Proton Gen2 CPS long term review...

An updated review after 6 months...

It's proven to be a nice car to drive, with no problems at all that required warranty claims.

Just went through the second service (at 5,000kms) and the engine's well run-in by now. It as gotten a wee bit smoother (but that wasn't an issue to begin with) and has gotten more responsive with the extra miles on it.

The clutch take-up point as mentioned earlier ceased to be an issue as the bite has become more progressive, so my initial belief that it was due to the new-ness of the parts was valid.

As for the gearshift, it actually became even tighter over time to the point of being annoying and tiring to shift. But a simple gear oil change (to Castrol's Protector series) seemed to have magically transformed the gearbox into a smooth shifting creature. Excellent!

The throw between the gates of course is not about to change, but it's no deal-breaker.

So all in, a very satisfactory car to own, and to drive.

From my previous post on first impressions... (22/8/08)

Yes, a review of the still-very-rare Proton Gen2 CPS. It's actually my brother's, which he bought on my recommendation. I had wanted to get one for wifey, but she wanted a smaller car, so there...

Bro actually booked this way way back in May, and it's been a constant flurry of calls to chase the poor salesman until we got it in mid-August. Proton seems to be concentrating all their resources into the Saga and Persona, and despite that the overwhelming demand still ensures that you'll wait at least 3-4 months for those models. I've actually test-driven both and can safely say they are really good buys (don't go into the NAP and its effect on pricing of other cars...) Good job!

Anyway, back on topic, I picked up the car for bro as he was not used to a manual transmission, as I drove it back from Hartamas (a distance of about 15kms) these are my thoughts:

1. The clutch take-up point is relatively high, it doesn't bite until almost halfway up, but this is more something to get used to than a real fault. Besides, I think it could be adjusted.
2. Engine is impressively smooth, despite having less than 100kms on the clock. Insulation was on the whole very good too.
3. Low-end torque is decent, so no more complaints about the torque dip that plain-vanilla Campros had. Still not a lot of torque from under 3k rpms, but this is relative as I'm pitting it in my mind against the low-down-torque champs of Toyota and Peugeot. But then certainly nothing to complain about.
4. Gearshift is quite stiff and vague, in particular the gap between 1-3 and 2-4 being particularly close. This really annoyed me as I got caught in the rush-hour jam on Sprint. It should loosen up a bit so let's see if it improves over time.
5. The exhaust makes a lovely burbly sound at idle or low revs. Again this was evident when I was in the traffic jam. Might be endearing to some, and annoying to others, but I think it suits the car's character (and sporty placement) just fine.
6. The centre stack of buttons including the rear demister and foglamps are awful! This is the only real complaint I can level at the interior. Will go into detail for the interior later.

I'll put up a long term review later when I've gotten some miles with the car. I won't go into the specs and all because you can get them off the Proton Edar website.