Brief review: Proton Putra

Back in 1996, Proton is on a roll having captured almost 70% of the sedan and hatchback markets. To keep this leading position, Proton is looking to enhance its vehicle sales further by entering niche markets. Proton had identified the market and it’s affordable sports coupe where the potential buyers were young hot blooded “boy racers”. The segment was once ruled by Ford Laser TX3 till the mid 90s. The car was officially introduced as Proton Putra. It is a 2 door version of the Mitsubishi Lancer.


Dimensionally, the overall length of the Putra (4230mm) falls between Wira Sedan and Satria, but it has closer relationship to the Satria by having the identical wheelbase of 2440mm and is shorter by 60mm than the sedan and aeroback.

Underneath the Putra is what makes it so special. The engine is identical to the Wira 1.8EXI DOHC a 1834cc DOHC unit which produces 140hp@6500rpm and 164Nm of torque at 5500rpm.

For stopping power, there are disc brakes all round with the front being ventilated. Factory fitted ABS with 4 channel 4 sensor. Alloy rims are standard with 185/60R14 tyres.



The Putra had the same dashboard as the Wira, but it came with cupholder, Momo steering and titanium effect “sticker” on the dashboard (see picture). The dash meters are the same as Wira 1.6i but with the speedometer right up to 260km/h and tachometer redlines at 7000rpm!


It also came with Recaro seats. The door being a coupe is wide and access to the rear is easy. Like most 2 door cars, the seatbelt anchor positioned too far back from the front seats and requires turning your back to reach the seatbelt. The seats being Recaros were supportive in the right area, not to firm, not too soft. The rear seat space is only comfortable for 2 (see picture) as the “transmission hump” renders the legroom useless for the “rear middle passanger”.


That’s all I can report. As I did not have the chance to drive the Putra as the car dealer won’t allow (I saw this Putra, totally stock year 2000 model Automatic priced at RM37,000). I am just a passenger in the car, the dealer just gave me a test ride in the car! The only thing I can comment is it’s a high-revving car with reasonable ride and handling (the car has stock 14” AAC rims with 185/60R14) with limited body roll thanks to the standard Recaro. Pickup is decent for an Automatic, 0-100km/h around 9.7 seconds.


To conduct a fair review, I"M PLEASE TO INVITE 2x PUTRA OWNERS TO WRITE A REVIEW HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! I'D ALSO INVITE 2x OWNERS OF WIRA 1.8 EXI DOHC OWNERS TO WRITE A REVIEW. The following blog are the Specifications for both Putra and Wira 1.8EXI DOHC. Both are almost the same car, have the same engine, chassis, dashboard and near-identical performance. The differences are in dimensions and body style only.