The name of Proton’s P3-21A was officially confirmed yesterday, and the date of its arrival has also been mentioned – the Prevé is set to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on April 16.
Ahead of the car’s premiere, Proton invited the media to a preview and test drive session with the car yesterday in Putrajaya. Photography wasn’t allowed, so we don’t have photos of the Prevé aside from what you see here, which is a selection of highlight shots provided by Proton.
The test drive route was comprehensive enough though, spanning 157 km in total, with both the normally-aspirated IAFM and turbocharged CFE variants driven, so both Anthony and I gained a fair bit of input about the car, which you’ll read about later in the story, but first, other aspects about the Prevé.
Examining the proof a little closer
The Prevé is built on the P2 platform, which is currently used by the Exora. This makes the P2 platform the base in which all larger-sized Protons will be built on. It will also be used for the Exora replacement, code named P6-XXA, due about five years down the road. As for B-segment cars, Proton will be utilising the P1 platform, which is yet to be revealed.
At the preview, Proton revealed its plans in other cars, based on these two platforms – there’s the P3-22A, a hatchback that’s next on the list, as well as the P3-30A, P3-31A and P3-32A.
So, if you add in the Prevé and the P6-XXA to the list, you’ll get six cars in total. It’s unclear as to how the other four will shape up, but the streamline to have two platforms and six products will be achieved by 2014.
Meanwhile, the Prevé will enter the scene not as a Persona replacement, as earlier thought, but placed between the Inspira and the Persona, at least in the immediate term.
To ease segmentation and offer clear differentiation, the Persona will now only be available in its B-Line entry-level specification, ahead of its retirement from the Proton model lineup in about a year and a half from now. Meanwhile, the Inspira 1.8 litre variants will be dropped, though a 2.0 litre manual version is set to join the 2.0 litre CVT in the Inspira lineup.
The Prevé will come in three variant forms, with two engine permutations and three transmissions, and indicative prices are from RM62k to RM75k, as mentioned previously. The two engines are the IAFM+ and the CFE, both 1.6 litre powerplants, and a five-speed Getrag manual is joined by two Punch CVT variations, the VT2 and VT3.
The CFE, to be seen in the High-Line version, comes with a low-pressure turbocharger that delivers 138 hp at 5,000 rpm and 205 Nm between 2,000 – 4,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a seven-speed CVT Punch gearbox, the VT3, dubbed the ProTronic.
Figures include a 0-100 km/h time of 9.6 seconds and a maximum top speed of 200 km/h. As for fuel consumption, the CFE gets 8.2 litres per 100km. In all, the numbers that the 1.6 litre CFE generates is said to be similar to that of a 2.0 litre N/A engine.
As for the IAFM+, the mill equips the two M-Line versions of the car, one with the five-speed Getrag manual and the other, a six-speed CVT, in this case the VT2. A thing to note here: the engine and gearbox is the same as seen in the Saga FLX SE, but retuned for the Prevé (no output figures were given at the preview, but it should be the 108 hp as seen on the FLX). Even the accelerator pedal is tweaked to make the best out of the powertrain and drivetrain.
A quick aside on why there are two variations of the Punch CVT box. Essentially, the VT3 transmission is a derivative of the VT2 – both share the same package, but the VT3 is capable of higher maximum input torques (215 Nm as opposed to the VT2‘s 186 Nm).
Currently, the IAFM+ engine is tuned for Euro 4 emissions, and the CFE with CVT is good for Euro 5 emissions. Now, you may think that the Malaysian government has not enforced emission regulations, so why bother. Call it future-proofing, although everyone else has arrived earlier. Already, Thailand is on the verge of starting its eco-car program that gives all sorts of tax breaks to cars that have low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions. Proton is looking at penetrating the Thai market, hence the readiness of more efficient offerings.
Indeed, Proton says that with this car, it has taken its standard operating procedures, shaken it and turned it on its head. Two notable processes, among many others, have been implemented: simultaneous engineering and early vendor involvement. Proton claims that it has already nipped many problems in the bud. It is something they desperately and urgently need to get right.
The point is, Proton has a different goal, and is no longer content with making cars that are just ‘good enough’ for Malaysians, but something with a far more global outreach. The term ‘domestic market’ to Proton now means the whole of ASEAN, specifically, Thailand and Indonesia. And this ‘rethinking’ starts with the Proton Prevé.
As we already know, the Prevé will be Proton’s first global car. The first launch will happen in Malaysia, which is obvious. Three months down the road, Thailand and Indonesia will be getting the car, and the Aussies will see the Prevé a few months after that. While right-hand drive cars are the immediate focal point, a left-hand drive version is on the cards, aimed at the Middle-Eastern market.
One of the major changes done is how the car is manufactured. The Prevé’s body structure incorporates Hot Press Forming (HPF) tensile parts, which ensures better torsional body rigidity without incurring the penalty of extra weight. The Prevé measures in at 19,000 Nm/degree, which is pretty stiff.
In total, there are 12 HPF parts in the car, strategically placed at crucial points and centered around the cabin to reinforce the passenger cell to improve occupant safety; the company even has a snazzy acronym for it – RESS, which stands for Reinforced Safety Structure.
Still on safety, the Prevé’s top shelf variant comes with four airbags, while the two M-Line units will feature two airbags. Interestingly, at the preview, Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin mentioned that the car has been designed to hold up to six airbags. As for crash test safety, the Prevé will be tested based on Australian NCAP specifications, although no results have been announced yet.
Aside from ABS, which is standard across the range, the High-line Prevé will offer Electronic Stability Control. The system was tested extensively in Australia, where three test mules and three pre-production cars were driven on various road conditions to find the optimum delivery package.
The promise is a less intrusive system, which progressively nudges things in terms of assist – it will first trim off the yaw and the roll of the car before sawing off the speed, which is its last option.
We were told that you can turn the ESC off on the car. Hold the switch button for three seconds and you’re driving without tethers. Almost. Even with the ESC set to off, the system will turn itself on once the speed goes past 150 km/h and when you brake, and will turn itself off once again when you you drive below said speed and off the brakes.
Speaking about brakes, Proton claims that the Prevé has the best braking distance among its competitors, stopping in 36.8 metres from 100–0 km/h. The three benchmark segment competitors do the same in 37.6, 41.2 and 51.9 metres, in case you’re wondering.
The suspension system consists of MacPherson struts for the front and a multi-link with stabiliser bar for the rear. Proton looked to the Civic and Focus as a benchmark for the Prevé’s handling, and the car borrows a bit of inspiration from the Focus’ Control Blade rear, with a hybridised version of things known as a knuckle blade. As for its ride, Proton looked to Germany – BMW and Mercedes – for inspiration. Again, more on that later.
What’s also interesting is the fact that the suspension setup has been developed together with the tyre that is worn by the Prevé, in this case a 205/55 series GT Radial featuring a new silica compound and offering the promise of low rolling resistance but good grip. The Prevé wears 16-inch wheels across the range.
A last technical aside, with the choice of traditional hydraulic power steering for the car – Proton has stuck to the tried and tested, saying that its unfamiliar with electronic power steering as yet and would want to put out a product that they have little knowledge on. You’ll see it eventually, once things are sorted out in how its possible to offer all the advantages of an electronic power steering with most of the feel and feedback of a hydraulic-based system.
In terms of placement, Proton is gunning for a piece of the C-segment pie, and puts the Honda Civic 1.8 and Toyota Altis 2.0 in its gun-sights, and the Kia Forte 1.6 is also in that mix (in development, the outgoing C307 Ford Focus sedan was also benchmarked). Already, test numbers have shown that the Prevé out-paces and out-brakes its competitors.
It’s also playing up the interior space card – Proton says that with 930 mm in front and 815 mm at the back, the car offers the best leg room in its class, and for luggage space has a boot volume of 508 litres. Indeed, with all this, and allied to offering more equipment than its main competition, the company believes that the Prevé gives good value for money.
One last thing to chew on, it has been revealed that the Prevé has one last card up it sleeves, and it’ll be made known during the launch.
The Preve is in the pudding
Chris says:
I’ll start my preview at the back seat of the Prevé CFE, and I have to say that it’s a rather comfortable place to be. Definitely, there’s plenty of legroom for someone that is 5’10”, with enough headroom to clear.
The shoulder room wasn’t too bad as well. It certainly didn’t feel like the car was caving in around me. Importantly, the touch points of the car – like the door armrest – didn’t feel like it was procured for a song. I didn’t mind the quality of the materials of the door card; the rough bit is placed out of sight and the one that you’ll frequently look at is textured and soft enough to rest my head on it.
I expected the ride to be soft and bouncy, but instead experienced the total opposite. It rode towards the firmer side, much like how – dare I say – continental cars are setup. But unlike some of the European cars that crash into the road every time a bump or a hole happens, the spring and dampers dissipated the shocks with top marks. It was comfortable enough that I started to doze off when my turn at the wheel was called.
I got into the hot seat and immediately felt the want for more space, primarily in the foot well area, where my left knee seemed to be jostling for room with the centre console. Guess who won.
It could also stem from the fact that my legs are bent more than usual because one notch to the back and my arms would not be in in their ideal driving position. Even if I did move back and adjust my back rest, I would be sitting in a too-upright position. Sorry, that doesn’t work for me either. So there was this constant debate in my head if I should slide the seat back and try to get used to the arm’s length. Adding a telescopic function to the steering wheel would have helped the situation. End of rant.
Unlike Anthony, I wasn‘t too big on the design of the dashboard and the centre console; it looks rather flat to me. I also thought that the buttons and knobs could have been designed better to fill up the blanks.
Time to go and the Prevé peeled off the line without drama. It felt quick considering it has a rubber band for a transmission. It also responded quickly to the accelerator pedal and automatically kicked down when I pushed the pedal closer to the floor. The acceleration was as smooth as cream on an ice blended coffee.
There was something that I did not notice and Proton gets a huge pat in the back for it – it was the noise levels, or lack of it. Proton must have packed the Prevé with so much insulation that the volume of the road, wind and the CVT-whine have been lowered to near mute. I peeked at the speedometer and got caught off guard – the Prevé managed to remain hushed even when driving over the speed limit. Nice sorcery, this.
Another characteristic that I found impressive was the handling. Proton has got this one right on the mark. The increased rigidity of the body helped so much in making the car track flat around the corners. I could feel the amount of grip and how much I could still push before impending break happened.
The steering was responsive and accurate, although I thought the steering needed a bit more weight. Still, it was all too easy to attack the corners and come out champ. The seat also had a hand in this. It held my body firmly, so that I didn’t need to fight the physical forces to keep myself in place.
Next, I got to test the Prevé equipped with the 1.6 litre IAFM+ with the six-speed CVT. Maybe I was spoiled by urgency of the turbocharged engine, but the normally-aspirated version felt slow.
It wasn’t helped by the fact that when I depressed the accelerator further, the noise that was delightfully missing in the Prevé CFE was unhappily found in the Prevé IAFM+. Forced as such, the engine roar and the CVT whine was loud, and the only solution that I could find was to let the car come to speed on its own. Clearly, some more work is needed on this front.
Ride and handling in the Prevé IAFM+ was similar to that of the turbocharged variant, so at least there was some consolation as I returned the car back to home base.
There was a mixed bag of feelings with the Prevé. The overall package is sound, the features and equipment are value for money, but it is the small nagging things that still bug. As a package, the Prevé is impressive enough, but based on the short drive, that only extends to the CFE variant.
Anthony says:
I started out in the CFE version of the car, and first impressions upon getting in were positive enough – I found the overall dashboard layout very appealing on the eye, despite its rather conventional styling.
As far as interior colour schemes go, the turbo variant’s mix of black, dark grey and silver accents, replete with a gloss grey faux wood grain relief panel, is a pleasing enough composition. On the IAFM+ variant the grey is a lighter shade, and the contrast panel is a brownish-gold shade, but the surface texture on it is less visually impressive and doesn’t look like its hard-wearing.
Some fitment gaps and rough spots were evident, but to be fair the cars we were in were all pre-production units, so it’ll be interesting to see if tolerances get better for the series production vehicles.
In general, switchgear operation is ergonomically sound, the silver-coloured paddle shifters on the CFE in particular offering ease of reach and good tactile feel in use. As for the function buttons flanking the audio head unit on the centre stack, no issues with the grouping intuition or feel, but perhaps more use could have been made of the available deployment area.
The cruise control stalk, located at the lower right hand side behind the steering wheel rim, may seem a bit out of place, but activation and operation is an easy enough process – press the button on the end of the stalk, pull the lever down and you’re in cruise mode.
About the only main minus point, at least where I’m concerned, is with the ergonomics of the shifter on the CVTs. The movement of the stick to and fro between sport and drive modes could be smoother, and the gearshift knob looks more function than form; it has a painted silver top, and its angled design means that the surface will inevitably be a magnet for scratches (from rings and the like).
Elsewhere, the front seats offer good, firm support. Points too for the choice of fabric material, which looks quite premium and good to the touch. I managed to climb in the back seat in the full preview car earlier in the day, and the rear offers good scope in terms of space, both legroom and headroom wise; the curvature of the roof line also affords decent headroom perception to the door/C-pillar.
Speaking of the full preview car (the test mules were all still disguised), the lines of the car, especially at the rear, have been softened for the series production model compared to the full-scale clay sampler previewed to a small focus group of motoring writers a couple of years ago, of which I was a part of.
Then, the initial lines of the rear were inherently tauter and sharper, and closer to the Tuah concept in profile. I rather liked the original intent, but the finished article works well enough, I suppose. I do have some reservations about the inner section of the tail lamp cluster, the one that sits on the boot – it’d have looked cleaner in terms of integration shaped and sized accordingly through to the outer part. You tell me when you eventually see the car if that’s so.
As far as the CFE goes, it’s not an outright stonker in terms of off-the-line pace, but there’s enough poke to keep most happy, and I liked the midband response coming off the car. The problem is the association with the term – turbo equates to greyhound for many. If you take it for what it is, a RM75k family-oriented sedan, then the perspective shouldn’t be on absolute pace but usable pull, and the CFE has enough of that.
In terms of running speeds, the CFE Prevé will get to 200 km/h, and while it takes some time to get there in the final fifth of the equation, hauling it to the 150 km/h region is an easily repeatable affair, accomplished without huffing and puffing. The Punch VT3 does well enough, considering its operational characteristics – on the CFE you do detect the familiar whine associated with the transmission, but nothing that becomes too intrusive.
A bit on the Sport mode and its RPM range association – on the CFE, there’s about a 1,000 rpm difference at 160 km/h between drive and sport mode (3,400 compared to 4,400 rpm) on the VT3 box, while on the IAFM+’s VT2 tranny there’s a 500 rpm difference in between the two modes. And the IAFM+/VT2 combination won’t go past 5,000 rpm, no matter how long you floor the pedal; the CFE nudges nearer the 5,300-5,400 rpm mark or so on full acceleration before shifting up.
Going into the normally-aspirated 1.6 after the CFE meant retuning expectations, and truth be told, it feels underpowered. Still, part of that perception about a car lacking power is also reinforced by the point that the stiffer the car is, the more noticeable the apparent lack of power becomes, and the Preve is plenty stiff.
What I found more disconcerting was the lack of powertrain refinement vis-a-vis the CFE – the IAFM+ is a more raucous proposition, certainly a far zingier one when pushed to its higher limits. If it can be made smoother, without sounding like it wants to tear its hair – and yours – out each time you stand heavy on the pedal, it’ll go a long way.
Plenty of appeal in the hydraulic steering’s weight though (I thought it was heavy enough, as opposed to Chris’ view on it), as well as its off-centre feel, evident on both variants; the rack also feels quick, and I was told that it’s the fastest yet in the company’s stable. Essentially, it’s the same as that in the Exora, but redone with revised ratios and level of assist. As for the wheel itself, a good outing as far as handling ergonomics go.
Quite possibly, the strongest aspect of the car is in its ride and handling, which in short is nothing less than impeccable for an offering in this price and class segment, indeed, even a few notches above.
The contribution of the chassis is evident, and allied to a well-tailored suspension, offers a car that feels keen but ably planted at high running speeds – the CFE Prevé chugged along at 200 km/h and never once felt skittish or nervous. The IAFM+ gets to 180 km/h or so before running out of puff, but offers everything its more muscular sibling does in terms of ride and handling behaviour.
Trim things down and tackle corners, and it’s an ace too, tracking very nicely and inspiring driver confidence into the twisties. Push into a sweeper, go on the brakes, and the usual four-wheel drift kicks in, but the steering never goes wooly or loses communication, and everything is so progressive and catchable that unless you do something spectacular, you shouldn’t lose your wits, or the car.
Done more sensibly, turn-in is clean, as is follow-through. A positive mention for the tyres, while at it – surprisingly good grip, and quiet too. And the ESC is as unintrusive as mentioned – the level of provocation needed to get it going is quite high.
On the whole, based on the short sampling of the car, the Prevé looks a promising proposition – certainly, the CFE variant is very much so. Some overall aspects (like build quality and fit/finish) invariably need tightening, but as a full package this one proves that it’s all getting there.
Follow all our Preve coverage at our Proton Preve category index.
Report by Anthony Lim and Chris Ng
wah..205Nm torque..can beat K20A ..impress.
So does it “still feel like a Proton” or you can put it on a same level as some of the popular imported cars?
So many dislikes, probably from dugongs owner
sorry had to put up here…could athony or chris confirm the DRL actualy is not a DRL? just a normal LED that will only turn on when the front headlight turn on?…
i think i read it somewhere, it’s actually DRL, not that u can turn it off. may be i’m wrong
I cant help but to think buying a Proton means indirectly I’m supporting cronyism
tq oilgopoli…hope u rite…that the whole point of having DRL…safety during daytime…my other concern was the side mirror will only unfolded after 5kmj…but i think that has been discuss…
Hugo Andore: buying any car in Malaysia is already supporting the system, foreign cars= higher taxes= money in the pockets of the few, local car= less tax, and helping the downstream industry= local body works, parts supplier and such.
I initially didnt like it… But the final product looks alright.
Quite suprising actually.
And a lot of people are saying good things about this car.
I do hope it works out well and Proton improves its image.
I however ask Proton to Test the CFE variant of the Campro properly before lauch.
Also the Campro engine has been around for quite some time.
Time to work on something new Proton.
All the Best.
It is very tempting for a car priced at RM75k, but QC is still a main concern for me. I dont want the CFE turbo engine to break down after 3 years, especially the engine is still new in market.
overall seem ok..
but still not prefer the wood alike panel.
Ya…pricing is the main selling point. The RM 75K for full spec look reasonable…I think the sales will be better than Inspira, but 1 to break Persona sales, i dont think so.
Only reason they can afford to price this unproven experimental kampung car at RM75,000 is because they OWN the car market, almost every car marque is DRBHicom’s . The government is practising crony capitalism to the hilt. Malaysian consumers are being cheated en-bloc. Why are the consumer associations keeping quiet? This is against every rule of a free market economy , there is no competition to reign in break-away prices. We are being robbed! It feels like living in a dictatorship.
“Also the Campro engine has been around for quite some time.
Time to work on something new Proton.”
Dear blablabla,
The Campro engine has been around since 2005. But the CFE engine can be considered NEW. It’s very different from the basic Campro. Also personally I feel the CPS engine is under utilized. Anyway I heard there’s a Y engine in the line.
most of the negative comments about preve ive read so far is all about tax and proton reliability history , so little negative comment on Preve it self.
Even got negative comment, mostly about the design which is a subjective thing to every person. I love the design.
Just have to wait until Preve can be test drive to know the truth.
A 75k car for a long list of gadget which can only be found in >120k car, that is interesting.
I support your view. We need to know whether it’s a Proton Persona type of feeling, Honestly, it really sucks.
I wanna know one fact, how’s the overall performance felt (ride,handling,power delivery etc) compared to the ford fiesta,civic1.8,vios,city,forte,308vti ??
need group test la then..
everybody have different opinion about performance “felt”..
but the fact in paper has been given…
check it out…
go to the official website each car maker…
all stats and performance fact there, compare yourself..
for me ‘preve’ very impressive…
only the matter of opinion..
btw my gen2 cps tapau ford fiesta la..
Sure la tapau, that fiesta driver need three trial to managed a U turn. :=)~ . Just a joke la bro, I”m looking forward on this Preve too, kita tapau semua basser bro !
next time compare an apple with apple
not comparing with grapes, orange, banana
Why the headlights r still using the classic yellow lights bulb?! original HID should came with the car ! by the M’sia law cannot and only wish lolx
It’s because of visibility when raining cats and dogs and pigs at night. If you use the ‘white’ HID, you’re not only blinding other drivers with its glare, but you’ll definitely cannot see when it rains at night.
Installing aftermarket HID into headlights that weren’t designed for the job blind other drivers.
Badly adjusted halogen headlights blind drivers.
“real” OEM designed HID lights do not blind drivers and you have no problems with visibility in the rain.
…but only if the colour is bright yellowish white. If the colour is pure white, then it will surely blind other drivers. That’s why JPJ has made it illegal.
OEM HID is legal. It comes with the car and passed JPJ inspection.
HID light is bright but cannot go the distance
Red light travels furthest therefore used at the back.
If want to illuminate roads yellow is the best balance between brightness and distance.
Take those cars with HID light and turn on their high beam and TADAA.. Lampu kuning daa
HID will not be glaring other drivers if it uses projector lens and fitted properly lah, please do some research before you comment.
Only after market HID is problematic. OEM are all ok and can even passed in all countries including Europe.
with such review i feel that proton might just overpass the korean make before the korean make passes the japanese….with good marketing and continuos support proton might be real side by side competing with VW….good luck proton….will buy one when the new satria or the emas comes out…
no offense….i mean, just 1 car launch overtook korean car? in Msia probably, have u seen how is the Korean advertising in USA?
NBA Basketball All Star Game Slam Dunk jump over a Kia. Mind you.
Its good to be positive, but please be realistic as well.
im pointing out exactly what is happening.,,,Korean doesn’t even have as much model as let say Toyota….don’t even mention the engineering…yet buy just based on design element which never really out sale dont say the Japanese but toyota alone and you ppl say the Korean as in they are the best car on earth….
So anything that I said wrong?and I paid a basketball player to jump over a car and the car is superb?are you kidding me?why don’t give the credit to the player instead?
yup,i agree with you.Until 5 years ago,Korean cars is just a cheaper alternative to Japanese cars,only until recently,the launch of modern korean cars can make it on par with japanese.Proton months ago is just a peoples car until they came out with a CFE engine,they have became a cheaper alternative or better alternative to modern Korean and Japanese cars.Under private management,I believe Proton will be set out to compete with Japanese and Korean car soon.However,i think that DRB Hicom should keep the lotus and their technology so that proton will continue to have its conti car like handling which will be an attraction as most Asian car have been labelled as comfort oriented handling car.
In order to to reap the best out of Lotus, you may not need to purchase the whole Lotus. They are only good in certain aspect of technology and not everything. You can just buy and purchase the technology that you want rather than keeping all other liabilities.. It’s like if u need an egg, why you should you buy the whole chicken rearing industry?? Do you know that by rearing chicken you also need to take care out the chicken shit as well? Just go out and buy tye best egg that you want.. ie. buy whichever technology that you feel best and suit you.. and of course not the whole Lotus.. :-)
The playing field is not level in M’sia, Proton may be the cheapest in M’sia but really at RM75K for a 1.6L Proton, it is not cheap. Korean made cars in US are cheaper than Japanese in U.S. but only by a couple of thousand dollars. The Gomen should let all to compete on equal terms so that Proton has got no choice but trying to be the best or fold.
its not only about technology dude, its about sales and marketing!
There is some truth to one car making it or breaking the company profile think about it
Audi A4 and the forte are two cars that catapult this two companies to the forefront of the line, before the forte, people said that Kia is a poor man jap car, Audi was an german uncle car with no taste, till the more ganas looking Audi A4 appeared in the market.
Before this two cars you rarely saw them on the road in large numbers especially the Audi. I won’t be quick to say the perve will be like the forte but, if the QC issues are handled and they have a good marketing strategy with good after sales service I don’t see why this car can’t be sold well regionally.
Be practical…the Koreans are at a different level all together and are giving the Japs a run for their money in all segments. This is just a single car launch by Proton…bear in mind that they are not even familiar with EPS yet as mentioned in the article. In other words, they are still learning or rather behind in technology. It’s a good effort but they have a bloody long way to go. Before you know it, the new Forte will be out with better features. It is now undergoing tests. No I’m not a Kia salesman..you’re dumb if u think I am. I’m just trying to make a point. Can Proton totally replace the Preve in 3 years like the Koreans? We will probably be looking at Preve’s 3rd facelift in 3 yrs.
YK,
Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan, South Korea
Malaysia won the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup title for the first time in their history (and the last ???)
Sound familiar ? The truth hurts…
Well, that was decades ago when times were different. It’s a fact that many things have contributed to Malaysia lagging behind in many areas over the years. The Suzuki cup is a one off thing. I too supported our team, however the global auto industry is more competitive than ever. proton altho they may have talent inside the company, simply doesn’t have the resources to actually go global. What Proton actually needs is a strong partner like say VW. They should consider it even if they have to relinguish some shares. Look at Skoda, they were once frowned upon but are no longer laughed at today. They are well accepted in europe. Sometimes, its better to except our weaknesses and make real changes for the future. If Proton were to continue at this pace, their products will not be accepted even in developing countries like china and India which have a huge auto market. Why becaus, they are booming at a high rate
and people are becoming more educated with better purchasing power.
You will be surprised to see the large numbers of VWs and Audis on the roads in these two countries. All this in the last 10 yrs. Speaks for itself.
proton no exposure on EPS because the Lancer borrowed from Mitsu doesnt have it. Proton only managed to learn auto headlamp and speed sensing wiper functions… and the advantages / potentials of CVT gearboxes now available in Saga and Exora.
The proton Juara have EPS.
Juara was one big failure for Proton.and they will refuse to learn anything from it (no small MPV, no FR setting, noo EPS no matter how good it is)
Juara was a mini alphard. U tak tahu ke alphard copycat juara? And they just make it bigger than juara? Hehe #sarcasm
REEV have EPS. but not so good in handling compared to hidraulic
for saying being practical…when all the while korean make doesn’t really making it well here in Malaysia yet you ppl say they are eating the Japanese…is this the same happening here?wow so you can say as Korean is the best can say and do everything but in proton and Japanese car case everything is shit?
Japanese for the truth is at diff level than Korean or even those french make but you ppl refuse to admit it just because Malaysia market having empty spec Japanese car….they are now same level with lower class german make which is vw for global market…in other words you are slapping yourself because for proton case you look down on proton and saying they can only succeed here in malaysia because diff level…ya ya Korean the best la…….
Don’t shiok sendiri lah. In kampung may be. It can’t even sell well in the neighboring country, that has been proven for more than a decade. Price is the selling factor in malaysia.
one more thing…about the EPS..proton should refer to mitsubishi…their system is very good and responsive especially the lancer ralliart,colt ralliart and lancer evo…..
learn from them and improve…
btw, i’ve drove very hard a lancer before (ck2a).
felt much better than vios which i regret replacing it.
brakes: lancer – F disc R drum, vios – F R disc (both with anti-brake lock system)
what i mean is in terms with technology im totally agree with mitsu.
plus what i heard they got alot more technology regarding of vehicle stabily/handling system rather than other japs carmaker.
that is the result of years in rallying evident in the Lancer Evolution models from 92-now
my first car is waja.
thought of japanese car sure better than proton
after that get a civic.
to my suprise, it handle worse than my waja, quality also not to say very good (start having sound after 2 years-45k km, my 7 year old waja 120k km still solid),of coz power much better.
planned to sell my 7 year old waja and get this.
actually sayang to sell my waja as still perform (any time hit 200km/h)
but if i keep it, would be having 3 cars.
true story
lesson is: you thought things out there is better, as in fact the best still at where you begin with.
friends please dont take things for granted.
Then why is the government still protecting proton? Lets have a fair game. But i still think proton had done a very good job in making this car.
the time will come bro,
but if i become gov, why should i open my market to other people, which not give me anything in return? other country also try to protect their local industry/production too, don’t focus only on automative…. look at agro, eletrictirk manufacture, commodity etc…
I have owned waja and civic. In terms of quality, waja is miles behind the japs. The worst part is the resale value. A 5 year old worth less than 1/3 of the original price. Those with 9 year loan would need to pay the bank to sell off the car.
i was a proud owner of manual gen2. that car can cut corners better than any japs car. i would overtake them at corners as i know that is their weakness. with minor modification gen2 can reach 170kph in fourth gear.
but as time goes on i realised actually nobody give a hoot. because it is still a proton. balik kampung time, ppl greet me at the house door not at the car. not even one occasion ppl opening the car door for me.
that’s what the problem with proton. the car is good tapi imej hampeh. sold the gen2 n now a proud owner of japs car!
75 k for 1.6litre ” made in kampungku” car? serious? Looks like DRB not really interested in selling protons…..they are more interested in selling Honda, suzuki, vw, audi at WAY HIGHER prices. Another downer for malaysians who are already down.
Global car? 1.6 l global car only priced at 13-15k USD…..below 50k (RM). Try putting logo “buatan bumiputera” and “halal jakim” on the bumper ,….. maybe can laku overseas.
Way to go , DRBHicom, the ring-leader, racketeer, malaysian car mafiosi.
what does halal and bumiputera got to do with preve?
Proton Preve Official Url @ Proton-Edar :
http://www.proton-edar.com.my/Experience/Models/Preve/Overview.aspx
Pricing – Executive :
http://www.proton-edar.com.my/Experience/Models/Preve/PricingSpecs.aspx
Pricing – Premium :
http://www.proton-edar.com.my/Experience/Models/Preve/PricingSpecs-(1).aspx
its ONLY
RM 72,990.00 / Metallic
RM 72,540.00 / Solid
having drove gen2 for the past 8 years, thinking for move on for foreign car with sporty look and affordable price but seems the distance is abit far.. At times, another national car did cross my mind.. but do they worth another try???
we are the same bro… thinking of getting forte.. but this is tempting
rugilah ambik forte.. this one more value.. faster 0-100 even.
Apa lg pakdi.. kasi place booking satu..
Bro , my fren own a Forte and he keep warn us (Me and other friend) not to get one bcs of the build quality is horrible. The reverse camera spoil jz after 1 month, de dash lossen after 4 months and the FC is extremely high ….. He said that Forte is an unrefined car . Maybe unlucky ??!! I don own it so i cant really confirm what he said
I have the Forte SX 1.6 4speed for a bit more than 2 years reaching 75k km, everything are working perfect and no break down or malfunction. The interior is still well intact and with no rattle at all. The car is running smoothly and fuel consumption in mix driving is about 500km per RM82.
I m having peace of mine too as the car has a 5years warranty.
So, may be I m the lucky one. No doublt, totally happy with the car!
Well that might be true but if you change forte to persona in ur sentence people say u lied….wat ever reason u put even purely true..
i sat in my friend’s forte 1.6 yesterday.
interior:
1. not so soft-touch plastic, except at the frontal airbag loc.
2. armrest at door panel not ergonomic, my wrist is bent at 45deg upward, not so comfortable.
3. dashboard-door panel gap at almost 9mm..too wide.
why ah, when i see the forte dash, the holistic view that it’s like spectra’s?
ok ok..let’s see how preve later :)
pity to ur friend. i am satisfied with my two years forte now reach 53k odo. previously i would recommended my friend to buy a forte but change ready. this preve car is more valuable in term of all packaging.
preve’s biggest task is to compete in the open market (without protection).
places like europe is a good example where consumers prefer manual cars, more biased towards hatchback and where 70-80% new cars sold are diesel.
preve will do well in malaysia though, no doubt.
my 11 years old FIRST BATCH proton waja is still working fine today and it haven’t have any major break down so far.Even the power window hasn’t been replaced before however the only problem i encounter is the burning bulb in left projector headlamp.So,i’m keeping the waja for another 5 years so that i can enjoy another 5 years of installment and loan free life.That’s what i call peace of mind.
Proton,i give you a tip,after 5 years i’m going to change to a smaller A segment car.So,fast R&D it and i’ll buy it from you.
Loan free life means heaven!
come on.. giving own comment more convincing..
not always mention my fren said this, my fren said that..
For those migrating from Proton to foreign brand (namely Vios, City, Forte, Civic, Altis, Elantra etc), be careful.
Yes, there’s time when we thought those cars are far better than proton. Far better than Iswara it is, but recent Proton line up really impressive.
Hi Wisdom.
May I copy your comment and make it as my facebook status, I just like your words. Thank You.
Honored.
Please do so.
Not only u & me, infact all of us should endorse our own product. Think GDP, think of our income, think how much money & value have we discard off our soil buying foreign brand.
Its the matter of self satisfaction. We start with Proton, then progress in life and bought foreign make to proof that we’re there, we achieved. When the facts is all cars are mechanical and worn off sooner or later.
like your words :) Full of wisom. My sentra is one class below compared to waja(brother)/persona(father) in handling and the engine power
may God bless you
always throw sincere and polite words
Yup, we should give credit when credit is due.
most of chinese changed to Vios, City, Forte, Civic, Altis, Elantra because of the FACE ONLY LOL!!
if proton line-up is impressive, isnt it time the govt remove its protection already? let preve stand on its own credit against the C segment.
imagine preve, forte, civic, altis, sylphy, 3, cruze and even insipira all battling to get that piece of cake at 70-90K segment. level playing field.
Though the tax exempted, foreign make will keep their price high as they knew malaysian willing to pay. Even bigger profit margin for them, even more value we lost.
See what happen to hybrid? Prius sold in the US for USD24K (RM72K), here RM139K. Prius C USD18K (RM56K), here RM97K. The most they have to add is sales tax which is only 10%, and some admin cost/ shipping.
Your suggestion should be KIV until Malaysian wake up from their sleep, and Proton preven their capabilities.
prius price at 140K is all about national car protection la bro. vios and city not allowed to ‘kacau’ below 70K segment so they only can play at 70-90K. then there are civic and altis category at 100-130K which of course prius is a better model in terms of engineering.
so when the vios cannot sell cheaper than persona, corolla altis cannot sell cheaper than vios and thus the prius will not be sell lower than altis.
the wake up call must apply to the govt first as they are the one controlling the new car prices. yes, i may buy the preve even when civic and altis is prices similarly but it is likely i will buy the japanese (peace-of-mind engineering, good after-sales service -refer JD power rating)
so talk about KIV, how long malaysians need to wait when proton should actually focused 80% of their sales in foreign market (economy of scale) rather than totally depending on malaysia market to support them (80% of proton sales are from malaysia)
Not to complicate the issue. Somehow the 140K prius was not government endorsed price. They simply approved the RSP suggested by UMW. U need to get some information on how miti operates. UMW purposely didnt want to kill their line-ups, while at the same time making threefold profit for those willing to pay for the technology. The technology itself is getting cheaper as USD24K is sufficient in the US plus contribution. prius should easily outsold Altis due to their tax exemption but UMW opt for bigger margin (which malaysian willing to pay). Which means without tax, the price of vios for example will stay around 80K, and the extra money will be shared between Japan and UMW conglomerate. Satisfying?
Japanese peace of mine engineering is no longer the topic. My own experience; currently my honda rear right absorber leak at 30K km (thankfully covered under warranty and waiting for parts), and my last toyota were leaking engine oil (odometer 80+K km) from cam cover (the rubber seal hardened and cracks). Yes i’m a rough driver but somehow puzzled with current japanese engineering.
However i agree their 90’s car were very robust (got an SEG back then).
UMW knows well on doing business, but car manufacturing and sales is not a strong contributor anymore to their profit, its now Oil & Gas.
but then again, there is no point selling the prius at 100K since vios will not be approved to be sold at 50K. the 100K prius will kill both Vios and Altis markets. this is purely logic. have some common-sense.
i am saying the glass is half full, you are saying the glass is half empty. and we both are talking about the same glass.
the foreign brands will prefer to sell cars in volumes rather than high profit margin. thats what the principles want and they are willing to reduce the car prices or maintain at it or find a way to sell something cheaper without compromising on the brand depreciation value.
in 99 – corolla 1.6 SEG AE111 – 110K
in 02 – corolla 1.6E – 110K (bigger car, better but same price instead of shooting up)
in 03 – vios NCP43 – 75-85K (something cheaper without affecting corolla)
in 2010 – corolla 1.6E – 100K (yes, cheaper than a decade ago),
2012 – corolla 1.8E – 113K
btw, what kind of engineering u expect from cam cover gaskets – 10 years no leak? sighh….
out loud and for no valid reasons…
Nice phrase bro…
good luck P1 for your new line up…also thanks to Anthony and Chris for the review, very informative…
gen 2 is a problem. i drove my waja for 9 years. other than the power windows the rest is perfectly OK. mine is the earliest waja…
most important thing….ensure good and regular service with reliable service provider, you will drive your car for many many good years with less hassles.
after 9 years, i am saying good bye for my waja…good 9 years.
Hmm, I wonder if this Preve will be able to fare in the open market with
Sylphy 2.0 XL Luxury RM 82, 380
Altis 2.0 V RM 81, 429
Civic 2.0S RM 82,995
Note that all the cars above are in the same segment but with a more powerful engine compare to Preve..
So I wonder how much Proton profit from our loyal, beloved but blind rakyat???
Looks promising.
Ya…look promising….after drive it, P1 still the P1…..
sure la… if BMW, still BMW,
if Honda, still Honda
If Chery, still Chery…
Of course if you drive a P1 , it looks and feels like a P1.
Why? do you drive your car and suddenly feel,OMG! it’s like a Ferrari??!!
Anyway,I think you can start learn from someone very famous once,with a
phrase,”look like me,sound like me, but not me”.You should know who.
Why I said that? OMG! the phrase suits you well !!!
Nonsense betul.
P1 surely is P1 la. That’s why we’re so proud of it.
Takkan your BMW become Perodua meh?
promising. thumbs up for the interior design. ;)
A 2.0 Inspira with manual tranny?? Now thats interesting.. Just what i waited for… So exited.. Hope its 6 speed..
that would be quite nice.. manual tranny for a 2.0 mitsu engine..
CFE variant really that good in soundproofing the car? really want to test drive it to believe it..
even exora bold NVH level is good enough… really impressed with bold’s CFE engine. i think it will be better in Preve as Preve is lighter than Exora.
Well done Anthony & Chris, Proton as well.
i read every single word, and nice review dude.
much anticipate for its arrival in the showroom.
i hope to see more ‘civilized’ comments here, thanks
I’m impressed, getting my license this year, hope I will be lucky enough to own one of them =)
C’mon guys, give Andrew a break. I think it’s great he is excited and wishes he could own the new proton as his first car. What’s with the number of dislikes? Seriously grow up.
new P license driver to be i suppose? haha.. do drive safe on the road =)
wah, malaysian change a lot lah,,last time P license no turbo car,,,, now every P license using turbo car beb
Make us proud Preve. I am going to divorce my H for you.
Way to go PROTON
kalau nak beli..amik yg CFE variant terus je..
but i prefer manual tranny laa…
why no manual tranny for CFE as per 2.0 Inpira..?
Damn you paul!!! you tempted me so much now~
MALAYSIA BOLEH !!!!
will buy the second batch of this car..not the 1st batch.
but i’m going for 1st batch.. i believe in my self there’ll be no problem.. go for black preve..
loan approved.. 6years commitment.. same ammount for 9 years civic 1.8..
may i know how much your interest & which bank? actually i plan to get black preve but still searching bank with the lowest interest, thanks…
maybank.. 2.8% … if 7/9 years 2.84%….
if u willing to wait… maybe end year promotion can get cash rebate up to 5k.. same goes to inspira… but that only if preve sell below target la.. if above target… no chance la…
ok tq ;-)
thanks Chris… it’s so informative…
please convey your thanks to Anthony too. It’s a teamwork. :D
Thanks to the team! The question now, when you are inside the car, do you think that the Preve is “still a Proton” or it is now on a same level as some of the imported cars?
I dun think Chris or anthony will dare to answer it honestly if it’s indeed ‘still a proton’ lol…better keep quiet hor chris/anthony lol..
Actually, I do. The only time you realise you’re in a Proton is when you look at the logo on the steering wheel boss, and the fitment and some finish qualities, as mentioned in our report, does bring it to mind. Aside from that, no, once you’re on the move.
so what’s the direct competition to this car? vios and city I presume? based on what i can see, the proton (CFE variant) seems to trump its japanese counterparts. I never thought there would be a day I would say that about a proton, but they have proved me wrong. Kudos to proton for that and lets hope for more of the same, if not better from them!
so they still need to improve on the refinement part…but well this is just the starting….hope further models will improve…
definitely u guys should make the close eyes test. like tasting wine. close eyes and ask someone to drive u with a car then guess the name of the car . forgive my english.
i agree with jamal. cover the eyes and once inside the car, all emblems are covered with tapes too.
NO!
I just like you Christ :) *smitten*
its a very positive review except for the issues of fitment and finish. i do hope that drb as the new owner strive to improve QC and replace the vendors that fails to abide. quality must be improved to be truly global car.
How can DRB replace the vendor because most of the vendor for proton were own by DRB….. hehehehehehe….
So no words on what P3-30A, P3-31A and P3-32A are going to be? Perhaps waja or perdana replacement? SUV?
4 what I know the P3-22A aka hatchback version is more tempting…believe me!
surely will be tuned more for spirited driving
just wait and see
I am guessing the ‘hatchback’ version could be something similar to what Gen2/Persona variant, similar front but with different rear … but i do hope for the hatchback version of Preve, they make the front design look slightly different as well … then the car will look more unique and will not look like a repeated design … just my 2 cents …
i believe young people and young at heart are actually waiting for the hatchback. it could well be a satria neo replacement, with more power of course.
From what I know the code is for 2 doors
from my obsevation last time they use “P2” code for saga blm (b-segment).. then “P6” for exora (mpv).. after that “P3” for inspira (c/d-segment).. now also “P3” for this preve and the upcoming hatchback version (c-segment)..
could the code numbers represent the segment of cars? does this mean there’s gonna be another 3 more new models under c-segment that they going to introduce? sound a bit too crowded dont you think..
Plan to change a new car…between this preve and inspira…what do u think??this review looks promising…headache
test drive.
Inspira! Wait for that Inspira 2.0 Manual!!!
unfortunately, the inspira has been long in the tooth (consider lancer GT was around since 07 – that is 5 years already)
I think Inspira is a bit bigger that Preve..
overall is good, except the FC.
Hopefully it really follow the standard as advertised by proton of 8.3l per 100km
proton cars are not known for its fuel saving-ness..
You’re aware that this is a new developed car?
yes new car. but engine iafm and gearbox same as saga flx, which the fuel consumption not very good. i can imagine the turbo cfe version would use more fuel
do please state the fc? talking with no hard cold fact are just blindly bashing
use fully synth eo… fc will dramaically return much better
Wanna save on fuel?? Get Viva dude
Get a kapchai.. even more savings.. LOL
8.3l / 100km means 12.04 km per each liter…now mitsubishi mirage & daihatsu es is looking at 30 km / l….
With the price of petrol is going up…iam not sure this preve will be my next choice
like mirage & daihatsu weigth 1.3tonne?
u compare the prevee with small car.. please compare it with c segment car like lancer n etc….
The prius and insight, hybrid, real world fc only around 20km/l.
Waiting the SE version with sporty bodykit…
Not SE version!
Waiting for R3 version Like A BOSS!
Much more powerful high pressure turbo, new air filter like in Satria Neo Lotus Edition, New performance parts, bucket seats, cf body, rugged bodykit!
“One last thing to chew on, it has been revealed that the Prevé has one last card up it sleeves, and it’ll be made known during the launch.”
Did proton make it clear to journalist or was it meant to be a surprised?
I’m guessing Yes Internet 4G on the car.
Will you be reviewing the car again after its launch? Possibly with own pictures?
What about the navigation system on the CFE model, did you guys manage to test them out?
I’m so surprise 80% comment start getting better towards proton preve. My friend say turbo charge engine will come in maintainance problem after few years. No matter what brand… He said even VW also will have same issue.
Is it go with normal engine 1.6 will be more safer decision?
1 more thing, can the white colour match with interior colour?
The general rule of physics is that same displacement with higher out put will put greater strain on the engine than an engine of lower output. There’s no two ways about this. The F1 cars with high revving engines don’t last like the everyday car.
When you add a turbo to the system, you are inevitably adding one more mechanical device which increases the chance that some thing could go wrong. It’s one more device which will add to it. However, speaking of diesels, their design paradigm encourages the use of a turbo because the engine block is of greater integrity than petrol engine blocks. This is done for efficiency. It does not change the fact that there is still an additional device that may fail.
Given this, adding a turbo to a petrol engine will do the same thing. Increase output. It will further strain the engine, more so than a N/A engine.
This should not however, be a problem if you don’t push the car often and you take care of it. Nevertheless, last I heard, the VWs of the early 2000s had turbo issues at about 100k km. The higher ranged BMWs also had some turbo failures at about that stage.
If you plan to keep your car or hope to have good resale value, you might wish to consider the longevity of it.
Here in the UK, many cars are not 10 years old. They get dumped before that. In Malaysia, we have quite a number of cars built in the 90s still on the road. So although VWs design system of small engine with a high output works in Europe, we may see issues with these cars past a certain age. There’s a reason why many 4WD and pick up trucks have larger displacement engines with a lower output even with Turbos.
I personally think this is why hybrid technology is interesting. It adds a secondary power plant (of sorts) without straining the engine. There is still the issue of the battery failing, a bit like the turbo. However, Toyota claims to have an excellent record of batteries being good and with the longer warranties on batteries, I find this an almost non-issue.
If you want a car that will last, look for a higher displacement with lower output.
so.. what car are you suggesting? can u name a few?
I don’t think the automotive industry will agree with you. Firstly, higher cc engine means higher FC and higher levels of pollutants (CO, NOx, HC, etc.). Secondly, the higher cc cars will get higher road tax. That’s why there is a 1.6L Honda Civic FD in Singapore in order to get cheaper COE. As we already know, COE is expensive and will get higher according to cc.
If you look at the automotive history itself, they actually started with big cc engine that could only produce a few horses and yet became a heavy drinker. Even a Volkswagen Beetle 1.6 could only produce the same amount of power as a Kancil 660. Later, as they progress, engines became more fuel efficient and more powerful. The pursue of getting small engines that can produce high power output is what have made the legendary Honda B16A to be born, followed by UK-spec Evo that produces 430 bhp from the 2-litre 4G63T, making it as the highest specific output. But then, more challenges are coming in forms of emission and crash standards, making cars heavier and therefore requiring bigger engines to power them. However, there is still the same drill – higher tax for higher cc engine. That is why carmakers are resorting to hybrids and downsizing with turbochargers.
I was addressing the question from a non-economic point of view. I have to agree with you that due to the European Commission, the standards of emissions are constantly tightened. Elsewhere and in most countries, more polluting cars are taxed higher for reasons of public policy.
Your point on incremental output figures over the decades is a strong point in favour of the engineering breakthroughs we have had throughout. The technological advances from carburetors to fuel injection to direct fuel injection is one of the reasons we have increased efficiency.
Taking a single moment in time, my point is that if you have a larger displacement engine with a deliberate lower output, there should be less strain on the engine, thus giving it a longer lifespan. A fine example is one which I quoted earlier, F1 engines. They are not of large capacity but have relatively high output figures. The engines don’t last long because the strain on the small engine causes things to go deteriorate rather quickly.
In case you missed it, my earlier answer had nothing to do with public policy nor with taxes. It was focused on the engineering perspective of vehicular maintenance and related issues.
Of course it is true that high power output for a small engine means more strain to every moving part of that engine. That is why for a turbocharged engine, it requires different parts that can withstand the higher pressure, stress and temperature so that the engine won’t fail under extreme operating environment. That is why material science advancement is important, so that engineers are able to design parts for certain operating force, torque, pressure and temperature. Right now automotive engineers are striving for small engines with low FC but powerful, clean and durable. Even Ford currently adopts this philosophy as well.
Another thing that you forgot, even F1 is currently downsizing as well, from 3.0L V10 as in 2001 to 2.4L V8 as for now, and there are even plans to downsize further to 1.6L V6 turbo. Racing engines have shorter life span because they are meant to be pushed to the engineering limits. For normal production vehicles, no engineer designs them to behave like an F1 car.
not really if the internals and all integrity critical parts are redesigned to higher strength, bro.. heard proton upgrade most of the internals to cater the turbo in CFE.
if designed already,expect no problem, at least till ur loan finished. problem comes when u modify. and where u get the fact of so many VW turbo got problem?
if designed with good engineering practice.. should be ok.. i like engineering, i am a piping engineer, but i really3 like automotive.
pressure put stress on components.
u don say?
hehe. thats why they revised almost all the internals materials
maybe can ask around the exora turbo owners has problems or not..
i own 1 (earliest batch), so far so good, but i join exora club and there are a few owners having problem with cfe and cvt. personally, i am very very very satisfied with exo bold, but some people may not, which is understandable if u bought a brand new car last month and have problem this month. better luck for me perhaps.
Seems despite the minor bugs found on the CFE model, this car entitles an A- overall? looking forward to it. :)
Annyongi kaseyo!
End of the road for Forte.
To be a global car
this car is 75k. Honda Civic 2.0 without the crazy tax (langkawi price) is 80k.
in the global market, this car will fail.
reasons being:
– brand: not reputable
– reliability: not proven
– parts: difficult to source outside malaysia
– Price: its priced higher than Hyundais and Kias (in an open market, not the Malaysian protectionism one)
one last thing, in the USA, honda is RM55k. our Preve (to proof)?
is proof that it will fail if sold in any 1st world country. Malaysia? it will sell like hot hot cakes. the pricing is just way too high. Specs wise, it is awesome.
I understand your reasoning but do not share your pessimism.
Not reputable brand? True, that’s what Proton is trying to improve
Reliability not proven? That’s what Proton is currently wanting to prove.
Parts availability and price are usual hurdles for any car company.
Please consider economies of scales and years of experience and profit gains by the other manufacturers that you compared with Proton.
It is bad enough that we failed several times and got rebuked.
It is very bad that when we improved a bit and still got rebuked.
No right minded businessman will jump into a competitive market without good strategy and patience. Just read on the initial reactions to Datsun in the US.
WELL LOVE BUDDY =)
Sorry…without tax Preve is for 72k ! Perodua is 6k for the tax and the Proton is 3k for the tax so the Preve is not only cost around 40-50k ! Arab,USD and British pound money r different so do not compared !
you really KNOW much about Malaysia tax structure. Good to be you. Even better if you just keep it to your self.
Ok without the Tax the roads r full of cars and u can only walk by urself ! the bus and the Taxi cant help…
Don’t worry about mass traffic, BNM already on the move by tightening loan approval.
If only everything is just as simple as ‘minus langkawi price and get the fact’ theory …
Why don’t you just focus on the title ‘Proton Preve’ let politician worried about our tax structure.
75k is with tax as well. Without tax, Preve will cost only 40-50k. So, they still can be competitive in pricing against the Koreans in global field.
hadjihalef..this you are wrong…check the langkawi price..it’s rm73k…
duty free not apply on p1 & p2 at there
This is where you also wrong. Proton car was taxed immediately after came out from factory, since it is not an import automakers.
Proton getting exempted on the road tax and sales tax in Langkawi. It is in Custom act and you can find it in their web.
And furthermore, the price of import in Langkawi should actually be lowered than advertised. If you look at the price at dock, you’ll be amazed how much the dealer margin is.
you should realize that is without the import tax, which will not be present in locally assemble vehicle is still imposed with an excise duty of 75% regardless. the real price of the car should be 2/3 of the current price. of which make the 75k CFE proton preve minus the excise duty to be around 40-55k
super hot hot yummy cakes
are you trying to preve something?
Hope that Persona’s sale will not be affected.
Go ahead, Preve! Make Malaysians pround of it!
It will be badly effected for sure! same as Inspira
Will be slightly effected but…
Persona’s car price far cheaper than preve…
for Inspira will be badly effected…
Who knows what are the model 1,2,3 and 4 that being compared with?
I can see a lot of improvement..Thumbs up for Proton!!!…
By the way.. can we know what type of models for Model 1,2,3 &4????
In USA they just simply mention rivals name without any hesitation. I watch new Hyundai Santa Fe preview..better legroom than (Ford) Edge, (Chevy) Trailblazer etc
I’m seriously contemplating to trade my 4 year-old Jap for Preve. If this really lives up to my expectations, then I don’t see the reason why I shouldn’t. After all, I’ll be paying roughly RM350 less a month for a better equipped car.
Good review Anthony and Chris,
There are few hot debates that Preve doesn’t really have real DRL.. Can u confirm on that?
Rarely do I see mostly positive and civic comments for a Proton. It’s such a delight to see that. Thanks to the writers for the excellent effort!
I’ll be looking forward to owning the Proton Preve.
Cheers!
bcoz the small boys still busy at school….they are waiting for bus sekolah to get home, then tonite u will see all the negative comments LOL
What do you mean that we as school kids will blurt out negative comments.
it’s just an example of bash who bashes for the sake of hatred
Leave the school kids alone. They are currently suffering on the whole english bm thing. They do not have anytime for all of these.
what ever is it, make wise decision frens
Really good review! was waiting for this!
Even though I have reservations about Proton, but I must say the car looks impressive. This could be a winner.
Keleta sulah abes bayar.. datang paultan chris/anthony bikin hangat.. sulah ala ingin mau utang lg.. ploton satu lagi.. sulah abes bayar baru mau improve itu ini.. lu apa bikin 20 tahun?
damn.. but seriously.. this makes me droll… keep it up proton ( ‘ . ‘)/
Sounds really promising but as their marketing campaign goes, will have to drive it to believe it !!
Very good reviews overall and insightful information given by Chris and Anthony, excellent work & keep the info coming :)
Oh my god! My heart pounded like crazy as i read every line.
Could it be that great? How can it be that good since it was only a Proton.
Something is definitely wrong here. Was it me, the car or the writers article?
It sounded like an answer to a prayer of Malaysians in the millions.
Abolish AP is the payer Malaysians in the millions.
hmmm…first impression look’s good,,,but who know after 1 year what ll be????crap dude…it will goes same with gen2…lot of problem will appear,power window blow ,ecu got burned…air bag blow it self,front hood suddenly yank out….then muffler get rusted…this car it just another exprimental car by proton,,,bewareeeeeee….save your money a bit and buy a toyota,,your head will never get a headache
u kinda old thinking n not up to date… when ppl talk about good quality of flx, exora , persona.. u still keep on repeating old story power window prob…
pls update ur knowledge laa
boooo. basher is here!
i do agree with the Muffler on all Inspira… u can the muffler burned in the middle after few months not rusted.
‘buy a toyota,,your head will never get a headache’
People who have a Toyota have headaches already:
‘Toyota recalls across the world: full list so far
Toyota’s recall of millions of cars around the world – including the Prius – is unprecedented.’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/feb/09/toyota-recalls-full-list
Dear Selene,
I reckon that you should give Proton a chance to prove themselves. Im a proud owner of a 2011 Kia Forte 1.6 SX (6 Speed) and despite negative comments people give me about Korean Car (The same old same, FC, quality , resale value) but the forte really changed my perception. Now benching almost 20k and im very satisfied and impressed. Stating that it has an almost Conti feel to it may be an overstatement but i can tell you personally i felt it rides better than most Honda or Toyota on the roads. Yes i have driven an Altis, it was great but it still handles like a Japanese car.
Same goes for Proton. Despite having past windows failure and etc, they are on the right track and they have the intention to change the perception of Malaysians that they are improving( Anyway, Preve – To Prove). Thus im wondering how you are able to tell that this model will be a failure. If you know that it will fail in 1 year’s time then you are God.
p/s : Im gonna test drive this new proton for the experience but sorry guys im still in love with my Forte =)
May be those surprises : DRL, leather seat, Yes 4G, warranty or free few years of service..
Launching 16 apr but talked about it like 6 months ago. The novelty is wearing off already. You are not launching a Bentley or a Bugatti. You are just launching a Proton 1.6L car only. This car can easily win award for car with most teasers and pre-launch events. Even Airbus also kalah with their A380.
so what?
err chris/tony,
are you sure proton didn’t pay you to give that write up? its only a proton la how can that good? Hahaha!!
jokes aside, kudos guys. if the car is that good then I’m getting one. but that manual inspira 2.0 sounded so tempting.. errmmm
Proton will intro 2.0 manual Inspira ??!! wow ~~ now tat get my attention !!! Btw i am glad to hear so many good feedback from Chris and Anthony. I will go test drive it myself once it lauch. BTW proton promotional skill improved alot too
Today i drove my fren Civic2.0 , i found out that it actually nt so well equip and the center console plastic is loosen (<1 year car)!!! Why no people bash about it ?? when proton gt the similar problem, all de proton basher bash it =.=""" Can you guys be more neutral ??
of course la.. they think all japanese are good…
at least the resale value is better than proton
nope , the rule of thumb is the more you pay the more it will be depreciated through time
just compare with its rivals in same segment
sure proton is better because always cheaper!
not anymore…
I sold my City for only 28K. I remembered selling my Wira for 18K – similar age, similar condition.
Only difference is my Wira when new was only 51K, while my City was 81K – so which one is better value?
As we are impressed with the spec of the car. There are 2 things that turn us off
1) The front grill … it looks too cheapskate. Where can we find another grill like this. Only with Proton.
2) No leather seats (not even options)
i like fabric seat. don’t quite like the sensation on being skin to skin with a dead animal… haha, just joking but i do like fabric seat. sportier…. and thank god the interior is dark coloured, not cream.
when recaro sell their seat for thousand of ringgit a pair ( mean front seat only) its only fabric…. as long as the fabric material it top notch i am ok with it. easy to maintain….
You better feel the fabric used for the seats… i did…
it is nice to hold and really feel nice…
Leather are for drivers fabric are for the Lord and duchess to keep them warm and comfortable. :=)
great review, keep it up.
Proton … for once make Malaysia proud! Must go for test drive and see how good it is this time round. Kudos Proton!!!
which variant is the so called global car? all 3 variants? r u guys serious?
I think BMW still better
Me too but even the cheapest BMW without any tax is more expensive
Thank you sir to benchmark the car with BMW level.
for sure beemer is far better than P1 in term of overall package for someone that have tonnes of money, but for average malaysian it is a refine and excellent sedan.
Dude! U just compared a proton with bmw. Now, I want to buy preve for sure
U comparing apple with banana la u…
and i am soo mad because the Preve is only 4 cylinder 1.6, unlike the Merc’s 6.2 V8 monstrous SLS roadster.
oii,what kind of comparison lah PROTON vs BMW?
might as well compare a PERODUA Kancil with an Aston
Good work finally…..
Good work proton, finally…..
Pro tronic gear box eh? Hopefully the gearbox isnt a gimmick in its name but live up to its expectation.
Reminds me of the infamous tagline “Enjin Campro tapi Tak Pro”
bro zaman mana hang tinggal? masih terperuk dalam gua ke?
if want to take on an issue for constructive criticism, do take at present time
not and old issue which now rarely going to happen, unless your are the type pandai bawa kereta tapi tidak mengerti jaga kereta
But I want a car that not consume fuel too high!! But the car is really great
then choose cvt + iafm+ variant
but still cfe has better fc than older gen proton like waja
good job proton.
now please cut the taxes so that I can choose the cars that I really want to drive
dey, proton doesn’t control the tax on other cars.
That’s the government’s job. What’s that? The gov trying to protect proton? Still, it’s the government’s decision. Blame the government
proton needs to prove right? so prove it, by asking the government to cut the crap taxes. then let’s see in a free market in malaysia whether we would buy proton or city or ford or forte etc
when bnm tightens lending facility proton runs so fast to complain
so now proton should prove that it can stand alone by running to government to cut taxes
It’s not Proton who’s complaining, it’s the sellers.
And for good reason – how come Proton cars have to have high interest rates when I just saw an offer from Maybank offering interest free loans for a BMW? How fair is that?
The bank is just trying to make money. Of course they’ll charge higher for cars that are most sought after..
0% intrst for outgoing 3 series only dude:)
Last i hear proton n perodua have voice their opinion to govt to reduce tax on car during loan approve rate low last time…for wat i see why are they the one voice that opinion if their car dont pay taxes? Quit odd rite
@Anthony (the reviewer), I personally think that it’s naive to assume that production cars will have better manufacturing tolerances and better fit as opposed to a pre-production car prepared for review. It is at least well-known in the German car industry that cars for review are specially prepared and scrutinized before handed over to the press.
Kelvin, I am well aware of the ‘specials’ in the trade. When I was writing about audio before, there were horror stories involving manufacturers who would come up with ‘specially prepared’ amps that had top notch parts, which would not be found on the production units. So the review units would invariably sound far superior to that the end consumer would get. I know of one manufacturer which got caught out doing so. In this regard, I would rather trust someone who tells me that there is room for improvement and wants to strive for that, as opposed to showing me a lie.
Are we allowed to know who is the manufacturer?
although this isn’tt the ENCAP… he crash test looks good….like european and japanese cars crash test you found online…
for those who see more from youtube you’ll know what i mean….although the korean do get the same high rating but the way the car crumples…korean still lack in chassis design….this car has those of the like of european and japanese style of damages….very good proton!!!
Take the CFE it’s much better.I can say the car fits in between 1.8 and 2.0.If you’re planning to wait for Inspira 2.0 with 7 speed cvt then wait if you’re planning to take the 1.8 then I reckon you consider this.
Good job for both Chris and Anthony for giving us the overall review of the Proton Preve. Regarding the engine choice, I have pinpointed from the very beginning that the IAFM+ engine is not a wise choice for the lower-spec model, as Preve is a C-segment car that is heavier than a Persona or Waja. In fact, the 1.6L IAFM+ engine actually loses 3 horses than the older IAFM engine in the Persona (107 bhp vs 110 bhp). And the test drive by Chris and Anthony has proven it. And I must agree with them that the lower-spec Preve has been proven to be underpowered, while the top-spec Preve sails past 200 km/h with ease. If this kind of engine to be used for lower-spec model, then sorry to say that Proton still fails to erase the negative perceptions among Malaysians regarding the performance. They should learn the lesson from the Exora.
Therefore, the only suitable engine option for the lower-spec Preve is the 1.6L CPS engine because it is more powerful. If Proton claims that the engine is not suitable to be mated with CVT gearbox, then they should tweak it like how they did to the IAFM engine, but without sacrificing the power.
the IAFM+ is not under power..just that the CFE is great…IAFM+ has better torque curve than previous IAFM….and for saying it loses 3 horses causing it to be under power…is the torque that matters…pls….i really don’t hope anyone driving 200km/h with this car in Malaysia…..
CPS is suitable and powerful for let’s say the satria neo….not this family sedan…
and about CVT gearbox…CPS is not good for low end power….thus the CVT gear ratio aren’t easy to tune to match the CPS for smooth driving….this version of CVT gearbox is best suit for 1.2k-4k rpm range..
Another thing… You claim that the low-end power of the CPS is not good, but actually the low-end torque of the IAFM+ engine is almost the same. So if both low-end and high-end also semput, then it’s very bad because the IAFM+ engine does not have adequate power to haul the Preve which is obviously heavier than Persona or Waja. For Saga still ok la because Saga is a lighter B-segment car.
i think the actual reason might be along the line -> CPS couldnt pass emission regulations
that might also explain why theres no CPS models being sold in pollution-unfriendly countries XD
Some VW model also weight the same as Preve and use NA 1.6L , Same also for Peugeot 308 Vti, its even heavier than Preve
i think the underpower statement by chris & anthony is relative to the cfe performance since they tested the cfe first then only the iafm+.. maybe their statement would be different if they tested the iafm+ first then cfe.. maybe they would have wrote something like “the pickup felt quite decent for this size of car” when driving the iafm+.. then they would said “wow!! the performance upgrade is significantly felt” when driving the cfe..
just my 2 cents..
Even if they started with IAFM+ first also would not make a signficant difference, because of the very huge performance gap between CFE and IAFM+, like heaven and hell. Chris and Anthony both had tested flooring the gas pedal, and the result was very obvious even if they started with IAFM+ first. But I must admit that the feel might be a bit different if not much.
Anyway, the best way to test both cars to oblivion is by having a test drive session from KL to Genting, clmbing the 8.5% gradient at Karak expressway and the long, steep 10%+ gradient Genting road. What would you say, Chris and Anthony?
bro squall,
since our judgement here is solely based on comment and review written by PT, why not we consider also reviews from other journalists as well eg. AW, MT, FD, etc on the iafm+ performance.. i found that most of them had no complaint on underpower issue, only issue on NVH which is consistent as reported by PT..
Looks promising but i probably won’t get it because it misses out on my list of min requirements:
– >2 airbags [check]
– Anything but torsion beam rear suspension [check]
– good NVH levels/insulation [check]
– good HP/Torque numbers [check]
– nice interior with GPS built in [check]
– telescopic steering wheel [NO] :(
Sad
Dude, are you sure that you prefer torsion beam over Proton’s multilink? Hehehe
:) i said “anything BUT”.. so i prefer non-torsion beam
reading comprehension *facepalm*
The ergonomic problem pointed out above was around since Waja. You either need extra long arms or extra short legs to be comfortable.
Easily solved with the telescopic steering wheel, but sadly missing. Damn shame.
I prefer, rear wheel drive with de Dion axle….
proton basher suka naikkan isu Gen2 prob sana sini.pakai 1 year pastu all crabs datang….poor proton. tapi tu cite dulu bro..aku rasa proton dah start improve dari saga blm..byk improvement…saga blm aku dah 4 years…xde major prob pun sampai skang…dah lari 140 000km..yet still promising…so aku x cuak nk guna proton lg pasni..good job…ley amek preve sebijik.
even my mum SAGA LMST is now 5 years of excellence.. so far so good…
My 7 yrs old LMST gives me no problem at all too. Kudos to Proton….My car handles better than T. Dugong.
Everyone should test drive the Preve to know what is driving pleasure.
my saga LMST also fine for 5 years. but the fuel consumption really like a lorry..
You should send your car for tuning. My car on highway 5.5 litre per 100km. Combined 7.6. For city only drive 8.8 litre/100km. Superb economy.
i have to agree with u. shits happens..no matter what car u drive.
Diorang ni just cari slot untuk give comment. Topic lain diorang takut nak komen, time topic proton je diorang berani.
Nak cerita apa pun tak tahu…..cerita je la kisah silam proton.
totally agree with this…. my saga BLM almost 4 years without even single problem. I repeat withou even single problem…
and the best part is, the power window run smooth and fast all the time since day one.
totally impressed.
totally agree with this…. my saga BLM, 4 years not even single problem. I repeat, not even single problem.
even the power window is running smooth and fast since day one.
impressive.
Maybe the bashers should compare the early model gen2 with the gen2 cps model. The gen2 cps performance, build quality and looks is way better and improved then the early model gen2.
Chris and Tony punya pasal, Ok la aku beli.. :) Hahaha
But really dude, if the car is decent enough why don’t we give them the credit they deserves. And hopefully one day it could compete with other makers and eventually its protection is lifted.
For wat i see only protection by gov nowaday are AP n import tax(non asean)…other than that non
STILL USE TIMING BELT.
still raising timing belt issue……
timing belt isn’t bad….it was once not that good thus coming out with timing chain…current days better timing belt is on market but with higher price tag…
however one of the reason i suspect proton going with the belt system is that belt is more efficient than the chain system…and easier to achieve higher emission standard compared to timing chain….
and timing belt is quieter compared to the chain system…
besides the good side,the dark part of it is proton is trying to save cost…lol
so??? u you to be like old UNSER using chain?? nwith old tech 4AT and drum rear brake??
prrrtfhhh
Look, a timing belt requires more maintenance. Good if you maintain your car properly, bad if you are hopeless at taking care of a car. However, there seem to a trend among many auto makers to go back to the chain because of advances in technology which allows the chain to operate with less noise compared to what is found in the Unser as an example. As for the 4AT its reliability is proven and there are actually certain advantages over the CVT. Low end torque beats the CVT in most cases for similar cars. Drum brakes bad? Look at the Ford Fiesta and find out for yourself how good drum brakes in the rear can actually be a good proposition.under certain suspension setups.
So are you going to tell that timing chains are maintenance-free? That’s totally wrong. True, timing chains are more durable than belts, but in return the engine requires more frequent motor oil changes. In the other hand, belts require less frequent oil changes (10k km as in all Campro engine families) and belt replacement is very cheap, but you must precisely adhere the replacement strictly without any delay or the belt will snap out, breaking the pistons and valves.
the piston and valves do not break in non-interference engines:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_engine
the handsome cruze also using timing belt. whats wrong with it?
Haha.. dah takde modal nak bash… kasi la dia bash woi.. kesian dia..
So you prefer timing chain?
‘VVT-i engines can start to use up to a litre of oil every 600 miles after 40,000 miles. Timing chains of 1.0 engines have been known to snap without warning, maybe due to dirty oil. Timing chain cover gaskets of VVT-i engines can fail and leak oil. ‘
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/yaris-1999/?section=bad
yes..engine design is good with updated features..only no timing chain. probably like proton mention that they not familiar with Vehicle stablity system so with this timing chain thing.
only 75k but with 120k car price specification. it is worth the money. gonna test drive it very soon XD !
No doubt proton really put a lot of efforts this time. but i still holding back and watch the show first before it is too late.
Where is that F Fiesta salesperson @ spokesman? Haven’t saw him up until now. This is kinda rare
Honestly the Preve deserve a shot…gonna go for its test drive once available.Anyway for me for Proton to succeed.
-Always go for look first (This what i observe what most Malaysian go first)
-Price (Putting aside argument about tax and bla bla bla ,it will be excellent if Proton can sell all under its stable under 80K even for the higher specs :p)
-An engine like 1.4 TFSI/L15A/1NZ-FE characteristic (for me this kind of engine really suitable for daily commute,never try CFE variant yet)
-Handling is one of Proton advantage,but if Proton can paired it with lower NVH,it will be heaven
-Proton need to concentrate on the small small thing refinement
-Black never wrong for interior color
-ABS,EBD,SRS should be standard
Btw anyone who planning to buy Forte,forget it.I already drove it for two weeks and not very happy with its FC -_-“.Hope new Elantra can do better.
overall is quite impressive, but would like point out that the fuel consumption have nothing to shout compare to normal aspirated 2.0 engine.. 7.8 ltr VS 8.2ltr/ 100km why need to put in the brouchure, and the chart start from 7.2, Please don’t show this childish chart scale modification… with this figure actually it just turn down the potential buyer..
i think what they were trying to point out is that with the HUGE amount of power/torque and the BEST accelaration among the competitors, they can still managed to retain the FC within the competitors range..
damn good car , but car loan “NOT APPROVED” endorsed by Bank Negara…
another variant coming soon : Proton Perve RT — meant for mat rempit racers…..
Looks tempting. Let us see if preve can prove itself. I hope it can.
Well done Proton, Big effort & i think everyone involed should delighted with the results. If i may say something that is happening right now in Britan is HYBRID sales are taking off BIG time. I recall that Proton expermented with Hybrid, i hope they still looking at it.
If not they need a low CO2 engine for Euro-land & Hatchback for Britan.
Mike
I heard their direction is more towards electric car with range extender, as opposed to hybrid.
What do you think of this.. hybrid. vs. range extender?
FYI, There are two type of hybrid ie. Series Hybrid and Parallel Hybrid. Range Extender or known as Plug-In-Hybrid is actually a Series Hybrid. So, please re-phrase your question. :-)
Everything look very promising but few key areas doesn’t look good, namely:
1- Average 8.2l every 100km very far from global standard; somewhere 7.5 or below more acceptable since our fuel not going to stagnant at current level. In fact Pug 508 also record lower than Preve (Pug also sports 1.6 engine while VW 1.4tsi)
2- Front end design somewhat bland especially the “wau/kite” kinked below oversized emblem. Perhaps, feline logo with rounded background nicer. Even Perodua has decent logo. Proton definitely must have alternative bumper-grille that look sportier or closer to the Tuah concept’s.
3- Paul, Anthony or Christ: while l can witness soft touch material in the same time the color and panel rough surface kinda of dirt collecting property (the same pattern used in Bold). What’s your take on this matter?
4- Seat redesign is inevitable since the car banking on r&h. Pronounce bolster also important- look at Audi or BMW seat. God willing, after enough sale refinement in auto lever to be more upmarket.
I love Proton but without refinement and addressing the potential disputes buyers maybe reluctant to embrace Proton. Kudos for Proton.
Have to agree with you, bro.. Lkie Chris said, where’s the tilt and telescopic steering? 6 Airbags should be standard across the range. Crumple zone looks good, though. Later versions should come with heads-up display and stuff developed from the S2000 rally Neo. Shouldn’t be more expensive than an Evo X, right?
malaysian people are getting smarter.thats why proton came out with a smarter car.hehe
I want manual, or I should wait for Satria CFE Emas R3 Lotus Edition whatsoever…
The fuel consumption looks quite high, don’t forget that in overseas u have to compete with the turbodiesel which can offer mileage >20km/l
Paul, any idea what is P3-30A, P3-31A and P3-32A? Maybe Emas, replacement Saga and smaller MPV….. how about Satria Neo replacement? Hahahah….
even the proton designer never heard of this code name, care to explain?
yes! because to be a global player you can not only have 1 model or only sedan. u need multiple model for multiple segments!!!
i can only guess P3 means 3rd generation of protons?…
well, Gen2 was the second generation, right?
cant wait for the test drive unit..preve 1.6m or inspira 2.0m..????
Julian Lee says:
5/4/2012 at 7:01 pm
I think BMW still better
I think my Volvo is better than BMW.
But Proton Preve is better than my Volvo.
Yes, it is true that IAFM+ engine has better torque than the old IAFM engine (150 N-m vs 148 N-m), but the torque spread is rather limited compared to CPS engine that produces the same amount of torque. If the torque range is limited, then the driver will have to change gear alot to gain additional torque required. Of course the low-end torque of the CPS engine is also not much, but at least the high-end torque is still high so the car can still pick up with the speed even at the cost of FC. That’s why some Exora CPS owners claim that their standard Exora is strong enough while some others claim semput. But in the IAFM+ engine case, the high-end torque also semput, and the most efficient torque range is only around 4,000-4,500 rpm before it starts to become semput. Both Chris and Anthony have already proven that the Preve IAFM is underpowered and semput. That’s why maintaining the torque is important so that the car won’t feel underpowered.
Of course the existing CPS engine cannot simply be mated directly with the CVT without limiting its rpm first as required by the CVT, but it can still be done and tweaked without sacrificing the power. Therefore, the powertrain department boys should start tweaking the CPS engine as the better replacement for the IAFM+ engine in this Preve.
Well done! This write-up is good and objective. Bravo on the ride and handling and if true, bravo as well on the NVH! Personally, I’d take NVH over R&H but if can get both, will be smiling ear to ear. Hopefully, more volume on CFE rather than lower variant one. Focus on quality rather than quantity of variants. Lastly, managers jgn lebih2, engineer penat2 buat keje korang manage-je jgn lebeh2… kekeke!
Wow!!!
Model 4 is forte 2.0 Thetha II engine 2.0 L Theta II I4 (gasoline) 1,998 cc 156 PS (115 kW; 154 hp) 19.8 kgf·m (194 N·m; 143 lbf·ft)
But the 6 speed tranny improves the FC significantly. My Koup averages at 7.2L/100km compare to my 4 speeder forte 7.8l/100km. Kerb Weight about the same only koup/forte.
So The 2.0l NA Forte has better FC than Preve according to the charts paultan. The lower l/100km is better (not higher is better)
In the CFE comparisons test, Model 1 is very consistent. Wonder what that car is…
I can’t wait to get my Preve. I have already booked the CFE and am paying in cash after trading off my E46. Can’t wait to smoke a Civic, Altis, Vios, Pug, Forte, Fiesta, MyVi and Focus on the road. Any P1 bashers up for this challenge? Drop me a note. It’s time for you’ll now to ‘prove’ that I’m wrong. Saludos!
they will also prove that you are stupid.. not because of your choice but because of ur teenager attitude.. grow up la..
So you’re buying this car to help Proton with their motto…ie to smoke all it’s competitors? You want to smoke a Pug with more power too? Why not then smoke an Audi and VW too? It simply shows that you have inferiority complex…grow up!
Try to smoke a Jetta 1.4 or Peugeot 308 Turbo ! u cant even seen their tail lights lolx
Trading off an E46? and pay cash for this just to smoke all the things you
mentioned?
Why make things so difficult? Your E46 already able to smoke them.
Errrrr,but only if you really have a full E46 and not the 1/18 scale model…….
Kudos for Proton, what I worry is the after sale service for the car. Proton have many dealers which offer after sale service package. Few days back my friend’s car need a warranty claim, the dealer in Bandar Baru Selayang said they need 2 week to make warranty claim. 2 week for parts in Klang Valley? this is too much.
I think this is one of the reason Proton get bashed alot.
8.2. Liters per 100 km with a turbocharged engine !!!!? GOOD I ASSUME this is a real data.
It means RM 0.156 per km with the current RM 1.9 / liter of RON 95. Compared to my Vios consumption of 0.13 per km. I need to pay an extra of RM 6500 after I sell my car 7 years later at 250 K km. ( my first ISWARA was sole at 260 k km after 7 years).
OMG this is ASSUMING their data is real and the fuel price is not going to change.
Dont worry la.. next year Pakatan Rakyat would reduce petrol price!
Good job proton! I have not seen so much positive review for a proton before. I believe this is the right time to thank the rakyat for such good support to our beloved national car maker. So please reduce/remove the taxes for other car maker so that all of us can celebrate this joyous moment.
i want centre headrest !
It could also stem from the fact that my legs are bent more than usual because one notch to the back and my arms would not be in in their ideal driving position. Even if I did move back and adjust my back rest, I would be sitting in a too-upright position. Sorry, that doesn’t work for me either. So there was this constant debate in my head if I should slide the seat back and try to get used to the arm’s length. Adding a telescopic function to the steering wheel would have helped the situation. End of rant
====================================================================
iv been commenting about this too in FD repeatedly hoping that proton would heard.
‘telescopic adjustable steering” ,,global car need to suit everbody everywhere in the world,
seemed likely it dont even passed the ideal driving position,,,,,
lancer/evo x / inspira also dont have telescopic steering.
they still can sell in UK/US/globally.
Yup, telescopic more important and supposed to be a standard.
nice review, but you guys didn’t manage to test drive the new getrag 5-spd manual?
Also,s
Nice review, but you guys didn’t manage to test drive the new getrag 5-spd manual?
Also, will they ever offer the CFE+6MT?
That aside, I’m looking forward to the 2.0 Inspira Manual. That’s should be really sumthin!
internal rumours say there will be a manual version for the CFE
No, unfortunately there was only a single manual mule, and we both didn’t manage to get it.
The question was posed about a CFE MT (which should be the five-speed Getrag box; don’t think a six-speeder is in the equation) coming about – there wasn’t “no” in the reply, so the answer must be yes, at some point in the future. :)
before exora bold was launched, there were some rumors saying proton will provide 2 tranny – 6 speed CVT (by punch) and 7-speed manual (by getrag). if 7-speed MT was launched, definitely I would buy that one, but everybody know proton did not, so I end up with CVT. not that i regret it, but more of a personal preference for MT, that’s all. if proton indeed offer MT (7,6 but please not 5 speed, its a bit old time now), then it would be superb!
I normally hate proton.But gotta give a thumbs up to this Proton Preve.This will definately have a conti ride and feel to it. I would definately get this over the overrated and overhyped Hyundai Elantra if i were to buy a car.
hahaha there u go again… another swipe at the elantra.. out of nothing.
Overall good work. However the fuel consumption is BAD! If you check properly, all Proton cars’ fuel consumption is measured with the car going a constant 90kmh and not combined fuel consumption. It’ll be much higher in daily drive no doubt.
Next time, the government should make it compulsory for all car makers to advertise the fuel consumption (city,highway and combined) of each car model on the website like in the US. Malaysians deserve cars with better fuel consumption and they have the right to know which car offers the best fuel economy that suits their budget and practical use.
auto car survey 2011, for best fuel consumption:
First: Vios
2nd: Persona
3rd: City
How Vios achieve this; smaller dimension, less weight and small tyre size, DVVT only safe fuel for speed below 100km/hrs.
dont just simply bashing the vios..go and do the real world test..then u will admit it
i sold my vios already…
good fuel consumption only when u trap in traffic jam…
poor fuel consumption than bigger engine when u drive more than 100km/hrs on highways.
at karak road, if u put more than 3 person or full luggage …, then bye-bye
still i wont buy the proton… cause is a local made car.
Why i pay so expensive to get a local car?
i wont support it, cause proton are not made to benefit the Rakyat. unless they drop the price as Thailand. (feel like donating money to someone pocket instead of benefit the country)
Wonder if I should trade in my Perdana V6 2004 model for the Perve high specs, since they compare to a 2.0 car. Don’t get me wrong, this will be my 8 year with the perdana & I love the sound of the V6 roar but maintaining the car is costly especially when it’s time for major service. Never had a problem with the car, gearbox original & never gave any problems, engine performance is owe some especially on the highway but had power windows problems twice. Apart from that the car has perform perfectly & never fail to perform but that’s because I spend a lot of money maintaining the car.
If the Perve is as fun to drive like a 2.0 car minus the wonderful V6 roar and engine sounds, I really dont
Mari kita tengok berapa bijik Proton boleh jual……..anyways tq DRB, you made my saving double after selling Proton share that I bought for only RM2.70
Believe me,there is more to come on the launch date..pheww…
Euro 5 emission standard? Good overall improvement…….
I would like to test drive the one with turbo………
Wonder if I should trade in my Perdana V6 2004 model for the Perve high specs, since they compare to a 2.0 car. Don’t get me wrong, this will be my 8 year with the perdana & I love the sound of the V6 roar but maintaining the car is costly especially when it’s time for major service. Never had a problem with the car, gearbox original & never gave any problems, engine performance is owe some especially on the highway but had power windows problems twice. Apart from that the car has perform perfectly & never fail to perform but that’s because I spend a lot of money maintaining the car.
If the Perve is as fun to drive like a 2.0 car minus the wonderful V6 roar and engine sounds, I really dont mind considering ? What do you all think, any advice from the public ?
Should I go for the Perve, knowing maintanence wise I should be spending lower, fuel wise might be almost the same based on the review & driving it is fun all throughout both Anthony & Chris never mention about the fun factor driving it ??
Dear V6 Zoner, I am also considering the same thing with my 06 Perdana.. Never had problem with the engine and gbox, love the growling sound, but honestly the perdana tech is, i think, a bit outdated. Plus the fuel consumption. I’m still thinking…
Thanks for the feedback mid-income earner, at least I know I’m not the only one considering to change my Perdana for the Perve :)
Most of my other friends driving Perdana V-sixers said not to even bother about the Perve as its engine power won’t even match up to the Perdana V6 …. So am glad I’m not the only one considering.
Really hope when I test drive the Perve I don’t get disappointed coz all the hype mention for the past six months on the car being a global car with global standards, really waiting to see if its drives good and quality is at par with others global cars :p
since it is not launch…. which will be your 1st impression on the new Preve? choose 1 only
A) expensive & cheerful
B) expensive & nasty
C) cheap & cheerful
D) Cheap & nasty
Proper chrome badge on steering wheel
If you wonder what features important for UK cars, please go to YouTube and search for Mat Watson CarBuyer. He going to complain about three things; FC and lack of front door bin 1.5l mineral water holder. :-) The third is Telescopic steering wheel.
Yes, you are right. Preve should have come with telescopic steering wheel.
look great! why so negative? test drive 1st lah. lol
The HID lamp still glares if it is not aimed properly and if its colour is white, even if you mount it properly inside projector headlight casing. It is you who should do your research. Jangan tau merempit je.
another bold spotted >>> https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=402142313130408&set=a.156741527670489.38642.127840003893975&type=1&theater
My future car for sure. Cheers.
Of course when it comes to FC, there are still lots of work needed to be done by Proton, because the Campro engine families are just average drinkers – neither petrol guzzlers nor mean petrol sippers. What they can do right now is just using more efficient gearboxes. Perhaps one day Proton can come up with lean-burn GDI engines in the future.
Majority of those bashing this car are not even potential car buyers. Most of them, teenagers or those without purchasing power, just come in to bash proton for fun without looking at the efforts that proton has put in. To me, this car and exora bold has really change my impression toward proton. As a Malaysian, I sincerely hope proton can become a world class car manufacturer. Thanks.
nicely said :)
a global car that has no electric power steering knowledge after 20+ years?
1.6 l with a 2.0 l power but less fc got 130+ hp but didnt mention bout d weight?
power to weight ratio is most important here, solid usually means heavy
figures on paper is nothing compare to the feeling u drive
Then go test drive first, complain afterwards. Taking from your point, your assumption means nothing compare to the feeling you drive meh?
Bdwy, electric power steering has its own down point. As long as the handling is top notch, type of power steering would not be an issue.
i think F1 car, wrc car dont use electric power steering, i have driven my uncles new myvi and I almost crash it since i dont get any feedback from the steering.. look how the condemn the new porsche 911 for having the eps system.. it ruin the handling feels.
EPS are for sissy
go and get yourself a myvi then….
just want to say about EPS. do you know how EPS work? no, I know from one of the suppliers in Malaysia that proton tested EPS since three years ago on the Preve mules but because the engineering team from Europe, Lotus and Proton own test drivers were not happy with it, they went back to HPS. they also told me that EPS will be on all proton cars soon. so pls check on the fact. when EPS was a novelty on cars, proton was testing them.
EPS gives me the shittest handling feedback… Seriously…
Yes.have EPS on my ex Honda jazz… Suck feeling.
How ironic you mentioned about ‘feeling u drive’ when you babbling about no electric power steering…there’s NO such thing as feeling when driving with EPS
5 years warranty with 3 years free service would be a nice suprise (could save about 2k at least). On paper looks impressive. Now when will Proton roll out SUV ( banjir maa…)in your line up?
well…I can sell my waja
congratulation Proton!!! since tuan syed as a CEO proton.. most of proton car does’t have a big problem especially on power window.. i have used proton persona auto for 3 years and the millage is 185k, and honestly persona fuel consumption is better than Toyota Vios…
it’s high time to replace the waja, dark history of proton
thanks to the new management, did have they their best to clean back their image
At 75K, better get a Vios, at least you won’t lose your shirt when you sell the car.
On paper,anything will look good, even shit. Some people have a way with words that even shit will sound delicious. Want to eat shit , anyone?
Global car it seems, just wait and see, they’ll sell it here at 75k, and they’ll sell it overseas at 45k.
To save everybody a lot of heartache, let this model be the last one after proton has proven to itself that it can’t make cars. Then they can’t start manufacturing bicycles with what they learnt making cars.
One thing makes me wonder. Why Preve has higher fuel consumption (8.2L/100km) compared to exora bold (7.8L/100km)? Both have same engine but Preve is significantly lighter than Exora, so naturally Preve should have lower FC. Can anyone shed some light on this?
So far, my EB FC couldn’t reach lower than 9.1L/100km. Not unless I use Q max. Still testing the FC with various style of driving.
Already request Proton SC Agent to check the tuning but unable to do so. Need to check again thru PE SC. There’s also some issues to be resolved.
I’m using Exora Bold CFE and i easily get 8.1L/100km, 80% Highway, 20% suburban, with engine run < 1000KM, and speed 100-110km/h, auto-cruise set. 2 adult (80kg each), 2 child (13kg &17kg), 1 infant (5kg), full load luggage (estimate 30kg, and yes i fold last row to fit my luggage and it still barely fit )
For City driving (Penang Island, 100%), i got 18.4l/10km engine run < 1000km, and after 1st service (using Petronas syntium 800 10w-30 ), the FC improved to 13.8l/100km (100% Penang Island) (will change to better oil when 10k service onwards). 1 adult (80kg), 2 child (13kg, 17kg), minimal luggage (~5kg)
I'm consider myself as light foot person, and for city driving, i rarely hit 2000RPM except climbing the steep slope (bukit gambir, and also flyover bayan baru/sg nibong) everyday,
I expect to get better mileage when engine run exceed 10,000KM. My estimation FC for Exora Bold is (12+L/100km for city driving, 7+L/km for highway)
u need to control your foot more. for town driving i can get around 9.5 .. u need to control your braking, reduce braking and try maintain RPM below 2k. the VT3 CVT has saving mode if driven less than 2k RPM and less than 80km/h
if you can get 9.5L/100km for town driving, its sooo impressive. For the record, even with my Iswara Saga 1.3, i only manage to get 10L/100km for 100% city driving. Maybe our traffic condition is different.
The FC are always overrated by Manufacturers. You have to test drive to find out.
It is interesting to note that Australian news articles are saying that when the Preve is introduced into Australia in September of this year, it will be offered with 6 airbags… while we Malaysians are only good enough for 4… What gives?
When Hyundai was introduced into the US back in the 1980’s, they quickly developed a (earned) reputation of being unreliable. 30 years later, Hyundai still bear that reputation, but it is offset by the best factory warranty (5 years/100000Km bumper to bumper) in the USA for any new car. If Proton wants to be an international player, they should look at how Hyundai did it and learn from them. After all, both Proton and Hyundai started with selling Mitsubishi based cars… and Mitsubishi is no longer in business in the USA.
Malaysian life is cheaper ma, how to compare with ang moh???
the price in malaysia will be affected greatly if you put more features. more features means higher price, and higher price will also means higher tax!
the base price is similar, but tax structure between Malaysia and Australia is different, so you get very different price. import duty + GST = 20% in Australia but you pay 75% excise duty + 10% sales tax in Malaysia. do you see how much difference is that?
adding more features will increase the price, but it won’t affect price in Australia so much, ie; add RM1k base price will only cost another RM200 tax in Australia. however, in Malaysia, add RM1k in base price will increase another RM850 for tax!!
that’s why some of the expensive features like 2 additional curtain airbags will only be available as ‘optional’ items in Malaysia.
your life or money? which one u value more..? not enough $, dont drive or own a car. we do not want proton which is still stuck in the 80s era…base car ( read: no satety features) just to cut down on cost to cater to the masses. base car + msian driver attitude = national disaster…..
some Korean cars already PUSH to 7 years..
Oh damn, I already make a loan for Peugeot 308 turbo, this preve cfe things looks promising! Omg omg omg
um…no doubt preve is a good car, but the pug is a better car….
onpaper says:
6/4/2012 at 12:11 am
At 75K, better get a Vios, at least you won’t lose your shirt when you sell the car.
At 75K better get preve than vios. Anytime I can smoke and give my shit to vios. Sorry…………….
wonder why people always think vios is the best..had it for 5 years..3 yers ago..served me well but nothing extravaganza abt it..
vios is good quality car. thanks to world reknown toyota quality control efficiency. but it is very basic car. it’s a compact car for southeast asian market (lower to middle income region). Vios is comparable with Saga. Not Persona, Perve etc. Even though it is good car, it’s not an exciting car.
Better buy this car bcos…if I buy gap or Korean car, they will launch new model in 3 yrs. With this car, I can drive the latest model for more than 5 yrs as Proton takes a long time to come up with replacement model.
If we are in USA we will not care about this small car which will cost about USD15000. There are so many better choices like Mazda 3 , ford focus which is sexier and more fun to drive.
‘and more fun to drive.’
You have test-driven the Preve already? Or how do you know?
If I’m in mars, I will not even care about any mazda or any other cars. I’ll be having my spaceship to travel from one planet to the other.
I Loved Your Reply!!
hahaha.. a good one Akir.
If i’m in North Korea, i wouldn’t give a damn about any car… i would just walk or take a bycycle (if fortunate enough..)
Oh damn, i already make a loan for Peugeot 308 turbo, this preve cfe things looks pomising !
il wait for d facelifted SE version with all d bell and whistles
I believe this is the proton’s reply to the slump in Japanese car market:
HONDA & TOYOTA factory in Bangkok is flooded (not to mention the global recall), Japan hit by tsunami & nuclear meltdown crisis.
Now we can safely market Preve as a next generation of fresh air in automotive industry across the region of Asia Pacific, and the world.
Being at par with the Japanese & Korean car makers is a major milestone and a proud achievement to date,
Hope to see more improvement and bring up the prestige of Proton in global market.
Being sarcastic or being too ambitious…Although Proton improved but its a long way to be influential in world’s market…ASEAN will do
That’s not a valid reason unless if you can cite from reports to support your statement. The old Campro basic engine is Euro 4 compliant. Both CPS and IAFM engines are Euro 5 compliant, the proof is in the CPS mechanism video that you can search in YouTube.
Chow 1 says:
6/4/2012 at 12:51 am
If we are in USA we will not care about this small car which will cost about USD15000. There are so many better choices like Mazda 3 , ford focus which is sexier and more fun to drive.
If we are in Russia we dont bloody care about Mazda 3, ford focus. We have Sukhoi 30 which is more fun and can travel more than 1000 km/h.
please add… fun to make cobra maneuver… haha
Lol
oso fun to pay TAX!!!
the performance chart compares preve with Kia forte 2.0 and honda civic. how come it doesn’t compare with Peugeot 308 Turbo that has the same engine capacity but higher horsepower and torque?
Selective comparison?
Then it would take 2nd place in terms of performance :)
Bcos malaysian are obsessed with T&H..pug only for niche market..my opinion
that what everybody call point of sales….. i know you dont take business study.. so let other people do their job lah…. if u judge apple with an apple.. you only see apple…..
btw my friends pug 308 turbo is at the service center for 3 month now, engine problem, he has changed it to crv
not selective but a common sense..308T is a hatchback..for benchmark or comparison, you do it with the same class and similar size (wheelbase, trackwidth)
thats because these two cars are sedan. while the 308 turbo is hathcback and thus lighter compare to preve. wait till 308 sedan launched then only it would justify comparing the 308 with preve.
if it’s about sedan, than proton should compare it with the VW Jetta 1.4 tsi. it seems that proton market it as if it appears to be the “best” but actually it isn’t yet.
preve is far better than japs but to compare with jetta is not wise because it has twin turbo charge while preve only soft turbo
twin scroll turbo vs single scroll turbo. sure not right to compare
If proton really want to prove themselves. Then compete in pricing. Request that MAA remove the tax system and compete in a free market.
Do it to prove yourself
True, once tax off I’m sure Ford Fiesta is be better choice in term of value and specification.
But well Proton is scared don’t want any competition, even there is tax Ford Fiesta still the best choice.
Mister Ford salesman, let me tell you that DSZ himself wants our market to be open so that Proton can compete fair and square. It was Mahaleel during the dark ages who was chicken and did not have balls to compete but rather asked for heavier protection instead.
Another thing, actually Proton cars are taxed as well. Proton is capable to make cheaper cars because Proton is the only national carmaker that applies for R&D grant, which cuts production costs a lot.
How about asking MAA to increase the tax and make the tax the same with other foreign car manufacturer?
This way Proton still be able to compete fairly and the Malaysia still have the cash to develop the nation.
It is not wise to abolish the tax for it is one of the income for the government for the sake of our nation survival and prosperity. I don’t want to live in a country where people killing themselves due to nation poverty like what’s happening in Greece.
In Camelot there is tax, live happy ever after, in Druid’s land there’s no tax and you can kill or be kill by anyone a like, oops we’re talking about cars I thought it’s about tax & politic, I yem sorry
so future, we need to kill people for a car tax…:P
Anthony and Chris, why all the negative comments I have posted are not being displayed ? The IS NOT the spirit of Paultan . Org. My positive comments on other car brand are out but the negative one is filtered. This s not going to benefit the users for them judge themselves based on the public perspective !
mine too
but it makes me think twice and be more mature before commenting… hehee
proton pays their bills so of course must kowtow lo.
5 more models in 2 years? more and more spyshots to come!
with this article, i can say to korean car maker. take that!