The Proton 1-Tank Adventure went on a mountainous journey to East Malaysia covering a distance of 420 km from Inanam, a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu, to Kundasang, situated 2,000 meters above sea level. Despite the conditions, all teams comprising of media and the public completed the 2-day journey with the public group recording the best results of average fuel consumption.
Compared to the Central and East Coast rounds, the route in Sabah ranked as the most difficult as participants were asked to travel from Proton Edar Inanam to Nabalu Kundasang Lodge via Tuaran Clock Tower, Serisim sub-station, Sabah Tea Plantation and Kuala Abai before heading back to Stadium Likas for the Dynamic Driving Experience.
Some of the challenges faced by participants were single lane mountainous roads leading that climbed to 2,000 metres above sea level while the rugged terrain meant there was the occasional encounter with domestic and farm animals. Some participants even went off-route as the sparsely populated communities sometimes led to a loss of GPS navigation. Such a route not only tested fuel consumption, but also the handling, manoeuvrability and safety of the Proton cars.
The challenge was so tough that even the industry professionals found it difficult to drive economically but quickly enough to meet their check-point times. Surprisingly, the Public category entrants performed better with celebrity entrant Ruhainies winning the Iriz Group by recording 5.76L/100km against the best Media category performer at 6.12L/100km.
Prior to the event, Proton stressed to the participants that the objective was to capture real world fuel consumption figures so everybody was encouraged to drive with the air conditioning turned on and at a speed that was representative of everyday driving. This was highly appreciated by everyone as the hot weather meant that being comfortable was vital to enjoying the journey.
The awards ceremony for the East Malaysia region was held at PROTON Edar Inanam. All results were verified by scrutineers from the Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) who confirmed all 16 teams had successfully completed the 420 km journey.
The best achievements were for the Saga 1.3 CVT at 5.46L/100km (average fuel consumption in the Saga Group is 6.17L/100km), followed by the Persona 1.6 CVT at 5.83L/100km (average fuel consumption in the Persona Group is 6.33L/100km) and the Iriz 1.3 CVT at 5.76L/100km (average fuel consumption in the Iriz Group is 6.57L/100km).
The hilly 1-Tank Adventure route has proved the excellent handling and the active and passive safety features of Proton cars. Having gone through such roads, the Dynamic Driving activities were performed easily as participants were taught the finer skills of driving such as seating position, steering techniques and the smooth application of brakes and accelerator pedals. Seeing this development, future routes and activities may take on more challenging characteristics to benefit all drivers.
