Proton has gone bonkers: RM115K for a Satria Neo? (UPDATED)

Yes it has OHLINS for dampers and AP Racing for front brakes as well as Carbon Fiber for its bonnet. 125bhp to 145bhp. But RM115K? This is what you get when you spec Rolls Royce grade parts in a Perodua...or then again a Proton.


When they came out with the earlier Satria R3, I commented on zerotohundred.com that they spent so much money on the seats that it cost half of the extra amount of the price. I.e RM63K to RM78K and RM8K for the seats. The boys at R3 joined in the thread, and were miffed, a little. Now, they’ve basically binned the RECAROs for normal seats and threw in a lot of goodies. Looks like I was quite right in the end. Now, after a few years, they've come up with a street tabby cat that wears a diamond studded collar. Going by the cost of the parts in this new car that's exactly what it is. No doubt the parts are fab, but the price?



My friend's example is a good one. But let me change the car to something current. You buy a Honda Civic 1.8 for RM118K with 140bhp. For another 20bhp Honda charges you RM220K for a 1.8 Civic. Why bother when they can sell you the Civic Type R at RM200K? The Civc gets HANDLING as well as a real horsepower upgrade of about 80+bhp for a 75%(approx) increase in price whereas for a 95% increase in price you only get handling and a measely 20bhp. If I pay close to 100% more than the price of a stock car I sure as hell expect something more than 'LOTUS HANDLING', I also expect epic engine performance too. By 'epic' I mean at least 60-70bhp an increase over stock. What's wrong with you Proton. Who actually does your mathematics and accounting as well as your marketing? Perodua? Ted Bundy? Satan?

I have no idea whether these 11 people are plain lucky to be the first buyers of a RM115,000 Proton Satria Neo or just plain bonkers.

The only advice I can give them is to park their cars in a secure, well lit area as there will be a lot of normal Satria Neos out there yearning for those OHLINS and AP Racings but aren’t willing to pay for them. Try parking this Satria in a seedy part of Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur and see what happens. Imagine that, a Proton that is even harder to take care of than a Ferrari 430.