Proton Preve: small sedan priced from $18,990 driveaway | CarAdvice

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Proton Preve: small sedan priced from $18,990 driveaway

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By Anthony Crawford |
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Malaysian manufacturer Proton has unveiled the all-new Proton Preve small car at the 2012 Sydney motor show, announcing a highly competitive $18,990 driveaway starting price.

The Preve (pronounced ‘pre-VAY’) compact sedan is the most technologically advanced vehicle Proton has ever developed and built.

In a first for Proton, the Preve uses hot press forming in its construction, which provides higher body strength and better structural rigidity without compromising overall bodyweight (1305kg for the manual).

The Proton Preve is available from launch at $18,990 driveaway for the five-speed manual variant and $20,990 driveaway for the model with the optional ‘six-speed’ continuously variable transmission (CVT).

A 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that generates 80kW/150Nm powers the new Proton Preve, which Proton claims achieves fuel consumption of 7.2 litres per 100km for the manual and 8.0L/100km for the CVT.

The Preve will initially be offered only in entry-level GX specification, but will be joined later in 2013 by the higher-specified GXR model, which is powered by Proton’s new-generation turbo petrol engine and mated to the brand’s seven-speed ‘ProTonic’ CVT.

Specifications are identical for manual and CVT versions. Standard features include rear parking sensors, speed-sensing automatic door locking, front and rear fog-lights, Bluetooth phone connectivity with audio streaming, multi-function steering wheel, smart information display, remote keyless entry and power windows and mirrors.

Safety equipment includes electronic stability control, front-wheel traction control, anti-locking brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and six airbags.

The Preve GXR will gain additional features such as steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, leather upholstery, satellite navigation, automatic headlights and wipers, cruise control and push-button start. GXR pricing will be released closer to the launch.


 

  • PIZZA

    With this deign and blend image…Seriously, who will buy this in todays market? 

    • Azlan96

      And you would prefer a Honda City or a Toyota Vios compared to this?

      • PIZZA

        I am sure this car dont even sell 1/10 of what Honda city sold in Australia…

        • http://twitter.com/azlan96 Noor Azlan Mahmud

          I am not sure in Australia, but in Malaysia (Where Proton is manufactured, duh.) A Honda City has only 2 Airbags.

          Honda City costs :  28000AUD
          Preve: 23190 AUD.

          Both are the highest spec..

          • Huwtm

            Malaysian money in Australian dollars, what’s the point. The Preve is no way comparable to any of the cars we have in this country. Except maybe another Proton. Even Great Walls and Cherries are shaping up better. That’s what you should be comparing to. When you compare your cabin to a City, you’d walk away from the Preve. 

            You know Daewoo compared itself to Honda too, when it entered the market with the Lanos. just for your information. Look what happened to them.So the Preve has gone from a “medium car” to a small car. What are it’s dimensions, length width height herb weight. Lets get the facts and we can have an informed opinion on how inappropriate it is.

          • Guest

            No Chinaman, Proton, Cherry, Great Wall…are going no where in Australia.

          • Guest

            No Chinaman, Proton, Cherry, Great Wall…are going no where in Australia.

          • Huwtm

            That was my point pin head, that’s why it should be compared to them. By the way – It’s (New South) Welshman you anonymous dweeb

    • Phunken

      Ummm it’s a rebadged Mitsu lancer

  • Mick Dunn

    It’s a bit sad when an $18,990 sedan that looks like that is the “most technologically advanced vehicle Proton has ever built”.

    • Aero

      Please bear in mind that this CVT 80kW model above is the entry level spec at $18,990. There is a range- topping 103kW turbo which is also in store for the Aussie market. The range topping turbo currently makes up for more than 75% of all sales in Malaysia, for good reason.

      • Huwtm

        This isn’t Malaysia. those numbers are woeful. I suspect even though its being called a medium car, you’ll find it actually slots in below, Mazda 3, Corolla, etc, up against the likes of Jazz. 

        As per their previous models, it seems over priced. I dare say there will be a sea of hard plastic, to go along with the very ordinary looks. $13,990. here we come.

        • Aero

          Hey buddy, tell me, exactly how is it even fair to pre-emptively judge a car you have no experience with ? You take a glance at this article, jump to a hollow conclusion, and revel in your false sense of security. In all fairness, the specs of the new Proton may fall short compared to the competitors, but specs are not everything in business. Credit where its due, the better established Japanese and Korean cars make better choices, choices which lay in the hands of the consumers, not you, not me, nor the critics. We’ll see exactly how well this car sells when Proton unleashes their full arsenal in 2013. Remember, there was a time when people made fun of Korean cars too, and look where they are today. Will history repeat itself ? Only time will truly shed light on the answer.

          • ExMalaysian

             Proton and Korean’s car started at about the same time.  Korean cars have make good advance while Proton still struggling.  I am ex Malaysian and I will not buy a Proton car nor recommend it.  The last car I bought is a 2012 Toyota Yaris and I am very happy with it.

          • Jack

            Korean car company started in the 40′s while Proton 80′s.

          • huwtm

            Full arsenal? I don’t remember people making fun of Korean cars, what country did that happen?

          • Jack

            When Kia was rebaging mazda and Hyundai rebadging Mitsu I think.

      • idlebrain

         Well, 1.5 ltr honda jazz produce 88kw and 1.6 ltr non-turbo kia make 103kw with 5 years warranty.

        I don’t think the good reason in Malaysia would work in Australia unless it’s dead cheap.

        • Aero

          I’m sorry, I would take the liberty to respond to your comment, but I’m having trouble comprehending your grammar. 

  • http://twitter.com/klowik klowik

    front looks ok, but the rear looks a bit mix of old civic and audi. Try harder!!!

  • John

    Wow. Well off the pace in terms of engine power, fuel economy, weight – and looks.  $18,990 driveaway won’t do it – it needs to be $2000 cheaper, and even then I wouldn’t touch it.

    • Zaccy16

      agreed, the boot doesn’t even look like it fits properly! now theres are car that is more bland than a new corrola!

      • Huwtm

        Makes the Corolla look, positively state of the art. Why didn’t they develop those things they had before. They looked pretty good, and with a bit more money in them and a tweak or two they could’ve come up OK. Might have been enough to make it a good starter car.

  • Amlohac

    Thats a bit much for a proton

  • Just Sayin’

    And …. 80kw??? Yaris 1.5 output with more than a 200kg weight penalty.. This one won’t even be in the hunt against a Matiz at the traffic lights… Yet Another FAIL from Malaysia…

  • Martin

    80kW in a C segment vehicle is laughable. Will probably be as popular as the Gen2 once the price is knived down a few grand.

    • Aero

      Clearly you haven’t read the article properly. There is a 103kW turbo range- topping spec in store next year. Perhaps this will fit the bill… 

      • Huwtm

        103 kw, is on the top model, THE MORE EXPENSIVE ONE! 103 kw from a turbo motor is rubbish! You Mr Proton, are offering something up that should be in a class below. Then you are faced with the fact that, all cars simply look better are more professionally designed. You aren’t offering anything better than anybody else. Its  a new out of date car. 

        • Paddy

          103kw, 205nm torque is quite decent and equivalent to a number of 2.0l na engines

          • Huwtm

            What’s your point? By the way I think you’ll find that a lot of 2 lt cars these days are putting out higher numbers. Some 1.8 as well, come to think of it. All would be cheaper and better made.

          • Zaccy16

            Yeah your right, even kia can get 103 kw out of there 1.6 in the rio and hyundai in the horrible veloster!

          • Paddy

            No doubt a Kia 1.6 produces 103kW, but it only generates 167Nm torque. Toyota’s 1.8 in the Corolla produces only 100kW and 175 Nm. The output from the Preve is nothing great, but its reasonable.

          • Hung Low

            It is more than comparable to the 90tsi Vw engine or the cruze turbo so what is the point?

          • huwtm

            Sorry hung took a minute to catch up, it’s been a while. The point is, and Malaysian tests back this up that it is under powered. Severely. Search the net you find them. They also said the interior was poor quality and a whole lot of other things.  Then they gave it 4 stars out of 5, which I don’t understand. Must be a Malaysian thing? So negative comments have been born out by testers, and I read a comment from an owner on here some where which said the same thing. So, there you have it. I take it you like it? If you do don’t be put off, I’m sure you can live with it’s short comings.  

        • Aero

          In factual terms, your statements are fairly accurate, the Proton is not nearly as well built as the Japanese and Korean competitors in it’s class. Let me quote you an historical example; the old W210 Mercedes Benz E- Class sold like hot cakes, despite the fact that it wasn’t half, nor one- fourth the car the predecessor was. Even Mercedes themselves admitted to that later on. Such is the power of branding. Another example would be Skoda, that Czech underdog, which at heart, was technically German (Volkswagen). Yet, Skoda isn’t topping the charts apart from their domestic market and a handful of others, until only recently, when their reputation went into full gear. So yes, business isn’t as simple as you might think it is. There are more factors than just specs, specs and specs as you’ve pointed out.

          • Huwtm

            The example you have just given is of brand awareness and how it sells cars. How even a bad car from an aspirational company, can sell a car. (you also have price looks equipment etc) So how does that relate to Proton which has no brand awareness in this country?

            hyundai suffered the same problem. They put out some dodgy cars and were all over the news and current affairs shows, because they were literally falling apart and [people were getting hurt.

            What they did was immediately improve their manufacturing techniques and dropped the price so they were the cheapest on the market (with a car that wasn’t the size of a match box)  added Warranty, but they also advertised that fact. EVERYWHERE CONTINUOUSLY. People purchased their cars on price and equipment. They got a reasonable car with a peppy engine for virtually nothing. In some instances the price was $11,990. for a brand new cars with tons of warranty. (a lot of them are still going)  Proton needs to do the same and not be up itself. It had a car with presence in that 3 door you had, (I mean you were rallying it?) you just needed to pick up the quality and drop the price and stuff a 1.8 in it. It looked great dressed up,- at the right price with enough promotion that car could have made the Proton name. But you don’t understand how Australia works.

  • Force-15

    Sorry Proton, but this car’s at least five years too late to market. I’m not only talking aesthetics here but mechanical specifications as well.

  • TG

    Why even bother mentioning stability control being standard considering it’s a mandatory requirement. It’s like saying it comes standard with seat belts.

  • Carl

    But wait. There’s more! There is a turbo version of this car producing the same KW as Proton Exora.

  • Mike2

    I recently visited Malaysia where this car is already a common sight and reckon it looks better in the metal than photos, and better than several other small sedans, eg Nissan Almera, Honda City. That’s probably because it was designed as a sedan, not a hatch that was converted later. But 80kw in the only manual version (same engine as in S16? which is over 200kg lighter) is about 20kw less than most rivals. Overall it’s selling for $19k versus $20-21k for lots of better-established models and I can’t see anything about it that gives it an advantage over them — except perhaps the warranty/servicing package (for now, anyway).

    • naim

      “looks better in the metal than photos”

      i second that

  • http://twitter.com/Jonshlim Jonathan Lim

    And Aussies still prefer Corolla and tin can jap cars? I’d rather own an Euro/Continental econoboxes. I would rate the Koreans at the top then Proton Preve below ( not old protons) aesthetically based on performance/safety/etc per price ratio. Check out Jap cars like Toyota Vios  and Honda City for the third world market – they are god aweful compare to the Koreans…or compare Camry with Optima K5.

    • Huwtm

      Tin can Jap cars? Really? Are you trying to say a Preve, is better than a Mazda 2/3 or Honda Jazz/Civic. You are deluded. Then we have the Ford Focus/Fiesta, Megane Clio, Golf/Polo. etc. 

      Based on your criteria, the Preve (Knew an Indian girl called Preve, bet the car doesn’t perform like she could) is a fail. The first thing you see is the outside of the car, fail! The second thing you see is the interior, fail. The you turn the key, massive fail.

      You forget we are in Australia, the level of cars we get here is higher than you get in Malaysia. If you are going to come into our market you need to be able to compete against the cars here, not in Malaysia. You have lower benchmark cars than we are used to.

      You know, you guys own Lotus, which is in F1, yet this is what you put out? How does that work?

      • Zaccy16

        very good point, Jeremy Clarkson on top gear offended the maylasians by saying that the Proton factory was in a forest clearing and that the people that make them were leaves for shoes, hes got a good point there!

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

        lol the moment i read this.. i just realized how malaysian you sounds like.. from the level of chinese malaysian trolls.. seriously, no aussies would get offended by some lame ass japs vs korean vs malaysian automobile argument.. get a life!

        • Huwtm

          Now now, don’t get upset. I’m only stating facts. No hatred is involved. See JD’s comment below, it is what it is, as he stated. You had a car with potential, you took it off the market rather than improve it and promote it. (That’s my opinion by the way)

          You need to LOOK at the market and accommodate it. Pushing your Malay way of thinking in this country isn’t going to help you, you have to much competition.

          • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

            lol do you log in to another account to post that? seriously dud??

            please.. like bashing proton would change anything.. least that you would convince anyone.. test drive it yourself before you bash next time!

          • Huwtm

            So what’s your position in Proton? No one is bashing as such, By the way, it’s DUDE, not dud.

            That’s a problem for Proton is they don’t read and learn. I’ve tried to be constructive. You seal your fate if you won’t learn from the people you are trying to sell to.

          • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

            @huwtm

            you wrote: “the Preve (Knew an Indian girl called Preve, bet the car doesn’t perform
            like she could) is a fail. The first thing you see is the outside of
            the car, fail! The second thing you see is the interior, fail. The you
            turn the key, massive fail.”

            read for yourself trolls..

          • Huwtm

            That is all true and I think an important issue for the Proton, you left out a whole lot too. If you are going to use examples from me fucdlee, read and use them all.

            “You forget we are in Australia, the level of cars we get here is higher than you get in Malaysia. If you are going to come into our market you need to be able to compete against the cars here, not in Malaysia. You have lower benchmark cars than we are used to.You know, you guys own Lotus, which is in F1, yet this is what you put out? How does that work?”

          • Huwtm

            fucdlee, are you Proton PR or sales, where do you come  off claiming that I’m not Australian. Another thing I have driven Protons, actually on the Great Western Highway around Minchinbury,  they are nothing special. You really need to read and learn from all my posts. How does a person with a Welsh name become Asian, though in your ignorance, and probable inability to pronounce it fucdlee you are undoubtedly guessing like your company is doing here in MY country

          • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

            lol huwtm! does it bother you to know that i’m just a nobody who messes around on you? you ain’t fooling nobody chinaman.. even the aussies hated you flocking all over there..

          • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

            sure, if you wanna judge a car based on their previous models then go ahead.. that would make you happy was it?

          • Huwtm

            You don’t bother me fucdlee, you racest asians are a joke. I’m just glad you’re over there and not here. I’ve got nothing more to say to you, you aren’t worth my time.

        • Aero

          Mr. Fadlee, you are a disgrace to your country. By including the unjust and completely unrelated factor of race/ethnicity in this debate, you’ve exposed your shallow mindedness and in essence, shot yourself in the foot. Please, learn to respect the opinions of others if you want yours to be treated likewise.

          • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

             lol sorry to say that most of these trolls are rich malaysian (chinese).. who obviously bashed proton because they can’t afford japs,korean or european cars cheaply in malaysia.

            the only logic they could think of is to demonized the brand.. but the fact is that, the car duties won’t be abolished that easily if proton are finally gone.

          • Huwtm

            For a start the people here aren’t trolls, with maybe the exception being yourself. Proton has been around long enough for Australians to have an opinion on the brand, and that’s what you are getting. Buck up fudlee. 

          • http://profile.yahoo.com/EBE27OEGWT3DYUVACTYZEDE6UQ fadlee

            @Huwtm lol sure, everyone is entitled to their own opinion including you.. but the fact is you ain’t australian, let alone an owner of the car to even justify yourself to bash about it.

    • Huwtm

      Tin can Jap cars? Really? Are you trying to say a Preve, is better than a Mazda 2/3 or Honda Jazz/Civic. You are deluded. Then we have the Ford Focus/Fiesta, Megane Clio, Golf/Polo. etc. 

      Based on your criteria, the Preve (Knew an Indian girl called Preve, bet the car doesn’t perform like she could) is a fail. The first thing you see is the outside of the car, fail! The second thing you see is the interior, fail. The you turn the key, massive fail.

      You forget we are in Australia, the level of cars we get here is higher than you get in Malaysia. If you are going to come into our market you need to be able to compete against the cars here, not in Malaysia. You have lower benchmark cars than we are used to.

      You know, you guys own Lotus, which is in F1, yet this is what you put out? How does that work?

  • JD

    wow … so many Malaysians on this thread

    You know when they are malaysian when they call the yaris, “vios”

    Malaysia still has a few more years to improve. Look at Hyundai 10 years ago. Now look how much they have grown today.

    19k is a lot of money for a proton in todays market

    • Aero

      At least you, unlike most others, have factored in the current state of Proton relative to it’s past. Of course, those who are unfamiliar with Proton will not think highly of this new model, but those who know of the past models will truly appreciate the level of progress Proton has made in the past 5 years. Not that it holds much significance though, Proton is still playing catch up even with this car, but at least they’re catching up fast. Anyway, I believe that 19k is a bit too much as well, but I’m guessing that Proton intends to hold their own on entry to the Aussie market. Hopefully they’ll knock it down to 17k by 2013. 

      • Dave W

        Proton’s not going to catch up anytime soon if they’re only aiming at the budget market.

        Hyundai and Kia are both aiming higher now, they put in a lot of standard equipments that used to be optional even in a premium car. That gives their car great value even if they’re not the cheapest anymore.

        Then they also got a couple of premium European designers to make their cars look better, more cohesive in their styling and easily identifiable with their design language.

        They also invested heavily in powertrain technology and come up with some decent engines in terms of power output and economy.

        The only area where they haven’t quite succeeded is the steering and handling, but that only matters to the driving enthusiasts, not to the majority of commuters.

        Proton’s slowly getting there, but the Preve is still not good enough. 1.6L with 80kW output and 7.2L/100km is quite poor by modern standard. And don’t you worry about comparing it to the Japanese cars because they’re not doing that great either, apart from a few exceptions.

        The Japanese also have to shape up soon or get further behind, though to be fair, they do have to deal with the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster combo in Japan as well as the Thai flood.

        • Verifa Kenfarni

          As to add to what Dave W is saying:  There is a VW advert that is trying to discourage the “sounds like a Golf” cliche.  Unfortunately for VW, Hyundai/Kias reputation has gone so well the whole saying goes “sounds like a Golf, $5k less and better made”.   

      • David Short

        Both Hyundai Group and Proton have had lending hands from Mitsubishi.  Hyundai learnt from the bad quality mistakes when they acquired Daewoo (and thankfully sold them off to GM).  Their quality, safety and design has been awarded many times in Germany of which VW are now are strong competitor (especially since Hyundai “poached” VW’s head designer!)  

        Proton should be close to the top regarding performance and sports options.  The “Lotus Factor” hasn’t done much for them and their cars are nothing like an Esprit or Elan (thankfully not in quality!).  Most of the Protons on the roads are still based on Mitsubishi platforms, which in essence are great to work with but don’t show off any imagination or finesse.  I was excited when I read about the proposal for the current Lancer platform and body to being replicated and “Lotus-ised” , that would have been fantastic….but no, they had to do their own thing and look what happened.  

        They (Proton) need to develop stuff!  As an example Hyundai has made the Lambda series of engines which are pretty much reworked versions of Mitsubishi V6 engines, with the smallest of these already producing 184kw in a non-turbo version.  Proton developed a faster engine for the Satria, but again the Satria was just an old Mirage body!  

        • huwtm

          You’ve got some mistakes in there. One at least is Daewoo, always been part owned by GM. GM wanted full ownership cheaply so starved the company of parts which sent them bust. GM subsequently picked up total ownership of Daewoo, for a song.

          • Tueng San Park

            Actually you’ve both got some mistakes.  The GM pickup wasn’t intentional as such, the money was embezzled by the company chairman who was subsequently arrested for fraud.  The supposed amount ran up to several billion dollars of which the conditions in their factories could be compared to sweat shops.  Although GM bought the shares back at a cheaper price, the reputation of poor worker treatment and bad company management took its toll.

            It was only ever a parts supply partnership and NEVER ownership regarding Hyundai and Daewoo.  For a small while during the Asian Financial Crisis several alliances were formed in the Korean markets to ensure there were adequate supplies for car manufacturers (they also trialled this in the Japanese market).  The cheapest manufacturer was Daewoo, unfortunately so was their quality.

          • huwtm

            It’s not the way I’ve read the history but I’ll take your word for it. Though, GM have always or for a fair while held a major part of Daewoo stock. So it doesn’t quite fit in some respects but knowing you Koreans and how corrupt you are I can believe part of your story. My understanding that GM called in their note, Daewoo, couldn’t come through, so GM walked and took them over. To put it simply.

  • Clem

    DON’T BUY MALAYSIA PRODUCTS!!! ONE WORD – SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Huwtm

      Nicely put!

    • PS

      Your grammar sucks, Clem ;)

      • Clem

        Well … too bad. I fail my english test from year 1 to year 12 but my boss doesn’t really care.

        • Noddy of Toyland

          Because he pays for your booty?

    • Hijazzains

      Well, australia produce almost next to nothing, the hard disks and hardware in your lappies are probably made and assembled in malaysia and malaysi ahas more industrilal capacit ythan austalia, semiconductor, automotive,shipbuilding, and solar with top ompanies like intel, dell, texas instrument, AMD, western digitam and many having major fab plants in malaysia while australia almost have none. While proton is the hallmark for the malaysian auto industry, malaysian companies like drb have JV with honda assembling hybrid models for ASEAN and VW also assemble VW cars for theregion. Malaysia now is also stealing quite a bit of Aussie foreign student cash cows, malaysian companies like Air Asia ferry bogans to asia where they can have decent holidays on part time wages and unbeknown to ypu Malaydian pension funds own CBD buildings in aussie cities like the SANTOS building in Perth and Petronas, the bigges OnG company in ASEAN is a major paartner with SANTOS.

      Aussies better stuff their bogan egos before talking down asian countries

      • Huwtm

        Australia can’t compare to malaysia, that’s true. We are first world you are third world. Your workers get what a cent to a dollar in pay. Of course multinationals will get their products put together there. But look out China might just take that business, then where will you be. Australia provides raw material to the world, we may not be manufacturing much any more but we CREATE! We DESIGN! We are INNOVATORS! With out us or the UK, or the US or Europe (Germany) you would have nothing. Empty factories and unemployed slaver labour. Name one thing simple as you like that you have invented that the world can’t live with out.

  • a_df_009

    Saw this at the motorshow. Looks better in the flesh but certainly not a standout. Interior hugely lets it down with extremely poor plastics quality, fit and finish. Its about 2-3K overpriced for what it is. Cant see a huge market for it at the current price. Far better options in market even if they don’t have the same levels of equipment. 

  • Double Down

    The new Nissan Pulsar will start at $19,990 with a 102kw engine & has a 6 speed manual for an extra $1000 more you’re getting a way better deal, i’m sure when this POS comes out you’d really be paying close to $16k dealer discount, they won’t sell ‘em otherwise

  • Nemi

    So why do need to consider this death trap when the drive away price of Hyundai Accent($17,450) and Nissan Altima($17,990) is cheaper than this rubbish?

    • P3-21A

      So you think that the Hyundai Accent and Nissan ( Datsun ) Altima which is priced less than the Preve is better. Consider this the Preve GXR comes with full touchscreen GPS , Bluetooth , 6 Airbags , ABS ,Lotus Ride and Handling , Traction Control , Vehicle Stability Control, Electronic Brake Distribution, Multilink Suspension, 1.6 turbo , 5 year warranty (where customers can ask the service centres to make changes to the car to suit them      ( applicable to subsequent owners of the same vehicle in that 5 years ) ) and 10 year power window warranty. 6.6l / 100 k fuel consumption

      BTW. it has a 5 star ANCAP rating . So that is equivalent to your useless Altima and Accent .

      • Guest

        Blah blah blah…that’s mostly standard in here Australia, mate. 

        Hyundai accent is 91KW/156Nm and fuel economy is 6.0L/100km, which is far better than Proton Preve(80KW/156Nm 7.2L/100km ), yet Accent is almost $2000 cheaper than Preve.

        Proton guy, if you want to sell your rubbish then tell your boss the car needs to be sub-$15,000. Even then I doubt many would interest in buying this death trap.

  • Lou Bricant

    My wife drives an Altis and I drive a Preve CFE (current company car). We use her Altis when driving around in Penang because its fuel consumption is much better than the Preve’s especially in traffic jams. But for long distance traveling at high speed, the Preve is unbelievably stable and it’s more spacious.

    When I first got the Preve, it had some wind noise issues at 80kph onwards but that’s all settled now. Nothing to shout about with regards to the interior – design and fittings need to be improved.

    The light turbo engine is pretty lame below 2000 rpm, I have to say, but the overall driving dynamics will beat just about any mid-sized Jap or Korean make.

    Can’t expect much from a CVT tranny in terms of pickup. My wife used to have a 2nd gen City so I remember the rubber band feel of a CVT all too well. I personally think that the Nissan Sylphy has the best CVT around. 

    Anyway, from one who owns an Altis (good FC, reliable, lousy handling, low on features) and owned a Forte (nice looks, lots of features, lousy FC, engine issues, suspension issues, expensive parts), I would say Proton has a bit more to do to catch up but it’s not that bad. They need to find another gear, so to speak.

  • Jack

    I think the best part of Preve is the handling. The CVT gear box is from, not mistaken, punch power train and gatrag for the manual, who also supply to established European car makes, which is excellent/ 

  • Phunken

    Dude it’s a reskin Mitsu Lancer! Proton typical rebadging effort

  • Guest

    Dude, i think you’ve mistaken it with the new Proton inspira, the Lancer EX rebadge..Preve is built on proton chasis and engine, at least that is what wiki told me

    • Kayne

      And where is this elusive Inspira for Australia?  I’m sure it would be a bigger hit that this….THING.  The Inspira is lower priced than the Lancer, same engine and some models are Lotus tuned.