Proton Satria Neo CPS: parking lot test review February 14, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Along with the official launch of the Satria Neo CPS, members of the
media were given the chance to test out the new Neo CPS at an empty
parking lot. Although excited about testing the new spiritual successor
to the Proton Satria GTI, I wasn’t too keen about driving the up-rated
Neo within the confines of a rather small area. Proton had setup a
pointless-looking mini race track within the compounds of the APAC
parking lot and I managed to get a taste of both manual and automatic
variants.
First up was the automatic version. Featuring similar cabin room as
the standard Neo, the CPS variant also suffers from lack of head
clearance. In my honest opinion, it was quite fun to drive the Neo CPS
through tight spots, as the handling was rather sharp. At average
speeds of up to 60 km/h, I only felt some easily correctable understeer
at the limits of car. While negotiating those tight turns, I felt very
minimal body roll, while the nicely-weighted steering wheel offered
good feedback.
The sprint performance with the auto tranny was just about average.
As expected, the performance of the automatic transmission during my
initial test was made me to look forward to the manual Neo CPS. The
manual is the only way to really enjoy this car!
The first thing I did when got myself into the manual Neo was to
have a feel of the gear lever hoping for it to be nicely weighted, as
opposed to being “soggy” or “lose”, and I am happy to say that my hopes
were realized. A little on the hard side of things, gear change was
slick and precise, which is good since this car is positioned as a
performance variant. For the manual Neo CPS test, there were longer
straights on the temporary track, which allowed me to feel the CPS
powerplant’s good performance on high revs.
Through out the quick test drive, I also noticed that the throttle
response was also up to expectation. I would like to mention about its
ride quality but unfortunately the test drive was rather short, so
looks like we have to wait for a longer drive. But based on the short
drive, things are pointing the right direction for the Neo CPS. The
handling and performance seems to suit the aggressive looks on the
outside. Some might say that the body kit treatment is a little over
the top, but personally, I feel its alright.
I just wish that the wheels were extended by half an inch or so, but
that may affect the overall handling. I also feel that the rear exhaust
box should have been hidden neatly. The way it is now makes the rear
diffuser look bad. So far, my thumbs are pointing upwards for the
Satria New CPS. Stick around as we will bring you the test review as
soon as we get a test drive unit.
http://paultan.org/ 
Subject: The Launching of Proton Neo 1.6 CPS 
15/2/2009, 1:58 pm
