Inspired by Inspira
Proton Inspira has been in the local market for almost 3 years now. It is
essentially a rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer with few tweaks done by Proton to make
it, well, a Proton! But take it from me folks, Proton has come a long way from
the old days of the rubbish Tiara. Buying Lotus has become somewhat a love-hate
relationship between the two companies. On the bright side, it has allows a
technology transfer from the Lotus racing pedigree to our national car maker. On
the other hand though, those technologies also come with a hefty debt tag.
Coming back to our focal of discussion which is the Inspira, Proton has somehow managed to improve a thing or two from the original Lancer. One of the obvious different is the suspension setup. Mitsubishi has opted not to use the cheap torsion beam on the rear suspension, unlike the other car makers. This improves the handling tremendously and what Proton has done is to make it even better.
Other than that, when the Inspira first came into the market, there are few drawbacks that has been highlighted by the owners. These complaints have been taken into consideration by Proton thus making this second generation car is aesthetically better than its predecessor. The wheels in particular is better looking, borrowing the same design principle from its younger brother the Saga FLX. The boot space has become bigger by removing the unnecessary glove boxes under the boot mat and by having a space-saving spare tire.
Being a rather big car causes some problem when reversing or parking the car. To solve that, reverse camera comes as a standard feature. This also include an exciting package of in-car entertainment where the unit is also capable to function as radio, CD player, MP3, Bluetooth connectivity, video player and GPS. Compare to the Lancer, Inspira only comes with 4 speakers mounted on each door. However, it has been intelligently setup with a virtual sound program that allows the driver to select where he wants the sound to be heard inside the car.
Driving the car is always a pleasure. The chassis is very rigid but it complements the engine very well. The 4B11 MIVEC is a capable engine, producing about 147 bhp with 199 Nm of torque. The CVT transmission is as good as it gets, delivering smooth acceleration at all time by keeping the rpm at its lowest. This also improves fuel consumption, and at 6.8L/100KM, making it one of the most frugal 2.0 car in the market today. The steering is very direct and provides lots of information about the road to the driver. The turning radius is also very small for a car of this size, thus making a U-turn is like a walk in the park for most people.
All and all, the Inspira is a good car to own. Some might say the price is a bit expensive but I do believe that Inspira has successfully justified its price tag. It’s a fun car to drive, it’s a nice car to look at and to some people, it’s an affordable car to own.
Coming back to our focal of discussion which is the Inspira, Proton has somehow managed to improve a thing or two from the original Lancer. One of the obvious different is the suspension setup. Mitsubishi has opted not to use the cheap torsion beam on the rear suspension, unlike the other car makers. This improves the handling tremendously and what Proton has done is to make it even better.
Other than that, when the Inspira first came into the market, there are few drawbacks that has been highlighted by the owners. These complaints have been taken into consideration by Proton thus making this second generation car is aesthetically better than its predecessor. The wheels in particular is better looking, borrowing the same design principle from its younger brother the Saga FLX. The boot space has become bigger by removing the unnecessary glove boxes under the boot mat and by having a space-saving spare tire.
Being a rather big car causes some problem when reversing or parking the car. To solve that, reverse camera comes as a standard feature. This also include an exciting package of in-car entertainment where the unit is also capable to function as radio, CD player, MP3, Bluetooth connectivity, video player and GPS. Compare to the Lancer, Inspira only comes with 4 speakers mounted on each door. However, it has been intelligently setup with a virtual sound program that allows the driver to select where he wants the sound to be heard inside the car.
Driving the car is always a pleasure. The chassis is very rigid but it complements the engine very well. The 4B11 MIVEC is a capable engine, producing about 147 bhp with 199 Nm of torque. The CVT transmission is as good as it gets, delivering smooth acceleration at all time by keeping the rpm at its lowest. This also improves fuel consumption, and at 6.8L/100KM, making it one of the most frugal 2.0 car in the market today. The steering is very direct and provides lots of information about the road to the driver. The turning radius is also very small for a car of this size, thus making a U-turn is like a walk in the park for most people.
All and all, the Inspira is a good car to own. Some might say the price is a bit expensive but I do believe that Inspira has successfully justified its price tag. It’s a fun car to drive, it’s a nice car to look at and to some people, it’s an affordable car to own.
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