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The cabin is basically a Wira 1.5GL except that there are no seats at the back. The whole dashboard and seat layout will all be familiar to any Wira owner. All the ergonomics are the same so this is pretty much a passenger car in feel. There are just a few differences evident, eg in the Fastback, the trim around the gearlever looks like it came from the Satria GTI, and on the wall behind the seats, there is a nice deep and wide pocket for storing odds and ends.
Now that you know all about the Arena, let’s move on to what it’s like driving it. Due to the obsession with secrecy, Proton allowed testing only on its test track. While the test track conditions are fairly ‘sterile’, Proton’s facility also has sections which replicate a variety of road conditions – potholes, manhole covers, cracked roads, uneven roads, etc – so it was possible to get some idea of the ride comfort and handling.
For straightline performance, the extra weight doesn’t seem to be an issue since EFI provides a little bit more power than the carburetted engine local Wiras have. On the move, the Arena feels pretty much like a car and tracked through the curves steadily. I found the steering a bit heavy and it could be due to revised geometry. Also, the body stiffness could be felt quite clearly but I did not find it a problem.
Not many pick-ups have the chance to have their ride and handling tuned by Lotus and since the British firm is part of the Proton group, its talents were readily available. According to the Proton engineers, the project saw enthusiastic participation from the Lotus engineers who took on the challenge of working with a pick-up.
Personally, I think they did a fairly good job considering that the weight distribution is something like 60:40 with a more at the front than what is the case with the Wira sedan. In most driving situations, the Arena handles well and although oversteer would seem to be the expected trait, I found that mild understeer was more evident when testing on the skidpan. I don’t mind that because I don’t think I would like oversteer with a pick-up!
Tengku Mahaleel said he had taken the Arena into a rubber estate and enjoyed himself thoroughly. I’m sure that there are few car company CEOs who personally test their products in such a way but then again, this man was a former Malaysian rally driver and obviously looks for any chance to drive at the limit…
Ride comfort over the various lousy surfaces was not uncomfortable and although there was a bit of hopping over some bumps. Thanks to the parabolic springs, there isn’t harshness and while it is not as comfortable as a sedan, it is nevertheless more pleasant to drive in than many other pick-ups.
Braking is something which can be hairy with a pick-up as the rear end is so light. But with a thing called a load-sensing and proportioning valve (LSPV) for the rear, the brake balance can be varied according to the load. If there is nothing at the back, then less pressure will occur on the rear drums so the wheels don’t lock up so easily. This seemed to work as advertised in the Arena and a few high-speed stops didn’t see the tail fishtailing along.
So it would seem like the first impressions of the Arena are very positive ones. For those who may wonder if it is able to withstand driving in rough conditions, Proton did an endurance test in East Malaysia, taking a few Arenas from Kuching to KK and Sandakan and many sections were over unmade roads. The vehicles finished the drive without any problems, so there is proof of durability.
Proton has done a terrific job with the Arena and done so entirely on its own. In fact, when engineers at Mitsubishi Motors heard about the idea, they scoffed at it (“good luck to you” was what they said, according to a Proton engineer) and believed that it was probably not going to succeed. Well, they surely under-estimated Proton’s capabilities and creativity and from what Tengku Mahaleel told me, there will be more such surprises to come.
“Now that we have the experience and knowledge, we can go further and do other variants. Anything is possible…,” he said.
