As many readers will already know, an upgraded version of the Proton Gen2 with a more powerful engine has been produced at the Tanjung Malim plant for some months now. However, Malaysian customers have not been able to buy this version because the first market it was introduced to was Thailand. The move to launch a new model outside Malaysia was explained by Proton MD, Dato' Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, as being a 'strategic move' which was intended to demonstrate Proton's seriousness in growing its export markets, especially so in Thailand.
"Besides using the Bangkok Motorshow for the world premiere of our new Gen2, we also wanted to show our future customers in Thailand that we are serious about selling our cars in their market. The Thai market is an important one for Proton and it is a competitive one so we wanted to have a strong product to kick off our entry," he told MTM.
From Wednesday (March 5th) , Malaysians get the same new model which is available in two equipment levels with two different variants of the Campro engine. Both engine variants are 1.6 litres but feature additional hardware which addresses the awful torque curve that gave Proton's engine family a bad name when the Gen2 was originally launched, as well as boosts power output.
The Gen2 M-Line gets the Campro with the Intake Air-Flow Module (IAFM) which is also used in the New Saga's 1.3-litre engine. The IAFM does nothing to boost output but because it varies the airflow at lower speeds, it has eliminated the dip in the torque curve and made torque generation more linear. Factory tests show that acceleration is marginally improved while fuel consumption is pretty much the same as the previous engine without IAFM. Driveability should, however, be significantly different and drivers won't have to wait till 4000 rpm for some decent acceleration.
The Gen2 H-Line (available from March 25th) , which costs RM4,000 over M-Line, gets the real Campro engine, ie with the long-awaited Cam Profile Switching (CPS) mechanism. For those who are not familiar with CPS, it is a mechanism which allows the valve timing to be altered so that there can be strong performance at both ends of the rpm range; with conventional designs, engineers have usually had to make a choice between high performance at high rpm and sacrifice low rpm driveability or vice-versa. CPS, like the variable valve timing systems of Toyota and Honda, makes it possible to have 'the best of both worlds'. However, compared to the systems in the Japanese models, Proton's CPS (which was developed and patented by Lotus Engineering, a subsidiary of Proton) is a simpler mechanism without infinite variability making it cheaper to produce.
This engine, designated Campro CPS, also has a variable intake manifold (VIM) which works like IAFM but is more sophisticated in that it also interfaces with the Engine Control Unit (ECU), thereby having more precise operation.
The addition of these two pieces of hardware - which is actually what the Campro design was originally meant to be - boosts power by 13.4% to 93 kW (125 bhp) from 82 kW(110 bhp) and adds 2 Nm of torque to make it 150 Nm at a peak of 4500 rpm. At last, the muscular character is now available at the low end and given that the first Campro was impressive at the top end, if the same characteristics are now found at the low end, this will be a very powerful engine for its class.
The extra output improves acceleration though not to the 8 seconds that some clown in the forum said it would be. Proton's claims for the 0 to 100 km/h sprint are 10.6 seconds with the manual transmission and 13.2 seconds with the automatic transmission. The fuel consumption appears to be marginally higher, perhaps underlining the fact that 'you can't have your cake and eat it'; in other words, more power does mean more fuel needed. The top speed is 190 km/h for the manual and 185 km/h for the automatic… strangely, these are the same numbers for the Campro IAFM without CPS.
There are supposed to be some changes to the gear ratios but the specific changes could not be obtained at the time of writing.
With the new engines under the bonnet, Proton can now reposition the Gen2 as a sporty model - and the performance now justifies it. Dato' Syed Zainal Abidin said that the Gen2 was never really the Wira Replacement Model (WRM) that it has been made out to be earlier as the real WRM was the Persona.
Externally, there are cosmetic changes which freshen the looks of the Gen2. The front grille is larger and the headlights now have black bezels while a rear spoiler is standard. For the H-Line, there is additional skirting to give a more low-slung look. Both new versions also get alloy rims with new designs.
Inside, the quality of materials has been improved and the door handle has been redesigned. Leather upholstery is standard for the H-Line.
The other features of the new Gen2 are as before with 4-wheel disc brakes and 15-inch wheels (195/55 tyres) as standard. Proton is still not offering dual airbags across the range and the M-Line has only one airbag. Likewise, ABS + EBD are only available with the H-Line along with cruise control.
Acknowledging that the earlier Gen2 did have quality issues (it has been rare for a Proton CEO to admit that Proton products have faults), Dato' Syed Zainal gave assurances that all the feedback was thoroughly reviewed and many areas have been improved, including the infamous power window system. He is confident that the latest Gen2 will not draw the same sort of complaints that plagued the original one.
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