Most Advance Plant in the World… This is fact..
See this link.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DzVzp12pbw
yer.. dulu terbaik di dunia (2003) sekarang 2010.. dan sekarang tak semua mesin dia normal macam 1st production 2004.. thanks 2 cut cost enggr.. tapi masih boleh keluarkan “Q” product and some batter than 1st production.. ( tak termasuk part yg di supply oleh vendor ( not all vendor) )
yup… Some vendors spoil everything….
Inspira uses Shah Alam factory.
Paul, Inspira assembly at MVF Shah Alam plant share with Exora line not at Tg Malim plant
PLEASE DO IT WELL FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, YA, MY DEAR PROTON.
PLEASE DO IT RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
The ball is now in your park Proton, you’ve got a class product in your hands.
Hope that the suppliers and after sales support for this product is up to spec as well.
and this is my guess.. this is exchange model programme
Mitsu gives lancer to proton
proton gives exora/persona platform to mitsu
win win
am i right??
Why Mitsu need a Exora, for 3rd global marketing? Lets wait and see how far Mitsu Exora go for…
They have no manufacturing plants in SEA, but they do have some assembly plants in some countries like in the Philippines where they recently switched from CBU from Japan Lancers to locally assembled Lancers.
Japanese engine… european ride and handling.. malaysian price
ah beng must be happy and UMW salesman must be in pressure
prrrrtfhhh
if can follow back the rim and tyre size for 2.0 model as Mitsubishi,
then is good…
17 inch alloy rims would look better for the 2.0 model. 16 inch ones do not look that sporty what with taller-sidewalled rubbers, looking from the sides.
Paul, may be 16 inch rims are the size ideal to the Lotus-handling team considering our Malaysian roads?
……….Or just for economical reasons since 17 inch or 18 inch rims would require the more expensive relevant tires? Please comment
nvr mind… oem rims always not the first choice type :)
most owner will change them …a.s.a.p …..
dont need.. save on tyre.
You sum it up nicely. I think it will sell. Proton should use this slogan..haha… I have been using the Waja more than 6 years now. If everything clicks, time to sell the Waja.
actually i believe that 18″ rim like Lancer GT can be used in 2.0 Inspira because the engine might be the same thus the power output is a bit similar. But 18″ tyre is too expensive for average Malaysians thus Proton reduced the size to 16″.
Inspira owners can always swap their original rims with aftermarket 18″ rims if they want to.
i think the purpose of 16 inch tyre is for ride comfort without compromising handling capability.
my 2 cents.
rumor said proton inspira will coming with R3 edition :) Overall proton did a good job. Never mind copy paste model, this is industrial car need more years to become outstanding and excellent. 25 years is still young for proton, they are many things should do by proton.
i thought Paul said Mitsu don’t let Proton touch the engine?
anyway, it would kickass if R3 can tune the MIVEC wooooot xD
R3 is more on tuning…it does not change anything rite?
25 years still young? Look at KIA and Hyundai now!!
Kia & Hyundai 40 years plus already!
Are you sure? Read their history again!
yes they are… they started off in 1970s…
hyundai was established in 1967,their 1st car model is based on ford cortina..hyundai pony is the 1st korean car produced by hyundai in 1975..
kia motors founded in 1944,produced bicycle parts by hand..they starting to produced cars in 1973 partnering with ford and mazda..
maybe r3 guys just follow what the ralliart version did oversea….
hi paul, i’m very anxious about your review. what’s more when you said “The Lotus DNA is definitely there. The car has been transformed.”.
this is the shocker. i thought proton only takes the model and do some nose job and slap a ‘Lotus tuned’ badge onto it to improve marketing gimmick. this is a very interesting part.
yeahh that”s the different between proton and other “national car makers”
other national car maker thinks how to cut cost and downgrade from base model.
neway proton has also rebadge dan homeground model same like other global car makers.
SUbaru has their homeground model.. and they also have rebadge model JUSTY…
exciting, let see what’s paul verdict tonight ;)
For engine, proton & lotus have no authorizes to do changing. But the rest they can do anything such as suspension setting, refacing the look & etc. That look difference than others that just do totally rebadge but downgrade. So Lotus DNA was there & the car have transform… Mitsubishi also will get benefit since the car have tune by Lotus but maybe only for Evo line up only I think….
i’m very anxious and nervous tooooooo
for those guys who want to buy vios or city…
this should be a better choice and it comes with 2 yrs free servicing….
people buy vios and city because of their fuel consumption..
++ compare to vios and city..++
+good high performance ori Mitsubishi engine
+ good CVT transmission
+ lotus DNA
+ 5 star crash test
+ 2 years free service! ++ free labour and free parts!!
++ how u can get this on a dugong vios and city?
That’s the rational argument for the Inspira. Here’s the irrational argument – Vios & City have the T & H badge, trumps the P1 badge all the time.
ok let’s see
+good fuel consuand reiable mption engine
+good transmision – just ok
+so so DNA – ride and handling – just ok
+dunno how many star
+dunno how many years free service – check it your self
wait right there zimba …
5 star crash test – BUT AIRBAG HOW MANY ? ……..must be Dua Biji Saja la
2 years free service , BUT WARRANTY HOW MANY YEARS ?
simply bcos when u let the girl to choose which car to climb in.. definately Proton is not the choice
2 airbag how to get 5-star rating ??? just misleading people, bcos Mt Lance get 5-star with 7 airbag in test.
at least 6 airbag + ESP like tech only can get 5-Star for now
If u want a bigger more powerful car, then get the Inspira… U want a smaller car with good fuel consumption, then u know who to buy from :)
Then? Proton a car maker?? I’m sorry it’s never on my list!
so, why bother?…u did read the title of this post rite?…
some ppl r just plain arrogant.
so……….just walk away,just walk away!!!!!!
Maybe Ducati, Yamaha and Harley Davidson is on your carnaker list rite?
then… Still Proton is a car maker… so?
for someone who don’t think proton in their list, I quite shock how inspira caught your attention so much. :-).
for those who still want to buy vios or city….do u have brain??haha..long live protoon!
Yes we do :D
And for those of us who have it, we choose to use it :)
Besides, any sensible guy out there wld only welcome the inclusion of the Inspira.
It’ll keep the current market leaders on their feet !
Happy to see proton coming up with an attractive product ! Malaysians deserve it ! :D
Proton will alwaz b proton and the Japs will be Japs… doubt those ppl that wanted a Japs and reputation will ever be interested in buying back a Proton.. the model that will cry foul in the market will most probably be Naza Forte and of coz………. Mits Lancer.. hahaha..
it is called proton inspira
Lotus DNA eh? ^^
At least they are not just simply copy paste like perodua.
Ok, i dont really mean to shoot perodua here, out of topic.
Keke.
Amid the hype and high hope for the INSPIRA…I wonder what will be the waiting time for this new next decade of BEST SELLER from PROTON. I heard that booking are already on right now. As always people will surely book even without viewing the car.
saw this Proton Inspira after the genting tunnel, still with some camouflage tape with Proton test car regs….
nice pick-up, very agile slipping through cars & traffic going downhill and uphill just before Bukit Tinggi… all in all, this Inspira is a right progressive step for Proton… rebadging in my view is OK as long as consumers/customers get a decent product from Proton…. quality wise, I think only time will tell if any cost cutting is involve or if the Proton vendors have learnt their lessons from the past… I hope they have… because it’s a Proton I wouldnt mind buying… since the days of the Saga & Wira…
ahhh at last, i’m waiting for your preview drive!!
make it tonight , late night also ok
cheers
proton inspira…..from rm79,000
Start looking for 2nd hand Lancer GT wheels……
depreciation rate of the current lancer GT sure kaw-kaw huhu :P
wow… tomorow is so far away……. i wish to know the full details and the photos man….. you pay the price of a vios and get a lancer sized car….. of coz, the badge can be changed bila bila sahaja…….
great work proton….. the tuner markets will be very busy from now till next year’s CNY. the replica evo 10 bodykit out yet?…..gotta start reading on how to mod the engine with a bolt on turbo
ader manual tak?
after this we can see more Highway Eagle lah, but abit slower…
many will install aftermarket bolt on turbo to achieve evolution status :P
yea i tot of of that too. 1.8 manual + bolt on turbo + bigger rim + body kit + lotus ride& handling + mitsu great chassis = :D
well, most of PDRM’s current Wajas are already fitted with a supercharger. So, maybe they’ll put one in this Inspira too xD
ricers and mat rempits are gonna f*cked up. lol
I could have sworn that last Raya holiday I saw a police-striped Lancer somewhere in Johor (I think it was near Pagoh trunk road towards Muar). It was not the usual Helang but normal police stickers and it was not an Evo X as well (no flared body arches and shorter wheelbase).
At the back of my mind now PDRM has already started using Lancer GT (or even Inspira already) to replace the Waja and maybe then they’re testing the car albeit with Lancer’s front bumpers so they can test anonymously. I think the manual 1.8 is also developed with this segment in mind. No wonder my brother (in PDRM’s tech dept) said he already tested the car (didn’t paid much attention to him coz he likes to boast around anyway). I thought he meant the Helang.
Can anybody confirm this? I think Mitsubishi also aware that they can tap the government market easily this way, that’s why the rebadging deal can be concluded easily. They don’t need to do the marketing; heck they don’t need to do anything and yet still tap into the local car tax bracket and still laugh all the way to the bank with the same profit per car!!!
why wouldnt govt buy or use persona or saga?
bro..police used evo 10.
now, they should have waited for Inspira instead of buying the actual Evo X
at least save some tax payers money :)
Paul, you seem cannot tahan to unleash the info to the public eh? There are so many replies from you in this post. Good for the readers. I oso cannot wait to read more.
The 2.0 cost about RM76K in Japan.
I tot this is supposed to be a national car with no import duties or so…
How come it cost above RM90K for the same car over here?
http://www.batfa.com/newcar-mitsubishigalantfortis.htm
Answer is simple. All vehicles regardless of imported or locally produced are subject to excise duty, which is charged by percentage based on the engine displacement.
they still hav to pay royalty to mitsu plus still hav to pay excise duty(with discount) and sales tax n include intend profit from p1
Mitsubishi don’t need to do the marketing, they don’t need to do anything and yet still tap into the local car tax bracket and still laugh all the way to the bank with the same profit per car!!!
even though import duty not applicable to Proton but it has been replaced by excise tax which is quite high too
Import duty is not applicable to all makes, again ALL MAKES if imported from Japan.
Just apply MJEPA under the MAlaysia Japan free trade agreement.
Every body pays excise duty at 75% but discounted for local content. Higher local content lower the excise duty.
Sales tax everybody has to pay 10%
i supposed mitsu didnt hav to pays royalty stuff
..in japan…& ….mmm to them selft :)
hahaha
nice one..hehe
Why did Proton go back to rebadging Mitsubishi Lancers?
read the preview first. dont be lazy
i think that the rim is buruk…
Can change wat..
You mentioned “tonight”. What time Paul? I want to set my alarm clock.
MITSUBISHI LANCER GT 2.0 FULLY IMPORT FROM JAPAN = RM117K
PROTON WAJALANCER 2.0 FULLY LOCAL MADE N ASSEMBLY = RM95K
u tell me how much should dis car selling if MIT LANCER CKD in MAL???
simple… the LANCER will never had a chance to be CKD here clearly, and eventually, this model will be stop selling too very soon….
pas bli, tuka side mirror inspira dgn persona la.
Maybe Proton should sell the Inspira without the front nose or give an option to use the Lancer nose. Save us money and time. If not its bonus time for car acc shop.
Leaked leaftlet of Proton INSPIRA (Lancer Waja): http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NFGU8HZYsuA/TLUUNgdW53I/AAAAAAAADPI/j_habQn6H0Q/s1600/inspira.jpg
Aiseh!, another new name?