Last night i met a friend who had just recently bought a black Neo CPS Manual about 1-2 months ago.....and since im seriously considering buying this car, he let me test drive the car and we went around kota damansara for a short whacking and cruising session...test run was done with aircond off and both windows down.
The car has only 2000km on it and has not gone for the first service yet....car is also 100% stock
My take on the car...take note that i drove this car more towards looking for negatives...so ill seem to be nitpicking....but at the same time im taking point of the positives as well.
First the pros...For normal cruising the car actually feels good...comfortable. Low-mid range power is there.i was expecting the car to be a little heavy especially with the 16" rims. But it didnt feel heavy at all...the car moved as much as ud expect it to. Which is good. Acceleration was decent.
Suspension wise is comfortable too...some say its firm...but to me its pretty comfortable...especially considering that my current kelisa's adjustables are stiffer. Even then...the handling was quite good. Steering response was pretty sharp and accurate. The chassis also felt pretty solid during corners..
The nice leather seats..i like these seats...for normal cruising. But for spirited driving, they dont really hold u that well and u feel as if ur sliding off the seats. But they are really comfortable...feels like my butt was being caressed :D
I was skeptical about the steering wheel...but after awhile it felt good. Holding it was nice and comfortable...but of course its no match for my momo evo3...it also felt a little thick....but for a stock factory fitted steering wheel (wrapped in leather!)...nice!
Another thing i really liked about the car is the quality of the interior. Yes its still low quality plastics....but compared to the very first neo...believe me, its such an improvement. The darker tone really helped to make the interio looks of better quality and the leather interior gives it that luxury feel.
I also really liked the shifter. Felt like using quickshift...it was a little stiff...firm and yet the throw is only a short distance. Going up and down the gears were easy...no miss-shifts even though it was only my 2nd time driving the car....and 1st time driving it aggressively.
Now comes the cons...My friends car unfortunately has the jerky issues on 2nd gear.not sure about 3rd...didnt test it for 3rd. But for 2nd..its definitely there. Didnt check out the wiper issue though...was focussing more on the drive itself.
The steering wheel is wrapped in leather, making it a little thicker...and my main issue with the steering wheel would be the stitches on the steering wheel are a little too thick and rough imho. When i make u-turns and the like, i tend to turn the wheel using 1 finger (my thumb) resting on the spokes...and when i do that i feel that the stitches are biting into my skin. The steering itself is also a little thick. But thats something u need to get used to. Diameter of the steering is smaller than usual for a stock car so it has that sporty feel to it when ur driving. Would have second thoughts about changing it to my momo though..considering the fact that its pretty comfortable, wrapped in leather, and has audio controls heheheheh...but if i change my HU then the momo is definitely going in
The side mirrors...i find it a little small. Maybe coz of how my friend adjusted it...i didnt adjust the side mirrors...other peoples car...so not nice la. But it did feel a little small..mebbe after adjusting it to wat i like my point of view would change.
As mentioned above the seats dont really hold u during corners...feel like sliding out. Mebbe coz of the leather material..if it was cloth, i dunno how well itll hold u...for spirited driving...i think bucket seats are definitely needed. Just those reclinable ones are fine...maybe those old school seats from the CRX, EF9 Civic, Levin, Prelude and the likes would be just nice...u can still retain the "memory functions" for people to get in and out the back seat..and they look pretty good and more importantly, theyre also cheap.
Also another thing about the seats is that theyre pretty high..which contributes to most people's complains about the roof being low. While sitting normally is not much of an issue...but if i straighten up my back...my hair (which is combed down btw, and not those spiky hair type) is touching the roof. Can really feel the lowness of the roof (im about 5' 9" in case ur wondering). Again, bucket seats will probably give u a little more headroom as they tend to be mounted lower than normal. Another thing is..my kelisa is lowered by a few inches with the adjustables and are fitted with SSCUS NSI buckets...so when i got into the Neo which was parked next to my kelisa...i felt like the car was so super high LOL
The gearknob i felt a little uncomfortable. If it was a little bigger then ok i guess...
Handling. Even though i mentioned above that the handling is good....i meant for a stock car. I took this car to my favourite 2 corners and its pretty decent...though a lil bumpy at the wavy corner. There was only minor body roll...and the car still feels somewhat planted on flat corners....on very wavy corners it wasnt that bumpy...still bumpy...but not as bad as most cars...im sure this can be easily rectified with a good set of adjustables heh heh heh
Brakes are alright... Though abit spongy. Bites decently enough. Wish it was better though... My kelisa which has aftermarket myvi maxtech rotors+calipers (vented,crossdrilles,slotted) with dot 4 fluid going through PRO RS hoses feels MUCH better than the CPS. And bites better too. Im sure this can also be rectified (though warranty may be an issue…so just stick to stock 1st I guess)
Next would be the engine, aside from the jerky issues (which from my search on the internet has shown that an ECU change/retune RMA at the service center may be able to fix) i find the low-mid range to be impressive. Car didnt feel heavy even with its heavy chassis and 16" wheels. BUT after 5k rpm. I feel a significant power drop..and not only that, the engine was screaming before i even reached 6krpm. So i didnt dare to redline it (which is at 6.5krpm) and shifted at 6krpm. The low mileage and no servicing may have contributed to this...so we'll see. The top end is somewhat lacking....so i guess a decent 4-1 header might be good? Also a nice loud exhaust would be good to hide the screaming from the engine so that u wont feel bad about redlining it hahhahaha
Coming from B16A VTEC...i have to say i find the 6.5k rpm redline to be a little disappointing and low since im used to 8k. But the fact that its NOT a VTEC kinda makes me accept that as it is....so 6.5k it is. Another thing, with my experience with vtecs, at top end, it gets better... But like i said...the CPS power drops after about 5k. Like its struggling. Again could be down to the servicing thing. Again, a 4-1 header might help i guess. Though u might be sacrificing ur low-mid a little, but since the low-mid is pretty impressive, a little sacrifice might be worth it to gain back the top end.
The drive by wire system...some say that theres no lag....bleh...there was lag..n lots of it. I had to change my driving style to not let the revs shoot up when I shift…I had to consciously release throttle first then step on the clutch instead of doing them simultaneously as u normally would on a throttle cable system. I couldnt even do proper heel n toe...i even stopped by the side of the road...put the gears in neutral...stepped on the brake pedal and "simulated" heel n toe... A quick simulation with a quick blip to the throttle and theres lag. My foot is already back at the normal position then only the revs shoot up. I really hope someone comes up with the e-throttle controller thing for protons asap. As of now theyre only available for non-local cars. sigh...
EDIT: just found out theres one available from D1 Spec. Its for Proton's CAMPRO engines so I assume it would work with CPS as well since its basically the same engine with only a headjob for the CPS (with the necessary electronics as well). I trust this brand as I've been using their adjustable suspension for about 3 years with no issues on my Kelisa and also their lug nuts for about half a year.
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HERELastly...the bodykit...i do not like that bodykit... The spoiler...well, ive never really liked that kinda spoiler design...so even the imprezza's stock spoiler i dont like...but my main issue is with the arches...those damn arches...imho, its really stupid. If u wanna use extended arches u BETTER FILL OUT THE DAMN ARCHES PROPERLY and not leave the rims sunk in like that...sheesh. Im also from a classic mini background (1st car) and extended arches are common for minis..and yes..they get filled out...
Anyway...the bodykit is also rectifiable...can anyone say "R3"
Even though ive got alot more to say about the cons than the pros...take note that i mentioned that i tested the car LOOKING for negatives.
And would i still consider buying the car? Yes i would...even with all those cons..i still would.
Why? Coz the positives of the car are VERY good imho...and negatives can be rectified like some of the methods ive mentined above (4-1, buckets, adjustables etc etc)....yes u have to spend MORE money to rectify the cons...but im more into modding so these gives me reasons to mod…so I don’t really mind…and if i get this car....im definitely gonna start hunting for an original Border 304
Hell..even if I get fedup with the engine one day… theres always the 4G93T
