UK Motoring Journalists Test Waja

During the past few days, eight motoring journalists from UK have been testing the Proton Waja in Malaysia and they have been impressed by it. The journalists tested the car at Proton’s test track as well as drove it to Lumut and back, and also had a spin around the Sepang International Circuit.

Speaking at a press conference this evening prior to their departure, the journalists unanimously praised the Waja, identifying the ride and handling as the most impressive areas. Ray Hutton, a veteran journalist, noted that the character of the Waja was unlike any previous Proton model he had tested.

“It is far better than any other Proton, apart from the GTI, of course, and that is surprising for me,” he said, adding that with the 1.8-litre engine (which the journalists did not test), the Waja should be a ‘world-class car’.

Mr Hutton, who had last visited Proton when the Wira was launched, also noted the substantial change that had taken place at the national carmaker’s factory, particularly in R&D. “Being British, I am naturally proud that Lotus, which is a British company although it is now owned by Proton, has a role in Proton’s product development,”he said.

Expanding on Mr Hutton’s remarks, Chris Wright, International Editor for Automotive News, an industry publication, observed that although there are other manufacturers in the region which make a lot of cars, Proton stood out as the only one with R&D capability that allowed it to develop its own models.

While complimenting most of the car’s design and engineering, all the journalists were not as impressed by the build quality which they considered ‘inconsistent’. There were also some negative comments about the quality of some of the materials used inside the car and one journalist said he felt the seats were uncomfortable.

Responding to the comments, Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel, Proton’s CEO, said he was happy with the generally positive remarks and considered them as encouragement for the company which is relatively young. He felt that it was important for the company to receive feedback, both on the good points as well as the bad ones, in order to make better products.

He said that the comments on build quality were already noted by the company from feedback by Malaysian consumers and a lot of attention was being given to the matter by the factory as well as its suppliers. As to the seat design, he told AUTOWORLD.COM.MY that a redesigned seat is already done as Proton had heard received a lot of feedback on the matter from owners.