R3SN vs Imports
This is the story of my R3 Satria Neo (2011)
Approximately a month ago, I found a Satria Neo R3 (2011) with mileage less than 200km selling for RM67K at a used car shop. Upon close inspection, the car was indeed the limited edition R3SN (2011) and still had all the R3 performance parts. The interior was brand new (seats were still wrapped with plastic covers), and engine was super clean.
The oddest thing of the car was it only had been registered in May 2013. According to the used car dealer, this car had been sitting in Proton factory for 2 years, and was finally bought by a proton salesman who sold it after having it less than a week or so.
Now, the car is sitting handsomely in my garage. Although it has a few scratches on its paint, and some of the aesthetic parts are missing. But the car has never failed to put a smile on my face for many reasons. One, the price! I literally bought a R3SN that was brand new with a used car price, what a steal! Two, the amazing sporty driving experience, it is not a car that does 0-100 under 5 seconds but it screams for more throttle while cornering. Three, at this price, apart from the first R3 Satria GTI, I am not sure whether I could get another car that can give me the same ecstatic experience.
Some people may argue that many other imported sport cars could perform better on both road & track than R3SN, and ultimately it is a Proton’s product. I agree with the former and latter. However, in my personal opinion, I still think this is one of the best cars in Malaysia for two reasons.
One, it is very affordable NA sport car for a typical young Malaysian bloke like me (lol), and relatively cheap to maintain. Yes, you may say so many other imported cars in the market can offer more in terms of performance, but the car which you are thinking is either a > 10 year old car or cost more than 160K recon (the cheapest 2.0 unreg recon car I could think of was a Civic FD2R, RM165K). It seems like year of manufacture & financial factor simply do not exist in your equation any more. You got to know your definition of "the best car".
Reason number two is rather subjective. I am not a big fan of Proton, because I think there are simply no quality control policies in Proton’s factory. It is not a perfect car, but I truly appreciate every thing about it even its imperfections. R3 Satria Neo does make me proud as a Malaysian. To me, owning this car is like owning part of Malaysia’s history. This car is a definite keeper for many more years to come.
Now, I started having crazy ideas of restoring a R3 Satria GTI. Well, perhaps that is a story for another time when my banker permits. Lol. :proud:
