So I took the plunge and bought a new car. Not just any new car, but an EV. I’m assuming that most folks reading this would know that stands for “electric vehicle”. Also, this is my first ever Proton car! The Proton e.Mas 7 Premium to be precise.
What motivated me to buy a new car? Both my boys are driving now and with one son taking a gap year (perhaps more on this in a latter post) and my eldest back for the summer holidays, my wife and I found ourselves playing musical chairs with our cars. It’s just not efficient and a little bit agro at times to have to curtail our logistical plans to accommodate theirs. I was originally planning on buying a new or second hand small car like a Myvi or similar, but a good friend convinced me that in the long run I wouldn’t be happy with that decision. He also convinced me that the new car should be for me and not for my children. They should get my hand-me-down car.
To be fair, my current car that has been my trusty workhorse for the past 13 years is a 2012 Toyota Fortuner 2.5 Diesel. I am very happy with it and it has been literally trouble free all the while. Only once did I have a “breakdown” when the fanbelt snapped and the engine began to overheat. That’s it. Small matter that was easily rectified. Other than that, she has been reliable and pleasure to drive. She’s done about 186,000km and I service her at the Toyota service center regularly. That’s the trick, regular service and don’t skimp on it.
Recently I had all four tires changed to Michelin LTX Trail 265/65 17R tires and about 18 months ago I resprayed her and installed an upgraded entertainment/infotainment system complete with Apple CarPlay Wireless, Android Auto and 360 degree cameras. She is good for another 100,000 km I reckon and a reliable and safe car for my boys to drive.
It took me the better part of a week to deliberate on this decision. I spoke to friends, spoke to my wife, my children who are more in-tune with the car culture these days and of course I asked in online e.Mas 7 communities. It wasn’t a case of should I buy a car, but rather which car and which variant of the e.Mas 7, (Prime vs Premium) should I purchase.
For me, the biggest difference between the standard or “Prime” version and the top end “Premium” version is battery capacity. The Prime comes with a 49.52 kWh with a WLTP range of 345km while the Premium version has a 60.22 kWh with a WLTP range of 410km. I drive roughly RM400km a week so with just that in mind, the Premium edition is more suited for my requirements. Both versions charge at 11 kw AC while the Prime charges at 80kw DC and he Premium a little faster at 100kW DC peak. I have seen YouTube videos that show the Premium charging as high as 123kW.
The other differences are mainly cosmetic, such as the panoramic sun-roof which I don’t forsee me using much but maybe I will this time. A good friend knows the shop that is the official partner with Proton e.Mas to install tinting so I got a free upgrade from the basic model to one spec higher, so that should make the sunroof a little more usable as the UV and heat coming through is dramatically reduced (I tested it in the booth that they have). I also opted for an upgraded dashcam from the official partner, Trapo, which will give me higher spec cameras both forward and rear.
The biggest hurdle will be how to install a wall box charger at home. The layout of my house is that the MCB is in my store room under my stairs, so I estimate there will need to be drilling of walls at at least two locations, and cabling will easily be about 25m. If the cost of installing the wall charger exceeds RM5K then, it may negate the cost savings of having an EV to begin with! I may just opt not to install the wall charger and use a 3Kw 3-pin charger called a “granny charger”. To charge from 20% to 80% on a granny charger could take up to 12 hours while with th wall box it will only take about 5 hours. I’m thinking that as long as the wall outlet and my 3-phase house can take it, I don’t mind charging overnight. I am just a little worried about potential fire hazards and also, if someone steals my granny charger while it’s in use!
Like I said, this is going to be my first electric car, so I might have to get used to some new things. When I took it for a test drive last week, I was really impressed by all the features packed into a car at this price point, especially since I’m switching from a diesel SUV that’s 13 years old!
I’m going to chronicle my EV journey as best I can. I have the tools to do the job and I just need to find the “drive” (pun intended) to do it. It will be the perfect way to try out my Insta360 X5 and my Xiaomi 15 Ultra (I also carry an iPhone 15PM).
Let’s see how this goes…