Proton S16
Road Test
Price Guide (driveaway): $12,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Nil
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: 95 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 148
Also consider: Holden Barina, Kia Rio Si
Overall rating: 2.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 2.5/5.0
Safety: 2.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 2.0/5.0
X-factor: 2.0/5.0
About our ratings
What sort of buyers will be attracted to the Proton S16, we wonder? It's affordable for almost anyone determined to own a new car, but the VFACTS light-car segment in which the S16 competes is no longer solely the preserve of cheapies.
Proton's tiny sedan is more like an older-style light car, one that sells on the strength of its price alone. If the S16 has one other redeeming aspect, it's cornering ability. As we noted in our launch review of the car, it's fun to drive for a vehicle riding around on 13-inch steel wheels. This is a consequence of the car's suspension being tuned by Proton's British sportscar builder, Lotus.
In the dry, the S16 musters fairly good grip for its wheel and tyre combination -- and turns in quite well. Feedback through the steering wheel also provided a level of comfort when the car was being asked to do more than one should rightly expect of it.
In many other ways though, the S16 is compromised -- in part by the need to bring this car to market at such a low price. The audio system has just two speakers, for instance. While that won't matter much to some buyers, it would have been preferable for the two speakers to be located in the front section of the cabin and not the rear. How much would an extra pair of speakers add to the purchase price of the car anyway?
Petty oversights or coin-flip product planning decisions all conspire against the S16. The steering wheel rake adjustment is too low, for example, and drivers of average height won't be able to see the tops of the major instruments if the backrest of the seat is closer to upright. Furthermore, there are no remote controls for the mirrors... Not even manual controls, let alone electric ones... That smacks of early 1980s packaging -- the last occasion we can recall of lowering a window to adjust the offside mirror.
Couldn't Proton stump up the extra half-a-ringit to apply an extra dab of paint for the arrow in the fuel gauge to tell the driver which side of the car the filler is located? Or how about a timer for the rear-window demister, which needs to be switched off manually.
And Proton seems to be no respecter of safety measures either: there's no airbag or seatbelt pretensioner for the front-seat passenger. Stability control? Are you joking?
The S16 comes with a decent-sized boot, capable of accommodating 413 litres according to Proton's specs, but the gooseneck hinges are a serious hindrance to loading up what is otherwise a usefully large volume. They're spring-loaded and really drop down a long way when the boot lid is closed.
In the cabin, the seats proved comfortable and supportive beyond expectations for a car as small and inexpensive as this one. Headroom was excellent for adults in both front and rear seats and the rear-seat legroom also surprised for its adult-level accommodation. As well, the S16 features a fairly remarkable all-round field of vision.
Out on the road, the gear shift quality was actually pretty good, but shifting was hampered by engine flare, as per the launch review.
Forget tyre noise and wind roar, every last decibel of NVH derives from the engine. Only those whose batteries for their cochlear implants need recharging will ever take the S16 to 5000rpm, let alone beyond that. Sadly, there's still some performance to be had from the engine at that high end of the rev range, but who needs that last tenth of a second in a light car anyway?
At lower speeds, the engine was torquey for its size, but not especially powerful. It would keep up with traffic and the performance didn't suffer with two adults and two kids on board.
That leads us back to the question opening this review: who would buy the S16? Being affordable for families on a budget and with two growing kids, the S16 is, if not ideal, at least adequate those who know nothing about cars but can recognise a budget buy when they see it. Alternatively, there's the bowling club set -- although the hat may block the sound of talkback radio through one speaker.
As engaging as it is in some aspects, we can't recommend the S16. Much as this writer is a proponent of buying new cars, if you can't afford $17,000 for the significantly superior Kia Rio Si sedan, buy used.
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