*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* { Sila lawat Laman Hizbi-Net - http://www.hizbi.net } { Hantarkan mesej anda ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED] } { Iklan barangan? Hantarkan ke [EMAIL PROTECTED] } *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Untuk pengetahuan En Msabri, saya rasa ini adalah penguji dalam negeri...kalau tak salah saya penulisnya adlah Mel Lee (salah seorang penulis automotif yg terkenal bagi Malaysia. Beliau penulis di Asian auto dan di NST) --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Proton Waja 1.6 First Test Drive > > Ini adalah catatan dari penguji kereta Luar Negeri > Berkenaan dgn Waja Yang > heboh diperkatakan sekarang (Sebelum pelancaran > rasmi Waja)... > > http://life.asianauto.com/life/zone/car_reviews/car_reviews_selected.asp?Rev > iewID=227 > > I’m going to skip the usual pre-test review banter > and get right into it, > because if you readers are anything like me, you’re > going to want to know > right away. I was the first in the car after the > standard ‘do’s and dont’s’ > briefing, and I was the first on Proton’s in-house > test track. Just like > you, I had to know. > > One of the first things I noted was that in the > flesh (well, metal anyway) > the new Waja looks a LOT better than it does in > pictures. It is one of those > shapes that sort of ‘grows’ on you, and once you get > used to it, the car is > quite attractive to look at. Again however, this is > not reflected in the > pictures, you have to see the car ‘live’. It looks > better from certain > ‘angles’, than it does from others. > > Most noticeable (and the one part that has causes > the most controversy) is > the ‘hawk’s beak’ front bonnet, which looks huge in > pictures, but once > again, in the flesh, it really doesn’t look too bad. > But it is from the rear > 3-quarter angle that the Waja looks its best. > > The Waja is a solid looking car, and while the boot > lid seems a tad too > light and flimsy, this is not the case with the rest > of the car. The doors > close with a re-assuring thud, and the interior > ergonomics are quite good. A > few things however, tend to let down what is > actually a very nice interior. > The rearview mirror looks and feels rather cheap, > and the switches for the > power windows located on the driver armrest are not > very user friendly. The > foot-well for the driver is a bit cramped, but I > could attribute that to the > fact that my shoes are USA size 11. On the outside, > the wing mirrors are a > bit too small, and tend to vibrate at speed, causing > a blurred reflection. > > The test car assigned to me was fitted with a light > colored interior, which > in my opinion is a risky proposition for a car > targeted at families (and > middle execs). > > **** > As everyone knows, a light fabric interior (even the > floor carpet-mats were > a light beige color) tends to get dirty extremely > fast, especially in the > presence of children. It is an unexplained > phenomenon actually, kids, fresh > out of the bath and squeaky clean, WILL somehow mess > up a car’s interior. > This color would be more suited for an executive > buyer. > > A quick check with the Proton managers in > attendance, and I was told that > only 10% of the Waja’s produced will come with the > light colored interior. > The rest of the 90% will come in a dark colored > interior. The ‘base’ model > comes with a ‘woven fabric’ interior. > > Surprisingly, Proton is choosing to launch the Waja > (the cars will be in EON > and USPD showrooms this Thursday 31st August) with > the ‘Base’ model only. > The ‘Premium’ model, called the 1.6X, will be > launched in about 3 months’ > time. > > The base model (the one we were all testing today) > does not have ABS or > air-bags. It also does not have a few other > ‘trimmings’ that the ‘Premium’ > model will have. The premium model will have leather > seats, a semi-wooden > steering wheel and gear-shift knob, CD Player, etc. > Other than the ABS and > air-bags, it is mostly the trim level that separates > the base from the > premium model. The trim level and a few grand in OTR > price. And before you > ask, no, we were not told the price of the car, not > even when we held one of > the engineers hostage. They’ll never find his body. > “Safe and In-control” that seems to be the tag-line > that Proton have chosen > for the Waja. Accurate? Only a drive would prove > correct or on the contrary. > The Waja is available with 2 different gearboxes, a > 4-speed automatic and a > 5-speed manual. Of course I sprinted for the manual > transmission first…. > > Drivetime. Getting settled is quick and easy, the > seat adjustments are all > manual, and unlike other Protons, the lever to > adjust the fore/aft > positioning of the driver and front passenger seats > is located under the > seat and not by its side. > > Another difference from other Protons is the > location of the indicator > stalk, which is on the left, and windscreen-wiper > stalk, which is on the > right. I foresee many new owners inadvertently > turning on their wipers when > they signal to turn right. This is very much a > continental car thing. > **** > Something new and innovative that was noted is the > windscreen washer nozzle. > It is called a ‘fluid oscillating washer nozzle’ and > what it does is rather > than spray a jet of water that hits only a small > section of the windscreen, > the nozzle now sprays the water over a much wider > portion of the glass area. > > Upon testing it definitely works, and the water is > dispersed in a wide ‘fan’ > covering about 80% of the windscreen. Wipers come on > automatically when the > washer is activated. > > We were warned not to go above 100 km/h around > Proton’s test track, but I do > believe that was the first rule I broke. The Waja > 1.6i manual accelerates > very smoothly, and the revs climb very quickly and > cleanly without any > hesitation whatsoever. It is quite possible to > red-lint this car if one does > not keep an eye on the rev meter. The exhaust note, > though virtually silent > when at a standstill, comes to life in a nice > sedated ‘growl’ when the fun > pedal is hit hard. > > Acceleration to 130 km/h is smooth and effortless, > but after this point, the > Waja seems to run out of breath, especially the one > equipped with an > automatic transmission. It will continue to climb to > a top speed in access > of 170 km/h, but it will take a road much longer > than the one available at > the test-track. > I reckon top-speed to be in the region of possibly > 180 km/h. Proton’s > engineers however, claim that in a recent unofficial > ‘road test’ to Tapah, > done under the cover of night, the Waja hit a top > speed of 195 km/h. How > true this is I do not know, only a real road test > will prove it or > otherwise. At this test track, all that I managed to > do was 140 km/h as the > g-forces on the banked oval made my head spin. It’s > a weird sensation. > > During the drive at the test-track this morning, I > was quite impressed with > the Waja. The car demonstrated a very high level of > decreased NVH, and > cruising along at 130 km/h seems like the car is > only doing 90. There is not > much wind noise, and even though the car rides on > 195/55 series tyres > wrapped around 6.5j x 15 inch alloy rims, the ride > over bumps (Proton’s > secondary test track simulates the actual road > conditions that the car will > face in day-to-day use, pot-holes, bumps, manhole > covers, speed humps, etc.) > and other road deformities was soaked up very well. > > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ( Melanggan ? To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pada body : SUBSCRIBE HIZB) ( Berhenti ? To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pada body: UNSUBSCRIBE HIZB) ( Segala pendapat yang dikemukakan tidak menggambarkan ) ( pandangan rasmi & bukan tanggungjawab HIZBI-Net ) ( Bermasalah? Sila hubungi [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pengirim: =?iso-8859-1?q?john=20lee?= <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>