Good For Lotus
by Ross Finlay (04 Jul 01)

 
It's unusual to find a Proton whose driving dynamics come top of the list, but that's the case with the new Impian saloon which goes on sale on July 5. Lotus tuned the suspension, just as Fulda-based EDAG was a collaborator on the bodywork, and Mitsubishi provides the 1.6-litre engines.

The mid-sized Impian, available only as a four-door saloon, has a smartly styled front end, although the lines aren't quite as smart when you look all round the car. Proton has certainly been paying attention, though, to passenger requirements in this class, and the Impian has by far the roomiest rear cabin of any model the Malaysian company has produced. Rear seat space in particular seems right up with the best of the 1600 opposition, and there's a generously sized luggage boot.

Inside, the Impian has a neat instrument display, and there's nothing wrong with the general interior layout. The angled metal-effect styling strips on the doors look like afterthoughts, although you can see where the styling idea came from. But the big snag is the cheap kind of plastic used for items like the central console and the lidded glove box between the seats. It's unpleasant to the touch, and on the launch car I drove the action of the gear lever being pulled back into the even-numbered gear positions had already opened up a crack on the plastic material behind.

Proton deserves some applause for having swapped the positions of the steering column stalks - normally different in Pacific Rim cars from the way we're used to over here. The Impian has the indicators on the left and the wipers on the right. There's also a decent sound system, tuned by Clarion specially for the Impian installation.

Two Models For The UK

The standard model at £12,000 is fitted with velour upholstery while the 1.6X at £13,000 has Connolly leather trim, although some more attention to the leather colours and finish wouldn't go amiss. Equipment levels rise from the entry-level version to the 1.6X, but some trim items on the launch cars weren't all that firmly secured. All the Impians have air conditioning as standard, and there are several other touches showing that this is a design with ambitions above those of previous budget-level Protons.

The central structure feels much more robust than in earlier cars from Kuala Lumpur. That has allowed Lotus's suspension experts to tune the handling so that the Impian has unexpectedly high standards of handling and steering response while keeping a supple ride quality.

This isn't a sports saloon in the sense that the Satria GTi - the first Proton to get the full Lotus treatment - is a very crisp-handling hot hatch - but it's a world away, as a driver's car, from older models in the Proton stable. The most remarkable thing about the specification is that all Impians imported here will have traction control as standard. Even the entry-level car has all-round discs with ABS.

The Impian runs quietly, to the extent that it picks up less road noise than many cars costing several thousand pounds more. It's agile, and much more suited to brisk motoring on country roads than any other Proton apart from the Satria GTi.

Mitsubishi's 1584cc engine is a familiar unit, but in this installation it has been tuned for more power and better torque. The Impian gets to 62mph in 12 seconds and can go on to a maximum around 110mph.

It's certainly a step ahead for Proton, although the putting-together isn't yet at Japanese or European levels. On price-per-amount-of-car, though, the big rivals aren't from those areas. The main competition must be from Kia.

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