reduced and recycled

Checked out the new Proton Satria Neo over here in JB, and was both surprised and delighted. I’ve been following its development on and off via spy shots and such, so seeing it in full metal glory was exciting. My first impressions of the interior were good, and steadily improved. The fact that it was low slung gave it a very sporty appearance, but it wasn’t over-powering, making the Neo look steadfast and ready to go.

Boot space wasn’t impressive at all, and I found myself spending a good 10 minutes wondering if I’d have space for a boombox in there.. heh heh :). Seating in the rear was horrible, but that can be expected of a 2-door - and horrible, from my point of view, because I’m about 5′ 9″. Legspace was barely manageable, but ok. Front seating was comfortable and the bucket seats provided some real confidence.

Unlike the Gen2, I found the seating position fantastic but the pedals required a good stretch to reach. This isn’t the MYVI when it comes to within-reach consoles etc, but the highline version comes with button controls which makes moving to and from the central console minimal in real-life driving (at least for me).

The design of the dash was simple, minimal, but I really like what they’ve done with the central console. True, nothing original with the arrangement of instrument knobs, but I’m thankful Proton’s steered away from ‘futuristic’ radio dial/button ‘designs’… though I would’ve liked options to fiddle a bit more with the ICE in the future…

Aside from the interior design, I missed the arm-rest (something I need from force of habit) and welcomed the return of a glove compartment, though it’s too small for any practical use. The plastics feel softer to touch as some have pointed out, but it still feels a little ‘low-cost’ in there, if you know what I mean. The steering gave a good solid feel, but again, ‘low-cost’.

The aircon vent design was innovative, but felt rather flimsy to touch and use, and I see Proton haven’t fully departed from that whole ’sabre’ handbrake look. It’s just so cheesy lah, this one. And the interior door handle made me think twice also, having seen it on the Gen2 and completely hating it.

I wasn’t able to test out the sound system or take a look at the meter cluster while fully activated, nor was I able to test drive this monster - that’s for tomorrow, if promises from salesmen can be believed. Can’t wait :)