My Car a Proton Wira is a Manual. Review on Automatic Gear Vs. Manual Gear

My preference in cars is for a manual gear box and my present car has such a gearbox.

I bought a Proton Wira 1.3L in August 1997 and have since had over five  years virtually trouble-free motoring. This product is produced by the Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton(Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad), who are also the major shareholders in the British-based Lotus company. Understandably it is hugely popular in its country of origin but has also been exported to UK, Australia, Singapore, Brunei, the Middle East and various other countries.

Performance Specifications and Dimensions

The Proton 1.3L has a maximum gross vehicle weight of 1335kg and has a four cylinder, in line water cooled, single overhead camshaft engine. The compression ratio is 9.5:1. The 1.3L has a dry single disc clutch with diaphragm spring whilst the steering system is the rack and pinion type. The front brakes are disc whilst the rear are drum brakes. The manufacturer’s claim the maximum speed of the Proton 1.3 is 167 km/hour, but I have found it cruises comfortably around 120km/hour.

Instruments and Controls

The Proton has a modern array of instruments and controls including a ventilator control, digital clock, blower switch, hazard warning flasher switch, rear window demister switch, cigarette lighter, rear window wiper and washer switch, and the usual meters and gauges.

Interior

The interior is surprisingly spacious and is comfortably furnished. It can seat five people in considerable comfort and the interior has a sun visor, rear view mirror, lamp, glovebox, cup tray, ashtrays, and comes equipped with four seatbelts. It is possible to adjust the front seats backward and forward and the seat height(of the driver’s seat).

Tools

The Proton is provided with a good selection of tools including a tool bag, small and large wrenches, screwdriver, wheel cover wrench, pliers, wheel nut wrench, bar and a jack.

OverallImpressions

I must say I have found my Proton Wira to be a comfortable, reliable, economic car and, as indicated earlier, virtually trouble free. I get over 40 miles per gallon and find that it suits my family requirements ideally.The only problem I have experienced has concerned the temperature gauge which was faulty – the problem was eventually traced to a pcb board. Other than this minor hiccup, this Malaysian-made car has not let me down and I rate it very highly.