Ramblings about Lotus Cars, the terrible image that Proton Cars have and what needs to be done.

Lotus Suprima S - Imagine the above with massive arches, 18inch wheels, vented bonnet, whale-tail rear spoiler and at least 200bhp. And a PROPER Lotus badge instead of that corny R3 one......Would a true enthusiast buy it for RM105,000? I believe so.

I had been doing some reading up on Lotus Cars recently. Lotus Cars is owned by DRB-Hicom through Proton, the Malaysian car company. Both car companies are actually in a bit of trouble owning to low sales volumes with Proton being second in the Malaysian passenger vehicle sales charts for the past two years or so. Assembler and re-badge experts Perodua have taken over the top spot in passenger car sales in Malaysia and its no question that Malaysians seem to like the brand more these days. Tell me how many of the newly launched Proton Iriz (which in 1.6liter form is not too bad) you see on the roads today compared to the newly launched Perodua Axia (which is the best value for money car you can buy these days with the puny Ringgit). Couple this with the fact that Malaysian banks seem to be tightening down on car loans also do not auger well with Proton who according to my sources have about 50% of customer car loan applications rejected or turned down. Not the fault of Proton, but this bites nonetheless.

Test Drive: The Proton Iriz 1.6 Premium CVT - Better specs and an automatic make it a better Iriz to drive

Let's cut straight to the chase. The Proton Iriz 1.6 CVT Premium is a much better car to drive than the Proton Iriz 1.3 manual I tried earliet. Some of you may be wondering how can a CVT automatic be better to drive than a manual transmission? The actual answer is the car with the better overall package wins.

Short Test Drive: Proton Iriz 1.3MT Executive

.....

Proton has just launched its latest compact car and it is called the Iriz. The name, derived from the flower Iris but with a 'Z' is Proton's latest foray into the compact hatchback market. Prior to this we had the Savvy and before that, we were served the Tiara. Both the Savvy and Tiara were hard hit with criticism and in my opinion, were less than average creations. I wouldn't have bought them too. So is the Proton Iriz a compact hatch that any of us would want to buy or let alone drive? Well, I had a go in the Proton Iriz 1.3 Executive Manual and I think that it is better than any Savvy or Tiara out there. But is it better than its biggest competitor here in Malaysia? The Perodua Myvi?

To answer that question you'd have to start with the Proton Iriz 1.3 specs in direct comparison with a Perodua Myvi 1.3 (the 1.6 Iriz has the same dimensions if you are wondering but I am not touching on that variant here). The Proton Iriz  is longer at  3,905mm (3,690mm for the Myvi), wider at 1,720mm (Myvi: 1,665mm) and is 1,550mm tall (1,545 for Myvi). The Proton Iriz has a longer wheelbase at 2,555mm (Myvi 2,440mm.) The 1.3 litre Iriz's engine, a supposedly new VVT based engine has 95 PS and 120 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm, (Myvi 1.3 litre has about the same horses if you believe Perodua's statement that the Electric Power Steering brings 10hp back to the 86hp engine - 96hp  and 117Nm torque at 4,400 rpm). 

Sunday car pic: Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally

This photo is for Satria Neo owners to dream about when thinking of what the heck should they try to aim for when trying to modify their ergonomically challenged hatchback.

Proton R3 launches three models...and NOTHING IS REALLY NEW

Proton has launched three models of the Proton Suprima, Proton Satria Neo and the Proton Inspira at the recent Proton Sales Carnival held at MITC Melaka on the 17th -19th January 2014 and the 24th to the 26th of January 2014 over in Juru, Penang. 

Proton Motorsports, or the R3 division did up the cars which are basically tarted up versions of the Suprima, Satria Neo and the Inspira. The Suprima S was launched in Melaka whereas the other two over in Penang.

The Suprima S is one of those premium specced variant which basically has a newly developed bodykit, new wheels, some springs and a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. And because of this the Proton Suprima S is now reborn as something called the Proton Suprima S Super Premium. In all honestly, it has one ugly bodykit with a front splitter that SHOULD have been less bulky and SHOULD have been painted in the colour of the car's body as then it would not look like an afterthought. It just looks too bulky to look good in black. Someone mentioned the word 'kampung' tuner and I agree to this.

In fact the reason I chose to put the photo of the Suprima S Super Long Winded Name that  is covered with all those models so that you have something more interesting to look at than a car that has an ugly bodykit. Of course this would be available at all Proton sales outlet if you inquire. I suggest you don't bother and just opt for a stock Suprima S instead.