The second edition of the PROTON 1 Tank Adventure kicked off its opening preliminary round recently. It took place over the Malaysia Day weekend where a total of 60 participants in 30 cars, comprising of the 2019 Proton Iriz, Persona and Saga set off on another epic motoring adventure that covered a total driving distance of 650km that took them from PROTON’s Centre Of Excellence (COE) to Johor Bahru and back again.
The primary objective of the 1 Tank Adventure was for PROTON to showcase its newest models in a real world setting. One full tank of petrol must take them 650km from the start to the finish point.Since PROTON decided to hold this on the Malaysia Day weekend, the combination of the long holiday weekend, haze and wet weather meant it was quite a daunting test for all participants. One must remember as this isn't slowest wins as there are predetermined check points which they need to reach in time. So while it may be an economy run, it must be done so within a certain time limit.
This time, every car made it through the first day unscathed and during the journey down South. It wasn't just driving, but also making memories - everyone was treated to a feast of local fruits in Melaka before going on to Perigi Batu Pahat and Tanjung Piai National Park, the southernmost point of Peninsular Malaysia. There was an overnight stop in Johor Bahru before the adventure continued with journey up the North-South highway back to Shah Alam.
The super great news was that every one of the participants managed to complete the 650km fuel economy challenge portion of the event. Who says that you can't get good mileage with a Proton?
The best theoretical maximum range achieved, based on the 40-litre fuel tank size of the cars used was 809km. - Persona, Iriz & Saga have the same sized tank, This was a fantastic result as all participants had to keep to a high minimum average speed for safety reasons despite the challenging conditions faced. Even we I participated in last year's 1 Tank Adventure, we hit an average speed of over 55km/h covering both city, rural and highway driving. 80-100km/h was achievable from experience, folks!
The best results achieved, verified by independent scrutineers from the Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) are 4.98L/100km for the Proton Saga, 5.43L/100km for the Proton Persona and an event best 4.94L/100km for the Proton Iriz. So again, who says you can't get good mileage with a Proton?
Aside from proving to people on the car's fuel sipping capabilities, PROTON also took the opportunity to demonstrate other selling points that play a prominent role across all three products. These are the ride and handling balance as well as the safety equipment engineered into the cars.
While PROTON feels that the participants expected their cars to be able to finish the fuel efficiency challenge, few were aware of the dynamic abilities of their own cars. Over the course of the journey though, both the media and public participants were shown handling capabilities of the car during the dynamic driving exercise held during the event and experienced first hand the secure handling of the Proton models they drove.
“I was amazed by the fuel efficiency of our car but I am also truly surprised by the handling capabilities and amount of safety equipment available in a Proton car,” said Rohayudin bin Ya’acob, who was taking part with his son Mohammad Kamarul Eizlan in the Mohammad's Proton Persona.
“If possible, I would recommend all Proton car owners to grab the opportunity to really test out their cars to the limit because only by doing so can they appreciate the big difference between the ride and handling of a Proton and its competitors. I was also surprised by what Electronic Stability Control (ESC) can do to keep a car safe so PROTON has done a great job to ensure a car like the Proton Saga Premium, priced below RM40,000, also gets this important safety feature,” added Rohayudin.
Commenting on the successful completion of the first leg of Proton 1 Tank Adventure, Dr. Li Chunrong, CEO of PROTON said, “The opening round of this year’s 1 Tank Adventure was very challenging but everyone completed the course safely. More importantly, we gave the participants an opportunity to test their cars in driving conditions that would allow them to experience the safety equipment and dynamic abilities of their cars, proving that our cars offer the best value and driving experience among all vehicles in their class.”
The next two Preliminary rounds of the 1 Tank Adventure will be held in Sabah and Sarawak. Great chance for the people of East Malaysia to take part in what I think is one of the more challenging and most enjoyable of all the contests that car manufacturers have held in Malaysia for their customers.
I look forward to hearing how the Proton cars perform over the next few rounds.
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