Proton Wira was born in 1993 as the official second son of Malaysian car maker Proton. It serves the country very well for 15 years and it is almost the only car for most of the youngster inMalaysia to pick up their girls in the ‘90s. Wira is means hero in Malay language. The price, performance, and the reliability of the car make it a real hero for the market. Why such a good car deceased in 2007 and replace with Proton Gen-2?
What about the outlook? When the Proton Wira first launched in 1993, it gained consumer’s heart because it is no longer as square as the Proton Saga. From front to rear, the car is perfectly design. Besides, it has many after market parts and allow owner to modify to whatever kind of look they like with custom body kit and some cool interior accessories. Some Mitsubishi parts are also compatible to the Wira too.
The Wira is available for sale as a four-door sedan and four-door hatchback which known as Wira Aeroback. Both models are also spacious and able to fit in 4 adults comfortable and up to 5 adults. The Wira is as nice as other competitor in the market during its launching. However, one main reason Proton decided to cease the production is because the car did not receive much major upgrade throughout the 15 years. Compare to Honda Civic, one famous model from Honda, many engineers are continuously doing research and develop a better Civic. Look at the picture below here and you will see the difference.
On the left is 1993 Honda Civic (fifth generation) and on the right is 2007 Honda Civic (eight generation). Now look at Proton Wira again from 1993 to 2007.
It makes no different other than some grills or the bumper. Front are rear are still remain the same. Although we have previously praised that the Wira is nicely design, but it still has to change to be better throughout the time because that was 15 years!
What about the performance? The Wira has a wide range of engine capacity including 1.3L, 1.5L, 1.6L, 1.8L, and 2.0L diesel engine. With the curb weight of only 980 kg, the car can eventually fly with fast acceleration even with 1.3L 4G13 engine. Four-door sedan model are slightly heavier with the curb weight of 1011 kg. But still passengers will have the feeling of “flying” when the car reach 120 km/h or faster. People once said a 100,000 km on a Honda engine is nothing and we will say 200,000 km on the Proton Wira engine is nothing too. Most of the Wira running on the road are over 100,000 km on the odometer.
What is special about the car? The Aeroback model is best known to kill corners due to the light weight of the car. It is fun to ride around. What else? The air-conditioning is extremely cold. It may due to the hot weather inMalaysia and the car maker is purposely target on this.
What about the feature? It has everything a car need. A standard stereo, a nice steering wheel with perfect size for anyone, a beautiful interior panel, and a good sitting position are what you can find in the car.
What isn’t so good? Although the engine is nothing when the car runs 100,000 km, the power window has something. Most of the consumers experienced that the power window stop working after few months using the car. Some consumer even experience that the power window isn’t working after purchased the car just out from the show room.
The Proton Wira isn’t only a hero forMalaysiamarket but it also exports to some other countries includingUnited Kingdom,Singapore,Thailand,Australia, and among others. One thing we couldn’t understand is the name “Wira” has been imprint in many consumer’s heart and why don’t continue to create a better second generation and just simply replace it with the Proton Gen-2. It takes 15 years to market a car name and why just simply wipe it off. RIP for this car that you may use it to fetch any girls before.
2000 Proton Wira
