Proton

Towards the end of 2008 I test drove the Proton Persona (CNG Version). At the time, I had hoped that the Proton would provide a real alternative in the Thai market, and unfortunately despite looking good on paper, and despite offering apparently excellent value for money, I came away from the whole experience disappointed.

Jump forward to today, and we are mid-way through 2013. The new Proton Prevé has been on the market in Thailand for just a few months, and I finally found time to check it out. As I got behind the wheel of the new car I had similarly high hopes that the Prevé could deliver.

Continue reading to see if the Prevé could "prove" to be better than the Persona.

* Nissan March\n* Honda Brio\n* Proton Savvy\n* Kia Picanto/Picanto K1\n* Ecocars are of no interest to me\n* Waiting for something else\n

Paultan.org has some caught some snaps of a lightly disguised Persona facelift that is due next year. It doesn't look a whole lot different, with some minor changes to the light clusters, and the front end.

On paper the Proton Persona CNG is a winner. The specifications look good, and the price is very reasonable. The Persona undercuts rivals on price, while seemingly offering more. But this is all on paper.

This week I got behind the wheel of the Persona CNG, and would like to share my opinions after a short drive. I'm going to focus mainly on the ride quality, comfort, and performance in this article. Where applicable I'll also draw some comparisons to other cars in this segment.

Sales at this years Thai Motor Expo were actually pretty reasonable considering the current political and economic difficulties that Thailand is facing. Approximately 14,000 cars were ordered at the Expo which was attended by around 1.5 million visitors.

There are no surprises at the top of the sales table, with Toyota and Honda leading the pack with 4,193 and 2,552 bookings respectively. Business as usual really! Third place went to Isuzu with 1,760, which might seem like a big gap until you remember that they only sell trucks and truck derived SUVs.

Proton are continuing their assault on the Thai market with the Persona CNG. The Persona enters a very very tough segment, with existing models have very commanding positions. We can't go far here without comparisons to the almost bulletproof Vios and the equally solid City, and this is what the Persona faces.

So does it stand a chance? Who is going to buy a Malaysian Proton, ahead of locally assembled and safe options like the Toyota and Honda. Read on to find out....

I was researching for a Proton related story when I stumbled upon this video that I would like to share.

The video that follows is one of a guy speeding in a Gen 2 on a Thai highway. He tops out just short of 180 km/h. Why am I putting this video up? Well we all know that a Gen 2 can go at 180 km/h, so it's not about that. And it's not because he crashes at the end either.

Proton are no match for Toyota/Honda in terms of build quality, but the price is lower also.

The Persona represents excellent value for money on the face of it, but who knows how it will last.

Now we're talking. A cheap as chips CNG car from Proton. And it's actually nice looking.

Yuck.

Take a Nissan and make it ugly.

What were they thinking?

Ugly car!