Public opinion is an odd thing. Sometimes it's absolutely spot on, while other times, well, the public is just plain wrong. But once faith has gone, it takes a painfully long time to rebuild. Once scorned, it'll be a while before many of us go near that guilty party again, if ever. That is, if there's even a choice.
And so, to Proton. Public confidence in the national carmaker has been tailing off for years, and not without good and/or (most likely and, for most of us) frequent reason. There was the Waja, Gen 2, Persona, Exora, and last year, the much-awaited and hyped Preve. All promised a lot of things, but delivered few.
You hear all the time that the new one is the turnaround car, but it isn't quite so simple. Even if they're very good – and the Preve did come very close – it'll take several years to build up that vital public confidence back again. Strike gold, and the absolute best Proton can hope for is stabilisation.
The real turnaround will come only a few years down the line, when buyers get confident and feel they can put their hard-earned cash behind the vehicles from the first national car company once more. That's the upside, provided the new Proton Suprima S - now ready to be tested – really is good enough to start the brand back up again. Well now, is it?
Click here to read our full Proton Suprima S review.
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