So far we’ve given you a live streaming of the launch event, full launch report, brief video walk around, speculative renderings or two, and yesterday, full test drive review of the new Proton Suprima S. Wrapping things up to a close, we now bring you a comparison gallery of Proton’s latest hatchback with the sedan that spawned it, the Preve.
You’ve come very familiar with the Suprima S in this past week or so, so let’s just move on to the key design changes. The two models share the same front end, with just the grille and bumper inserts making up the difference. The hatch’s main grille uses a honeycomb pattern and is finished in gloss black to give the Suprima S a more sporty appearance.
The lower air intake and foglamp housings are model specific, with those on the Suprima S incorporating more horizontal slats so it looks wider and lower to the ground. It’s not all for aesthetics either, as Proton managed to increase the radiator efficiency by 14% through the design changes.
Also new are the daytime driving lights (DRL) on the Suprima S. They look identical to the Preve’s LED light strips, but shine significantly brighter and are always on with the engine running. In the Preve, the LEDs act as the car’s “small lights,” i.e. position lamps, and only light up if you turn the light switch.
The hatchback gets larger wheels: diamond-cut 17-inchers against the Preve’s 16-inch twin-spokers. More detailed and sophisticated, they improve the Suprima S’ visual relationship with the road, resulting in a more ground-hugging stance. Stiffer and sportier tyres improve the car’s kinematics too.
Moving on, the bodywork changes aft of the rear doors, which are identical between the two. That’s a good cost-cutting measure there, done without compromising the looks of either model. From then on, the Suprima S appears bespoke and seemingly unrelated to the older Preve.
Much has been said of the Suprima S’ rear end; it getting largely mixed reactions from launch day. Let’s just say that pictures don’t quite do it justice, and that it looks a lot better in the flesh. Complex surfaces blend in and out of various horizontal lines for an interesting three-dimensional outlook.
The light clusters are all new, the hatch’s using LED light guides over the sedan’s individually crusted diodes. Badgings have changed too, with ‘Turbo’ now replacing ‘CFE’, while the “Handling by Lotus” laminated sticker makes a welcome comeback. Body-coloured Proton letterings also appear on the rear garnish, but are actually plastic stickers upon closer inspection.
Other changes include the repositioning of the Preve’s two rear foglamps into just one unit, centrally mounted within the hatchback’s large grey diffuser. The latter is a non aero-sensitive element, and is purely a design feature. Surprisingly, the exhaust pipe is hidden away out of sight on both models.
Inside, the changes are limited to detail trim updates. Silver cubic-print dash trim takes over the Preve CFE’s classier faux-wood panels, while the silver highlights on the steering wheel, shift paddles and gear knob are now finished in piano black in the Suprima S. The seats are now wrapped in leather, as is the handbrake lever.
More significant is the use of a new seven-inch Android-based touchscreen multimedia unit in place of the Preve’s smaller and awkward-to-use head unit. It fills up the double-DIN cutaway much better now, and there are fewer buttons cluttering the dashboard.
That’s about all the design changes there is. For a more subjective take on Proton’s latest model, read our full review of the car here, or if you prefer things from an objective perspective, check out our in-depth launch report here. Back on the design front, what do you think of the new Proton Suprima S compared to the Preve? Voice your comments below.
The post GALLERY: Proton Suprima S and Preve compared appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
via Paul Tan's Automotive News http://paultan.org/2013/08/29/gallery-proton-suprima-s-and-preve-compared/
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