I spent a lot of time working in Malaysia. Imported cars are very expensive in KL. Protons, being domestically manufactured, attracted no import tax. I have quite a bit of time driving a Proton Wira which was based on an old Mitsubishi Lancer. Ahhh, memories.....
I own one of these, that button resets the alarm, not unpair the keys as far as I can tell. Safety is pretty good, these actually had the stiffest chassis out of any hatchback sold in Australia in 2006. Higher end versions got automatic climate control. The mediocre engine performance was a tradeoff for reliability, I've done 100km of track driving in one sitting with no cool down laps without overheating. Good review!
Likewise my car has done circa 300 laps of Sepang in the same engine as it left factory. Hugely flawed car but the driving dynamics are pretty good. ua-cam.com/video/aRj_QaW0XKQ/v-deo.html
A fellow Aussie Satria Neo driver here, was basically given mine and I thrash it everywhere, mostly because you can thrash one and still not get tickets, loves corners, barely understeers and if anything it's not too hard to get it to lift-off round roundabouts for some fun-ish slightly scary sideways action when traction is less than 80%. Fun car if you know how to drive it.
I bought a 2010 Neo in 2011, it’s was just over 6 months old and as new condition. It was a great little car, with amazing handling and ice cold air conditioning but slightly let down by poor quality interior. It was comfortable enough, but I’d have loved to get my hands on one of the editions with leather upholstery. Mine had a leak from the power steering which Proton repaired under warranty with no fuss. Mine was burnt orange which when polished looked absolutely stunning. I should add that I lived in Thailand at this time, and made frequent trips to Malaysia. There are tuners in Malaysia that add a turbo kit and all sorts of mods, I was often tempted but I kept mine stock.
They are 4 models which u can't get in UK. All are 1.6 CPS /R3 / NEO Clubsport and NEO Lotus Racing. The R3 and NEO Lotus Racing made about 145bhp. Fun Facts - u can swap any engine from Evo4 -9 with minimal mods to the lower subframe
Its really cool for us Malaysian. Many people bought it to race and went touge with it. There is also a special edition call R3 Clubsport and a R3 Lotus Racinv Edition. These were very rare and highly sought after here in Malaysia.
My late father bought Proton Exora Supreme in 2011, when he went to Malaysia with my mother to visits his relatives he bought the antenna pole and the wiper blade, he said that it's cheaper in Malaysia than Indonesia (?)
Fascinating to see these cars being reviewed by a Brit, as a used/vintage car. In Malaysia, I wouldn’t say we praise the build quality or practicality but it IS an underrated yet desirable, cheap enthusiast car. Handling is famous. Gear shift is crisp. The looks has its fans.
@@hokman1 another car that rivals the type of sloppyness that getrag gearbox gives is the Axia E. That had the second worst gear shift feeling ever, the Saga BLM was the worst...
I think its genuinely so unknown that it can't be uncool. Cars usually become uncool by reputation like Jazz's are for old people, Skoda's are taxis etc.
Spoke to the owner of this car at The Late Brake Show back in December and he actually led me on to this channel. I used to own a 1.6 Proton Gen 2 GLS. I'll be honest I loved that car, the bare basics but boy was it fun to drive, not exactly something i get from my current Pug 207 Sport Diesel.
The guy is an absolute machine. He’s so consistent with these great videos I’ve actually started to build time into my Sunday to watch is weekend ones. Favourite UA-camr by a mile
Saya pernah memiliki bmw f20 dan sekarang merc s205 tetapi masih menyimpan dan menggunakan satria neo 1.6 cps. Ianya adalah kereta pertama saya sejak 2011 sehingga sekarang dan masih tidak gagal memberi senyuman kepuasan setiap kali memandunya. Ya, ia tidak selaju kereta sukan yg lain seangkatannya tetapi kepuasan pemanduannya di jalanan terutama yang berliku membuatkan saya merasa muda 11 tahun semula. 😃
Back in the day that Protons were on sale, they were mostly sold to people who wanted a new car but couldn't afford a good one or the repayments. When they appeared on the used market you had to be careful as most had never seen a spanner. The interiors wore out quickly, and the lack of any servicing meant that there are far better options.
True. The same is true of a lot of budget cars. People buying them want to spend as little as possible by definition. So aren't exactly falling over themselves to pay servicing and repairs. I see quite a lot of sad looking Dacia, Kia and Hyundai cars at 3-5 years old. They're not badly made, but just treated as beasts of burden.
I remember when top gear had this car on a 2008 episode when they were testing this and a Perodua Myvi and Chevrolet Aveo as cars people will end up buying because of the recession. The version they had was red with white stripes and the bit I can remember is James May being amazed that they managed to to fake Allen head bolts on the plastic fuel filler cap. To be honest they tended to be the affordable option to many of the more expensive cars from Ford and the VW group even the northern police forces in the UK had a few Protons on their general patrol vehicles.
This car was turned into a monster rally car called satria neo S2000 used in WRC and APRC rallys, also use by top gear UK to race against top gear Australia. Stig drive for UK.
@@marinaau8551 I remember that rally car. The two models of Proton that were seen in the BTCC were the Impian actually run by Proton in 2002 BTCC season and the Persona run by Welch Motorsport in 2013.
@@bentullett6068 Proton has a new rally car called Proton Iriz R5 made by Mello in UK. It races in the British Rally Championships. Check it out. Cheers.
In 2017, my lady wife learned to drive in one of these, as a driving school in Battersea had a whole fleet of them. I have absolutely no idea why they chose to have a fleet of ten year old Proton Satria Neos over virtually anything else...
@@lloydvehicleconsulting They are also super durable. These were designed for track abuse, so as long as you change the timing belt every 60k miles they will last forever. The only reason these get scrapped so often is that the front brake rotors are unique to this model, and have to be imported from Malaysia. Nobody wants to spend 200quid replacing the brake rotors on a car worth 500.
If you look at old police programmes filmed in the north of England around 2005-2008 they used to have Proton police cars. When I first saw one on one of those programmes I had to double take and then thought how do you catch criminals in those cars.
I still kept my Neo, but mine is the high spec with CPS engine (not sold in UK if I don't mistaken), which probably do better in low revs compare the original CamPro but still not a better engine if compare other's 1.6L competitors, yet still it is a fun car and more character to drive especially in winding roads. Balance is far better than any Civic and tenancy to understeer are much lower. Yes, the interior are awful but you never watch the interior when you just too fun looking on the road driving it. The engine although isn't that good on range, but reliability is for me exceptional. Mine has passed 260k km mileage (used it for 8 years, brand new from factory), yet not much power loss and still kicking hitting 7k rpm in factory spec. I love this car.
Malaysian here. Owned the 1.6 Highline version ( dual front airbags, and rear spoiler with rear wiper ). Not a car for 0-100 km/h nor top speed. But a hatch that outhandles a number of faster, more expensive cars, as long as the driver knows how to wrangle the Neo in corners, and proper undercarriage setup ( mine was -1.5 camber front, -1 camber rear, 0 toe, running road legal semi slick tires with stock dampers + spring setup ). Corners neutral to slight oversteer. I have also driven the Clubsport version ( that handles WAY even better with oversteer on demand ), the Neo S2000 test car ( 200hp due to supercharger + Ohlins DPV front and rear, road legal semi slick tires, upgraded brakes setup ), a real roarer of a hatch, and the Neo Lotus Edition as well. I'd say the Clubsport is the best of 'em all.
I recently just work at their factory as a production worker driving the forklift and lift stuff, easy work. At first peek inside the factory I could see dozens of neo parts including the side panel that were untouchable and have been kept in mint condition. They were mostly being used as spare parts if I'm not mistaken
This is actually a good car, it's cheap yes but the fact it's still working tells you it has tested the test of time. Compared to a 206 you see a lot of them in the scrap yards and what I don't get is motor journos are obsessed with torque. It wasnt even mentioned back when this car was originally brought to the market. Yes the Satria had been around for a long time. It's like MG Rover who just recycled the car over and over again.
People can laugh but two of the most reliable cars I've owned among my 44 or so. Proton Emerald 1.5 ( Mitsubishi Lancer underneath) and Proton compact 1.3 ( Mitsubishi colt underneath) Emerald 5 years Compact 3 years , never a day they failed to start or left me stranded or failed an MOT costing more than £50 .
this car have quite a special place among malaysians..but it really does pale in comparison to the older 1.8l Satria GTi, despite having a superior chassis..even on it's best variant what you have there is prolly the most basic early production model, the 1.3.. the later 1.6litre came with a newer CPS engine that fixed the torque holiday on lower rpm and having overall smoother powerband.. some later variant came with special equipment and suspension setup like the Lotus Racing or R3 variants-i'm not sure if these were ever available there over the UK i wish that you would get your hand on the older Satria GTi, would love to see your opinion on one of those
Because of its superior chasis, the basic satria neo was turned into a monster rally car called the satria 2000 used in WRC and APRC rallys. On one top gear show, two satria 2000s race against each other, one driven by top gear Australia and another driven by the stig.
Been happily waiting for a video on a Proton vehicle and it turns out my hopes have been fulfilled! Been fascinated by the Proton Satria since a few years ago and although they are quite admittedly not up to standard even in its day, I believe they have a special place in their home country and their neighbouring markets like Singapore among others. Looking forward to a Satria GTi review!
I am a Singaporean and I dare say this car is pretty rare here too. The Suzuki Swift Sport and Honda Jazz are much more popular. But I believe this car still is pretty popular in Malaysia itself. You still see quite a number on track in Sepang.
Indeed, fellow Singaporean here, the Satria Neo is a very uncommon car, I've seen only two examples in person myself. However, the model is still a car that many carspotters take notice of, which is why I mentioned that it has a special place in the country. I believe back in the day the Satria GTi was a well received hot hatch used for the carpark rallies back during those days, however all 11 or so units brought into the country have to my knowledge, unfortunately been deregistered.
@@JayEmmOnCars I'm in a local owners group, I'll put the word out that you're looking for a tidy Satria GTI to review. Most of them have been crashed or horrifically modified but there are still a couple tidy examples around.
@@REFfigy that is great news!! looking forward to see jay on the GTi's sad truth even here in malaysia..a bonestock GTi is pretty much a unicorn..ppl mod the crap out of them
I feel sorry for Proton. They are cheap yest but really reliable. I had a Gen 2 1.6 since 2007 and nothing went wrong apart from some ignition coils. Really nice to drive too.
I haven't had my ignition coils go, however the fuel pump went a few times. Is yours the CPS or Campro version? And I agree, the engines themselves are very reliable and rugged
I used to had one. This car was so cheap and I turned it into a track day car. I had upgraded the suspension, camshaft, bore up the cylinder block and added a turbo which boosted the car from 94hp to 375hp. But, I kept that car exterior in stock. I sold the car in 2016, and bought a 2016 Volvo V70.
The thing about Campro engine and throttle response (both 1.6L and 1.3L) is that you need to accelerate much longer and reach higher RPM to achieve satisfactory amount of pickup and "feel" while driving.
I have a Proton Saga 1.3 for almost 11yrs, and the car still going strong. I dont compare it with other brands because the Saga is my 1st car and i love it
Good to se you bro, proton interests me as many years ago i came across a proton dealership and they had a flagship car in shop it was decent looking like a tuned up hot hatch
so happy to see this review. ive ben a proton advocate for about 15 years. on my 4th. with a satria 1.5. so many things can be done, but even out of the box they are a lot of fun for not a lot of money. keep up the good work sir
10:30 The reason for the delay in response is due to the drive by wire throttle pedal. There are tuners who'll mod it for around MYR50 (£10) and it'll improve right away. Or alternatively you can get a throttle controller.
Offer them a grand.. Mine was supposed to be £2000 and I said I only had half that, they got back to me 2 days later saying "do I have any other requests?" so they fixed the cracked front bumper and put it on trade plates to get home, always loved these from the first time I saw one. 1800 is too much for a car with no customer support from the manufacturer.. If your travelling a long way to work every day I'd suggest against it because fuel economy is atrocious.. They're lovely cars and they're amazing with how reliable they are.. I own one, as much as I love it it breaks my heart knowing they're so hard to repair if something goes wrong.
Nice one jay....am quite suprised that these satria neos are still running on UK roads...am suprised that parts are expensive and hard to find for these cars in the UK, as mellors motorsport are still selling rally prepared proton iriz in the UK, spares in malaysia for satria neo are cheap as chips and are plentiful, plus there are daily flights from Kuala lumpur to heathrow...so it would makes sense to order parts from malaysia and have it shipped to the UK...in all honesty, the satria makes a superb beater car....aa it is able to hold up to abuse pretty well...take care and love from malaysia
I once had an old Proton 1.5 saloon, bought as a stop gap for £125, it certainly was pretty basic, but I ragged the hell out of it for nearly a year with no problems at all, the mate I sold it to ran it for a couple of years until he crashed it!
@@AQHackAQ yes, that one. Haven't seen many for a long while here, probably the sentiment against Malaysia (since this is Indonesia) hasn't paid well against Proton and Petronas here.
@@AntoniusTyas one of Proton planning is to re-launch again in Indonesia, start with X70 & X50 SUV, their base HQ was in Pondok Indah, Exora MPV was a popular Proton Model Sold in Indonesia
What trim did you go for on the i20? My partner currently has a Corsa ecoflex and frankly it's hot garbage but she wants an i20 but never knew anyone who owned one to ask what they're like?
@@larvey I had the 2016 turbo edition, the best value version of that era (alloys, reversing camera, sat Nav and turbo engine for an extra £500) and it was very decent.
@@larvey It was the older model from 2009, 1.4L engine. It was ok but that's all I can say. I did not keep the Hyundai i20 for that long, it was just so I could learn to drive and then I sold it within a month or 2 after I passed my test.
I nearly bought an ex-police Proton Impian a couple years ago as a backup car, mighty 1.6L Mitsubishi block under the hood. The most garish interior I've ever seen... chrome ringed dials and seats looking like a bizarre mix of wicker and tartan, and it was very cool. Lotus handling and all, definitely a tin can deathtrap 😂. Do love the look of that Satria though. Imagine that with a Rover K-Series under the bonnet
I've driven more Protons than I'd like to admit, having spent some time in South-East Asia in the late 80s/early 90s. Back then they were all based on previous generation Mitsubishis, so were dull to drive, but generally reliable. However, the build quality on even quite new cars was dire.
Mock it all you want, as a first car or a budget motor I fail to see the problem. I entered the world of driving in the mid nineties, your first car had plenty of visible rust, a choke on the carburettor, no power steering & not much else. We live in times now where your average sixth former goes to school in a financed Audi A1. It's not the Proton's fault it's deemed uncool.
I had a previous gen proton satria 1.3 Li when i was 24, brought from a dealership in morcott that me & my dad had brought cars from before it became a proton dealer. It was a 6 month old ex demo that had similar issues, cheap interior, gutless engine, poor fuel economy, terrible ride (it did handle well though, gearbox was good too), no space. But it was reliable unlike my previous 1998 1.4 corsa mk1. I did test a neo when i decided to sell it, but it was no better than the older car, & the bigger proton Gen2 was just as bad. Tried a panda 100hp too which i quite liked, but ended up with a mk2 focus 1.8 zetec instead
Met the owner of this at the late brake show live in Somerset, spent quite a while chatting about all of the "qwerks" of this car, he had a long list! Happy to see more absolute nuggets on the channel Jay! Still got a shed of an EK3 civic and an E30 318i if you're interested :P
Maybe it's because there are none of these where I'm from, but I think these look nice. There's a charm In how they look like a freebie first car in an open world MMO and everybody loves an underdog.
I owned one of these for 6 years. It was unrefined, cheap, uncomfortable with poor fuel economy. It was also the most reliable car i have ever owned and the one i missed the most when i finally said goodbye. I'm pleased i owned something that not many other people had even heard of. As someone else said, it is so unknown that no one ever ribbed me for owning one, and in fact a lot of people loved the look of it. I purchased it last minute after the head gasket went on my Honda Civic and i needed a car quick to go on holiday to Cornwall. Everything you said in your video is correct, but i loved it 😂
Never seen one before, but I like the look of it, with the wide arches. Yes, really. And I will always respect cheap transport that does the job, which presumably this did/does?
I live in the UK and I own one of two left in Lincolnshire. It's an amazing car. Handles like a go kart. I just wish it had more oomph since it struggles up anything that resembles a hill. 🤣
Never heard of Proton before watching this channel. Now that I've seen it, I reckon that I haven't missed much. Though I do like the looks of the older model. ✌🏻🇺🇸
never heard of these but i kind of like it, not that i'd call myself a fan of it or anything but since it's something else compared to every other car on the road, i do find it interesting. Would definitely like to look at one for myself with my own eyes
And so it begins. Always interested to hear Jay's take on cars, and this one certainly didn't disappoint. Curious to see if there'd be more Proton coverage on the channel, but until then, I'll indulge myself by watching the rest of Jay's videos since I do have quite a bit of catching up to do. #ProtonMalaysia
I came oh so close to buying a year-old one of these Protons, and I found the driving experience not too bad at all - the thing certainly handled well. I do agree with you on the quality of that interior though - even for a budget car it felt deeply cheap. It didn't fill me with confidence as to how well it would last down the years.
Owned one of these as a stop gap had it 6 month - pretty decent car tbh - economy was a bit rubbish and tax band a little high for the car .. but decent handling went well once you got moving..but most impirtantly it was pretty fun to drive !! and nothing on it broke even after 6 months of total abuse & I sold it for than I bought it!
Most of malaysians love this brand because of the ride quality(comfort suspension but tuned for cornering too) and a super cold air-conditioning. While the fuel consumption is a little bit higher than the other competitors
@@Rizual FYI, I'm already have some experience with newer model of toyota and honda (friends, etc) and nothing could beat my 13 Years Old proton 😂 The cooling time after parked for so long is so fast 😂 but the fuel consumption of my proton is something tht make me turn off though
@@tr6864 I know right, I still own a Satria Neo since 2011, swapped Lancer GSR CM5A 1.8 4G93T. Tbh, I think that engine is the perfect IDEAL match unless you go cray with a 2.0 CN/CP9A's EVO 4G63T swap.
@@kevinlow69420 I'm also drive other brand but believe me the suspension is hard . The aircond is so-so. The good thing of other brand like toyota is fuel efficiency
Hi there! I've got a friend back in Malaysia who knows the entire backstory for this generation of Satria, as he's been digging through every part number whilst restoring a R3 edition car to stock form. The rev hang and torque dip were some unfortunate features of this being one of Proton's first attempts at building a fully domestic engine. The dip was especially pronounced due to Proton's insistence of relatively primitive VVT on this first variant, fixed by variable intake runners in later models. Elsewhere, the Proton leadership wanted to make 'world cars', pushing hard for export of the Impian and Satria to the UK market with this new engine. The engineers quickly realised the CamPro engine would never meet UK fuel and emissions standards, and so working with the limited computing power of the in-house tuned ECU, they were forced to introduce features like the rev-hang, using the e-throttle. Unfortunately, all variants of the Satria Neo had relatively poor MPG nevertheless, as the car was simply too heavy for its torque output, incorporating high strength steel in the frame, conservatively applied, without any lightweighting done in less crucial areas. The Satria's chassis was an experiment in high strength steel construction for torsional rigidity and safety, with Proton later going on to use more of the stuff (with relevant lightweighting) in the Preve and Iriz models of the 2010s.
I really wanted to see UK people react to the Satria Neo R3, which is a much more better looking version and more punch to the engine. Develops 125bhp thanks to the CamPro CPS unit. Looks awesome in Red and Gunmetal grey rims
I owned the 1.6 manual for 7 years. The only problem i ever had was that the radiator fan broke one time. The car is rather heavy and slow in moving off but by god, the handling was a dream. The only reason I sold it was because I moved to another country. Fuel consumption could have been better but for everyday work, I used my motorcycle.
My Peugeot turbo diesel had terrible rev hang, before I drained the fuel pump and richened up the fuelling a little by turning the internal allen screw by 90 degrees, which also advanced the pump timing a small amount. That wasn't a difficult job with a mechanical pump but I expect this car would need a remap to achieve same, as was the case with my motorbike.
My mrs has two favourite cars The mazzer GT sport coupe ... and the old proton satria GTi 🤣 no joke. She will definitely own both sooner rather than later.
I do have a weird soft spot for the gen 2 less so the satria neo but still a soft spot...but I think I just I like supporting underdogs..not that I'd buy the underdog..as I'll end up regretting it in the end xD
cant believe you would review this car !! in Malaysia the price of the satria neo can get u an e46 or e36. Satria neo is still very famous in the tuner culture here, kids here tune/modify them and they always vouch for the handling capability. Hats off in referencing the satria gti !! I would turn my head every time every single time the satria gti pass by in my e46...so rare even in Malaysia
If you want a challenge, see if you can find a Seat from the time before the VAG group bought the company. I was serving in Germany and bought one because it was brand new, tax free and cheap, £2,995 in 1984. Seat's were Fiats made in Spain, I bought mine just after the Italians walked away from Spain, the Spanish government refused to close the factories and the cars were changed (very slightly) rebadged Seat and sold. It was a Fiat Strada 105 TC with different shaped door handles and a different grill. I don't know how cheaply Fiats of the time were, but the Seat was made cheaper, however impossible that might sound. Although, I drove the car about 75,000 KM in 2.5 years, it was reasonably quick, handled better than I, and all my army friends expected, on low profile Pirelli tyres, returned about 35 MPG, was regularly thrashed on Autobahns, it never once went wrong or needed anything other than basic servicing, tyres and brake pads. I do recall the rear view mirror didn't like to stick to the windscreen, but a VW dealership in Lippstadt fixed that problem once and for all. I doubt many were sold in the UK, and probably none survive, does extinction make then cool? Probably not. Mine didn't make it to 3 years old, I was at a set of lights when a tank, sorry 1977 Volvo estate, was driven through the rear end. I actually liked driving around in crappy old cars, they were fun and easily maintained without the need for mechanics. Now I'm retired and living in Thailand I'm tempted to buy an almost guaranteed rust free 1970s Datsun 160Y but the fully restored 1974 Mk3 Cortina is also tempting. The trouble is I no longer have the tools to keep them running, or the inclination to work on them.
Why do auto reviewers ALWAYS make disparaging comments about the materials used in the interior of inexpensive vehicles? They are built to sell for a low price. They were built to provide inexpensive transportation in a very competitive segment.
These weren't actually that cheap brand new, and while the interior is hard-wearing, I have not felt a worse material, in any car ever, full stop. The money they saved on the interior went into the suspension though, it's competitors pretty much all had a solid rear axel, and most of them had drum brakes on the rear. These had 4 wheel disc brakes, multi-link rear suspension, and gas-filled shocks as standard for under 9K pounds in 2006.
@@REFfigy Automotive reviewers want all cars to be able to outrun a McLaren. Out handle and stop quicker than a Lotus. Be as luxurious as a Rolls Royce. Assembled with the same materials and craftsmanship as a S-Class Mercedes. Be more reliable than a Toyota yet cost no more than a Dacia.
i do own one of these its the 1.6 not the 1.3 protons are the best brand for under £2000 out there i wont say what every else says about them in the neo yes it handles great but the steering wheel feels like sandpaper and the head room is shocking but when owning one you feel a connection with the car you feel the wheel turn when you turn the steering wheel its a really head turner and you get that your driving something special knowing your gonna be the only one in the car park with the car if it had shared stuff from the gen 2 like the boot opening with the key (yes iv owned a gen 2 aswell) if you merged a gen 2 and neo together you would have one truly great car
Proton cars are budget-friendly cars for Malaysian citizens. Those modern in-house CamPro engines are decent power maker, shame their newer models ditched manual transmission option and my ma had to buy an automatic. Well... having an auto transmission family vehicle isn't going to be the end of the world since I got a D class manual driving license (basically allowed to drive any type of transmissions)
I spent a lot of time working in Malaysia. Imported cars are very expensive in KL. Protons, being domestically manufactured, attracted no import tax. I have quite a bit of time driving a Proton Wira which was based on an old Mitsubishi Lancer. Ahhh, memories.....
Yes the 4g15 and 4g92 are good engine.
@@xxxxghostxxxx2052 still is
@@xxxxghostxxxx2052 I'm guessing you never had the chance in sitting the 4g93 version, 120hp 👀
Believe me, Wira is still a good reliable (used) car considering it has been around more than 30yrs.
@@Idkhowtodrive I daily wira sedan 1.6L XLi 16 valve SOHC 111hp manual swap (gearbox boom).
I own one of these, that button resets the alarm, not unpair the keys as far as I can tell. Safety is pretty good, these actually had the stiffest chassis out of any hatchback sold in Australia in 2006. Higher end versions got automatic climate control. The mediocre engine performance was a tradeoff for reliability, I've done 100km of track driving in one sitting with no cool down laps without overheating. Good review!
Likewise my car has done circa 300 laps of Sepang in the same engine as it left factory. Hugely flawed car but the driving dynamics are pretty good.
ua-cam.com/video/aRj_QaW0XKQ/v-deo.html
Firdaus yours is legedarylah
@@mikeyap4159 his is beef up satria neo 🤣
A fellow Aussie Satria Neo driver here, was basically given mine and I thrash it everywhere, mostly because you can thrash one and still not get tickets, loves corners, barely understeers and if anything it's not too hard to get it to lift-off round roundabouts for some fun-ish slightly scary sideways action when traction is less than 80%. Fun car if you know how to drive it.
I bought a 2010 Neo in 2011, it’s was just over 6 months old and as new condition. It was a great little car, with amazing handling and ice cold air conditioning but slightly let down by poor quality interior. It was comfortable enough, but I’d have loved to get my hands on one of the editions with leather upholstery. Mine had a leak from the power steering which Proton repaired under warranty with no fuss. Mine was burnt orange which when polished looked absolutely stunning. I should add that I lived in Thailand at this time, and made frequent trips to Malaysia. There are tuners in Malaysia that add a turbo kit and all sorts of mods, I was often tempted but I kept mine stock.
Protons in Malaysia are famous for cold air conditioning lol , hot weather here
Mod r3 is the best
Modified to R3 version bro.
They are 4 models which u can't get in UK. All are 1.6 CPS /R3 / NEO Clubsport and NEO Lotus Racing. The R3 and NEO Lotus Racing made about 145bhp.
Fun Facts - u can swap any engine from Evo4 -9 with minimal mods to the lower subframe
Great little car?for me ford fiesta is more little than the satria neo😂
Its really cool for us Malaysian. Many people bought it to race and went touge with it. There is also a special edition call R3 Clubsport and a R3 Lotus Racinv Edition. These were very rare and highly sought after here in Malaysia.
ryunzen
ryunze
My late father bought Proton Exora Supreme in 2011, when he went to Malaysia with my mother to visits his relatives he bought the antenna pole and the wiper blade, he said that it's cheaper in Malaysia than Indonesia (?)
@@HyperVanilo well Proton were manufactured in Malaysia so that’s why its cheap.
omg its the funny man guys its the funny guy
Fascinating to see these cars being reviewed by a Brit, as a used/vintage car. In Malaysia, I wouldn’t say we praise the build quality or practicality but it IS an underrated yet desirable, cheap enthusiast car. Handling is famous. Gear shift is crisp. The looks has its fans.
the shift quality on the getrag box on the post 2011 saga is nothing remarkable...you must have driven the one with the japanese box.
@@hokman1 another car that rivals the type of sloppyness that getrag gearbox gives is the Axia E. That had the second worst gear shift feeling ever, the Saga BLM was the worst...
@@sequentialtt0415 now I understand why they switch to Hyundai 4 speed auto
@@xxxxghostxxxx2052 well in that case it's for the dreadful belgian punch CVT
I think its genuinely so unknown that it can't be uncool. Cars usually become uncool by reputation like Jazz's are for old people, Skoda's are taxis etc.
The fact you had to use a double negative; says a lot...
Honda Jazz' handle far too good for the stigma around them. They touge them in Japan.
@@larvey They’re adored here, too. Thai people love to modify them. And I have to say, some do look really cool.
My wife has a Jazz and it is a surprisingly fun car to hoon around in. Keep it in the upper range of the revs and it has a bit of go too.
@@TroyHR123 Unknown being a negative is subjective
This is still one of the best handling car that Proton ever made. The handling was tuned by Lotus so yeah it shows.
Spoke to the owner of this car at The Late Brake Show back in December and he actually led me on to this channel. I used to own a 1.6 Proton Gen 2 GLS. I'll be honest I loved that car, the bare basics but boy was it fun to drive, not exactly something i get from my current Pug 207 Sport Diesel.
I genuinely don't know how you can put out so many videos each week! (a good thing)
He said he’s done a thousand, mental.
The guy is an absolute machine. He’s so consistent with these great videos I’ve actually started to build time into my Sunday to watch is weekend ones. Favourite UA-camr by a mile
Awww you guys
Saya pernah memiliki bmw f20 dan sekarang merc s205 tetapi masih menyimpan dan menggunakan satria neo 1.6 cps. Ianya adalah kereta pertama saya sejak 2011 sehingga sekarang dan masih tidak gagal memberi senyuman kepuasan setiap kali memandunya. Ya, ia tidak selaju kereta sukan yg lain seangkatannya tetapi kepuasan pemanduannya di jalanan terutama yang berliku membuatkan saya merasa muda 11 tahun semula. 😃
Back in the day that Protons were on sale, they were mostly sold to people who wanted a new car
but couldn't afford a good one or the repayments.
When they appeared on the used market you had to be careful as most had never seen a spanner.
The interiors wore out quickly, and the lack of any servicing meant that there are far better options.
True. The same is true of a lot of budget cars. People buying them want to spend as little as possible by definition. So aren't exactly falling over themselves to pay servicing and repairs.
I see quite a lot of sad looking Dacia, Kia and Hyundai cars at 3-5 years old. They're not badly made, but just treated as beasts of burden.
I remember when top gear had this car on a 2008 episode when they were testing this and a Perodua Myvi and Chevrolet Aveo as cars people will end up buying because of the recession. The version they had was red with white stripes and the bit I can remember is James May being amazed that they managed to to fake Allen head bolts on the plastic fuel filler cap. To be honest they tended to be the affordable option to many of the more expensive cars from Ford and the VW group even the northern police forces in the UK had a few Protons on their general patrol vehicles.
This car was turned into a monster rally car called satria neo S2000 used in WRC and APRC rallys, also use by top gear UK to race against top gear Australia. Stig drive for UK.
@@marinaau8551 I remember that rally car. The two models of Proton that were seen in the BTCC were the Impian actually run by Proton in 2002 BTCC season and the Persona run by Welch Motorsport in 2013.
@@bentullett6068 Proton has a new rally car called Proton Iriz R5 made by Mello in UK. It races in the British Rally Championships. Check it out. Cheers.
In 2017, my lady wife learned to drive in one of these, as a driving school in Battersea had a whole fleet of them. I have absolutely no idea why they chose to have a fleet of ten year old Proton Satria Neos over virtually anything else...
Cheap! Doesn't matter if you curb it, crash it, do whatever! 😝
@@larvey, that's a good enough reason!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting They are also super durable. These were designed for track abuse, so as long as you change the timing belt every 60k miles they will last forever. The only reason these get scrapped so often is that the front brake rotors are unique to this model, and have to be imported from Malaysia. Nobody wants to spend 200quid replacing the brake rotors on a car worth 500.
have anyone ever seen or heard of daihatsu trevis? please look :)
If you look at old police programmes filmed in the north of England around 2005-2008 they used to have Proton police cars. When I first saw one on one of those programmes I had to double take and then thought how do you catch criminals in those cars.
I still kept my Neo, but mine is the high spec with CPS engine (not sold in UK if I don't mistaken), which probably do better in low revs compare the original CamPro but still not a better engine if compare other's 1.6L competitors, yet still it is a fun car and more character to drive especially in winding roads. Balance is far better than any Civic and tenancy to understeer are much lower. Yes, the interior are awful but you never watch the interior when you just too fun looking on the road driving it.
The engine although isn't that good on range, but reliability is for me exceptional. Mine has passed 260k km mileage (used it for 8 years, brand new from factory), yet not much power loss and still kicking hitting 7k rpm in factory spec.
I love this car.
These quirky car reviews are great, refreshing to see and a change from usual car channels pumping out the same reviews as other channels.
Malaysian here. Owned the 1.6 Highline version ( dual front airbags, and rear spoiler with rear wiper ). Not a car for 0-100 km/h nor top speed. But a hatch that outhandles a number of faster, more expensive cars, as long as the driver knows how to wrangle the Neo in corners, and proper undercarriage setup ( mine was -1.5 camber front, -1 camber rear, 0 toe, running road legal semi slick tires with stock dampers + spring setup ). Corners neutral to slight oversteer. I have also driven the Clubsport version ( that handles WAY even better with oversteer on demand ), the Neo S2000 test car ( 200hp due to supercharger + Ohlins DPV front and rear, road legal semi slick tires, upgraded brakes setup ), a real roarer of a hatch, and the Neo Lotus Edition as well. I'd say the Clubsport is the best of 'em all.
I recently just work at their factory as a production worker driving the forklift and lift stuff, easy work. At first peek inside the factory I could see dozens of neo parts including the side panel that were untouchable and have been kept in mint condition. They were mostly being used as spare parts if I'm not mistaken
This is actually a good car, it's cheap yes but the fact it's still working tells you it has tested the test of time. Compared to a 206 you see a lot of them in the scrap yards and what I don't get is motor journos are obsessed with torque. It wasnt even mentioned back when this car was originally brought to the market. Yes the Satria had been around for a long time. It's like MG Rover who just recycled the car over and over again.
People can laugh but two of the most reliable cars I've owned among my 44 or so. Proton Emerald 1.5 ( Mitsubishi Lancer underneath) and Proton compact 1.3 ( Mitsubishi colt underneath) Emerald 5 years Compact 3 years , never a day they failed to start or left me stranded or failed an MOT costing more than £50 .
this car have quite a special place among malaysians..but it really does pale in comparison to the older 1.8l Satria GTi, despite having a superior chassis..even on it's best variant
what you have there is prolly the most basic early production model, the 1.3.. the later 1.6litre came with a newer CPS engine that fixed the torque holiday on lower rpm and having overall smoother powerband.. some later variant came with special equipment and suspension setup like the Lotus Racing or R3 variants-i'm not sure if these were ever available there over the UK
i wish that you would get your hand on the older Satria GTi, would love to see your opinion on one of those
yeah the Uk never got the better engines in the neos/gen2s. wouldnt meet emissions
good comment but it just proves how good mitsubishi was in the 90s. RIP MMC
Thank you mitsubishi
Because of its superior chasis, the basic satria neo was turned into a monster rally car called the satria 2000 used in WRC and APRC rallys. On one top gear show, two satria 2000s race against each other, one driven by top gear Australia and another driven by the stig.
Even the Japanese like satria neo and tune by CISCO into a rally car
Been happily waiting for a video on a Proton vehicle and it turns out my hopes have been fulfilled! Been fascinated by the Proton Satria since a few years ago and although they are quite admittedly not up to standard even in its day, I believe they have a special place in their home country and their neighbouring markets like Singapore among others. Looking forward to a Satria GTi review!
I am a Singaporean and I dare say this car is pretty rare here too. The Suzuki Swift Sport and Honda Jazz are much more popular.
But I believe this car still is pretty popular in Malaysia itself. You still see quite a number on track in Sepang.
Indeed, fellow Singaporean here, the Satria Neo is a very uncommon car, I've seen only two examples in person myself. However, the model is still a car that many carspotters take notice of, which is why I mentioned that it has a special place in the country.
I believe back in the day the Satria GTi was a well received hot hatch used for the carpark rallies back during those days, however all 11 or so units brought into the country have to my knowledge, unfortunately been deregistered.
I've been following you for a while. Never thought u would drive something from my own country! U should drive the OG satria
I'm trying!
@@JayEmmOnCars I'm in a local owners group, I'll put the word out that you're looking for a tidy Satria GTI to review. Most of them have been crashed or horrifically modified but there are still a couple tidy examples around.
@@REFfigy that is great news!! looking forward to see jay on the GTi's
sad truth even here in malaysia..a bonestock GTi is pretty much a unicorn..ppl mod the crap out of them
@@REFfigywhats the group called? i own a satria in the uk
@@reeceslater5472 Proton Owners Club Uk
I feel sorry for Proton. They are cheap yest but really reliable. I had a Gen 2 1.6 since 2007 and nothing went wrong apart from some ignition coils. Really nice to drive too.
unfortunately it is now partially owned by the chinese while lotus was sold off to who knows who...
@@hokman1 I know, and Volvo too.
I haven't had my ignition coils go, however the fuel pump went a few times. Is yours the CPS or Campro version? And I agree, the engines themselves are very reliable and rugged
@@ironguy6482 CAMPRO pre vvt.
@@hokman1 They were sold to the same company as the one that bought Proton which is Geely
as a American living on the east coast i want more hatchbacks and wagons for sale this car looks really good !
I had completely forgotten about this car brand. Always nice to learn about something completely new. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
I used to had one. This car was so cheap and I turned it into a track day car. I had upgraded the suspension, camshaft, bore up the cylinder block and added a turbo which boosted the car from 94hp to 375hp. But, I kept that car exterior in stock. I sold the car in 2016, and bought a 2016 Volvo V70.
The thing about Campro engine and throttle response (both 1.6L and 1.3L) is that you need to accelerate much longer and reach higher RPM to achieve satisfactory amount of pickup and "feel" while driving.
I think that's the first time I've heard anyone make reference to the alloys going the same way. This has been triggering my OCD for years!
I have a Proton Saga 1.3 for almost 11yrs, and the car still going strong. I dont compare it with other brands because the Saga is my 1st car and i love it
Good to se you bro, proton interests me as many years ago i came across a proton dealership and they had a flagship car in shop it was decent looking like a tuned up hot hatch
Don't stop what you're doing James's, these reviews are fantastic and funny!
Mini Cooper still gives me goosebumps. Mine was disaster despite being relatively new. NEVER AGAIN will I buy a BMW manufactured product!
Same thing applies here.
Look-wise this be one of the most underrated cars I’ve seen recently, very interesting design on the exterior especially at the front
It looks like it's straight from GTA😂
@@FilipRauh That's not a bad thing to say considering most cars in GTA 4 / 5 are very well designed and detailed
Malaysian cars
so happy to see this review. ive ben a proton advocate for about 15 years. on my 4th. with a satria 1.5. so many things can be done, but even out of the box they are a lot of fun for not a lot of money. keep up the good work sir
10:30
The reason for the delay in response is due to the drive by wire throttle pedal. There are tuners who'll mod it for around MYR50 (£10) and it'll improve right away. Or alternatively you can get a throttle controller.
There’s one on sale 10 miles from me and it’s the 1.6GSX version. £1800 for only 30,000 miles. Very tempted to go drive it
Offer them a grand.. Mine was supposed to be £2000 and I said I only had half that, they got back to me 2 days later saying "do I have any other requests?" so they fixed the cracked front bumper and put it on trade plates to get home, always loved these from the first time I saw one. 1800 is too much for a car with no customer support from the manufacturer.. If your travelling a long way to work every day I'd suggest against it because fuel economy is atrocious.. They're lovely cars and they're amazing with how reliable they are..
I own one, as much as I love it it breaks my heart knowing they're so hard to repair if something goes wrong.
Nice one jay....am quite suprised that these satria neos are still running on UK roads...am suprised that parts are expensive and hard to find for these cars in the UK, as mellors motorsport are still selling rally prepared proton iriz in the UK, spares in malaysia for satria neo are cheap as chips and are plentiful, plus there are daily flights from Kuala lumpur to heathrow...so it would makes sense to order parts from malaysia and have it shipped to the UK...in all honesty, the satria makes a superb beater car....aa it is able to hold up to abuse pretty well...take care and love from malaysia
Poo poo all my opps are poo
I used to love the satria neo on WRC3
Yeah, the satria neo S2000. Now there is a new Proton rally car called the Proton Iriz R5 in the UK. Check it out.
Back in 2005 Australia had the Satria GTI came with a 1.8 Mitsubishi 4G engine. During the hot hatch era, haven't thought of the Satria since.
I once had an old Proton 1.5 saloon, bought as a stop gap for £125, it certainly was pretty basic, but I ragged the hell out of it for nearly a year with
no problems at all, the mate I sold it to ran it for a couple of years until he crashed it!
Back when it was new I thought this thing was cool as all hell because Alister McRae drove one in APRC. And they said it's 'Developed by Lotus'.
you mean "Handling by Lotus". And it does have a better than average handling, for its class and price point.
@@AQHackAQ yes, that one. Haven't seen many for a long while here, probably the sentiment against Malaysia (since this is Indonesia) hasn't paid well against Proton and Petronas here.
@@AntoniusTyas one of Proton planning is to re-launch again in Indonesia, start with X70 & X50 SUV, their base HQ was in Pondok Indah, Exora MPV was a popular Proton Model Sold in Indonesia
That interior would put me off buying one of them ,the exterior actually looks decent .
I think that's the worst part for me. I can forgive everything else, but that interior is so nasty.
The interior really is nasty
I briefly looked at Protons for my first car but quickly decided against it. It just seemed like a bad idea, in the end I bought a Hyundai i20
What trim did you go for on the i20? My partner currently has a Corsa ecoflex and frankly it's hot garbage but she wants an i20 but never knew anyone who owned one to ask what they're like?
@@larvey I had the 2016 turbo edition, the best value version of that era (alloys, reversing camera, sat Nav and turbo engine for an extra £500) and it was very decent.
@@larvey The Go se and play special editions are good for extras but I think only came with the 1.2 na engine not the 1.0 turbo.
@@larvey It was the older model from 2009, 1.4L engine. It was ok but that's all I can say. I did not keep the Hyundai i20 for that long, it was just so I could learn to drive and then I sold it within a month or 2 after I passed my test.
I nearly bought an ex-police Proton Impian a couple years ago as a backup car, mighty 1.6L Mitsubishi block under the hood.
The most garish interior I've ever seen... chrome ringed dials and seats looking like a bizarre mix of wicker and tartan, and it was very cool.
Lotus handling and all, definitely a tin can deathtrap 😂.
Do love the look of that Satria though. Imagine that with a Rover K-Series under the bonnet
Impian use 4G18 1.6L 102hp SOHC, later Facelift Model changed to Campro 1.6L DOHC 110hp
@@wdtv3568 And tragic performance figures all the same.
They've gotta be mad tunable though, surely?
@@ColonelBobfed I think the weak hp and torque figure is for reliability.
But these Protons do get tuned cause they are track driven in Malaysia.
This is a needs must type of car. The old Satria GTI however. Really cool 😎
I've driven more Protons than I'd like to admit, having spent some time in South-East Asia in the late 80s/early 90s. Back then they were all based on previous generation Mitsubishis, so were dull to drive, but generally reliable. However, the build quality on even quite new cars was dire.
Mock it all you want, as a first car or a budget motor I fail to see the problem. I entered the world of driving in the mid nineties, your first car had plenty of visible rust, a choke on the carburettor, no power steering & not much else. We live in times now where your average sixth former goes to school in a financed Audi A1. It's not the Proton's fault it's deemed uncool.
I had a previous gen proton satria 1.3 Li when i was 24, brought from a dealership in morcott that me & my dad had brought cars from before it became a proton dealer. It was a 6 month old ex demo that had similar issues, cheap interior, gutless engine, poor fuel economy, terrible ride (it did handle well though, gearbox was good too), no space. But it was reliable unlike my previous 1998 1.4 corsa mk1. I did test a neo when i decided to sell it, but it was no better than the older car, & the bigger proton Gen2 was just as bad. Tried a panda 100hp too which i quite liked, but ended up with a mk2 focus 1.8 zetec instead
Back then I saw one of these cars, and now I still do like this car.
Reckon this might become one of your most viewed videos. When hubnut did a proton it went crazy.
Met the owner of this at the late brake show live in Somerset, spent quite a while chatting about all of the "qwerks" of this car, he had a long list! Happy to see more absolute nuggets on the channel Jay! Still got a shed of an EK3 civic and an E30 318i if you're interested :P
Maybe it's because there are none of these where I'm from, but I think these look nice. There's a charm In how they look like a freebie first car in an open world MMO and everybody loves an underdog.
I owned one of these for 6 years. It was unrefined, cheap, uncomfortable with poor fuel economy. It was also the most reliable car i have ever owned and the one i missed the most when i finally said goodbye. I'm pleased i owned something that not many other people had even heard of. As someone else said, it is so unknown that no one ever ribbed me for owning one, and in fact a lot of people loved the look of it. I purchased it last minute after the head gasket went on my Honda Civic and i needed a car quick to go on holiday to Cornwall. Everything you said in your video is correct, but i loved it 😂
Never seen one before, but I like the look of it, with the wide arches. Yes, really. And I will always respect cheap transport that does the job, which presumably this did/does?
I live in the UK and I own one of two left in Lincolnshire.
It's an amazing car. Handles like a go kart. I just wish it had more oomph since it struggles up anything that resembles a hill. 🤣
I actually really want a Satria Neo. Always have since it was launched. I also fancied either a Proton Savvy or a Perodua Myvi. I'm a bit weird.
Never heard of Proton before watching this channel. Now that I've seen it, I reckon that I haven't missed much. Though I do like the looks of the older model. ✌🏻🇺🇸
never heard of these but i kind of like it, not that i'd call myself a fan of it or anything but since it's something else compared to every other car on the road, i do find it interesting.
Would definitely like to look at one for myself with my own eyes
And so it begins. Always interested to hear Jay's take on cars, and this one certainly didn't disappoint. Curious to see if there'd be more Proton coverage on the channel, but until then, I'll indulge myself by watching the rest of Jay's videos since I do have quite a bit of catching up to do. #ProtonMalaysia
Bigging up that last 30cc!!
The variety of these videos are brilliant, well done Jay.
I had a 1993 Dodge Colt 1.5l as my first car and I loved it! I find this little car to be pretty nice and just right for doing what it has to do!
I have a 16 year old lad. He's already telling me he wants a classic car when he is 17, as do lots of his friends....I'm truly impressed....
I love your delivery Jay. Pete 🇬🇧
Thanks Pete!
I came oh so close to buying a year-old one of these Protons, and I found the driving experience not too bad at all - the thing certainly handled well. I do agree with you on the quality of that interior though - even for a budget car it felt deeply cheap. It didn't fill me with confidence as to how well it would last down the years.
Owned one of these as a stop gap had it 6 month - pretty decent car tbh - economy was a bit rubbish and tax band a little high for the car .. but decent handling went well once you got moving..but most impirtantly it was pretty fun to drive !! and nothing on it broke even after 6 months of total abuse & I sold it for than I bought it!
OMG finally someone that shares my OCD about twisty alloys, I hate them
I remember Richard Hammond rather brilliantly roasting the hell out of a Satria neo on a recession themed piece for Topgear.
Damn that mirror adjustment gear is straight out of the 80's Mitsubishi parts bin.
It looks like a car from gta
Great piece as always, very insightful and coming from a practical mind.
I remembered when I was 15 when this car was first released, a friend's brother got it with his earnings from....a pyramid scheme..
It looks like a mix of cars all in one.
Most of malaysians love this brand because of the ride quality(comfort suspension but tuned for cornering too) and a super cold air-conditioning. While the fuel consumption is a little bit higher than the other competitors
yea bruh, aircond sejuk beku is a must in tropical climates with occasional flash floods
@@Rizual FYI, I'm already have some experience with newer model of toyota and honda (friends, etc) and nothing could beat my 13 Years Old proton 😂 The cooling time after parked for so long is so fast 😂 but the fuel consumption of my proton is something tht make me turn off though
@@tr6864 I know right, I still own a Satria Neo since 2011, swapped Lancer GSR CM5A 1.8 4G93T. Tbh, I think that engine is the perfect IDEAL match unless you go cray with a 2.0 CN/CP9A's EVO 4G63T swap.
*because it's the only thing they can afford
@@kevinlow69420 I'm also drive other brand but believe me the suspension is hard . The aircond is so-so. The good thing of other brand like toyota is fuel efficiency
The "pair / unpair keys" button has to be one of the worst features of all time.
That button is fantastic.
They could have gone the whole 9 yards and made it the bonnet release.
@@misterroboto571
Fair enough
Hi there! I've got a friend back in Malaysia who knows the entire backstory for this generation of Satria, as he's been digging through every part number whilst restoring a R3 edition car to stock form.
The rev hang and torque dip were some unfortunate features of this being one of Proton's first attempts at building a fully domestic engine.
The dip was especially pronounced due to Proton's insistence of relatively primitive VVT on this first variant, fixed by variable intake runners in later models.
Elsewhere, the Proton leadership wanted to make 'world cars', pushing hard for export of the Impian and Satria to the UK market with this new engine.
The engineers quickly realised the CamPro engine would never meet UK fuel and emissions standards, and so working with the limited computing power of the in-house tuned ECU, they were forced to introduce features like the rev-hang, using the e-throttle.
Unfortunately, all variants of the Satria Neo had relatively poor MPG nevertheless, as the car was simply too heavy for its torque output, incorporating high strength steel in the frame, conservatively applied, without any lightweighting done in less crucial areas. The Satria's chassis was an experiment in high strength steel construction for torsional rigidity and safety, with Proton later going on to use more of the stuff (with relevant lightweighting) in the Preve and Iriz models of the 2010s.
I really wanted to see UK people react to the Satria Neo R3, which is a much more better looking version and more punch to the engine. Develops 125bhp thanks to the CamPro CPS unit. Looks awesome in Red and Gunmetal grey rims
They won’t
I owned the 1.6 manual for 7 years. The only problem i ever had was that the radiator fan broke one time. The car is rather heavy and slow in moving off but by god, the handling was a dream. The only reason I sold it was because I moved to another country. Fuel consumption could have been better but for everyday work, I used my motorcycle.
95bhp from a 1.3 NA engine is pretty good, you didn’t mention the torque figures so perhaps it’s a weak point like you mentioned.
its weak.. there is even a torque dip for the engine..
It's the campro engine, it's known to be an underpowered piece of shit
Kereta ini sangat menjadi kegilaan ramai rakyat Malaysia
In my personal opinion you will be cooler in a Proton than in a Ford Fiesta, a Mini or a Fiat 500. I may just be weird tho
as a Proton owner there's nothing i love more than their handling and manual gearbox
it's the perfect match, but the engine is far too weak
"The little torque it has goes on holiday between 2 to 4000rpm" LMFAO!
My Peugeot turbo diesel had terrible rev hang, before I drained the fuel pump and richened up the fuelling a little by turning the internal allen screw by 90 degrees, which also advanced the pump timing a small amount. That wasn't a difficult job with a mechanical pump but I expect this car would need a remap to achieve same, as was the case with my motorbike.
My mrs has two favourite cars
The mazzer GT sport coupe ... and the old proton satria GTi 🤣 no joke.
She will definitely own both sooner rather than later.
I do have a weird soft spot for the gen 2 less so the satria neo but still a soft spot...but I think I just I like supporting underdogs..not that I'd buy the underdog..as I'll end up regretting it in the end xD
I had a MK4 prelude about 18 years ago and someone had done the same with the wheels. Couldn't wait to wear the tyres out and swap them back
Protons are generally a very good car in my opinion. Just needs alot of tuning and upgrading and it actually becomes a very highly potent speedster
cant believe you would review this car !! in Malaysia the price of the satria neo can get u an e46 or e36. Satria neo is still very famous in the tuner culture here, kids here tune/modify them and they always vouch for the handling capability. Hats off in referencing the satria gti !! I would turn my head every time every single time the satria gti pass by in my e46...so rare even in Malaysia
If you want a challenge, see if you can find a Seat from the time before the VAG group bought the company.
I was serving in Germany and bought one because it was brand new, tax free and cheap, £2,995 in 1984.
Seat's were Fiats made in Spain, I bought mine just after the Italians walked away from Spain, the Spanish government refused to close the factories and the cars were changed (very slightly) rebadged Seat and sold.
It was a Fiat Strada 105 TC with different shaped door handles and a different grill.
I don't know how cheaply Fiats of the time were, but the Seat was made cheaper, however impossible that might sound.
Although, I drove the car about 75,000 KM in 2.5 years, it was reasonably quick, handled better than I, and all my army friends expected, on low profile Pirelli tyres, returned about 35 MPG, was regularly thrashed on Autobahns, it never once went wrong or needed anything other than basic servicing, tyres and brake pads.
I do recall the rear view mirror didn't like to stick to the windscreen, but a VW dealership in Lippstadt fixed that problem once and for all.
I doubt many were sold in the UK, and probably none survive, does extinction make then cool? Probably not.
Mine didn't make it to 3 years old, I was at a set of lights when a tank, sorry 1977 Volvo estate, was driven through the rear end.
I actually liked driving around in crappy old cars, they were fun and easily maintained without the need for mechanics. Now I'm retired and living in Thailand I'm tempted to buy an almost guaranteed rust free 1970s Datsun 160Y but the fully restored 1974 Mk3 Cortina is also tempting. The trouble is I no longer have the tools to keep them running, or the inclination to work on them.
I totally forgot about the Satria Neo R3! Now those were cool.
A suzuki makes a lot of sense if you want a reliable car at a budget price.
Why do auto reviewers ALWAYS make disparaging comments about the materials used in the interior of inexpensive vehicles?
They are built to sell for a low price.
They were built to provide inexpensive transportation in a very competitive segment.
This car was not cheap enough to justify that interior.
These weren't actually that cheap brand new, and while the interior is hard-wearing, I have not felt a worse material, in any car ever, full stop. The money they saved on the interior went into the suspension though, it's competitors pretty much all had a solid rear axel, and most of them had drum brakes on the rear. These had 4 wheel disc brakes, multi-link rear suspension, and gas-filled shocks as standard for under 9K pounds in 2006.
@@REFfigy Automotive reviewers want all cars to be able to outrun a McLaren.
Out handle and stop quicker than a Lotus.
Be as luxurious as a Rolls Royce.
Assembled with the same materials and craftsmanship as a S-Class Mercedes.
Be more reliable than a Toyota yet cost no more than a Dacia.
Always quite liked the look of these. Not a patch on the original Lotus GTi one though
i do own one of these its the 1.6 not the 1.3 protons are the best brand for under £2000 out there i wont say what every else says about them in the neo yes it handles great but the steering wheel feels like sandpaper and the head room is shocking but when owning one you feel a connection with the car you feel the wheel turn when you turn the steering wheel its a really head turner and you get that your driving something special knowing your gonna be the only one in the car park with the car if it had shared stuff from the gen 2 like the boot opening with the key (yes iv owned a gen 2 aswell) if you merged a gen 2 and neo together you would have one truly great car
Proton cars are budget-friendly cars for Malaysian citizens. Those modern in-house CamPro engines are decent power maker, shame their newer models ditched manual transmission option and my ma had to buy an automatic. Well... having an auto transmission family vehicle isn't going to be the end of the world since I got a D class manual driving license (basically allowed to drive any type of transmissions)
Ok👍🇲🇾i love your honesty...i never met this channel but this is a pretty good review.
I'd never even heard of the brand Proton until this video
This car were the Civic of the Malaysia. Proton Satria are tuner's favourite in Malaysia. Endless tuning potential and a rowdy sound.
Loving the consistent content lately Jay 👌