Proton Preve CFE - Bosch GPS - it is a botched job

Sri Iskandar township in Tronoh came out blank

The Preve CFE comes with in car Bosch GPS.  It is part of the HU unit comprising of the radio and media entertainment system.

For information I also been a regular user of  GPS software on my hand phone.  On my old Nokia E73 the GPS software is Garmin XT while on my Galaxy Note is Papago M9, NDrive and Waze.

Comparing all these GPSs I must say that the Bosch GPS cameout very poorly and the best is still the Garmin XT on my old Nokia.

The bosch GPS comes with big limitation because it is using very old Malaysian map.  A lot of places came out blank on the GPS especially new roads and housing estate.   GPS is about having the latest map and good routing software.  Even though the map is stated as version 4 and dated Dec 2012 it is actually very very old map.  If you are a regular user of GPS you will instantly noticed it.

How I wish the Bosch GPS  systems is compatible with maps produced by MFM maps at http://www.malfreemaps.com/.  The maps produced by MFM is collaborated by other GPS users.  It is almost daily updated.  You cannot beat that.  Both Garmin and Papago users benefitted greatly from this.

Further more, the maps on the Bosch GPS is a a closed system and cannot be updated by users and have to be updated by the manufacturer.  This make me really wonder whether the fella who decide on this in-car GPS unit really review out the system properly from user's perspective.  To me the in-car Bosch GPS system is a botched up job as Proton has the opportunity to make Preve a more complete driving experience.

Such a great drive..it is addictive!!!

BAckground - Masjid University Petronas, Tronoh Perak.

Last Sunday we went for a two and half hour drive to Tronoh, Perak.  This time is to send my son back to his university after his short weekend in KL.  Normally he will be back to Tronoh using express bus.  But this time round we took the opportunity to test our Preve CFE for it's first long distance drive.  The mileage is now only at about 650 kilometer.

It is a pure joy to drive our Preve CFE. Hill climb is no problem.  With the maximum torque coming as early as 2000 rpm it is a smooth climb and overtaking.  Since the mileage is still below 1000 km I am observing the engine preservation limit of 120 km.  My son drove halfway and he is smiling all the way.  It is very hard to restraint this young man to the 120 km limit.  The handling and cornering is superb.  The road noise and engine noise and the road feel to the steering wheel is just right.  Making you really in tuned to the car.  Just cannot wait for the 1000 km service period.  My advice to those who never try to drive this Preve CFE...don try it..it is meth on wheel ..once tried you will be addicted.

Yes 4G and Gadget man dream car

I am not sure about other car model but for sure at the price of  less than RM 70K (include discounts) this Proton Preve CFE is a gadget man's dream car.  There is quite a reading need to be done for all the switches and the setting for the car and  the audio unit.  Manuals are provided for both the car and the audio unit.  Yesterday was quite an embarrassing situation when I couldnt open the back passenger door for my friend.  I am still not sure how to do it when I am inside of the car...lol.

Also provided free with the Preve CFE is YES 4G Huddle (pix).  This a wireless broadband modem with the ability to connect to your devices such as phones, tablet or notebook through wi-fi.  If purchased on its own this modem will cost you around RM399 not including subscription.

I have no problem setting this up.  After slight confusion about SSID password which has the letter 0 and O and letter I and l the connection through wi-fi and to YES broadband went smoothly.  In 5 minutes all was running.  Fixed charger, in-car charger and in-car holder comes with the unit.

In my area the connection is either poor (RED Led) or good (Yellowish LED).  Using P1 speedtest managed to get speed of 4 mbps for download and 1.5 mbps for upload.  Actually the YES 4G is rated to maxout at 20 mbps.  In comparison to my unifi fixed broadband the speedtest reading is 6mbps for download and 4 mbps for upload.  My initial impression is that  the speed of this YES Huddle unit is quite good.

According to YES the battery need to be charged to about 2 hours for maximum charging and can be used for up to 5 hours on standalone. I have  yet to test this out.

One year subscription of RM60 monthly comes free with this package.  For the amount of RM60 per month this equates to 2GBit of data per month.  Since me and my wife already subscribed to Celcom broadband for my phone and for her laptop most probably this unit will end up with my daughter.  She already wink wink !!!.

Two golf bags - boot with space to spare

Today as always is my golf day with my golf kaki (buddies).  One of my golf kaki who happened to be  living in my taman (housing area)  took a hitch in my new Preve CFE to the golf course.    He was surprised as to the ride and acceleration of the Preve CFE.  The ride is typical continental car feeling to it  with a slight touch of sporty suspension.  Little bit on hard side compared to my old Honda Accord.

What is also nice is the boot space.  The 508 litre space can easily accomodate two golf sets.  I think if properly organised one more golf set can be squeezed in.

During the ride on the NKVE Plus highway with light traffic I managed to pushed the car little bit.  Bearing in mind that a proper break in need to be done for a new car so  I only pushed the speedo only to maxout at  120 kmh.  This is achieved in a breeze.  However I noticed that at 120 kmh there is slight vibration to the steering wheel.  So the wheel balancing need to be done in not too distance future.  Thus two things now outstanding with this car

  - The front wheel brake disk need to be replaced
  - The wheel balancing need to be done.

Keep my finger crossed for no more bugs.  I am really hoping that this car is par for the course and not a bogey item.

Nausea (pening) - First drive of Proton Preve CFE

Since I will be having a golf session with my buddy tomorrow I went for a quick swing tune up to the golf driving range.  Loaded up the new Preve CFE with the half set and off to the range which is about 7 km from my house.  With a light traffic in between and a few traffic light.

What happened is that I ended up feeling nausea after driving this new Preve CFE.  It is either the sudden acceleration from the Preve CFE which I am yet to get used to or the new car smell or the CVT/ Turbo turbine wooing sound.  The CVT/Turbo turbine  wooing sound is quite prominent in the cabin.  I need to up the volume of the audio unit  to enjoy the music.  My guess is that all these need to get used to.  Only time will tell.

The handling and the torque...ooohh...OUT of this world. It is that good!!!.  Just a small tap on the accelerator and the car will sort of jump forward...(and your head move backward..maybe thats what make me pening)...the wooing sound kicks in adding up to the experience...make me feel like the king of the road..well..sort of.  This certainly a drivers car..for the one who really enjoy hard driving.

Pretty maids in a row - Wife and WYA

Just took delivery of our new Proton Preve CFE 1.6.  There standing beside is my wife..the actual proud owner of this new vehicle.  Went through all the precheck routine with Proton's sale advisor En Zul.  Everything went well.  However En Zul alerted that the front brake disks are little bit warping which produced vibration when braking at high speed.  He already alerted the Maluri SC to order for new front brake disk. Hopefully will be arriving this week.

The odometer reading is 46 km and the  chassis number is 22XXX.  This is a pre-registered 2012 car which qualify me for substantial discount.  According to SA the ECU has been given a new remap. Thats why I am not experiencing any lag at low speed.

For me this is the first time driving let alone owning a CVT car.  It took a little bit of getting used to.  Also need getting used to is the wiper and signal stalk which is swapping side compared to my old Honda Accord.  The drive is very good and the acceleration is the best I have experienced.

Managed to pair the audio HU with my Samsung Note through the bluetooth.  The Audio system is up to my expectation.  The sound is good and the bass is fine.  Alhamdulillah I am quite satisfied with our new WYA.

Preve rated with 5 star ANCAP

It is always nice to know that the car you will be getting is rated with 5 star ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program).  Read here at paultan.org.  After dismal safety rating from previous models it is about time Proton came up with a car with top safety rating.  Adios..off to pick up my new car.

The Journey begins

After a couple of months trolling the internet and test driving several models of cars we have settled for Proton Preve.  And tomorrow morning we will pickup the car from the dealership.  The sales agent has called us informing us that the car is now registered and ready.  It is going to be the Turbo version i.e Preve CFE 1.6 litre.  Although the most popular color is solid white and black  we will be getting the metallic silver grey.  This is due to easy cleaning.  FYI I hate cleaning my cars.  Hate it.  Due to the ongoing promotion for the 2012 pre-registered units we will be getting  RM5,700 discount.  Thus the car will cost us around RM 67,300 from the Malaysian listed price of RM73,000.

As for me the impression for getting the Proton brand will be a touch and go matter.  We are hoping luck is with us despite quite a number of bad comments Proton Preve are getting from the Internet users..not necessary Proton users though.  I did stop few strangers asking about their Proton Preve CFE.  Generally they are very satisfied with their cars.  We have downloaded the check list from Preve owners club site.  It is two pager thing for us to tick when picking up the car tomorrow.

Guys...wish us luck.  Thus the journey begins.