Proton Inspira – First Driving Impressions
The public’s anticipation for the Proton Inspira continues to build. The deal has been on the pipeline for two years, and after all the rumours and speculation that has been flooding the internet, it’s time to finally check out the real deal. A soft launch was held on 14 October 2010, during which only the name and the front end was revealed.
Scheduled launch date for the Inspira is 10 November, when all the wraps will be removed, and finalized prices will be announced. For now, all we have been told is that prices start tentatively at RM79,888 for the 1.8-litre manual transmission model, rising to RM87,000 for the 1.8-litre CVT model, before hitting RM94,000 for the top-of-the-line 2.0-litre CVT.
Rebadging again?
In Proton’s books, the Inspira is a ‘place holder’ model to fill the vacuum left by the discontinuation of the Waja and Perdana this year. Though the Waja will continue production in limited numbers, it will be used to cater solely for government purchases only. The Perdana has stopped production since March 2010.
The decision to rebadge the Lancer has been quite an opinion-splitter amongst the public. While, some are enthusiastic of getting access to a very up-to-date Mitsubishi model at Proton prices, others are not so receptive of the idea that Proton is going back to rebadging cars after 25 years in existence.
Initial examination of the package would seem to support the naysayers. First batches of the Inspira are as good as CKD versions of the Lancer, with only 20% local content and carrying only very minor changes. Proton plans to gradually increase local content to 40%, and is also very keen to stress that there is no truth in the rumour that the first 300 units of the Inspira are actually fully-imported units of the Lancer.
Next year, however, Proton will update the Inspira with more changes that would give it a greater differentiation from the Mitsubishi Lancer with a targeted 60% local content. As of now, changes made by Proton are primarily cosmetic, but Proton’s ride and handling engineers, trained by Lotus, were able to persuade Mitsubishi to allow them to tinker with the Lancer’s suspension settings to provide the Inspira with a ride and handling characteristic that better suits Malaysian driving conditions.
Changes from the Lancer
All three variants of the Inspira feature identical suspension settings, though the front springs vary according to drivetrain weight in order to give identical ride heights to all three. The Lancer’s 215/45 R18 Yokohama tyres have been dropped, being replaced by 205/55 R16 Continental CC5 rubber for all three variants of the Inspira. Proton’s ride and handling team was keen to point out that the Inspira has been tuned to be less twitchy and more compliant than the Lancer, making it better-suited to poorer road conditions.
Proton also took the liberty to improve the cooling system of the Inspira’s INVECS-III CVT, in contrast to an infamous decision they once made to remove the ATF coolers for the Wira 1.6 and Perdana V6. That aside, none of the Lancer’s underpinnings or moving gear have been molested by the folks in Shah Alam. As such, the 1.8-litre 4B10 and 2.0-litre 4B11 engines used in the Inspira are exactly as per Mitsubishi specifications.
Driving Impressions
A short test drive session of the Inspira was held today for members of the media in a secluded resort at Janda Baik, Pahang. The plotted drive route took us on a round trip to Bentong mixing 30km worth of highway and trunk road driving for each driver. I had the opportunity to test the 1.8-litre manual version. Although it accounted for no more than 13-14% of the initial 1,100 bookings received by Proton, I had it on good authority that this is actually the one that is best to drive.
For enthusiasts clamouring for a manual transmission offering in this price range, the Inspira 1.8 manual is something of a Godsend. Your only other options of stick shift at comparable money are the Ford Fiesta 1.4, Toyota Vios 1.5J, and the Nissan Latio 1.6. Mind you, none of them have all-round independent suspension, four disc brakes, ABS, EBD, and dual airbags as standard.
In addition, the 1.8 manual also comes with front fog lights, alloy rims, electric side mirrors, all-round power windows and a trip computer, so you have the option of a properly specced manual car for a change. Having said that, the 2.0 still gets more goodies in the form of paddle shifts, leather seats, auto climate control, cruise control, rain sensors and light sensors.
Over some of the less-than-well-paved back roads plotted into our test route, the added comfort bias tuned by the Proton engineers quickly paid dividends. Potholes and poorly-tarred surfaces fail to disturb the cabin’s serenity, and the best part is that this improved comfort is achieved with minimal sacrifice in handling prowess. The Inspira is best described as pliant without being soft. It leans on hard cornering, yet it also refuses to surrender grip when pushed.
The steering wheel, stitched in leather even for the 1.8 manual gave good amounts of feedback and was equally receptive to our inputs. Pedals were well-positioned, being spread nicely for heel-and-toe gear changes. However, the clutch pedal was notably soft, even if it was relatively painless to operate.
Possibly needing some improvement is the manual gear lever. Although throw into each gate is reasonably short and precise, the spacing between the gates for you to slot into gear are rather far apart. For example, I was having problems downshifting quickly from fifth to fourth and also third to second. I will, however, reserve my final judgment on this until I get my hands on a press car for complete review.
Out on the highway, the all-aluminium 1.8-litre MIVEC twin-cam engine up front proved just about enough to get the Inspira up to speed. It needs revs if you want to make rapid progress, but some smoothness is lost at the top end, with the engine note not sounding too pleasant as you go past 5,500rpm.
Conclusion
Early impressions are rather good, and we expect the Inspira to find its way to many happy homes. Cynics will continue to pour scorn, but the reality is that although the Inspira is likely to be a sales success, it still will not generate sufficient volume to recoup development costs in a quick enough time frame to justify developing an all-new model from ground up.
Our test cars in this media drive were taped-up pre-production units, so we will refrain from giving the Inspira a final verdict until we get hold of a dedicated test car out of the production line. In fact, there is a picture embargo in place, so we’ll only be showing small bits for you to put the big picture together in the recesses of your imagination.
