Proton Inspira open for booking
Proton today organized a soft launch for the Inspira (pronounced in-spee-rah), the much anticipated Mitsubishi Lancer-derived model set to replace the Waja. Order taking starts today, but if you’re planning to check the car out at your nearest Proton showroom, you’ll have to wait a bit.
Full unveiling of the car will only be held in November, when deliveries are expected to commence. For now, customers can place an early booking fee of RM1,000. Those willing to take the plunge and book their cars before 15 November 2010 will be rewarded with a 2-year/50,000km Free Service Package worth RM1,658 in total.
Three variants will be offered, and the range starts with a 1.8-litre model with manual transmission tentatively priced at RM79,888. Moving up, we have the 1.8-litre CVT and 2.0-litre CVT models promised not to exceed the RM95,000 mark.
“We maintain our stance in making valuable products more affordable for Malaysians. The car’s distinctive sporty personality has been further enhanced by us with the injection of the renowned Lotus DNA of excellent ride & handling, while localisation of parts has enabled us to introduce the Inspira at an affordable price. With these combined, what we have here is what we believe to be another right car, at the right price and at the right time by Proton,” said Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin, Proton Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director.
Proton is keen to highlight the Inspira as a product of a ‘new strategic alliance’ with Mitsubishi Motor Corporation, Japan. In fact, Proton was only allowed to make only very minimal changes from the Lancer to Inspira, so, as a result, all of the Lancer’s running gear and body parts are carried over virtually unchanged.
The only changes made by Proton were the front end styling, which in our opinion worked very well, and also suspension settings. Speaking to the press, Dato’ Syed Zainal was keen to point out that the Inspira’s ride and handling was tuned by Proton rather than Lotus, although the Proton crew behind the project were trained by Lotus beforehand.
Features announced by Proton for the Inspira include cruise control, auto lights and wipers, welcome home lights, auto climate control for both front and rear occupants, all-round airbags, and a security tint film which with up to 48% solar heat rejection. It was not made clear if these features are standard across the board or only available in more expensive variants.
The name Inspira was chosen from a list of 2,797 proposed names received in an internally-organized contest for employees held between the 10th and 25th February this year. The winner, Saiful Yazan bin Nasir from the Electrical Engineering Department of PROTON’s Research & Development Division, received RM10,000 in cash, a GPS Navigator, two passes to the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show in December, and a special invitation to the launch of the vehicle in November.
You may ask why Proton took the trouble of renaming the car and instead of keeping the Waja nameplate going on. The reply is that although the Waja is now officially discontinued, Proton does not regard the Inspira as a direct replacement and sees it as the company’s entry into a new market segment, straddling between the C and D segments.
