The Proton Experience...

It started off as a very exciting day today... the anticipation of going to the Proton Platinum showroom at Mutiara Damansara with my significant other to pick up the Liquid Orange 1.6 Highline version of the Satria Neo that was ordered nearly a month or so back. Was actually rather surprised that it took such a long time for the car to be delivered... Seems that production for the new Proton sedan which will probably replace the Wira in due time, is ramping up.. Hence the delay in getting a manual highline... Auto's however are a different story as every dealer I've checked with seems to have some ready stock...

Upon arriving at the dealership, the salesperson was taking his time to make sure that he explained every feature of the car before handing the keys over and sending us on our way. Two thumbs up for him taking his time explaining things as though we were first time car owners.

However upon closer inspection of the car... a couple of faults were discovered...

- a light scratch mark on the left side rear quarter panel which seemed to have escaped their attention

- a kerbed rim, on the rear right tyre.
(Was quite peeved on this actually, wanted them to replace this on the spot but sanity prevailed and this should be sorted by the 1000km service in a couple of weeks time)

- a piece of ill-fitting plastic trim on the sides of the dashboard.
(What do they need, magnifying glasses??)

Seems that the sales advisor hadn't counted on us being a couple of 'impromtu' quality inspectors, going through the car with a fine tooth comb..

Anyway, impressions of the Neo have been rather positive as it feels rather sporty and handles well, something which I thank the fellas at Lotus for fettling the ride and handling of the car.

On the mechanical side, the engine feels very smooth and doesn't seem to be as lethargic as the auto version is. As the sales person was going through the car, we found out that the car had only done 30kms so it still is reasonably 'tight'. It should improve as the miles or rather kilometers roll on.. With a 0-100kmh time of 11.5 seconds and a top speed of 190kmh, the 1.6 litre Neo is not fast but it is quick. Besides, with traffic conditions and legal limitations in Malaysia, the performance figures are more than adequate.

The 1.6 engine produces 112PS (111bhp) at 6,000rpm and 148Nm (109 lb ft) at 4,000rpm The same collaborative engines and transmission can also be found in the Gen-2 but for the Satria, they have been tweaked for better low to medium acceleration and flexibility.

If emissions and frugality are important to you, it is better to go for the 1.6 manual. Official figures are posted as; 27.9mpg (urban), 61.4mpg (extra-urban) and 42.8mpg for the combined cycle. The car is fairly 'Green' too with 157g/km CO2.

Going through the web i found some interesting information on the Neo, it's been engineered to be a very safe car engineered with high-tensile steel to score high points in the NCAP car safety assessment. Have a look below..

Proton makes full use of its sister company’s technical know-how and it shows. Lotus had a hand in the design, ride-quality systems and engines and a whole arm in the handling set-up. The result is a car that is as surprising as it is stunning. Certainly a better car overall than the previous Wira's or even the Perdana set-ups.