Proton S16 2010 Review

What we liked
>> Roomy cabin, massive boot
>> Comfortable over bumps
>> 1.6 is surprisingly zippy

Overall rating: 2.0/5.0
Engine and Drivetrain: 2.5/5.0
Price, Value, Practicality: 2.5/5.0
Safety: 1.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 1.0/5.0

About our ratings

OVERVIEW

And so, without trying to confuse you any further, the recently arrived Proton S16 1.3-litre has since March 2010 assumed the $11,990 drive-away pricing position, while the Proton S16 1.6-litre has crept up $1000 to $12,990 drive-away.

In other words, if you managed to get your hands on the S16 in the first three months it was on sale, you got yourself an even better bargain than you perhaps realised at the time. Proton Australia deliberately took some of the price pain on the S16 in the beginning because it wanted to make a statement with the pricing of the car.

It's worth going through this little history lesson because at this end of the market, $1000 is a big deal. And it becomes a crucial factor in the Proton S16 story -- and, ultimately, how it compares with its rivals. You see, when the Malaysian carmaker was planning to undercut the Koreans, it probably thought the $11,990 price would put it at least a couple of grand below the more established competition. Little did they know that both Hyundai and Kia were about to launch aggressive price assaults of their own. And that Suzuki would drop the Alto hatch to a permanent promotional price of $12,990 drive-away.

For some time now Hyundai has been doing $12,990 drive-away deals on its three-door Getz (in an indefinite run-out mode ahead of the Hyundai i20's arrival in July), while Kia is out there with a $12,990 drive-away deal on its five-door Rio (which has recently undergone a facelift).Both of these Korean vehicles are covered by five-year warranties and come from better known brands with a broader dealer network.

Nevertheless, there is a place for this awkward looking Proton sedan. And while some of the features it is missing came as a bit of a shock, there were a few nice surprises.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
>> Proton puts the base into base model
You get what you pay for. Never a truer statement has been said. And in this case, $11,990 (for the 1.3-litre Proton S16 G) and $12,990 (for the 1.6-litre S16 GX) buys you literally the basics.

That translates to one airbag, and no anti-lock brakes -- and neither are currently even listed as options. On the brochure, next to the section on brakes, it effectively has a tick saying, yep, it's got brakes.

For the record, the $12,990 Hyundai and Kia hatchbacks have two airbags as standard, while anti-lock brakes and side airbags are optional. And the Hyundai is available as a special order with stability control.

Therefore, to the best of our knowledge the Proton S16 is the only passenger car on sale in Australia today with only one airbag -- and without even the option of anti-lock brakes. (Only the Great Wall SA220 ute has no airbags).

So while the Mazdas and Toyotas of the world are gradually bringing curtain airbags and stability control to more models in their Light Car line-ups, Proton has effectively left safety equipment off the car to gain a price advantage.

It must be stated that the Proton of course meets or exceeds Australian Government requirements to be worthy of sale locally, but this is perhaps more of a reflection on our outdated safety requirements.

As with all Protons the S16 is covered by a three year/100,000km warranty (the industry average) and 12 months roadside assistance. This roadside coverage is better than nothing (which most carmakers offer), but given that Proton is still an emerging brand we expected a full three years coverage might have been thrown into the deal to give customers further peace of mind -- especially when you consider at corporate rates this amounts to about $40 a year. Then again, we are at the cheap end of town.

The good news is that, even at Proton, $1000 doesn't just buy you a bigger engine, it also buys a few more features.

Such luxuries on the dearer 1.6 version include four speakers for the stereo instead of two. Interestingly in the model with only two speakers, they're mounted in the rear parcel shelf; the speaker holes in the front doors are conspicuously empty. (I spent the first 10 minutes driving trying to fade the sound to the front speakers -- the AM/FM head unit is the same for both cars -- only to eventually realise that this was never going to happen).

The 1.6 GX also gets front fog lights, rear parking sensors, body coloured door handles, electric side mirrors, passenger side vanity mirror, better seat trim and some cloth inserts in the doors.

The downside is that Proton still charges for metallic paint. At $490, this is at the dearer end of the class (its main rivals charge between $295 and $400 for metallic; Mazda charges zip).

The 1.3 G is a five-speed manual only proposition. But the 1.6 GX is also available as an auto (add $2000).

Oddly, only the auto 1.6 gets 14-inch alloy wheels. The rest of the range (the 1.3 and 1.6 five-speed manuals) has 13-inch steel wheels with hubcaps.

For the record, we drove an early 1.6 five-speed manual which happened to have the lower equipment grade (we hope to get behind the wheel of the 1.3 when one becomes available). The model range has since been changed to reflect the equipment outlined above.

Understandably, with all this extra kit, Proton still expects to sell more of the 1.6-litre version, which is not a bad engine, except...

MECHANICAL
>> Plenty of zip, but too much flare
This is one of the biggest engines in the Light Car class. Only the Holden Barina ($13,990 and up) and the Suzuki Swift S hot hatch ($23,990 and up) have such a big engine in such a small car.

And that means, in relative terms, it's a bit of a rocket. We didn't put it against a stopwatch but it felt like one of the quickest in the class.

There's no shortage of grunt. The 1.6 has 82kW and 148Nm -- one of the most powerful in its class. And the 1.3 is not too shabby either (70kW/120Nm).

Both models come with five-speed manual as standard, but the gearboxes themselves have different ratios to best complement their engines. A four-speed auto is optional on the 1.6 GX.

The Proton sedan may look a little ungainly, but it gets along quite smartly. Indeed, it's fun to drive. But it's also about at this point you wish that at least anti-lock brakes were available. You could really get yourself into a bit of bother here.

It even sounds good, for a small four-cylinder, with an almost high-tech whir as the revs rise.

My only real problem with it was power delivery. The throttle response and pedal feel are inconsistent, and the engine 'flared'. That is to say, the engine revs a couple of hundred revs higher than what the engine is revving each time you change gears. It makes smooth shifts a challenge and is quite off-putting at first.

Apparently it is done deliberately to help people change gears in other markets. It's a shame because it puts a dampener on what should be one of the highlights of the car.

PACKAGING
>> Roomy cabin and a massive boot
The trade-off for the S16's unusual looks and tall stance is that it is actually really roomy inside. It also has a massive boot -- but you knew that without having to open the lid, you can see how big it is from the outside.

The official boot space figure is 413 litres, which compares reasonably well with its dearer rivals: Holden Barina sedan (400 litres), Mazda2 sedan (450 litres) Toyota Yaris (475 litres).

One downside, however, is that the other small sedans have split fold seats to carry bulky items, the Proton's back bench is fixed.

As is common in this class, 'gooseneck' hinges protrude into the boot space when the lid is closed, but this is hardly likely to be a problem with this much room.

Thanks to the relatively small 13-inch wheels and tyres, there's a full size spare under the cargo floor.

In overall size, the Proton S16 is comparable with a Holden Barina sedan. Bumper to bumper the Proton S16 is just 5cm shorter than the Barina sedan -- and just 3cm narrower -- and almost the same height (there's 3mm in it). Interestingly the distance between the front and rear wheels is identical (2480mm) but it seems Holden has managed to squeeze a little more cabin space within the same parameters.

According to the measurements supplied by both carmakers in their brochures, the Proton has slightly less head room and knee room -- front and rear -- but we do mean slightly (as little as 2cm less).

Overall, however, the Proton is surprisingly roomy and large windows make it easy to see what's going on around you.

SAFETY
>> Not an option, yet
The Proton S16  has one airbag and no anti-lock brakes... At the time this article was published, there were no optional safety features listed but a passenger airbag will be standard on all Proton S16 sedans from July 2010 production, the company says.

At the moment there is a storage pocket where the passenger airbag will eventually be stowed.

The Australian distributor also says that anti-lock brakes are being developed with Bosch but a launch date has not been announced.

We wonder why Proton does not go straight to stability control given the technology will be compulsory within a few years.

Proton Australia also does not know if and when side airbags will be available on its S16 sedan. Sorry to sound like a parent, but this is a bit naughty. Even the $12,990 Suzuki Alto hatch has six airbags.

There was no ANCAP crash rating score for the Proton S16 as this article was published, but the independent authority presumably has it on its 'to-do' list. It would be worth checking www.ancap.com.au

COMPETITORS
>> Here's where things get a little tricky
The Proton S16 is on its own at $11,990 drive-away. Nothing else is as cheap.

But at $12,990 drive-away there are at least three directly priced rivals: the Hyundai Getz three-door, the Kia Rio five-door and the tiny-tot Suzuki Alto hatch. And here's the drama: all three cars have more equipment, the same or longer warranties and come from better known brands.

All of a sudden, the Proton S16 has lost its some of its mojo. With that in mind, the real rivals to the Proton S16 are good used cars from big name brands.

And despite the fact I had a lot of fun in the little Proton (see below) I'd have to say I'd opt for a used Mazda, Toyota, Suzuki or Honda -- and get more safety features for the same money. If you shop around, you should still be able to find some with factory warranty left.

ON THE ROAD
>> Surprisingly impressive
Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say it: I really liked driving the Proton S16 (except of course for the engine flare). Maybe it was because I had low expectations, maybe it was because I have a soft spot for small efficient cars. Or maybe it's because the Lotus engineers assigned to tweak the suspension on the Proton S16 have done a good job.

It's been a long time since I've driven on a car on 13-inch wheels and tyres, and it was a hoot. The tall sidewalls are almost invincible against the toughest bumps, and the suspension has been tuned well to suit the whole set-up.

It feels a bit floaty here and there, but the suspension quickly catches up and keeps things under control. You can really feel what the car is doing no matter what the situation.

Proton ought to do a one-make racing series -- and not change a damn thing. Sure, it leans a bit in corners and tyre grip is a bit so-so by sportscar standards, but there's still some strange satisfaction from driving a well-sorted chassis. I'm sure budget cars were never meant to be this much fun. The overall build quality was reasonably impressive, too. I would rate it on-par with the better of the Korean interior materials and for fit-and-finish.

What all this proves is that Proton has all the ingredients to be a serious small car contender -- but unfortunately selling a cut-price car by culling safety equipment is not the way to go about it.

If Proton really wants to impress, it needs to deliver a car at this price with at least the safety essentials of its contemporaries -- dual airbags and anti-lock brakes. Then it truly would deserve a place on people's shopping lists. For now, though, there's some work to do.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi