Proton Gen2 2004 Review

OVERVIEW
Proton is Malaysia's biggest carmaker by some margin and for very good reason. Not only is a 34.8 per cent share in Proton held indirectly by the Malaysian government, but the company operates behind a near impenetrable import tariff wall of between 80 and 200 per cent, depending on the type of vehicle, imposed by that same government.

The Malaysian government is slowly making moves to reduce that barrier, which was originally designed to protect its fledgling car industry. Instead, the lack of competition means Proton's cars simply weren't up to world standards, though that also is slowly changing.

The Proton Gen2 is the first car developed by Proton from the ground up -- previous models like the Waja and Satria were based on superceded Mitsubishi platforms and technology. The Gen2 small hatchback is an important vehicle for Proton, one it will use to explore markets in Europe and Australia.

Proton Cars Australia is keen to point out it is not chasing market share with bargain basement pricing, like Hyundai did in the early 1990s -- instead it is keen to establish itself as a profitable supplier of affordable, practical cars. It's also likely to cash in on its ownership of Lotus by adding performance models to its range as quickly as possible.

FEATURES
The Proton Gen2 is a five-door small car, dimensionally similar to the Toyota Corolla hatch. Design similarities should almost be expected in a first generation anything, so if you see a little Subaru Liberty around the front end (headlight shape and bonnet lines) and perhaps a Mercedes-Benz C-class sportscoupe in the rear, then you're not alone.

The Gen2 features a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine under the bonnet, and driving the front wheels through a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox.

Proton Cars Australia will initially offer three variants of the Gen2, all based around equipment specifications. Eventually other body-styles such as coupe, sedan and wagon, may join the range, but for now we'll focus on what's already here.

Very little imagination went into naming the Gen2 models; the L-line, M-line and H-line (medium, low and high, perhaps?). Launch pricing in October 2004 was set at $17,990, $19,500 and $20,990 respectively, with an extra $2000 for the automatic gearbox (which also comes with cruise control).

The Gen2 L-line is quite well equipped for the price, and includes electric windows and mirrors, a CD player, air conditioning, central locking and power steering. Dual front airbags are standard, along with seat belt pretensioners.

The M-line builds on this spec with alloy wheels and anti-lock brakes. H-line adds dual side airbags in the front seats, climate control air conditioning, reverse parking sensors, front and rear fog lamps, a rear spoiler and a mobile phone holder.

COMFORT
The Gen2 offers flexible driver positioning, with a tilt and reach adjustable steering wheel, though the highest setting was still too low for our liking. The driver's seat adjusts for rake, reach and height.

Strangely there's no glovebox in the Gen2, for reasons we're unable to guess, though there's a few cubby holes and door pockets for oddments. A single cupholder sits behind the gun-grip parking brake and ahead of the centre console bin, which also doubles as an armrest.

The back seats offer good legroom, and adequate underseat foot space, but headroom is tight if you like sitting back against the backrest. The rear windscreen header rail intruded on the headspace of this 170cm test dummy.

Boot space is downright cavernous for a car of this size, though that comes partially from the fitment of a narrow space-saver spare tyre under the floor. How much of an inconvenience this space saver will cause depends solely on how frequently you get flat tyres -- various surveys have unearthed an average of less than one every 10,000km.

Our test car exhibited a couple of intermittent gremlins in the electrical adjustment of the wing mirrors, sometimes declining to work. There were also a few creaks and groans in various parts of the body, behind the dashboard and in the roof rails.

We're a fan of the Gen2's funky interior design -- it's different, it's colourful and it is also functional. All good. The only lowlight for us was the 'sports' steering wheel, which simply looks dated and daggy.

SAFETY
Proton's Gen2 meets Australian Design Rules standards -- as all cars must if they're to be imported into Australia in three-figure volumes or more. Proton claims the Gen2 has been subjected to numerous crash tests and that it surpasses the international requirements set by EuroNCAP (EUROpean New Car Assesment Program). That said, EuroNCAP is yet to independently crash-test a Gen2 (as at October 2004).

Every Gen2 comes standard with side-intrusion bars, front airbags for driver and passenger and front seat belt pretensioners, which take up the slack in a collision. Side airbags are available on the most expensive model (H-line), and anti-lock brakes with EBD electronic brakeforce distribution are fitted to middle and top spec cars (M-line and H-line).

Gen2 exhibits impressive dynamic safety features inherent in its responsive chassis and better than average tyre grip in the dry. CarPoint.com.au is yet to drive the car in wet conditions.

MECHANICAL
Under Gen2's stylish bonnet rests a 1.6-litre, four cylinder engine, the first to be designed by a Malaysian car company. This engine is part of the CamPro engine family which will eventually include a cariable valve-timed 1.6-litre and a bigger displacement 2.0-litre variant, among others.

In this 16-valve, twincam guise the engine produces 82kW of power at 6000rpm and 148Nm of torque at 4000rpm. That the engine revs to a 7200rpm cutout suggests a liveliness on paper that the engine can't match in real life, despite the car's acceptable kerb weight of 1190kg.

Gearbox choices fall to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic ghearbox, though none of the latter were available at the media drive day. All four wheels feature disc brakes, ventilated at the front, solid at the rear, and ABS anti-lock brakes with EBD electronic brakeforce distribution is available on mid and high-series cars.

COMPETITORS
Proton is nailing a gap between the compact class and burgeoning small car class, which means Gen2 competes across a massive front. Everything from Hyundai Getz and Mazda 2 to Toyota Corolla and Nissan Pulsar are in its sights, but Proton's 1.6-litre engine leaves it with no direct competitor.

Gen2's pricing mounts a strong purchase argument, one its equipment levels support. Retained value for the Malaysian product is an unknown quantity, and may be lower than Japanese counterparts. Build quality is also a question on the examples we've driven, but we're confident it will improve over time.

ON THE ROAD
After all is said and done, this is a commendable first effort from Proton, though it's still obviously a first attempt. Little things hold it back, like creaks in the dashboard, the lack of a glovebox, and less than adequate rear headroom hold back the Gen2, but nothing moreso than its struggling 1.6-litre, four cylinder engine.

Proton Cars Australia plans to add a more powerful variant to the range in 2005, one that will be closer to the competition's 100kW-plus engines, and therefore more able to exploit the exciting potential exhibited by the Gen2's Lotus-tuned chassis.

It's one of the Gen2's biggest strengths, this Lotus-fettled handling, which endows the underpowered hatch with cornering speeds and prowess beyond its weight class. Tyre grip is a strength in the dry, and the car sits commendably flat through turns, though the seats lack side bolstering of an substance.

The steering's a little light for our liking, though it does load up in corners. The car's ride is on par with the competition, smooth and comfortable on average Aussie roads.