Proton Preve 2013: Road Test

Normally priced at $18,990 drive-away (GX manual), Proton recently announced a ‘limited-time only’ reduction to $15,990 drive-away for its Preve small sedan.

On the surface this looks like a substantial revenue cut for the Malaysian brand, however, the blow has been softened by an update of its servicing policy. Where previously the Preve was offered with an appealing five years of free servicing, the price reduction has seen servicing moved to a five-year, capped price arrangement. With a 15,000km/one-year service interval this equates to six services in total, including the one month check. The icing on the cake is a five-year/150,000km warranty with five years of roadside assistance thrown into the mix.

So, the Preve remains an attractive value proposition, but what is it like to live with?

The sampled GX manual is inoffensively styled, modern enough but designed to blend in. It rides on 16-inch alloy wheels, the exterior lifted further on the move by the fitment of daytime running lights. Front and rear fog lights are also fitted, and the headlamps have ‘see me home’ functionality.

Cabin entry is comfortable enough, but once ensconced there is a distinct sense of being built to a price, with harsh cabin plastics, unsupportive seats and few trinkets. Despite this austere feel, which even extends to the steering wheel and gearshift, there is a surprising list of standard equipment.

The five-star ANCAP rating is achieved with dual front, side and curtain airbags, traction and stability control, anti-lock and electronic brake distribution for the four wheel discs and ‘active’ front headrests.

There’s remote central locking, reverse sensors, air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, Bluetooth and a four-speaker single-CD audio system with iPod connectivity. In other words, all the basics are there, including a split-fold rear seat -- something Pulsar sedan lacks -- and a competitive 508 litres of luggage capacity.

The word ‘basic’ continues to pervade once you start the Preve and select first gear in this manual example (a six-step CVT is optional, for $2000). Initially, the linkage from gearbox to selector feels almost elastic, with no real definition to the gate. There’s also some vagueness to the clutch take-up that takes some getting used to, and is exacerbated by the 1.6-litre, naturally-aspirated petrol engine’s lack of low-rev response.

The unit is equipped with variable valve-timing and is of the modern DOHC, four-valve per cylinder design. Its output of 80kW at 5750rpm is competitive in terms of specific power output (50kW per litre) but the larger-engine opposition (Pulsar and Corolla at 1.8 litres, Cerato and 3 at 2.0 litres) offer a fair slug more power.

Torque too; the Preve’s lethargic 150Nm arrives at 4000rpm, 24Nm down on the Pulsar -- a car not known for stump-pulling itself. As a result, in the parry and thrust of Monash Freeway traffic, the Preve struggles with the stop-start conditions, requiring more revs to move-off smoothly if asked to do consecutive starts.

Once free of traffic the Preve is happier, though the engine’s flat delivery and harsh top-end feels around two generations behind its rivals. One surprise, however, was the eagerness of the gearshift to swap ratios. Despite those initial misgivings, keeping the Preve on the boil with rapid upshifts is a delight, the shift/clutch relationship perfectly matched on the run, so long as you are positive with the change.

The pedals themselves are also well-placed, offering a chance to heel-toe on downchanges should the mood take you. Brake pedal feel, however, does reign in your enthusiasm, the Preve needing a decent shove on the middle pedal before meaningful (but only adequate) retardation occurs.

It’s in the corners where this little Proton reveals itself. There is a lovely ride/handling balance to the chassis, with a compliant ride and accurate steering thrown into the mix. Given the lack of engine excitement, power-on understeer simply isn’t an issue. The resolved handling combines with the snappy gearbox and need to rev the engine over 3000rpm that sees you driving the Preve perhaps harder than its makers intended.

Dynamically, it can hold its head high among its peers, and it’s easy to conclude that development went into Lotus providing a chassis tune, rather than engine development. This is all very promising for the 103kW, turbocharged, seven-speed CVT GXR model which is due in Australia this November.

The Preve is proof of Proton’s progress, the Malaysian car-maker apparently following in the footsteps of its South Korean competitors in progressively closing the gap to established opposition. For the price, and if you have to buy new, the Preve is definitely worth considering. Overall, though, it still lags behind its pricier, but still higher-quality rivals.

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