Proton Preve' Test Drive
#31
Posted 22 April 2012 - 10:49 PM
Test drive review.
Went to view with open mind while same time expecting to worst due to numerous non positive reviews by others.
Design
First off prevee looks bigger in real life than photos. Front looks OK could had been worst looks better in black as the grille will look one piece with rest of bumper fenders and bonnet. Its neater that way.
A pillar to C its streamlined much to the profile of the new Civic which isn't here yet.
The rear is where it gets messy with two layers of break off lines one at the first curve from side panel to rear. Second line is few inches after making the rear too untidy unlike the front. Having the first line is understood to assist air flowing away from the rear lending a hand to reduce air turbulence but the second line is just plain unnecessary.
The rear lamps a matter of taste to buyers even though it doesn't seem to be related to the nose.
Interior
Feels big didn't bring my measuring tape to confirm. Wait a darn minute the dash even the aircon vents looks familiar like old W type Merc....ditch that faux wood.
Plastics much like Lancer inspira savvy saga etc... what improvement I noticed where those that matter most to daily users. Glove box was big good for SLR or handbag. Center box was superbig for your fav CDs. USB port hidden neatly infront console. Driver right side again a huge sunglasses or smarttag bin ? But this bin rattles when I did corners fast. They need to add some felt or foam to stop the rattling.
Steering feels good even without tele-scorpic function not that I need any. Paddle shifters works well and feels positive. Didn't fancy the auto stick though.
The seats front and back were fine much better body hugging in front thanks to the side seat airbags. Rear seat space is good with clearance below front seats for you to stretch your toes or place a superb amp there.
Nice things like hooks behind seat and the teh-tarik hook in front. What I liked was finally they got those pesky roof grab handles to bounce back slowly without a big sounding Thug!
To be continued....
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#32
Posted 23 April 2012 - 08:35 AM
#33
Posted 23 April 2012 - 09:37 AM
As they say, it is better to test a car more than just once to be sure! This round, my sister brought her friend who drove the car like crazy in the name of testing! The Preve we tested was at another dealer.
preve pros- The Preve is perhaps the best car to use as pursuit police car around town under RM140k. Steering the car right and left and vice versa like crazy is usually what beemers or real sports cars can do but the preve seemed incredibly close. My sister's friend was amazed at the way the Preve handles the road as she is quite a hell driver in her own bmw.
preve cons- Sitting in the driver seat was quite noisy although the engine sounds quite macho when revving. But sitting in the back seats was worse. All of us remarked how loud and noisy it was like as if the boot was not close properly. I don't remember the first test drive car being this noisy. For this reason alone, my sister and her friend are rather put off by this preve. This preve is more noisy at the back seats than Honda Jazz and the notorious Civic.
#34
Posted 23 April 2012 - 12:39 PM
As they say, it is better to test a car more than just once to be sure! This round, my sister brought her friend who drove the car like crazy in the name of testing! The Preve we tested was at another dealer.
preve pros- The Preve is perhaps the best car to use as pursuit police car around town under RM140k. Steering the car right and left and vice versa like crazy is usually what beemers or real sports cars can do but the preve seemed incredibly close. My sister's friend was amazed at the way the Preve handles the road as she is quite a hell driver in her own bmw.
preve cons- Sitting in the driver seat was quite noisy although the engine sounds quite macho when revving. But sitting in the back seats was worse. All of us remarked how loud and noisy it was like as if the boot was not close properly. I don't remember the first test drive car being this noisy. For this reason alone, my sister and her friend are rather put off by this preve. This preve is more noisy at the back seats than Honda Jazz and the notorious Civic.
Ya I realy think the polis will like this car for chasing bad guys. More better grip than lancer even.
I only sitting at the front when car testing and can hear a lot of road noises!!
#35
Posted 23 April 2012 - 02:26 PM
I only sitting at the front when car testing and can hear a lot of road noises!!
police chase car...hahahaha, that is soooo funny man..my freakin diesel SUV can get to 100kph faster than this poofypreve, LOL
#36
Posted 23 April 2012 - 06:48 PM
Engineering
Pop up the hood and you are greeted with a campro and a small turbo unit which is mounted very near the manifold to spool up faster. With such a small turbo don't expect gtr killer prevee OK its what they call a soft turbo and it really goes about doing what it's intended to do. That is to give you a light power boost when you need it.
Mated with a cvt it makes a noisy combo which you will have to get use to. Response below 3k rpm is low mostly dead from below 2k rpm. Wonder this will effect on town fc trying to lug around 17++kg by the way exora is 19++kg you can check this info at right side door pillar.
The low end feel is compounded by the weight of prevee hence you feel like driving a pre-kompressor merc. For the more mature customers they may like this though. Hot blooded boy racers will cringe to think they will be left behind at traffic lights to traffic lights shoot out. Throw in a few light mods to prevee may help remove that lag.
No complains on the cvt gearbox it goes about its auto mode in D with minor whine and doesn't allow full revs if you are used to standard autobox.
Drop to S mode and it will hold any gear you select either via stick shift or steering paddles. This is good for tracking corners or up down genting but it will not shift up by its self you need to up shift else the engine just roars and whines loudly like any manual car.
My fav combo is S and paddles manually toggle each gear like a manual car at each turn and wot down to kick up the turbo fuss. This is the way to get that torque kick we expected and boy does it goes.....
Wait a minute did they upgrade the brakes? With the wot turbo surge you'll better becareful not have any car infront as it's not sufficient to pull you down instantly proton really needs to look into this else we may see a few prevee rear ending others.
To be continued....
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#37
Posted 23 April 2012 - 07:15 PM
I only sitting at the front when car testing and can hear a lot of road noises!!
I too tested Preve top of the range model. I don't know what its called. The model I tested had leather seats, gps and a light turbo unit under the hood. Grip is surprisingly awesome. When I swerved the car fast and cut into lanes, the car behaved well composed. Many Asian made cars will sway badly or start to lose control or throw under such situation.
The Preve small engine by default would not allow the police to keep up with anybody with much bigger engines on a straight road highway.
But if not on any long stretch road, I believe Preve (the one I tried) is more capable of most corners than any pickups suv and most asian cars.
#38
Posted 23 April 2012 - 09:59 PM
As far as I know all dealers would use that reason to justify why are their prices higher than Proton. I think that's crap.
Anyway I also tested the Preve yesterday and it was good. Soft padded dashboard and front door trims are of Excellent quality!
But the CFE turbo engine was a bit noisy. Perhaps Proton can put more sound deadening or make the engine quieter.
Cheers.
Hi mzi,
Don't have to believe. If other newer Japanese brands that are launching after Preve's launch are priced even higher than the usual markup compared to previous generation, then we'll find out.
Regarding the pro's and con's of Preve, I will not comment anything. Would love to see those N-brand marketing staff that angered me on AW panic and worry a lot, maybe I'll drop by to spy on them during their briefing on how to challenge the Preve with their X-Gear, Latio, N16 and soon to come Almera.
Maybe they'll attack on the gated shift difficult to use, grey interior not classy, 5 lugs wheel flange troublesome to change tayar, and other remeh-temeh thingy.
#39
Posted 24 April 2012 - 07:48 AM
Engineering
Pop up the hood and you are greeted with a campro and a small turbo unit which is mounted very near the manifold to spool up faster. With such a small turbo don't expect gtr killer prevee OK its what they call a soft turbo and it really goes about doing what it's intended to do. That is to give you a light power boost when you need it.
Mated with a cvt it makes a noisy combo which you will have to get use to. Response below 3k rpm is low mostly dead from below 2k rpm. Wonder this will effect on town fc trying to lug around 17++kg by the way exora is 19++kg you can check this info at right side door pillar.
The low end feel is compounded by the weight of prevee hence you feel like driving a pre-kompressor merc. For the more mature customers they may like this though. Hot blooded boy racers will cringe to think they will be left behind at traffic lights to traffic lights shoot out. Throw in a few light mods to prevee may help remove that lag.
No complains on the cvt gearbox it goes about its auto mode in D with minor whine and doesn't allow full revs if you are used to standard autobox.
Drop to S mode and it will hold any gear you select either via stick shift or steering paddles. This is good for tracking corners or up down genting but it will not shift up by its self you need to up shift else the engine just roars and whines loudly like any manual car.
My fav combo is S and paddles manually toggle each gear like a manual car at each turn and wot down to kick up the turbo fuss. This is the way to get that torque kick we expected and boy does it goes.....
Wait a minute did they upgrade the brakes? With the wot turbo surge you'll better becareful not have any car infront as it's not sufficient to pull you down instantly proton really needs to look into this else we may see a few prevee rear ending others.
To be continued....
Good writeup. You own the Kia Forte? If yes, how does the ride and handling of the Forte compare to the Preve?
From all the reviews so far it appears that the Preve is suitable for fast n' furious style of driving which sticks to the tarmac like a leech when going around corners, though comfort may be slightly compromised with the noisy engine. I think the high noise level is not so much on the CVT but the CFE turbocharged unit and lack of soundproofing materials used. There are other vehicles operating on CVT which are capable of registering very low noise levels in the cabin.
#40
Posted 25 April 2012 - 01:46 PM
As they say, it is better to test a car more than just once to be sure! This round, my sister brought her friend who drove the car like crazy in the name of testing! The Preve we tested was at another dealer.
preve pros- The Preve is perhaps the best car to use as pursuit police car around town under RM140k. Steering the car right and left and vice versa like crazy is usually what beemers or real sports cars can do but the preve seemed incredibly close. My sister's friend was amazed at the way the Preve handles the road as she is quite a hell driver in her own bmw.
preve cons- Sitting in the driver seat was quite noisy although the engine sounds quite macho when revving. But sitting in the back seats was worse. All of us remarked how loud and noisy it was like as if the boot was not close properly. I don't remember the first test drive car being this noisy. For this reason alone, my sister and her friend are rather put off by this preve. This preve is more noisy at the back seats than Honda Jazz and the notorious Civic.
I happen to have a 7 year old Civic which i am thinking of replacing. Actually i had mine soundproofed twice and installed MB Quart sound system to make me forget the noise inside the car! Is the Prevre very noisy in the tyres or the back section that you said or from the engine?