Proton Reviews

The Satria GTi was a good-looking, hot-to-trot little unit that talked the talk, but more importantly, walked the walk.Even the basic, garden-variety Satria had the looks and the value to make it an attractive option for young buyers.Build quality was a bit of an issue but the fun factor was high enough to put those concerns on the back burner.Since then Proton has had a couple of strikes. First with the Waja – an overpriced, under-performing sedan that was roundly shunned by the market – and the Jumbuck, a well-conceived small and affordable ute, which unfortunately was well down the scale for build quality.Enter the Gen.2, a small hatch with the mission of taking Proton into the realms of Hyundai and Kia as reliable, affordable small transport.With plenty of development input from Lotus, which is owned by Proton, it is no surprise that the Gen.2 is, dynamically, a compliant and composed little car.Body stiffness is reassuring and handling sure-footed with a comfortable ride quality – something of a surprise because anything wearing a Lotus badge, while it sticks like glue, usually requires a kidney belt as an accessory.A little disappointing was the steering, which can feel quite woolly, particularly at lower speeds.The 82kW 1.6-litre Campro engine – a Proton in-house development – is a lively unit when revved up towards the limit.Cruising, it feels sadly under-powered with little low-end pick-up. It also gets fairly coarse when at the business end of performance.The five-speed manual on the test car was light and easy to use without any particular precision to the gates. The ratios and the need to keep the revs high for any sort of urge meant plenty of changes.The exterior design is a clean-sheet effort from Proton's own people and while it shows some obvious "influenced by" cues (the Mercedes CLK tail-lights for one), the result is pleasing to the eye.That clean and fresh appearance carries over to the interior of the car, where the dash is stylish and individual.Materials are comparable with others in the same class but fit and finish is disappointing.Again, the badge is being let down by poor quality assurance on the build line.In the test car the electric windows did not work and the adjustment unit in the centre console came away in the hand.Close inspection of much of the fit and fitment for the trim showed evidence of either haste or poor practice.Rear leg space is adequate but headroom is restricted by the slope of the roof. The seats front and back are comfortable without being particularly supportive. Bolstering is moderate at best.The Gen.2, which comes in three specification levels, offers airconditioning, power steering and mirrors, driver and passenger airbags, seat-belt pretensioners, disc brakes, central locking, remote keyless entry, a CD player and a trip computer as standard on the base model.The M-Line, as tested, adds ABS brakes, alloys and cruise control on the auto.An extra $1490 will get you the H-Line trim with side airbags, climate-control airconditioning, an electronic reversing sensor, front and rear fog lights, a rear spoiler and a mobile phone holder.There is no doubt that the Gen.2 is a huge step forward in both value and package over the Waja.But there is certainly no time for the company to relax yet.It still trails its obvious rivals Toyota, Hyundai and Kia in key areas, particularly with build quality.

Though it has moved on from borrowing engines and bodies from other companies, Proton sought help from Lotus (which it owns) to develop the small five-door Gen2 hatch and its new Campro engine.The 1.6-litre engine has a modest 82kW and 142Nm, considerably less than rival Toyota Corolla's 100kW and 171Nm.The Gen2 will take on Corolla, Holden Astra Classic and Nissan Pulsar and have a starting price of $17,990."We are a young company, but we are daring enough to build our own engine," Campro chief engineer Azari Che-Hassam says.A five-speed manual gearbox is standard with the Gen2. A four-speed automatic transmission is available for an extra $2000.Lotus also helped develop the suspension and steering for the Gen2, the first car from Proton's new Tanjung Malim factory.Engineers set out to give the Gen2 the best handling in its class, and a pleasant ride. The car's rigid body makes this possible.It will be offered in three trim levels, starting with the L-line at $17,990. It has airconditioning, power steering, front airbags for the driver and passenger, four-wheel disc brakes, keyless entry, CD sound and trip computer.The $19,500 M-line model adds anti-skid brakes and alloy wheels. Automatic models have cruise control.Spending $20,990 for the H-line adds side airbags, climate control airconditioning, rear parking sensors, fog lights and rear spoiler.Proton says the Gen2 was designed to reflect its sporty handling characteristics."We wanted to give it the face of a tiger, make it look very strong," Proton design boss Zafruddin Shamsuddin says.He says the Gen2 won't appeal to all buyers, but will catch the attention of those who want something sporty and sexy."Essentially, we set out to break the tradition of building one safe design for everyone," Shamsuddin says.ON THE ROADTHE Gen2 shows how fast Proton is growing. It also reveals it has some way to go to take on Japan and Europe.Let's start with the positives, and there are plenty.The Gen2 has a rigid body and has excellent handling characteristics.Punting it along a winding road down into Port Macquarie at last week's launch showed what a fantastic job Proton and Lotus engineers have done setting up this car.It is almost impossible to get it to misbehave. You can easily put it through corners at speeds that would make a Corolla buck and squeal, while the steering is solid and gives good feedback.The other positive is the comfortable ride, with the suspension absorbing many of the bumps without fuss.It's amazing that Lotus can help produce a pleasant ride when it's own car (Elise sportscar) can jolt out fillings at the first sign of a bump.Interior space is good, though rear headroom is not the best in its class. While some of the plastics could be better, the interior is the best to come from Proton.Stereo controls are trendy rather than easy to use, but the heating controls are big and practical.The body looks well constructed and the paint quality, which includes cool colours such as orange-bronze and purple, is excellent.So what's wrong with the new Malaysian model?Proton says the Campro engine was designed for commuting in cities such as Kuala Lumpur where motorists are happy with small engines and don't mind revving them.To put it simply, the Gen2 doesn't have enough grunt. You notice it a bit around town, but when you try to overtake or pull up a long haul the engine is lacking.It gets worse when the airconditioning is pumping.Proton is working on a Campro engine with variable-valve timing that gives it a meatier feel and improves performance.It will be offered in a premium Gen2 model next year, but should really be in the base car.And in April Proton will introduce an R3 performance model with exhaust modifications that will lift power slightly.With excellent handling, it's clear the Gen2 can handle more go.

The car has been a long time in gestation but is a critical model for the Malaysian manufacturer as it moves away from using redundant designs from Mitsubishi for which it paid handsome royalties. The Gen.2 is just about all Proton in terms of body and powertrain. Only the optional four speed automatic transmission is from Mitsubishi.Gen.2 also marks the appearance of Proton's first in-house engine, the Campro 1.6-litre four cylinder. It is the advance guard for a range of new engines designed and built by Proton with considerable input by Proton-owned Lotus.Gen.2 itself heralds a complete range of new Proton models due for production in the next 18 months built on four different platforms. Most will come to Australia and the lineup includes a city car with a 1.2-litre engine, a new Satria and a revised Waja.Proton Australia also disclosed at the Gen.2 launch that it has taken control of national Lotus distribution.The Gen.2 comes out of a brand new, highly automated factory at Proton City near Kuala Lumpur.The plant features a raft of high tech facilities including a water-borne paint shop and the largest body press in south east Asia which is capable of stamping the whole side of a car body in one pass.Gen.2 will be sold here in three grades, L, M and H ranging in price from $17,990 through to $20,990. The base model car lacks nothing in feature terms except alloy wheels and ABS.Proton will focus on its high standard equipment levels in Gen.2 marketing, the main thrust of which is at young females.The all alloy Campro engine is a low emission unit with twin cams and 16 valves. It has been designed for smooth economical running and delivers 82kw/148Nm output. Variable valve timing with 100kW makes an appearance early next year.A five speed manual or optional four speed auto transmission is used.Weight is around 1200kg but the Gen.2 benefits from Lotus input in terms of ride and handling.Both are impressive in a car such as this which is comfortable and controlled over most roads.What makes Gen.2 stand out from the crowd is its styling – a super effort from the Malaysians and Lotus. The body has elements from Europe and Japan and does the trick in terms of "wow factor". Proton offers Gen.2 in a range of fairly staid colours except for a strident sky blue mica and a mica orange.Inside is just as good as the outside and owes nothing to any other style currently in vogue. It is refreshingly different albeit without a glove box, and comes in a two tone beige instead of boring old grey.The drive experience is not bad for what is essentially an economy model. It won't rock your socks off for pace but gets going if needed. The seats lack some lateral support cornering hard but plenty of room is available inside for five and the boot is large.A disappointing space saver spare lives under the boot floor.Petrol requirement is premium unleaded but we tried it on regular which made no difference. Fuel tank capacity is 50 litres giving the Gen.2 a good range especially with about 6.5l/100km economy easy to achieve.Proton is currently rebuilding its dealer network after some flew the coop in the past couple of years due in part to Proton's direct marketing activities and little in the way of new models.The Gen.2 could spark renewed interest in the Malaysian brand which has a reputation for reliability and good value for money in this country.It certainly deserves a look.