Proton Preve (Prevé) has officially launched. The new Proton product named Prevé is the official name for the highly awaited Proton P3-21A as referred by Proton before launching. First off, why and what’s Prevé, the name pronounced as (pray-vay) is derived from the word “Preve” which means to prove a point.  

The Proton Preve comes in six colour option. As you can see here there’s Silver, Red, Blue, and White. Scroll below to see photos of Black and Gold colour Proton Preve. Immediately, we can spot the whole new design image Proton try to bring out by incorporating with day light LED at the headlamps and simplicity yet stylish designed body-line.

Proton Preve comes in 2 variants, which is Premium & Executive.  The Proton Preve Premium will be the one equipped with CFE (Charged Fuel Efficiency) turbo engine. The Preve Premium will pump out 138bhp & 205NM of torque from the 1.6-litre Campro engine. The max torque kicks in early at a low rpm from 2000 to 4000 rpm. Which Proton claims the best acceleration vehicle in its class. On paper, the Proton Preve CFE Turbo will do 9.6 seconds from 0 to 100km/h. 

The Proton Preve Premium (the one with CFE Turbo) is mated with a 7-speed ProTonic gearbox and comes with a special “S” mode for or sportier driving experience. Yet, the gear change claims to be smooth and still be fuel economy.  To do that, drivers can enjoy paddle shifters on the Proton Preve (Premium) steering wheel.  Proton engineers has spend a substantial amonut of time to the Proton Preve interior. It looks good for now, but we are yet to inspect to provide a more detailed report later. The Proton Preve Premium is built-in with a GPS with in-car entertainment LCD system, where as other variant will get a portable GPS device.

Check out the video we recorded during the Proton Preve launch event.

From the rear of Proton Preve it’s a whole new design apart from all other Proton models before. In our opinion, we feel the rear of the Proton Preve looks like rather complicated as if there’s too many pieces being put together. There’s a wide boot space and there will be a button from the car remote to pop up the boot.

The Push Start button will go along only with the Proton Preve Premium. Luckily the daylight LED with projector headlamp comes standard in all Proton Preve. Proton also included the 4G in car WIFI from YES 4G as standard for all car. However for features like Auto light sensor, Auto climate air conditioner, Auto cruise, Auto wipers are all only available in the Proton Preve Premium.

Proton referred the Proton Preve to be the first Proton global car, that meets world’s market demand and Proton will market the Proton Preve throughout the world. Proton Preve it’s already on sale and available for viewing in Proton Showrooms. The Proton Preve will be priced on-the-road price at RM 72,990.00 for premium variant and RM 62,990.00 for executive Auto transmission. The manual transmission Preve will be priced at RM 59,990.00. Do check out the the new Proton Preve and tell us about it in comments below.

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Proton is will be holding the Proton Power of 1 Event from today (14 March 2012) to 18 March 2012. The event is open for public with a long visiting hours from 10am to 10pm in these period. The 5 day event is going on right now in Stadium Bukit Jalil. Proton will be showcasing its technology advancements,engineering achievements, innovation and motorsports success. The stadium Bukit Jalil’s car park will be converted to various sections to different segment of the Proton Power of 1 event.

Not to forget the about highly anticipated upcoming Proton new vehicle, coded as Proton P3-21A or more commonly know as Persona replacement model – Proton will be taking bookings for this new car which is due to official launch in April 2012. Proton will have videos and bits of parts of the Proton P3-21A as a sneak peak for the new model. However there will be a highly masked Proton P3-21A around doing some stunt driving to show off Proton incorporated Lotus ride & handling with that car.

Proton’s P3-21A it’s design from the concept of Proton Tuah showcased in the KLIMS last year. We put up a comparison as well as a link of the concept car for you guys to refresh your memory. http://www.fastmotoring.com/index.php/2010/12/proton-persona-replacement-model-in-2012-proton-tuah-concept/

Proton has setup a mini circuit to allow public to catch Proton’s Alister McRae showing off the power and performance of the Satria Neo S2000 rally car. For motorsports enthusiasts, there will be also demonstration and stutn drivings by Lotus Cars Malaysia , Proton R3 division and most of the the Lotus F1 will make its appearance as well. Proton will be having some special promotion for visitors to purchase their vehicles, one of it will be the “Buy and Win” contents where customers will have a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be an F1 Driver for a day under the Lotus F1-race programme. So be sure to visit the Proton Power of 1 Event!

The Malaysian Automaker, Proton was taken over last month by DRB-Hicom which naturally triggered uncertainty to Lotus which is currently owned by Proton.

Although it’s not first time we hear that Bahar is looking for a buyer for Lotus. However, there are reports this week out of London indicate that the CEO of Lotus – Danny Bahar is seeking a partner, or even a purchaser or Lotus since the British manufacturer of sports and racing cars in the midst of massive initiatives – Esprit, Elan, Eterne, new Elise and in-house V8. It seems like things are gearing up now.

Today, Proton announced an extension of free installation of rear center lap belt to 31 January 2012, as part of its ongoing Rear Center Lap Belt Campaign.

Since the Government first announced in June 2008 a new ruling to make it compulsory for vehicles to be fitted with the safety device, Proton had been installing rear center lap belts at no cost to owners of Proton models affected by this, which are the Saga LMST and Gen 2 models manufactured between year 2004 and 2008.

“We would like to urge our customers with the affected cars, and Malaysians in general, to not only comply with the new ruling to avoid getting fined by the authorities, but to adopt the practice of using seat belts for rear occupants in the name of safety. We also urge parents to take up the habit of ensuring that their children who are seated at the back are properly belted up,” said Proton Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin added that the move was crucial, as research had shown that rear lap belts are 32% more effective in reducing fatalities when compared to unrestrained back seat occupants. Furthermore, rear lap belts help prevent unrestrained occupants from being thrown out of the vehicle in the event of a crash.

So far, only about 17% out of the 225,930 affected Proton vehicles have been installed with the rear centre lap belt, to date.

With this extension, Proton car owners who have yet to get the rear center lap belt installed can make an appointment at their nearest authorized Proton Service Centres to have it done. Installation will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes per vehicle.

Yesterday, Proton Holdings Berhad unveiled a new Saga variant - Saga FLX SE. The new Saga FLX SE is powered by a 1.6 litre Campro IAFM engine and available only with CVT automatic transmission, the Saga FLX SE is priced from RM49,449 in Peninsular Malaysia. The new Saga FLX will be at all PROTON showrooms for view from 1 December 2011.

According to Proton officially, the combination of the 1.6-litre Campro IAFM engine with the CVT automatic transmission delivers better torque, four percent better acceleration, and reduces fuel consumption by an additional 4% compared to the current 1.6-litre Saga.

“The introduction of the Saga FLX SE effectively expands the range of the Saga model by providing customers with a vehicle that has a higher engine capacity while at the same time, reaffirming the Saga as the people’s car given its exceptional affordability and value for money attributes that include better fuel economy, greater performance, and superior ride and handling characteristics,” said PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin added that the Saga FLX SE is also a model that was designed to appeal to the younger generation of car buyers who now have the option of owning an entry-level vehicle which offered not only affordable ownership and upkeep, but exceptional performance – in line with PROTON’s brand promise of “Committed to be better.”

Priced RM2,900 above the current selling 1.6-litre automatic Saga FL, the Saga FLX SE features eight and three exterior and interior changes. The car is fitted with 15” inch alloy wheels, an all round factory-fitted body kit, fog lamps and smoked finishing rear lights. The cabin is trimmed in leather which comprises the seats, steering wheel, door ornament, parking brake and gearshift lever. 

The new Proton Saga FLX SE is available in two colour- Solid White and Fire Red. The car comes with a 3-year or 100,000km warranty (whichever comes first). Customers who have ordered a Saga and are still waiting for their car to be delivered can opt to change their booking to the Saga FLX SE at the respective showroom in which the booking was originally made.

Prices for Proton Saga FLX SE

Peninsular Malaysia

Solid – RM 49,449

Metallic – RM 49,899

East Malaysia

Solid – RM 52,049

Metallic – RM 52,499

Labuan

Solid – RM 47,449

Metallic – RM 47,899

Langkawi

Solid – RM 47,349

Metallic – RM 47,799

Photo Gallery: Proton Saga FLX SE

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Malaysia National Automaker Proton and Japanese Automaker Mitsubishi Motors announced that they are in serious discussion for strategic collaboration to further strengthen the competitiveness of both Proton and Mitsubishi in the global marketplace. 

The collaborative items being considered are set to cover areas and activities such as:

1. Joint production of engines in Malaysia

2. Consignment production of Mitsubishi Cars at Proton facilities

3. Sharing of major parts and components between Mitsubishi Motors Corporation “Global Small”, which is to be launched next March starting in Thailand, and Proton’s upcoming “Global Small Car”.

4. Provision of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation’ future technologies such as electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicle technology

Proton and Mitsubishi had jointly proceeded with feasibility studies since late 2010 and have identified these areas of collaboration that could be expected to provide both parties with the right synergy in the pursuit of global competitiveness.

Previously, both companies had signed an agreement in December 2008 on the development and production of new vehicles at Proton. Under a license agreement, Proton currently produces ‘Inspira’, a 4-door sedan model based on Mitsubishi Lancer model.

According to both companies, the latest discussion between the companies aims to provide yet another win-win relationship where Mitsubishi will be able to expand its presence in the ASEAN market while Proton will be able to also expand its line-up and make effective use of its production facilities. 

Today, Proton Holdings Berhad has officially announced that it will be introducing Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) technology to all upcoming new Proton line-up. We have been conducting comprehensive development and integration tests of the CVT with our CamPro engines and we are happy to be able to provide this option to future buyers soon, said Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Group Managing Director of Proton Holdings Berhad.

CVT technology has been growing in popularity amongst high-end auto manufacturers globally as it provides a smoother drive and more efficient performance to their cars. This technology, though not new, has only recently made its way into cars on a large scale with many major automotive companies successfully developing advanced CVT mechanisms that are able to take heavier drive loads compared to earlier variations.

In the near future, CVT will be mated to our CamPro engines as an option to our range of cars along with the conventional four speed automatic gear transmission that is currently being used, Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal said. This feature will not only provide more than just a smoother drive but it will also contribute towards fuel efficiency and savings to the user, he added.

In comparison to traditional automatic gear transmissions, the utilization of CVT in an engine system reduces transmission weight by up to 20% without compromising output capabilities. It allows the car to change gear ratios seamlessly, eliminating transmission shock, facilitating greater responsiveness and smooth, consistent power delivery. CVT also offers various driving modes to suit the driver’s preference and feel. Proton also highlighted that that the utilization of CVT in a car can reduce fuel consumption by up to 4% with regards to urban driving and almost up to 10% for highway driving. Lower fuel consumption also impacts the environment significantly by reducing CO2 emissions up to 5%.

Proton is consistently improving its cars; from build quality to the introduction of various technologies to enhance its engine and driving capabilities, said Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal. The inclusion of CVT to our next generation of cars will not only keep us on a technological par with major automakers but will also contribute positively towards providing Malaysians with greater value for their money.