Savvy with AMT (Automated Manual Transmission)

[vadarius]

Proton debuts Savvy AMT variant



PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd has launched its new Savvy variant that comes with the innovative automated manual transmission (AMT) gearbox.



The AMT gearbox allows the driver to choose between automatic or manual gear selections.



Proton joint CEO Datuk Kisai Rahmat said the AMT reinforced Savvy's fundamental attributes of being safe, fuel economy and fun to drive.



"It is also a fact that AMT, referred to as a high technology feature commonly associated with premium vehicles, is now available economically in a small car like Savvy," he said at the hand-over of the Savvy AMT car to the first 50 buyers in Proton Edar's head office in UEP Subang on Tuesday.



"For convenience purposes you have the automatic mode. If you want to have some fun at the wheel, there is the manual mode that drives without clutch pedal. In Savvy, we provide this feature economically and affordably," he said.



He said the Savvy AMT has the convenience of cruising in automatic mode and responsive performance in manual mode, with a satisfactory fuel economy.



In Savvy AMT, the automatic mode works just like any fully automatic car, where gear selection is fully automated by the speed and manner the car is driven in.



In manual mode, the AMT allows the driver to manually select the gears using a gear shifter without the need of a clutch pedal.



The Savyy AMT is priced from RM45,888 and is available in apple green, sterling grey, magma red, stratos blue and midnight black.

Proton is expected to produce 4,000 units of the Savvy AMT by the end of the year.

 

[zan]

1stly, they shud not call it Auto Manual becoz its only an auto with manual override mode.

the name wud be deceiving to many ppl out there quoting their car is not auto but manual. but no clutch one...

ha ha ha..

i wud like to go for Gen2 1.3 auto as it is bigger and engine can transplant with mitsu but at similar price bracket, a Myvi 1.3 auto makes more sense...

 

[prozac]

1stly, they shud not call it Auto Manual becoz its only an auto with manual override mode.

the name wud be deceiving to many ppl out there quoting their car is not auto but manual. but no clutch one...

Correction. It's a manual with clutch and gears deployed automatically:

Chips Yap Savvy AMT article

Magneti-Marelli AMT module in Savvy

 

[Dino@Casper]

Yeah is an automatic clutch.. something like those found in alfas....

 

[Kelis]

Yeah is an automatic clutch.. something like those found in alfas....

He, he... Agreed. But, the Savvy AMT does provide a compromise between a manual and a n automatic gearbox(considerd as a 5 speed). :cool: Quite impressive.

 

[Dino@Casper]

yeah sounds impresive... the gearbox seems quite high tech.. but i wonder if it fails how much will it cost

 

[xerofighter]

perhaps the most interesting improvement for the savvy. rather then usualy 'special editions', they actually introduced something quite impressive. although such gearboxes has been used for years by lower and upper class vehicles.

anyone got any infomation on how fast the gear changes would be? that seems to be the main problem wit lower end cars using this amt transmission. the lag between gear shifts.

 

[Kelis]

Savvy AMT

Actually, cars like the Clio, etc. have been using this kind of gearbox before, so far so good... From what I have read. Hm... I thought the shifting depends mostly on the driver, but, from my opinion, the AMT's shifting should be quite fast.

Just my 2 cents... :tongue:

 

[xerofighter]

Actually, cars like the Clio, etc. have been using this kind of gearbox before, so far so good... From what I have read. Hm... I thought the shifting depends mostly on the driver, but, from my opinion, the AMT's shifting should be quite fast.

Just my 2 cents... :tongue:

the shifting is done by the driver of course but what i meant to say was the time it takes for the electronics to disengage the current gear and re-engage another.

 

[BlackSamurai]

it's a good try by PROTON, but I'm expecting AMT available for higher rank vehicle in PROTON like Perdana, WAJA or new SGTI. Not practical to have it in small car like Savvy, unless PROTON wanna make the AMT pilot project start in small scale.

 

[si|verfish]

If it is as sluggish as the ones on Smarts, for example, then it is rubbish. Hope it isn't jerky as well.

 

[zan]

Correction. It's a manual with clutch and gears deployed automatically:

Chips Yap Savvy AMT article

Magneti-Marelli AMT module in Savvy

WOW!! this is really impressive!! especially if this gearbox has 6 forward ratios.

proton shud made this car more appealing, like giving a differetn set of alloys, steering wheel mounted gearchange buttons/ or paddles, roof spoiler..

silverfish, i dont think this savvy will be sluggish unless its a real automatic with torque converter. this car can be the point where proton can success in making more new models.

 

[acbc]

Hhmm... if somebody can customised the electronics on the AMT for other gearboxes such as the Mitsu W5M33, it would be great!

 

[SkYwAlKeR]

fuhyoo... sawy using magneti technology... couldnt believe it... they havent even built a proper reliable car and they wanna come up with such complicated gadgets...

jz do a proper simple car will do la... why want so much gadgets where they fail after few months??...

 

[prozac]

Well, we have yet to see any failures of Savvys with AMT. So far, the "new" Proton has been very sensitive about quality and reliability. e.g. there have already been many improvements in Gen.2 with every new revision.

But what I don't get is why couldn't they find all the faults of the car before releasing them on the road? A car isn't like Windows which is patched and updated all the time.

One crashes and you reboot. The other crashes and you reincarnate.

 

[BlackSamurai]

e.g. there have already been many improvements in Gen.2 with every new revision.

are you sure?

 

[prozac]

are you sure?

For a start, the radiator hose clips in the current Gen.2 is using a screw type rather than a wire in the 1st batch. Also, the quality of some plastics have improved. All this comes from lashing vendors who try their best to cut corners.

 

[si|verfish]

silverfish, i dont think this savvy will be sluggish unless its a real automatic with torque converter. this car can be the point where proton can success in making more new models.

Actually it is the other way round. Unless your definition of sluggish is different from mine. There has been constant complaints from road tester about the lag that happens when you shift gears on Smarts. It is like shift, pauses....., then it engages the next gear. Which is more apparent if you are heavy on the throttle. This is less apparent if you remove your foot off the pedal when you shift, but the some argue that this is stupid because it is supposed to be automated hence it should sort itself out properly.

Tiptronics, like I'm sure you know, is just a normal auto 'box with manual override. Modern auto 'boxes are very very smooth and don't have much lag. The only criticism of them is that they sap more power from the engine because of the hydrolic torque converter compared to normal manuals. But they are very smooth and less jerky compared to automated manuals. Even the best AMTs like those on BMWs and Ferraris are jerky and you need to use the throttle trick to make them smoother. The main difference in those high end systems is that they are built to be robust and the software does its best to slam the gears in as fast and hard as possible. Which is something they try not to do in cheaper cars because they want to make it comfortable, hence the lag and sluggishness.

I'm not saying AMTs can't be made to be smooth and fast. They can. I'm just not sure the one in the Savvy is.

 

[bridgestoneRE711]

best is to test drive yourself , rather than listening to comment .
that is what i did , i tried out the gen2 ... really useless interior , until my brother bought one last month , improved alot , in terms of quality also .
savvy is quite ok imho , i tried twice .

 

[zan]

i believe u have a point in ur saying silvefish. in my knowledge, the Alfa's selespeed does jerk when left in auto mode.

from a different aspect, Honda City CVT also jerks in auto mode. better in manual.