Proton Surprima S Standard launched

Proton Holdings Bhd today unveiled the Suprima S Standard model and made it more affordable with prices starting at RM69,438 for solid colour and RM69,888 for metallic painted cars. That's nearly RM7000 cheaper than the executive version which cost RM76,760.05 (Metalic) and RM76,410.05 (Solid) respectively.

However, in making this car more affordable, a number of safety features present in the Executive variant have been removed. The new car model has only 2 air bags - the side and curtain airbags have been removed. It also loses the TC (Traction Control), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) and hill hold features.

I wonder whether their ad may be misleading as removal of all these safety features may result in different NCAP ratings. Fortunately ABS With EBD is still present. The touch screen and GPS are gone as well and the steering wheel does not have paddle shifters or radio controls.

The headlights are no longers LEDs but the normal bulbs and you would have to adjust the side mirrors manually. Sometimes I am amazed when I remember that these features were standard on my old Volvo S40 which was more than 10 years old.

What message is Proton trying to tell its customers?

This will definitely not improve the perception that most consumers have about the national car brand.

Don't get me wrong. I have been a long time supporter of Proton and I even did my MBA dissertation on the national car. They have come a long way but is still in no position to compete with other brands if the Government policies were removed.

The new car is still not which I call "affordable" cheap and we recently bought the Proton Preve Premium version with all the features - all the bells and whistles - at almost the same price. With the cars getting cheaper and the variety of choices in the market, I forsee Proton coming up with a number of promotions to try and get rid of unsold stock in the near future.

The engine is still the same CamPro 1.6 Turbo engine with 7-speed ProTronic CVT. The car runs on 16" alloy wheels fitted with 205/55 tyres.

This new variant is available in five colours: Tranquility Black, Solid White, Genetic Silver, Atlantic Blue and Fire Red.