Proton Impian Range : IMP MY RIDE

Expert Rating:

Proton is looking to reinvigorate the Impian with a host of detail changes. Andy Enright reports

Five years is a good innings for any car to go largely unchanged and the latest Proton Impian has indeed come in for a little cosmetic work. Although it would take one of the few people very familiar with its face to figure out whats changed, the changes are enough to remind us that this rather unusual saloon offers some surprising qualities.

Proton did make a few detail changes to the Impans trim levels back in 2005 but it was very small beer indeed. Sixteen-inch alloy wheels and a rear spoiler were fitted to the 1.6 GSX and a few new colours to add to the existing palette. And that was it on the outside.

The usual facelift targets of grille and lights went unmolested, although customers did benefit from air conditioning with a pollen filter as well as anti lock brakes, traction control and reverse parking sensors. A revised steering wheel was also featured, as were updated fabric trims for the upholstery and door cards. If you opted for the Range-topping GSX model, you got leather trim instead. Now the Malaysians have got their thumb out and gone an extra step further.

The front grille has been redesigned and the rear light clusters are neater, while there is yet another alloy wheel design and, yes, extra colours - this time Carbon Black, Aurum and Sterling Silver. The cabin has come in for the once over again, Proton clearly feeling that the 2005 tinkering didnt go far enough. This time, the entire fascia has been redesigned although the wood trim on the GSX wont appeal to everyone. The chrome ringed dials are a neat touch though.

The GSX has really come in for the treatment with a wood grain and leather trimmed steering wheel. If you want to lose the lumber, opt for the GLS which gets better quality fabric seats trim and a revised instrument panel. Impian, meaning dream come true, may be an optimistic and slightly clumsy name for the car, but its better than the name we nearly got saddled with. In Malaysia, the car is known as a Waja, which would have killed British appeal stone dead.

Aside from the name, the most significant aspect of the Impian is that it was the first Proton model developed in-house, not being reliant on some other manufacturers body shape or floorpan. Think about it. The old Proton Satria and Wira models were rebadged Mitsubishi Colts and Lancers. The Impian certainly wont feature in any Mitsubishi brochures, but its engine has, being a revised version of the tried and tested 1.

6-litre unit seen in many other Proton variants and, in a previous incarnation, some Mitsubishis.

"Whisper it if you will, but the Impian is impishly good fun to drive"

This is something of a shame, as the engine is to all extents and purposes the weakest part of the entire Impian package. It dislikes being revved hard, 5,000rpm being a point above which few sane folk will care to venture, and even below that the overall impression is one of a phlegmatic sloth. That said, its relatively refined when ambling along and probably quite adequate for the Impians target market, itself consisting of a clientele more interested in features than feedback and for whom reliability is of greater import than road ability. Despite what weve said about the target market, the Proton has a surprising trick up its sleeve.

Whisper it if you will, but the Impian is impishly good fun to drive. The first thing youll notice is how well the suspension suppresses the usual bump and thump of the average British road surface. Up the speed a little more and the story remains the same. The Proton still feels supple at speeds which the engine is quite unhappy with, the body control admirable, utterly bereft of the soggy front under damping or high speed float that would affect some rivals driven at similar velocities.

Impressive stuff. Likewise, the handling is well up to scratch. Grip is good, the front-wheel drive chassis holding on doggedly before lapsing into mild understeer, the lightweight engine helping keep your cornering line tight and true. Its vaguely puzzling as to how this unassuming looking saloon can be quite this competent until a recollection comes whistling out of the blue, hitting you like an airborne anvil.

Lotus. Owned by Proton, the consulting genius of Lotus was used to develop the handling characteristics of the Impian and boy, does it show. Compared to an equivalently priced Hyundai, Kia or Chevrolet, the Impian is leagues ahead in terms of driver appeal. The steering is pleasantly weighty and the whole effect is not hugely dissimilar to a basic Mondeo, which as any who have been lucky enough to pilot the Ford will attest, is high praise indeed.

Despite the changes, the gap between an £11,000 budget family saloon and something like a Mondeo or a Vectra is most evident in terms of interior design. Whilst being workmanlike and ergonomically sound, from a design perspective, the South-East Asians have never quite hit the bullseye. Perhaps this is being overly charitable. Never quite hit the dartboard may well be a truer assertion.

Certainly the Impian isnt going to appeal to those with an eye for a classy cabin, although the GSX model packs in a fair amount of buttons to press. Performance is predictably modest, the 102bhp Impian hitting sixty mph in a leisurely 12.2 seconds before running out of puff at a deafening 116mph. Fuel consumption is unexpectedly impressive though for such a venerable powerplant, the Proton returning an average of 42mpg.

You wont buy the car for its engine though. With traction control, ABS and four airbags as standard, the Impian wont lack showroom appeal. Couple that with a tidily-styled body and Proton could have a quiet success story on their hands. Are these changes enough? In truth, theyre not anything like what would be required to fully propel the Impian into the public consciousness at large.

Despite the prices coming down, theres no getting away from the fact that this is, by almost any measure, a rather old feeling car but when it comes to value and handling, the Imp has a couple of aces up its sleeve.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Proton Impian Range
PRICE: £10,595- £11,395 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 9
CO2 EMISSIONS: 161g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.6] 0-60mph 12.0s / Max Speed 110mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.6] (urban) 31.4mpg / (extra urban) 52.3mpg / (combined) 42.2mpg STANDARD SAFETY EQUIPMENT: Twin front and side airbags / ABS / traction control
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: (length/width/height) 4465/1750/1420mm