25th Mar 2009, 05:30
I bought my Gen2 AT second hand in August 06', clocking only 9,800 + km at that time (8 months old). Besides fixing some minor problems (radio steering volume control cable hardness and FL door central locking actuator) fixed, the car serve me well till now, clocking 50,000 + km. I have even taken this car touring half of the peninsular of Malaysia already.
I was quite impressed with its ride and handling for this category of car. To me, the handling and sense of direction, as well as the stability are even better than similar class Toyota and Honda cars, except for the NVH (noise, vibration harshness control) aspects.
The engine low end rev torque is low, but is increased exponentially after 4,000 RPM. If necessary, the engine could push the car well by revving up to this RPM range. Reaching 180 kph is effortless. The gearshift feel is smooth, but I do think that the down shift is a bit annoying when going down slope.
The styling is up to date, both externally and interiorly, even till 09', except for the material quality used. I like the aerofoil body shape and the CLK/Bugatti look meter cluster presentation. I had even upgraded the body kits and sport rims to increase the appearance credits. The audio system is standard.
It is a good car at this price, I must say... If you are in automotive line, then you will probably find that the engine was full of potential technically in 04', which was not being equipped. With current improvements done by proton in terms of CPS/IAFM, TCS, ABS, interior material quality etc, it should be a better buy than mine... In short words, it should be a more refined one than first batch builds... Of course with the mind set that nothing is zero defect and you must not be a anti-Proton people...
* The elements that are making bad impression on most Proton car owners are the in-coming part, plant assembly and after-sales attitude issues. These are the areas where Proton need to look into if they want to further their business perspective...
22nd May 2009, 22:27
My girlfriend bought a Gen2 high line somewhere in 2005. Ride quality and engine performance not bad with safety features such ABS. airbags and even come with auto cruise.
After driving it for more than 3 years, there are not many problems except a rear axle sound appeared while driving on uneven road, problem had rectified by changing some parts.
Maintaining the car with Mobil 1 fully synthetic every 10k change. Overall not a bad car.
22nd Sep 2009, 23:54
My brother bought a gen-2 somewhere in mid 2005, and now he passed it to me. but then we encountered a few problems;
1. Power window always gives me a headache. Replaced the motor on the passenger side, now making a noise.
2. My battery would go dead after 2/3 days if I don't start the car at all. After asking a few friends, they said that gen-2 is using extra electricity when it is not started, pulling electricity from the negative terminal (is this true?) what should I do to curb this problem?
So far I pulled out the terminal whenever I'm not driving for few days. But this is frustrating.
Thanx.
20th Jan 2010, 09:11
I just bought a 2005 Gen-2 (second hand).
Well.. the condition is okay.. except for the interior.. Oh god, I don't know how a lady driver (previous owner) would do this.. cannot recline seat (need to use spanner 14" as a holder to turn the thing)..
The radio CD player cannot be played due to CD stuck.. and the power window.. haih.. now it's stuck at the back passenger left hand side..
On top of that, everything is fine.. I love the pickup of the manual transmission.. very nice to drive with it.. So it's just the interior that gives me headache!!
Rating 8/10 stars.
18th May 2011, 11:39
A service centre wanted me to leave my Gen2 there for "a few days" to replicate the "battery flat when not used for a few days" issue. Three minutes on the Internet and I found it was a common problem with the (Malaysia only) alarm system fitted, and another 10 minutes with a USD10 multimeter, I found the circuit that was draining the battery. For all those that want to know, the problem is caused by the Captor alarm system's standby battery buried under the dashboard. As this standby battery ages (about a year and a half old), its voltage drops and the main car battery will try to continuously charge this dying battery, killing itself in the process. My solution? Disconnect this Captor standby battery.
11th Dec 2008, 05:41
Bought a Gen 2 in 2004.
This car has 2 major problems from early 2004 til now - the last month of 2008:
1. Air con always spoilt after just having it repaired a month or two ago. It's really torturing to drive a car without air con in a country which is hot all year round.
2. One side of the brake light was blown within weeks after it had been replaced. A brand new brake light that was replaced one or two weeks ago blew off already - why?
Am I the only unlucky guy or is there any other people who are facing the same two problems as I?