Five-speed manual Prevé tested

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM | 6 August 2012
As Proton's first global model, the Prevé has plenty to prove to Malaysians and the rest of the world.



Is the quality up to snuff? How about the power and handling characteristics? Does it live up to the billing as a global car?



These were questions forming in the head as we left the Proton headquarters with the entry-level Prevé for the weekend.






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The 1.6-litre, five-speed manual (Executive) Preve is undoubtedly elegant and visually pleasing from almost any angle you view it.



It’s been hammered into almost everyone’s skull by now, but for the ignoramus among us, utter the model name as “pray-vay”, with a certain Gaelic lilt to it.



The car in hand is the Executive 1.6-litre Prevé with a five-speed manual gearbox. Two higher-priced 1.6-litre variants are also being sold: a Prevé with six-speed CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) and a turbocharged (Charged Fuel Efficiency in Proton lingo) Prevé with a seven-speed CVT.



The test car, along with the six-speed CVT version, uses the CamPro IAFM+ engine.



Like a job interview candidate being assessed, appearance counts a lot. In this regard, the Prevé is off to a good start. It shows that Proton tried hard to make the car look in tune with the times.












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It’s undoubtedly elegant and visually pleasing from pretty much any angle you care to view it. The curves, muscular edges and shadow play from crisp lines reflect a very European-looking car.

 

The two-tone dash houses the radio and air-conditioning controls, while a button on the steering wheel lets you toggle between various info displayed on the instrument cluster.



In fact, some have commented that the Prevé’s front loosely resembles that of the Volkswagen Passat.



The Prevé’s front is what Proton calls its “new signature façade” – a unified design element that fuses the headlights, emblem and air-intake grille with seamless lines and classy curves, giving it the distinct look of a bird ascending.



All variants come with standard 16-inch alloy rims.



While we could actually go on and on about the good-looking exterior, the cabin comes off as a bit too plasticky. The two-tone dash houses basic accessories, namely the radio and air-conditioning controls, while the door trim and seats are made of fabric.



The Prevé’s dual instrument cluster is also pretty basic, featuring an RPM and speedometer with white-illuminated readouts.



The steering wheel has audio controls but is not leather-wrapped like the higher-specified Premium version. You can also toggle information and status updates such as total mileage, current fuel consumption and fuel level, which is displayed on the instrument cluster, via a “mode” button on the steering wheel.



The Prevé’s interior is spacious and comfortable, with ample head and legroom in the front and at the back.



The 500L boot space also gives plenty of room to store large luggage bags.



The CamPro IAFM+ engine in this Prevé pushes out 109bhp at 5,750rpm and 150Nm of torque at 4,000rpm.



It’s at this stage that you begin to notice one downside of this entry-level model.









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engine






The power delivery is lethargic.



This is immediately obvious when driving around a parking lot in second gear.



When going up a ramp in the basement car park, the second gear just doesn’t cut it like most other cars and you need to downshift to first gear to shove the car past the incline.



Out on the open road, things feel better as the car gets into its stride around the 3,500rpm mark.



You need to work the revs if you expect to see any urgency in the car’s acceleration.



But once that threshold is reached, the Prevé has no problems dealing with it, delivering a sure-footed ride – whether it is cruising on the highway or taking the bends. The car’s noise, vibration and harshness levels are kept in check rather well.



In that respect, Proton has a certain Dr Wolfgang Karl Epple to thank.



Dr Epple, formerly of BMW, was consulted to work on the Prevé global car project and was instrumental in ensuring the Prevé has the most rigid chassis ever for a Proton.



The high torsional rigidity is manifest in the handling that feels steady when the Prevé is driven over potholes; it’s not easy to make it stray off-course when tyres judder over road irregularities.



According to Proton, the five-speed manual can do the zero to 100kph dash in 12 seconds (the 6-speed CVT Prevé, 12.5 seconds). They’re ho-hum statistics, but you expect such numbers from a product that’s build to cost.



In terms of fuel economy, the car consumes petrol at a rate of 6.2litres/100km, while the CVT version by comparison is expectedly more economical at 5.8litres.









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While the engine leaves something to be desired, there’s goodness from the well-ratio-ed transmission. Shifting through the gears is smooth and provides some measure of satisfaction.



Featuring Macpherson struts in the front and multi-link with stabiliser bar in the rear, the firm suspension delivers good ride comfort and with good roll control through the bends.



The light steering transmits fairly good feedback on how the front wheels are behaving. That, combined with a stiff chassis, allows corners to be tackled with confidence.



The Prevé’s centre console is a little high, though, and those who like shifting gears as most petrol heads do, will find themselves rubbing their elbows a little too often against it.



The Prevé, as the latest Proton model, shows a lot of promise mainly in the handling and safety aspects.



As it stands, the Prevé in this configuration has its pros and cons.



After driving the car for three days, one can’t help but wonder how much better the entry-level Prevé could have been if it was rigged with a more powerful engine to match its good looks.



All said and done, this RM59,990 Prevé delivers an experience that’s refreshingly different as far as handling goes and offers good interior space.