Update: I sent back the Suprima to Proton this afternoon, after 3 days and 847.8 km of Lekas highway, city driving and jalan kampung. And while I was wondering if this was Proton's best car yet, some moron had sent in a comment to say that a "a Mitsubishi will always be a Mitsubishi reject whatever name you want to call it..". Didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Too many Malaysians offer their comments based on ignorance and idiocy. Fortunately, several other readers of this blog came in to put things in the right perspective.
LIKE:The airconditioning; Proton makes simply the best car aircon in the world.GPS. Better than Garmin or Wave. She even tells you how much you need to pay at the next toll, no kidding!Engine and handlingPower windows :-)
... And the price tag
NO LIKE:No power seat. The lux edition should have, at least for the driver's seatNoisy turboAwkward remote function for opening the boot
... Dodgy glove compartment and side pockets!
MY VERDICT: This is probably the best car yet from Proton. And the Suprima is not a Mitsubishi or Toyota or Merc rebadge. It is Malaysian from the word go. Which makes me wonder: If Proton can make a car this good, with a powerful enough engine and Lotus handling, why does it need to rebadge the Honda Accord for the proposed Perdana replacement? Where's the pride in that?
Original posting:
 |
| The Suprima |
Words later, when I've clocked 1000km ...
Best on for the price which undercut all other brands because of gov help. Quality wise is still questionable and technology is still old. Proton still has not invest enough in R&D.
ReplyDeleteDear dato rock,
ReplyDeleteDriven one already, believeme it's the best so far. If it'snot on par,it must be better than others. Really proud of my people's achievement whoever they are!!!!
dito
ReplyDeletedito
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty impressed by Proton's latest batch of cars, the preve and suprima. I own a preve, and I have to say, while there's still a lot of room for improvement, I can't say im regretting my decision of buying a preve instead of a city, vios or forte. The specs alone make it a better choice.
ReplyDeleteA Mitsubishi will always be a Mitsubishi reject what ever name you want to call it ! Malaysia will never ever be able to come up with the expertise to make a Malaysian made automobile !
ReplyDeleteJust like egregious Mahathir is not a Malay even though he is claimed by some Malays that he is one because he is married to a Malay. If that is the case his grand children must be Chinese because hi billionaire son is married to a Chinese. No doubt the off springs of this union has more Chinese blood than that of Indian or Malay. Their DNA will always be that of an Indian, likewise the descendants of Gandhi will always be that of an Indian even though the mother is an Italian ! But the Gandhis are still hanging on as Indians and not Italians !
what a sad human being you are? you must have your head shoved down your ass so bad!!
Deletepitty you dude...
Deletego have some fun laa...kesian...
You are kind of person that if malaysia been attacked, you are the 1st one to run away to singapore.. non-related with author story but to remind who you are..
Deletenot really.......
ReplyDeletepreve is....
There's a hate everywhere you go. You will never please everyone.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mitsubishi will always be Mitsubishi. I don't deny that but it is not about the car itself. Or whether proton will ever makes profit. It is about having a car industry you heck.. Previous post I had read mentioned about this.
You have the gut to call the Malays racist but you keep on harping on Mahathir and his descendents as Malay wannabes. If that not a racist comment then I don't know what racism is.
Next time, just keep your words soft and tender. In case you need to eat them latter on.
Charleskiwi will always be a shoe polish. No matter brown, black or neutral charleskiwi will remain as a shoe polish.
ReplyDeletelast 20 years spend some serious dough on 2 different luxurious german marques, got them in mint condition directly from their authorised distributors..
ReplyDeletelet me just say that with the new preve... the feeling is really not that much far off.... accept if one were to care to much about public perception off course
...good job proton,just keep it up!
Saffzero, wait another year & the campro engine will start to give you headache.
ReplyDeleteSudah tobat
It's obvious, this charleskiwi is not only anti-Malay. He seems to hate Indians, too. No wonder, those chauvinist DAP treats Indians as 'curry leaves', push to the side of plates, during meals. (No pun, intended) They are even known to have pitted animosity amongst Malays and Indians.
ReplyDeleteDAP, especially those Subang evangelistas are champion of Malaysian-Malaysia. One, even tried to register her baby's race as 'Malaysian', although the father is Indian. They says they don't give damn about skin-colour and they are colour blind. Yet when their followers, spew hatred towards the Malays, they keep harping on the ethnic of Tun Dr.M's descendant. In this case, lying through his ass, implying that Tun was of pure Indian breed, married to Tun Hasmah, a Malay. Even Tuns grand-children are not spared. Does he abhor his own kin, marrying a Malay, too?
You see, DAP is also a Democratic Action Party. Action!, is the word when a film director shout, to get his crew, acting. Just like LKY, when he put-on that songkok, as a young politician, to garner Malays votes.
RD.
Have to agree. It competes well with foreign cars in its class. Never mind the awakening Koreans: the Suprima matches the Vios and City.
ReplyDeleteThey should have just named it the Prima, though. Recent Proton models seem to begin with a P.
Chaleskiwi sounds like a nutcase.. lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat crap comment... boo
charleskiwi - you are simply an ass hole !
ReplyDeleteCharleskiwi, well said. Unfortunately the media is shy discussing mahathir's past/lineage. He has really fooled a lot of Malays by being their 'king' for decades.
ReplyDeleterocky....what ever it is...not this Preve.....infact I made the choice of having the Vios and a friend took the City.....we made the survey before buying the cars and found out all kinds of defects of Preve..u just mention it...all there...the worst when at times engine could not start .....I sympathize what the govt is trying to do....the Preve Supreme is really a good and nice design but they ar using the same Preve engine....may god bless Proton....
ReplyDeletecharleskiwi.
ReplyDeleteIf you write a book, then readers will definitely opined that your book is out of topic.
As a mechanical engineer in a car manufacturing, this Suprima is much different from conventional Mitsubishi engines. But I respected your opinion since you may from the onion seller business category.
Let me tell you something, don't take a 60degree road corner in 100km/h with city, vios, accord,elantra, sonata and even lancer (evo 7) unless you drive a Suprima! That it is!
Saga 1.5I,Wira,Waja,Persona,Satria GTI,Putra adalah diantara kereta terbaik proton pernah hasilkan..suspension yg terbaik di RnD dgn Lotus dan engine yg berkuasa dan tahan lasak adalah diantara kehebatan Proton.. Tengku Mahaleel adalah CEO evolusi kepada Proton dan setakat ini sudah 5 Proton saya beli dari Saga 1.3S,Saga 1.5I Saloon,Saga 1.5I Aeroback,Waja 1.6X Premium dan Exora cfe turbo Premium... foremen bwh pokok pun bole repair Proton.. cuma QC vendor dan QC factory Proton kena strict lagi moving foward selain drp tu saya bangga dgn Proton the car manufacturer
ReplyDeletecharles kiwi meroyan? LOL
ReplyDeleteProton - another Mamak project doomed for failure. Many years ago, 7 out of 10 cars sold are proton made (not cos that Proton is good quality but due to Mamak's dirty plot to price out the rest of the foreign made car). Now it's probably only 3 or less, out of 10 cars sold. Without oversea market, what else can this kampung car manufacturer survive other than waiting for another rescue handout using taxpayer money.
ReplyDeleteEC
Another tepuk dada tanya selera comment. Proton could never survive on a level playing field after 35 years and we are still subsidising the company. Shame on you.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunate name.......
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yatego.com/q,suprima,slip
http://www.burbach-goetz.de/shopart/1259/Pflege-und-Versorgung/Inkontinenz-Hilfen-Shop/Waesche/Suprima-DamenHerren-Slip-Bodyguard-3.htm
Datuk, sejak bila awak jadi car reviewer? Do you honestly think people will buy the car based on your opinion? Get real. Stupid Proton asking bloggers to test drive their cars.
ReplyDeletePreve n suprima isnt from mitsubishi dna. Its local dna like new saga n new satria.
ReplyDeleteexcellente comment from charleskiwi and anon 10:29 pm!
ReplyDeletekeep it up! awesome comments!...sohai!drunkard todi fella fuse in your brain blowup!rascal....
really? better than Garmin? from the looks of it, made in China display. At least that is what other reviewer says...and the other is called Waze, not Wave...sounds like someone from Proton is feeding you the words....come on, tell the truth..i tried in the show room myself and it's really is made in China...talk about good relations with them..last for 6 months..
ReplyDeleteWhy shoot down Proton, our only car manufacturer? Did any other Asean country make cars? No, they just assembled for the global car companies.
ReplyDeleteWhy shoot down Proton, we should be proud of our only car manufacturer. Perodua, Naza, Inokom or any other auto set up in Asean don't make cars, they just assembled parts supplies by global car companies.
ReplyDeleteI own a merc and a bmw. But it's the proton i like for city driving. It's the aircon, see.
ReplyDeleteAgree with u proton aircon is the best in the world.
Proton doesnt make aircond. Many years ago supplied by denso. Now?
DeleteDato', Proton still need to do rebadge cars - not because it cannot produce the cars - but because there is not much volume to justify Proton to develop it from scratch. If Proton were to build a complete 1.8 liter above models now, given the low volume - then the cost of every spare part per unit is going to be expensive.
ReplyDeleteThe facts are these,
1 .. Proton can produce cars
2 .. but its biggest market is the cheaper-price category - not the 1.8 and above
3 .. even the trend now is for a lower engine but turbo performance, as Peugeot is doing.
As someone who has had both a Saga and Waja - I can attest to Proton's quality issues. That's why I went Korean 5 years ago. The cost of servicing & reliability of my Korean car has been far lower than my Waja's.
ReplyDeleteThe test for Proton is whether they can compete both on price and 'value' in an open market without tax protection.
The second big test is why can't they compete in regional markets let alone in international markets.
Without that ability and with a contracting local market then Proton's future looks shakey until they sort out their quality and can make an internationally recognised car.
And I agree with Rocky 100% - what's the pride in rebadging Honda Accords and Mitsubishi Lancers???
This is a C segment car and cannot be compared with B segment car (Vios, City). FYI, latest Volvo V40 with 1.6lit produce 184hp & 240 toque and consume only 6.2 lit/100km. Wonder how Proton spent 200mil and yet come out with this lousy turbo engine with so high petrol consumption of 9.1lit/100km.....what a bad investment. People buy it because it is CHEAP not because it is good. Proton can only sells on CHEAP price not quality.
ReplyDeleteOn the Accord rebadging issue, sometimes you have to balance national pride and business sense. There just simply not enough sales volume in that segment for Proton to splurge 400-500m to build a platform from scratch. And rebadging/platform sharing is actually an industry wide practice. You see it all over the place with volkswagen-skoda , kia-hyundai, chevy-holden etc. I say kudos to Proton for building an affordable and yet safe and fun car to drive. Hopefully they can change people's perception on their brand.
ReplyDeletevolume is a problem, but it is SOLVEABLE.
ReplyDeletejust do what they did with gen2. just get one done, and then partners in china do the volume thing.
i tell u what, get mpv done, and big sedan. and suv. all these do just the same like they did with gen2.
charleskiwi,
ReplyDeleteu need to polish your ass with kiwi shoe polish as it was obvious your thinking was done there.
Dato,
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work of telling it as it is!
The opposition mongrels like charleskiwi obviously will give their moronic comments if anything good is said about the establishment. This charleskiwi guy must have had his head shoved down his ass to make comments like that.
Hi Dato',
ReplyDeleteWould like to add some point.
1. Why the push start button is on the right? I own an Almera which has a push start button too, and its on the left side. Source from Proton itself (lol), said that push start button should be at the left side, as putting it on the right side has safety issue with it (people with bad intention can easily shut your car off from outside).
2. Push start button? or semi-push start button? If I'm not mistaken, technology comes to ease our life, not to make it harder, but looks cooler. Before this we are using keys, we need to insert it, rotate it and go. Now push start button just need push brake and push button. Easier. But Proton's way is.. u still need to put key, then press button then go. em..
3. Is this really Suprima S or Preve Hatchback version? Lol..
With so foreigners, expatriates, tourists, visitors posting their comments on this topic, dont be surprised rocky if you are on your own to say good things about suprima.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, it's natural rocky for non Malaysians to say not everything good about what we have here.
Datuk:
ReplyDeleteYou folks are only good at making wheelchairs, not cars. Stick to wheelchairs, and ask the Banglas to push your wheelchairs. Just to prove that you will soon be first world people.
Now now careful with wheelchairs coz u mayb sitting on one after driving like shit on the road hahaha
DeleteRocky
ReplyDeleteI drove a proton with a campro engine for five years. So far ok le with the price i paid....
Proton must do something with their 3s centre... It suck bro... Seem they dont understand customer satisfaction... Very poor
Bro,
ReplyDeleteI have not driven a Suprima but i own a standard Preve, and i say u its one hell of car.. The handling is top notch and if not for the engine cut-off at 180 km/h, i believe it can go more than 200 km/h. In number of time i've out run City and Vios on the highway.. its really bloody fun car to drive..
In South Korea, Koreans are proud to drive Korean cars. Only in Malaysia do we get anti-patriots who look down on anything that shows that Malay engineers can do good work.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
"This is a C segment car and cannot be compared with B segment car (Vios, City)."
But the fact that it does only serves to make the Suprima even better.
Anonymous said...
"FYI, latest Volvo V40 with 1.6lit produce 184hp & 240 toque and consume only 6.2 lit/100km. Wonder how Proton spent 200mil and yet come out with this lousy turbo engine with so high petrol consumption of 9.1lit/100km....."
Wonder how long Volvo has been making cars and car engines compared to Proton. Wonder what is the IQ level of people who can make such comparisons.
Anonymous said...
"what a bad investment. People buy it because it is CHEAP not because it is good. Proton can only sells on CHEAP price not quality."
Erm. Not anymore. Proton has been making a concscious effort to upmarket their brand for years. Have you been away in Australia or something?
Dear Rocky
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I am super sad with Proton is their decision to again rebadge a foreign brand into Proton Perdana, AGAIN!
It is the most backward and national insulting decision the management could ever make.
We could accept, and literally did accepted, the earlier decision on the first Perdana, but Proton has enough time to produce our brand new fully own second Perdana.
It is a very very very sad day for MALAYSIA.
Bru you working very hard to review syed mokhtar car these days !.
ReplyDeleteyour positive review is without any weight because you are clearly impartial towards anything that comes out of the govt. this doesnt mean the car is good or bad. simply, let it be reviewed by international magazines - if they do come up with the same conclusion then can carry weight.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand the amount spent on the Suprima ie betwen RM100-200 Million is mostly on the bodywork and styling changes in the cabin. hardly anything goes towards the engine.
ReplyDeleteBTW the amount Proton spends on engine is realtively modest as most major manufacturers would spend upwards of EURO2 billion per base engine programme and that is before they add turbocharging or anything else.
Insofar as a D-segment model, like the Accord, the spend on model development from the ground up would eaisly exceed RM1 billion. do remember that Proton spent RM600 million on the Gen.2/Persona platform and similar money on the Saga platform.
The trick is not just in optimising RND result but in reducing the cost of component and manufacture at the design and engineering level.
Global companies like Toyota and VW engineer their components to a spec but with one eye on the cost of the part.
The cost of component is not based solely on volume, although it plays an important role, the cost of materials, efficiency, wastage and even maintenance of the machines can have significant impact on the cost of parts.
OEM need to be experts on these matters so they can guide vendors in this direction.
it is much easier said than done but I am sure they are being done at Proton
Talking about Malay blood, the biggest joke must be Zairil Khir Johari DAPshit so-called Malay.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke.Not a single iota of Malay blood in his body yet DAP is trying to fool everybody.
Only DAP is capable of this kind of shit. In fact DAPshit is guilty of so many kind of shits like the CEC fiasco, the Lim Dynasty, the two headed lion of Jelutong etc etc.
DAPshit
Roc,
ReplyDeleteAll new cars behave very nice because its new! Wait for a year then you will know why!
They use to say for BMW and the top ends manufacturers its the sound but Proton its the noise !
I have owned Protons since the first model to later ones but it still sucks....
Please it ain'nt comparable with latest Korean Kias and Hyundais..
let alone the lowest german people's walkwagon[Volks]
Its overpriced and made for suckers....
Anon 313am,
ReplyDeleteThank you. I wasn't going to try and respond to Anon 954am's earlier comment on Segment C and B cars because it sounded so loaded lah, so thanks for the explanation.
Yes, the fact that people are comparing the Suprima (and Preve) to the Civic and Vios is heartening, indeed.
Proton does need to work on the after sales, though, as Anon 955am has rightly pointed out. Like work very, very hard to improve it. That will give it the home advantage edge and the kind of "value" that Mazlan 859am is talking about
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Esa Adam,
I stand amended: Proton's aircond is the best in the world.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Damansaraman,
ReplyDeleteI am with you on that. Rebadge apende lagi lah diorang ni?! It'd be a very sad day, indeed. Especially after the current management had repeatedly said they were against rebadging.
Some commenters pointed out that this may have to be done because the volume won't be there. I say, if you know the volume isn't going to be there, don't go in at all. No need to rebadge either. Let the Cabinet ministers buy their own cars.
Or create a super lux edition for the Exora, with interior that matches the Alphaard, a Merc-class finish, and dark tinted screens.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeletereally? better than Garmin? from the looks of it, made in China display. At least that is what other reviewer says...and the other is called Waze, not Wave...sounds like someone from Proton is feeding you the words....come on, tell the truth..i tried in the show room myself and it's really is made in China...talk about good relations with them..last for 6 months..
11:14 pm
------
Mo 11.14pm, you tried out the GPS in the showroom? Lol. Test drive la Ron .. test drive it.
What a wave of time! I mean, what a waze of time.
Let's see now - can it compare with the latest version of the VW Golf?
ReplyDelete7-speed auto? Nope.
Euro 5-compliant engines? Nope.
So, what type of sophistication are we talking about?
Proton is a third-world car manufacturer that makes cars for third-world markets.
Just check it's market share in developed countries.
Heck, even in Singapore, it's not in the top 10 list of cars by make/model.
Ha ha, this is priceless. You're complaining because it doesn't have 7 speed auto? What about all those Japanese cars still with 4 or 5 speed old style slush boxes? And they sell them everywhere, not just in 3rd world countries. At least Proton has moved on to CVT. If that's 3rd world, then I guess the Nissan Teana, Murano and most Audis are 3rd world cars too.
DeleteBtw, the Campro CFE engine in the Suprima is Euro V compliant.
I drove a honda city before n hated the aircon and radio now bought the saga se flx. Yezzz I love the aircon n radio. The honda too also had its problem not even a year power window not working then recall. It has its own problem but now am happy with the flx.
ReplyDeleteit is not totally re badge, they using the accord chassis. Engine by proton. Probably using the engine that they buy from Petronas.
ReplyDeleteWe bought a Suprima and love it ...compared to our previous hyundai i30, suprima is much better. and we also have neo,viva n BMW. Love viva when driving in town, love neo when want to feel like f1 driver (feel like saja ye!!!) and love our BMW because it is the ultimate driving machine..lol
ReplyDeleteThai and Indon must be proud of their toyot and hon dua as some msian do! So most msian proud our own machine not jap!
ReplyDeletefor all of you who criticizing about proton for their quality and bad investment, bare in mind that proton is only 20 years old while other car manufactures have been doing their bussiness almost a 100 years!
ReplyDeletecant you see how fast our people struggling to learn, researching and adapting the automotive industries? and now we are closer than ever to perfection.
a little respect maybe?
"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSaffzero, wait another year & the campro engine will start to give you headache."
To the above comment, I bought Satria Neo in 2007, and still using the same engine. I've driven it all over Malaysia and occasionally into Singapore. I intend to use it this mid year to drive all over Thailand after doing some precautionary servicing. My only "grievance' is it shld be 1.8 engine to distinguish it from other proton makes making it distinct and special.
According to the expert:-
ReplyDeleteProton beats British cars for reliability
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/proton-beats-british-cars-for-reliability-1097727.html
Of course some moron will think their opinion is of the same level to an expert. That is why they are called moron.
Best Proton = Exora (since my kids like it :p) Best car parts website = http://ikutkiri.com
ReplyDeletelol youre right http://ikutkiri.com/ is the best site for car parts
ReplyDeleteKeep watching
ReplyDeletesgx nifty