I own the Preve Turbo and Ford Focus Titanium. The Proton Preve/Suprima are indeed the poor man's Ford Focus. At around RM69k or lower due to year end discounts, the Preve Turbo and Suprima are great value, but the inferiority shows when compared to the Ford Focus.

Differences as follows:-

1. Steering. The weight of steering of the Preve(I presume Suprima also) is significantly heavier than the Ford Focus. When there is a need to turn the steering wheel a lot especially during reverse parking etc., it will be much easier and effortless to turn the steering wheel. More energy and effort are needed to turn the steering wheel of the Preve Turbo when doing some parking.

2. Refinement. The small little details such as the feel of the gear knob, the signal stalk etc. The gear knob of the Preve Turbo feels cheap, and it is stiff when moving around the gears when you want to shift from say N to D or D to R etc. The gear knob of the Focus feels nice to touch and shifting between gears is much refined as it glides through the gears.

3. Power and acceleration. No doubt the Preve Turbo/Suprima is one powerful vehicle, thanks to the Turbo engine. Though, the torque and horsepower figures are lower than the Focus. There may be little difference when accelerating from 0 to 100km/h but when accelerating (hard) from say 100km/h to 160km/h you will feel the difference. The Focus will pull away more effortlessly and quicker.

The 1.6 Campro Turbo engine of the Preve Turbo/Suprima is more powerful when compared to non-Turbo 1.6-litre engines, but when compared to similar Turbocharged engines such as Ford Ecoboost 1.6 or VW 1.4 etc., the Turbo engine of the Proton is lacking.

4. NVH. Both are comparable when the cars are stationary but when accelerating the engine and CVT noise from the Proton is louder than the Focus. There is a low-frequency drone from the Turbo engine of the Preve coupled by CVT whine.

5. Sound from suspension when going over bad roads. This is one area the Proton Preve Turbo is better than the Focus. The suspension of the Focus is noisier than the quieter suspension of the Preve Turbo when going over bad-surfaced roads or rough roads.

There are more differences between the Preve/Suprima and the Focus but the above are the pertinent ones.

In the end, the Preve Turbo or Suprima only cost RM69k+/- vs the Ford Focus low spec at RM115k+/- so, the Proton ain't too shabby. But the difference in quality does shown between the two.

typo in the last paragraph.

the difference in quality *does show between the two.

Assuming the Suprima S is almost similar in performance with the Preve Turbo, the Suprima is slower than the Focus. The Thais have done extensive test-runs on Preve Turbo and Ford Focus, taking the average times out of about 5 runs. The results are as below.



I am pretty sure that the acceleration at the top end from say 100km/h to 160km/h++ of the Preve Turbo(Suprima) will not match the Focus as in my experience the Preve starts to lose steam earlier and show reduced acceleration whereas the Focus continues to accelerate uniformly without much struggle. The specs does support this observation as the maximum output of the Preve Turbo is only 103kW compared to 170kW of the Focus.

I mixed up the horsepower units between Ps and kW but still, the Ford Focus horsepower of 170Ps(125kW) is higher than the Preve Turbo (103kW). And you are the one who is spewing rubbish. THe Focus' horsepower is not 160hp but 170hp.

The Suprima/Preve Turbo may not struggle when accelerating from 100km/h to 160km/h, but the power comes in slowly when compared to the Focus. I certainly wouldn't say it is a piece of cake for the Preve Turbo to accelerate to 180km/h. Surely it can reach 180km/h, but it would take a bit of struggle. The Focus will do that effortlessly in comparison. Whenever there is a need to accelerate from any speed, the Preve Turbo/Suprima's acceleration feels lethargic partly due to the throttle response and CVT. The power comes in slowly with the unpleasant loud roar from the Turbo engine. In contrast, with the Focus, you can feel the instantaneous power kicking in upon hard acceleration, and coupled by the robust roar from the engine you feel the car surging forward very quickly.

Acceleration on the Focus, both response and power is better than the Preve/Suprima.

Above 180km/h, I need not say more if comparing between the Preve Turbo/Suprima and the Ford Focus.

I have driven both cars extensively and I am relating my experience here. Do you happen to own both Suprima S and Focus, or your comments are based on the comments made by owners of Suprima and PReve Turbo? Have you actually driven the Ford Focus?

Re. track time in Sepang between Suprima and Ford Focus. Not too sure about the handling between Suprima vs Focus hatchback. Between Preve Turbo sedan and Focus sedan, it's not only the power in acceleration, but the handling of the Preve Turbo, although good, does not match up to the Focus as well. On the bends, the Focus sticks to the tarmac like a leech and feels solid whereas the Preve Turbo feels little wobbly with higher body roll. You get a bit of feeling that the Preve Turbo is going to turn turtle when taking bends at higher speed but there is no such feeling with the Focus. The limiting factor in these conditions are the tyres.

Race track driving will only gauge the time and performance of the cars in extreme driving conditions. In everyday driving, when there is a need to accelerate quickly at any given speed ie. hard acceleration, the Preve Turbo felt heavier and sluggish compared to the Focus, presumably due to the CVT and throttle response/tuning. One cannot just simply step hard on the pedal of the Preve Turbo(or Suprima if the throttle response is similar) and expect the car to launch forward like a rocket. Otherwise we will just hear the unpleasant loud whining sound from the engine and the car isn't surging forward as quickly as we want it to be but instead accelerating at a slow pace. We will have to control the footwork on the pedal of the Preve Turbo if we want the car to accelerate forward uniformly or quickly, exerting just the right amount of pressure on the pedal. This is the reason why some have commented on the poor throttle response of the Preve Turbo. On the other hand, with the Focus, one hard step on the pedal you will feel the power kicking in as you feel your body pushed back to the seat as the car lunges forward and the speed picking up rapidly.

In other words, even though the driver may want the Preve Turbo to accelerate off the blocks as quickly as possible, he cannot simply step on the pedal to the max and expect the car to launch forward like a beast. He will have to step on the pedal halfway down to "engage" the Turbo, then only slolwy exerting force onto the pedal to continue to accelerate away. A bit cumbersome and may not be as straightforward when compared to the more sensitive throttle response of say the Focus.