Thanks for the post. That's good to know.

FWIW my priorities these days are not so much about handling and performance but reliability and problem-free (that's why Toyota is at the top of the list for me now). However, it's good to kill 2 birds with one stone.

I will need to recheck on the Corolla Cross GR Sport when I'm in the Toyota showroom next round. I just visited the Toyota showroom about 3 or 4 weeks ago and I didn't actually pay attention to the Corolla Cross since my main interest is the Corolla where the vehicle is already sold out throughout Malaysia at this point of time, awaiting new Corolla model to launch likely next month. I did briefly look at the normal version of the Corolla Cross when I was at the showroom but since it's not my interest, I didn't pay much attention to it.

The current price of the Corolla Cross GR Sport is RM142k, and if there's promotion just like the other versions of the Corolla Cross, I'd seriously look into it although my main choice is still the Corolla. Will see how the upcoming new model of the Corolla stack up once it's launched.

Thanks. Just had a look at the Toyota Taiwan website and noticed they have Corolla GR Sports there unlike here where we only have normal Corolla. Our Corolla here is not even a hybrid, and they have 2 additional versions of the Corolla (hybrid and GR Sports). Lucky for Taiwanese, or unlucky for Malaysians! I was informed that the upcoming new model of the Corolla will be just a facelift with the same old engine, not even a hybrid. We are surely behind other countries when it comes to getting new models with updated technology and features.

For the Corolla Cross, at least Malaysia still have the GR Sports version. It's just that it's only in petrol engine rather than hybrid engine as Taiwan is getting. I've briefly investigated on the hybrid vs NA engine in the Toyota Corolla Cross, and from the looks of it, the difference is not exactly significant especially in performance and power. The hybrid version is just slightly better when it comes to smoother acceleration at low to moderate speeds in comparison to the non-hybrid. Also, slightly better fuel consumption with hybrid perhaps. Apart from that I presume the Corolla Cross hybrid and non-hybrid drive fairly similar.

Proton used to be good value about 10 years ago. Now I don't think it's good value anymore as most of their vehicles are close to RM100k and exceeding that with the Geely rebadge vehicles. I owned the Proton Preve Turbo before and the highest spec only costs RM69k if my memory doesn't fail me. It's value for money but in terms of quality it's still not quite up to the mark with the older Protons. Perhaps newer Protons such as X50 or X70 have improved but then the price is much higher.

Noted on all your points.

Regarding the  unfair comparison between Proton Preve Turbo and X50/X70, it's just a general remark. During the older days, apart from Proton Perdana which is not meant to be sold to the public, the Proton Preve Turbo is the costliest vehicle. It's only when Proton went into joint-venture with Geely they have all these rebadge SUVs coming in, priced higher. We'll wait for the Preve Turbo's replacement, and as you have aptly mentioned, due to inflation everything is expensive these days so I don't expect the replacement to be at the Preve's price range.

The Preve Turbo's quality and reliability are not good. Although the relatively low price can be considered as value for money, the quality of the vehicle drags it down. Apart from the dismal performance of the CVT gearbox, it malfunctioned once and needed to be replaced within warranty period. Also, rattling sound in the interior.