Proton's Uninspiring Inspira

Well, it's finally here, the Waja replacement model. It's basically a Mitsubishi Lancer with a face-lift that is less aggressive than the Lancer's looks.

It's about four years old, this model. And as with anything Proton, it's about as good as it gets.

Still struggling with supply chain management issues that keep putting the company on the back foot, Proton now has to ensure that the car's locally manufactured components don't result in the car being as problem riddled as the first generation Waja. Good luck with that.

It's a pity really. All the hard working men and women at Proton are really looking to this car to bolster the company's sales. Yet, all the protectionism that Proton enjoys makes it easy for some of their co-workers and contractors to be complacent about quality.

After all, the domestic car market is a captive market for Proton. It doesn't really have to compete against non-national car players.

So, it's kind of difficult to be enthusiastic about the Proton's Inspira, although a lot of Malaysians who cannot afford to buy non-national cars are looking forward to owning one.

I just hope that in trying to make the car more 'affordable' to Malaysians, Proton hasn't cut too many corners. One corner cutting is obviously the smaller size rims and tyres that makes the Inspira wheel-well gapingly large. Sigh!

Price for price, the high-line Inspira is only about RM4,000 cheaper than the next best thing, which is the Kia Forte 2.0SX. Between the two, I'd go for the Kia Forte any day - the Proton Inspira 2.0 (high-line) is about RM90,000, whereas the Kia Forte 2.0SX is about RM94,000.

With the Forte, the design is far more fresh looking. Plus, with the Forte, you don't have to worry about poor quality issues that many Malaysians have come to expect of Proton cars.

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Addendum: The following was initially a response to a comment, but it's important enough to be placed as part of the main blog entry.

The Proton Inspira is not actually a car whose production is licenced by Mitsubishi. Rather, it is the result of a sale & purchase agreement to buy Mitsubishi parts and put them together with Proton manufactured parts to produce a car that looks like a Mitsubishi Lancer but is actually a Proton Inspira.

It's rather screwy, if you really think about it. Proton is Malaysia's national car company, but the technology behind it is, on the balance, really nothing "national". Initially, Proton was supposed to start off with Mitsubishi technology and graduate to its own technology as a result of technology transfer and know-how.

To a certain degree, it has accomplished that with the Savvy, New Saga and New Persona. But other models still rely heavily on Mitsubishi technology and parts, e.g. Exora and Inspira.

I sympathise with the hardworking men and women of Proton who are trying their level best to make the best of a bad situation.

At the same time, I am enraged by the fact that Proton's lack of competitiveness has caused Malaysians in general to suffer from artificially inflated car prices for more than 25 years, just to keep Proton afloat - the protectionism comes chiefly in the form of steep duties levied on fully imported and locally assembled foreign marquees, all of which is made worse by the Applied Permits for importing cars, which in themselves can be bought and sold.

For all these reasons, I am one of those who have vowed not to buy Proton. While I am patriotic, I believe that, on the balance, protectionism is more harmful than good to Proton and Malaysians in general. And it's high-time that protectionism is removed.

On the upside, Proton appears to be making strides overseas, as it should be, because there lies the larger market. For instance, its Exora hybrid (an electric-cum-gasoline seven seater car) recently won acclaim in the UK. It's not much, relative to the achievements of other international marquees, it's still significant enough to make Malaysians hopeful.

If, like Malaysia's national oil company PETRONAS, Proton is able to make international revenue its largest source, then it would make some (not all) of the suffering it has caused fellow Malaysians justifiable.