About Proton Gen 2

The Proton Gen-2 is an automobile manufactured by Malaysian car maker Proton, and was launched in the third quarter of 2004. The Gen-2 uses a platform which has been extensively developed in-house by Proton and their partner Lotus. Initially codenamed the Proton Wira Replacement Model, it was hinted that the car was to replace the Proton Wira. The name Gen-2 is an abbreviation of Generation 2, to symbolized the second generation of the very successful Wira as the first generation.

The Gen-2 was among the first cars to be produced in Proton's Tanjung Malim plant, developed as part of its Proton City development project.

The Gen-2's platform is also used by the Proton Satria Neo (with a shortened wheelbase) and the Proton Persona (with an extended rear hang to form a more sedan-like body).

Performance

Proton owns Lotus Cars which was involved in the development of the car. The Gen-2 is the first Proton model to use the new Proton/Lotus developed Cam pro engine. Although the Gen-2's S4PH 1.6 Litre engine delivers a claimed 0–100 km/h time of 11.2 seconds (manual transmission) and a contemporary maximum power output of 110 PS (81 kW; 108 hp) at 6000 rpm, it suffers from poor mid-range torque.

This is due to a torque dip in the crucial 2,000 to 3,000 rpm operating range, where the torque output decreases slightly before picking up back to its peak torque, which is delivered at 4,000 rpm. This torque characteristic can clearly be seen in manufacturer published engine performance curves and is widely attributed to the missing Camshaft Profiling System (CPS) technical feature that the engine was named after, but which did not make production, to save costs. The original (non-CPS) Gen-2's Ecu's Engine and Automatic Transmission mapping has been modified several times since the car's launch to improve perceived mid-range pick-up, but the upgrades did not markedly improve the cars drive ability.

This undesirable torque dip was eventually corrected by Proton in 2008 with the introduction of the "new" Cam pro engine, designated Cam pro CPS, which finally delivered camshaft profiling (variable valve timing) as part of the engine specification.