Proton Suprima S Review

Proton’s new baby Proton Suprima S has a lot to prove. Proton claims the handling and comfort of Suprima S is superior compared to a few well establish European counterpart. In this review we will focusing more on the features of Suprima S which Proton claims build for value.

     To start of the front end of Suprima S is almost similar to Preve which is not the best looking car, it takes long hours of staring and some getting used to to really like it. Don’t get me wrong,  with proper lighting and some angle it does look nice but it lacks the “wow” factor. The lines by the sides does give it some character but the business end is the rear which is all new. I must say it does look good, I like the back end better than the front end,  and no I m not an ass guy :P. It’s a pity though because Proton could have gone with LED lights rather than your average bulb. The choice of colour and rims hint that this part is aimed at the younger boy racer generation which is spot on .

   As you get inside the car, you are greeted with, soft padded door panels and dashboard which indicate Proton has listened to its customers, I must say it does give you a premium feel to it,buttons feel solid and well built, but then the gear knob feels wobbly and gives you the cheap plastic feel,at times I thought it was going to come off otherwise I have no complains. Proton’s infotaiment is superb the sound quality is great but I was put off by  the centre  aircond vents which is too big and you could literally see through the aircond vent. The seating position is a bit off,  I mean I m a 6 foot guy,the seat feels too high which gives a awkward seating position, if you are going to build a sporty hatchback  you want a low seating position for better centre of gravity,and guys there is no electric seats either. The centre console is a disappointment it just looks too plain too boring,i mean come on!! it is the command centre of you car!! Proton should have put it more effort to make to look for sophisticated add a few more aircond control button like a digital air conditioning control panel if you are looking for the premium looks. One thing was running through my mind as I was sitting in the car looking at the centre panel “OMG what was the Proton engineers thinking?? Did they really think this was acceptable?? Come on Proton”

   Now for the drive,essentially Suprima S has the same drivetrain as the Preve with minor update and adjustment.Put the key in the keyhold and press the start button.The car spring to life. I am happy to report the infamous lagging  throttle response that was annoyingly prominent in Preve is not so evident in Suprima, its still there but throttle response is good, the CVT gearbox is still jerky like in the Preve but there is some amout of improvement. In a conclusion I believe things would have been better if Suprima came with a manual version, since it was designed to be a drivers car. CVT is not doing justice for this car. There are some rumours that the manual version is on the way but we will have to wait and see. What puts me off the Suprima is the CVT whinning noise and the sound insulation. Don’t get me wrong I love a good engine grunt in the cabin, it makes you feel connected with the car as you know when you can pust the car to the max, but all you get from Suprima is a CVT whinning noise which is unpleasant to say the least, with occasional turbo sound with is a consolation. I think the keyword here is “refinement” which clearly lacks in the Suprima, in no way I m expecting this car to be quiet like a church mouse but the CVT whinning noise is just unacceptable, to think that Proton took almost 18months to test drive and refine this car is even more outrageous. You would think Proton would have picked out these minor refinement issues during their test drive but sadly no. As for the suspension and handling, you know the chassis has much to offer, its not too stiff and not to soft, it hugs the road better than a few European makes the steering is precise and direct gives you a good feel for the road and the car, lane changes is great, you push the pedal and the car just goes. Beware Civic, Altis 2.0 this car will eat you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wish I could say something good about the brakes though, but I can’t brakes feel soft and does not inspire confidence. Then I had to look and the fuel consumpation, quick press  on the computer knob wiper stick, it revealed that Suprima was doing a average of 17.3l/100km, I almost chocked, but to be fair I m sure most people to test drove the Suprima would have been  thumping the accelerator to test the handling, but 17.3l/100km. ohh boy this car is thirsty. Then its back to the showroom.

In a nutshell, Proton Suprima is a great effort from Proton, I would say there is some improvement compared to the previous models but the tagline “Build for Value” I believe does not suit this car, priced at almost RM80k, it is certainly not cheap and not the greatest car you get for that money, but mind you, Suprima comes with ABS+EBD+ESP and 6 airbags and rates 5 stars ANCAP which is pretty good and safe. As for the gadgets, auto wipers,auto headlight, reverse camera, parktronic sensors and infotaiment system are signs of change from Proton but still at RM80k, for a home built car is still a bit too much. I would rather add 17k more and get a KIA Cerato. Overall I give it a 5/10,buy it if you are a desperate boy racer wanting to take on a pesky Civic on the road.

Styling                   4/10

Handling                8/10

Entertaiment          7/10

Refinement            3/10

FC                        2/10

Built quality           5/10

Value for money    4/10