Now that Proton has launched its
latest 4 door sedan the question that begs to be asked is whether the
Malaysian public can accept the fact that the darn thing (in its
top-of-the-line 1.6 CFE spec) costs seventy two thousand of their
Malaysian Ringgit. I think that this fact even outweighs all
other factors including the fact that Proton has stuffed all the
goodies into it and whether or not the car drives fantastically well
or otherwise.
It has been obvious that in nearly
every conversation that I've entered into about Proton usually begins
or ends with someone stating their cars are crap and that the only
reason they're selling is that they are cheap. So does anyone who
reads this article really give two hoots about what I actually think
of the way the Proton Preve drives then? They may already have the
built in assumption that all Proton cars have shoddy plastics, bad
build quality but 'Handling By Lotus'. And then they go out and buy a
Toyota Vios, a Honda City or a Perodua Myvi. Malaysians are a brand
conscious bunch and they love badging and branding over deriving
pleasure from driving. But driving pleasure is actually what the
Proton Preve 1.6 CFE would give you at the price it is offered.
The Proton Preve CFE is powered by a
1.6liter 4 cylinder turbocharged engine with variable valve timing.
It is coupled to a CVT transmission that has 7 set speeds which is
sent to the front wheels. As is most small family sized cars these
days. It makes about 140bhp and 205 Nm torque. Now this may seem
quite a lot, especially the torque figure which is as high or
slightly higher than a normally asiprated 2.0liter engine but it
actually isn't impressive as it seems. We'll get to that later.
When you get into the car you will
notice that the steering wheel and seating position is actually quite
spot on. After some slight adjustment you find that steering wheel
isn't stupidly low as what you'd find in the Proton Waja, Gen2 and
Satria Neo – the Persona seems to be slightly higher, but only
slightly. You then find all the usual controls in the normal places.
The stalks are nice to flick up and down and feels even better to do
so than even a the Ford Fiesta sold locally. The air vents are good
to adjust too. It does not feel cheap or flimsy and these are a
million years ahead of the crap Proton used for the vents in the
Satria Neo.
The only issues would be the plastics
used on the lower parts of the car. The glovebox is a little flimsy
and the coin box (which I've mentioned in my earlier report) is even
worse to open and close. This harks back to the time of the Proton
Wira, which was launched a good two decades ago. But then again,
Proton has ensured that what the driver or passenger regularly
touches is pretty good and I have no complaints about it. In fact,
some of the contact points are actually on par with most cars instead
of feeling sub-standard. So this is a good thing.
Now starting the car requires you to
push the key fob into a slot and then press the start button beside
it while stepping on the brake pedal. The start button is indeed a
gimmick as they should have just done the VW/Audi way – starting
the car is by pushing it deeper into the slot. They could have gone
the 'keyless go' way, in that the key could be left in the pocket and
the driver could just use the start button to start the car up. But
they didn't. This seems to be a compromise or a marketing gimmick in
my opinion. Maybe this is because the push start button is only
offered with this top of the range CFE model. A key would be needed
for the normal Preve models.
So you get settled in the car and start
it up. The engine is quiet and you get going by moving the gear shift
to 'D' and move away like any other automatic transmission equipped
car. However Proton has thrown every toy into the Preve and you can
leave it in 'D' or put it is 'S' for Sport or push the lever to the
left and then select the '+' and '-' ala Tiptronic styling. But there
is another option – paddle shifters that actually follow the
steering wheel when you turn. A very good thing as it gives you more
control especially if you like diving into corners and shifting at
the same time.
However there is one thing I noticed at
low speeds – the CVT emits a slight whine. It is quite a clear and
distinct 'whoo' sort of sound. I asked a friend who also tested the
Preve whether his test unit emitted a whine and he said it did too.
It isn't that irritating, but it is present as it is the only sound
that's loud enough to be heard when you are driving the car at low
speeds.
If you potter around town you'd notice
that the Preve is actually quiet aside from that CVT whine. There is
minimal road noise transmitted through its Champiro GT Radial tyres
(Proton is somehow speccing Indonesian made tyres for the Preve CFE)
and you then notice that the Preve's steering is incredibly well
weighted. It isn't feather light and it actually makes the Preve
feel quite substantial. As does the rest of the car when it rides
over bumps and how it generallly feels on the road. The Preve CFE
isn't floaty and feels extremely well planted.
This feeling of stability does not change at higher than usual
speeds. I took the car to around 160km/h on a quiet stretch of road
and it was stable at this speed. It was also very, very stable when I
slammed on the brakes at that speed to a standstill. The surprising
thing was that I found out that the Preve's ABS system is so
unobtrusive that in the dry conditions I tested the car it would not
engage until the very last moment. Most cars' ABS systems usually
engage quite early, but this one engages late and engaging late would
mean that driver's who love trail braking late in corners would
appreciate such a gesture.
And I do appreciate it as I actually
enjoyed how the Preve drives and handles. This is actually a car that
I could drive fast from the start. The steering weight feels fabulous
(not feel, which is about average, but its weight). The ergonomics are
correct and the
car actually does what you want. So as it gives me the confidence to
go faster I find out the more important details of the Proton Preve
1.6CFE Premium.
What I found out was that the Preve I
drove had a tight engine or that it was lazy. If you leave it in 'D'
the car seems to be sluggish. It may have 205Nm but it needs to be
prodded and then stabbed. Maybe the engineers decided to make the CVT
a little lazy in order to make the car economical. Or maybe it was
the weight. The Preve weighs 1340kg, which is actually very very
heavy considering its size is smaller than the Proton Inspira 2.0
(a.k.a Mitsubishi Lancer) but is only 5kg lighter than that car.
Maybe this is why the Preve is really refined at most speeds as this
weight is translated as extra sound proofing material - It is even
quieter over rippled roads than a Volkswagen Golf 1.4TSI. But
whatever the case it needs to be stroked to have some fun in it. And
stroke it I did.
The Proton Preve wakes up if you're
brutal with the acclerator (or happy) pedal and if you really shift
down a gear or two via the paddle shifts. Leaving it in 'D' or 'S'
isn't sufficient. The CVT isn't laggy if you do so and the engine
somehow wakes up a little. The Preve will pull from about 50km/h in
2nd gear all the way to about 140km/h at a decent pace.
Proton claims around 9.6seconds from nought to a hundred kilometers,
and it feels it would achieve such a time. Somehow the 1.6liter
turbocharged (a BorgWarner turbine) engine isn't that awesome. It
could be the weight of the car, or that the engine is tight. But if
Proton put a mid-9second time, I have to think its the weight that
blunting ultimate acceleration – the price to pay for refinement.
There isn't any turbo lag or CVT rubber-band. It is just a linear
rate of climb, typical of modern day turbocharged engines like the VW
1.4 TSI twin charger or Fiat's 1.4Multijet where you get a slightly
linear power delivery instead of an explosion at a preset rpm. But
the Preve's engine doesn't have the technical complexities of direct
injection which is why the Golf 1.4 feels like it has more torque
from the start.
I also felt that the Preve's mid-range
is pretty good for a 1.6liter car IF you stoke it through the gears.
The engine makes the car feel like a normally aspirated 2.0liter car.
So if you were expecting a Golf GTI killer or a Evo fighter, don't.
This is a car that has to do so many things – make Proton's name
shine brightly, carry a family of 8 (3 in front, 5 at the rear),
carry durians, make people buy Protons over Toyotas and so on.
So I have now told you that the car is
slightly overweight and the weight blunts the acceleration slightly
so you have got to be a little rough with the Preve. It is faster
than all the 1.6liter cars out there, but it is only as fast as a
2.0liter normally aspirated sedan, i.e the Inspira. But you do pay
1.6liter road tax, which is a good thing.
Now once you get in terms how to keep
the fire burning you can really enjoy the rest of the car. The Preve
can be thrown into corners with some abandon. It takes chicanes or
high speed directional changes well. Use the paddle shifters, drop
two gears then aim for the apex and the nicely weighted steering
takes you where you want to go. It works like a mature version of the
Proton Persona. Even the driver's seat actually supports you well. I
first thought they were a little on the unsupportive side but this
isn't the case if you're belting the Preve. It does support you well
enough for a family sedan it really is. Maybe this is also down to
the fact that the Preve has a pretty good driving position as
everything falls into place.
Anyway, the nose points to where you
want to go but you can feel that the Preve isn't one of those nose
led cars (like a Golf or a Civic or even a Lancer GT). It pivots on a
distinct middle point and the tail helps out once its turned in. The
car is extremely well planted at speed and on directional changes as
well. There was a bump with smack mid-corner and the Preve took it
well. It was un-flustered and kept its line, ignoring that bump. A
few weeks ago I drove the newly launched 2012 Hyundai Elantra 1.8
through the same route and that car felt more like a family sedan
than this car. There is actually some body roll but all within
acceptable limits. This is one car where the suspension soaks in the
bumps yet allows the car to be predictable yet handle well.
One minor issue I found out is that if
you do get overly excited the CVT seems to revert back to 'auto' mode
in mid-corner if it thinks you are using too low a gear. It could be
the ECU or the Brake Assist with Traction Control cutting the power.
It could be quite irritating if you wanted full control, but I don't
think most of the Preve buyers would face such an incident. Unless
they all drive like I do. Or drive like they stole it.
