Proton is really a good car. The body is very sturdy and does not rust, and I have driven 800,000 kilometers without any problems. Even the car has not been repaired until today.
I’ve worked on a few of these at work and - really bad plastics inside - are a very cool looking car. The actual design and layout of the interior is actually really nice. If they had used different materials it would have been a seriously nice place to be. Great review Matt!
I had a brand new gen2 in 2007 same as your test car in silver, Great car peppy, great handling, good looking( great design), 52 mpg on a run, cost me £55 a month, pay as much on a phone now! Had kias, v/Hall, toyotas, renault, but really liked the gen 2! Subaru owners took the mick out of me with the team dynamics alloys I put on, but hey Jo I got a new car for £8995 ! Plastic materials aside a great car, With mone of the tech of today's stuff, People may mock but did they own one ? I did!
I love the dash and the two-tone colour scheme. The stereo, info display and the ventilation controls clearly show that someone has actually sat down and thought hard about creating something a bit different, which hugely appeals to me. Coolest of all though, is that clock. It's amazing, and I'd love to have a replica of it on my smart watch! Great review Matt, many thanks!
I had an Audi A3 which was written off when someone crashed into it. I needed a cheap replacement and found a Gen-2 at the back of a used car lot, one elderly owner with 55k on the clock. I have to say, it was the maddest car I have ever owned. Not only could you not open the boot, if the central locking failed you couldn't open the doors manually. I had to get the RAC out to take it back to the garage. I was advised never to put the key in the same pocket as my mobile, as this could damage the remote locking. When I took it to the MOT it needed a brake cable for the handbrake. It took the mechanic three days to find one. He said in twenty years he never found a car so difficult to find parts for. Haynes Manual refused to recognise it's existence. The 1.3 engine was a joke on the motorways. You could never get replacement keys and all the trim felt plastic and cheap. It got written off in the snow when it slid and came off the road a couple of years later. I went out and got a Ford Focus, which in comparison was a lot easier to live with, but really did feel a lot more boring. The Gen-2 really had it's faults, but I really do miss that car. I always kept the spare key as keep sake.
Me and a colleague used to xar share to work, he had a white Daewoo Lanos which was awful. Then he changed to a Gen2 which was a very nice commute to work and that is the only one I've ever seen.
7:00 National food of Malaysia: Nasi Lemak. Extremely delicious. Highly recommended! It's rice cooked in coconut milk served with curry, boiled egg, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts and sambal (chilli) sauce. Other popular Malaysian dishes include Laksa (curry noodle soup), Mee Goreng (curry stir-fry noodles), Nasi Goreng (curry fried rice) and Curry Puffs (curry pastries)... Are you spotting a theme? 😄
3:19 This side profile instantly reminded me of the renault laguna 2, especially the rear section. Something about the door handle and side door strips screams renault at me.
I bought Gen2 manual in 2004 and Gen2 auto in 2005. I still drive this Gen2 until now. 20th year already and still perform very good. I'll never sell my Gen2. I love my Gen2.
I owned a Savvy and a Satria Neo and both were fantastic cars to drive, very underrated in my opinion. Both cars were very solid and stuck to the road like glue. However I had a few niggjy faults with the Neo and decided to say goodbye. For old times sake I would love to drive one again, but I wouldn’t recommend getting a Proton now as parts are a nightmare to get hold of and garages don’t really want to work on them.
I loved my Gen2, it was an inexpensive hatchback and felt like such a size upgrade from the Corsa I traded in. The 1.3 happily went, especially when you put your foot right down. But I agree, it felt cheap inside, especially on the lower specs with the blanking plates etc. Also trade in prices were shocking. I'm glad it's still a car I can look back on with fondness.
My partners mum had one until 2 years ago. Had the most firm ride I've ever known in an ordinary car and very cheap plastic on the interior, like a car from the early 1980's. But a very reliable car
There was also a dual fuel model that ran on petrol / LPG called the Proton Gen-2 Ecologic 1.6 which could help you keep your fuel costs down, giving you the choice of low cost LPG as well as regular priced petrol.
Fun fact. they never sold this to Malaysians. Generally at this time, the export ones are better than the local ones. Local ones suffered from quality issues in this time.
I briefly owned a 1300cc Gen-2 a few years ago. Superb chassis with great damping, steering, ride and handling. It was a chassis in search of an engine. I've often wondered what a Gen-2 with a much more powerful engine would have been like, around say 170 bhp.
Loved it during the time I lived in Malaysia. Reliable car. Then I moved to Thailand and bought again a new one (a lovely Prevé) at a dealership in Bangkok. Then got a letter from the importer that they stop selling Proton in Thailand incl. all the dealerships. Pity, otherwise would bought it again, so went to Toyota. By the way, talk a bit slower, have the idea you got sometimes short in breath...
Export spec Protons at this time are a lot better than what they offer in malaysia. Generous compared to the local ones here. E.g. airbags & abs are only on top spec variants here. The Gen 2 suffered from too many shortcomings, production only lasted till 2011/12. The sedan version is more successful, produced till 2015.
I don't know why this popped up when I opened TH-cam, however I've watched all through and must say I remember these little rockets. Your video links up with new Proton cars X30 and X50 showing a modern SUV and I would very much like to see these in the UK.
My brother had a proton gen 2 on lpg. He absolutely ragged the hell out of it and it took it, the car handled so well and the engine was fantastic. With a turbo that car would've been seriously powerful
i have one still since 2005, still do. 99% city driving. translates to about 4 million KM highway driving. The secret sauce of the handling is the multilink suspension but if you ask me is not that great until i slapped on an anti roll bar; then it was a totally different story. The engine is based on a 1.8 Mitsubishi GSR, not some bull about Proton developing their own engine, I know this because some tech from the factory revealed it and also some parts are interchangeable like the clutch pump. I am from Malaysia, home of Proton.
Hi...i have to agree on everything you said about the Gen2..I own a saloon version of this called the Persona since 2012..with the persona we do get a slightly different interior design and the engine came with the updated intake system or something like that..give a better throttle response compared to the early model but still nothing to shout about much like the interior quality.. Here the Gen2 is derided for its appalling built quality..like you said great ride and handling..fuel consumption in town is not great.open roads however is better.. If anyone can overlook the lack of interior quality,this car is quite fun to drive actually. Honestly being a Proton,the mechanicals can take a beating.. enjoyed your video
I think there's a definite place in the market right now for a sub £10000 option given the prices have gone nuts and no-one has any money. Proton or Perodua could be well placed to fill it - cheap and reliable. There's a small town near here which was a bit down-at-heel and had a Proton dealership - quite a lot of Protons still trundling around there even today.
Differences between proton gen2 1.3 and 1.6 is Gen2 1.6 got rear and back power window but Gen2 1.3 only came with rear power window. Gen2 1.6 Got two modal which is Gen2 1.6 and Gen2 1.6 CPS Gen2 1.6 cps is more powerful than 1.3 In malaysia only Gen2 1.6 cps version having airbags. Gen2 1.6 came with sport rim and Gen2 1.3 didn't came with it. Current market price in malaysia is between RM6k to RM14k base on condition. Alot of modification parts available right now.
UK did not get the uprated CPS engine. And the specs were different too with twin airbags for 1.3 GLS as well as headlamp height adjuster (compulsory for UK and EU, I think).
Was thinking about buying one of these a few years ago. They had a factory LPG model I've looked more recently and there's been none around on auto trader for a couple of years
I've never really given the Gen 2 a lot of thought (the Saga, on the other hand...) until now, but commercial vehicle-grade interior plastics aside, it's rather agreeable and rather stylish :)
Funny thing about those center buttons: some of them were completely functionless as the PCB behind them had no cutouts or traces for a button. I found that out when I had to replace mine
I too worked at a Proton dealership from 2005 to 2007 and had 2 as company demos. This was a truly frustrating car. The styling was brilliant, the handling was pretty good and the stereo and heater were brilliant. The Prodigy on full volume with the bass up was a delight (although you couldn't see anything out the back as the rear view mirror vibrated so much. However The build quality was horrific. The plastics fell off, the gearknobs scratched badly if you were a wedding ring, windows had a habit of falling into doors. The alarm/ immobiliser/ central locking had a mind of its own too. The Campro engine performed very oddly. So slow to pull away unless you revved the nuts off it and it loved to overrev when you took your foot off the throttle. Keep it on the boil and wait before changing gear though and it worked fine. Sadly it didn't have enough street cred to attract young buyers and the awful build quality put off the Proton faithful, hence it didn't sell. There's still something oddly likeable about it.
Hi. That overrev thing is known as rev matching, which is also present in come sports cars like Nissan 350Z, 370Z and if not.mistaken Mazda RX7 and RX8.
It’s a shame they are not still selling in the U.K. they would give Dacia and MG a run for their money I never had one but I had another Malaysian car a perodua kelisa they probably came to the U.K. on the same ship greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Hi from Malaysia. Proton had a challenging time to meet Euro 4 emission compliance and then later Euro 5. There was no direct injection nor start stop technology like main European and japanese car makes to help reduce co2 and it had to say goodbye UK.
Proton sales really collapsed here in Australia ever since they changed from being modified older Mitsubishi designs to their own designs. It seems that cars like the Waja, Gen2 and second generation Satria were the beginning of the end of Proton in terms of being able to export cars successfully around the world. 🙁 The Proton Jumbuck was at one time a very popular small utility (pickup/bakkie), it took over from the Subaru Brumby/Brat somewhat, but with no replacement you don't see any of the type of vehicle around any more (apart from the odd Jumbuck or Brumby survivor). The small utilities offered in South Africa, Brazil and elsewise like the Renault (Dacia) Oroch or Volkswagen Saveiro are otherwise not offered in Australia anymore. I take it they are not offered in the UK either?
Hi.. you're right..when proton was doing mitsubishi rebadge,they were doing well.. The problems started when they start building their own cars. Here in Malaysia the consumer wasn't expecting a lot when the Waja first came out..they actually kind of accepted the terrible lack of built quality..being the 1st you know. However when the Gen2 was launched,things quickly went south from there..the quality was actually went from bad to worse.. consumers were expecting improvement but utterly disappointed..it was improved upon during late 2000s but by then it was a little too late..now the rest is history..
Proton had a terrible dealer network too which didn’t help in Australia had three protons myself a GEN-2 and 2 Jumbucks we’re definitely built to a price and when I was away from the metropolitan areas my Gen-2 less the 1000km’s developed a bad oil leak proton were less then helpful and said we can’t help you as the nearest dealer was over three hour drive away, Weren’t terrible cars but my jumbucks were ok but one was at the Workshop more then on the road a shame they were a fantastic little ute, Proton just disappeared into the background due to low sales in Australia a shame weren’t terrible cars,
Then GEN-2 did handle well I remember bought one new here in Australia in 2011 only had it for 5 years as it was starting to wear out by the time I sold it when I got a safety’s certificate or road worthy equivalent to a MoT I suppose for sale the guy said it was the only proton that passed a road worthy first time,
You don’t sit on the hard plastic and look at how well it has lasted. My 2019 Suzuki swift sport has lots of black plastic but the car is utterly reliable and is very rapid when required and also bimbles around town happily. I don’t think interior finish is that important so long as it serves its purpose. I have never understood this obsession with material you rarely touch.
The only reason I don't think these sold particularly well was a lack of dealer network. I mean they're obviously not the top end luxury quality market, but they're probably better than a Dacia and were a very reliable car with low running costs.
I think it is a wonderful car. Especially the Impin model that meets all the needs of a driver. In its time, it had a higher level than many cars, and even after all these years, it is still beautiful and mysterious
Looks like they copied the Renault Magane of it's time and just put a cheap interior in it. A neighbour had all the Proton cars and they never let him down. Great video Matt, covering a car most young people would probably laugh at nowadays.
This generation of Proton are very good cars, its a shame the importer kept pushing the price up as the now dacia buyer was really the target market but the importer priced them far too high The proton Savvy is a great little car aswell as its based on the mk2 clio I do wonder the "what if" about the MG/ROVER deal to make the gen-2 models the new 25/45 in the Rover range
Proton fared better when price similarly to Yugos, Seats, Ladas, FSOs, Skodas. Not when priced too close to Ford Fiestas and Escorts and Vauxhall Corsas and Astras.
I came damned close to buying a second-hand one of these years ago when it would've been maybe four years old. It did look really stylish at the time, and the interior was pretty striking. (Yes, yes, I know the quality of the plastics used could've been better. Much better, to be honest...) It was a really nice drive and it could shift itself down the road pretty well! Can't remember what I bought in the end, possibly another Proton model as I had a couple of them. Edit: it was the smaller Proton Savvy I bought - that pistol-grip handbrake reminded me of what I'd bought. As I recall, that had a Renault-sourced engine under the bonnet - a 1.2 maybe?
Some really interesting, creative and aesthetically pleasing styling features on this Proton. Shame about the material choices overall but I like this car. 👍
Omg I still can’t believe you guys in the UK ohhh & ahh about a car with air conditioning. In Australia A/C was standard fit on most cars form the late 1980s early 1990s. In the 2000s to present we would be seen dead in car with out A/C. Probably because it is a necessity down under but still can’t get over it.
I saw one of these the other day and though it was a nice looking car. Love the interior styling clearly not the best quality plastics but the charm makes up for that imo
actually had one of these at my old college i think it was a 08 1.6 they were pretty cool but I have to say this we had the whole thing apart in the workshop and the engine wiring loom felt horrific they looked like house flex in places in my opinion they spent the whole budget on the drive train and steering the cam pro engines i love i just think the quality of the intirior and the wiring on the engine let's it down the engine wiring almost looked like a fire waiting to happen
Proton has been struggling to sell cars in Malaysia and in other countries over the past several years. They are rare, even here in Singapore! Hopefully they will sell more cars domestically and worldwide later on, and get back on top of their game like they did back in the late 90s!
A Malaysian here. Proton is doing very well here domestically, with the new Geely based products like the Proton X50 being one of the better hotsellers of the b-segment crossover market, even the previous top seller the Honda HR-V has been toppled by it. Although I'd have to agree with you that Proton isn't really that great at export markets now, with only one or few exports to developing countries, the latest one being South Africa (after some hiatus too). Otherwise as a, well, not-so-overly-proud Malaysian (it actually gets alittle bit too much with us hyping over on some old Protons every once or so when they pop out in the UK 😂) I'd really hope Proton gets back onto its feet someday and reexplore the export market again.
I always thought the side profile of these looked very like a MK1 Renault Mègane hatch even the rear door is very familiar to a MK1 Renault Mèganes in style anyway.
Great Review Matt! It’s cool seeing rare normal cars. I‘d imagine parts for a Proton would be a nightmare to gain as it’s not been sold in Britain since 2016.
I have one at the moment, used headlights from a breaker were £70 and I couldn’t find calipers anywhere!! Gonna use shoppee from now on, and a courier to ship from them in Malaysia to me
I had a persona 2litre diesel (vw engine) tdi although it was nippy, drove well but, did no more than 32mpg, interior plastic flaking or falling apart and blew fuses at every opportunity. Put me off them ever since. But the original Mitsubishi early ones had a certain charm 👍
I hand a early proton nice car had it a few years few cars later had a test drive in one of them didn't like the way it would rev slow changing gear the dealer said it was to burn off unburned fuel so I bought a brand new Citroen C4 and had nothing but trouble with it ....
I have the same proton gen 2, same one with the same blue color. But the parts are so hard to get. It has taken me 3 months now to get the rear wiper arm which I have still not gotten one
Very nice.🙂 Very similar in style to the original Renault Megane hatchback. I could have considered one of these when car hunting in 2010. Not a big football fan but I like the Norwich City colour scheme on the thumbnail of this video. 😁 Proton having once owned Lotus who sponsored the club in the 2000s. There used to be a small showroom at the ground - I remember seeing Jumbucks in there. I think Lotus still sponsor my local NCFC but they are now owned by Geely. I was sad when Proton sold Lotus.
The last time I seen a Gen 2 was in the Lakeland Motor Museum in the lake District at the Lloyd Vehicle Consulting Social and i was rather exicted to see one. A excellent review as always Matt, its a great looking car and with the Lotus Tweeks it looks like its a great drive i can forgive the cheap plastics if it drives good.
Since you mentioned it.. yes it came with the linkages instead of the normal big hinges that eats into boot space..mine is the saloon version with same linkage..
Matt it would be a Teh Tarik shelf , frothy tea 😁 that’ll make all 9 of your Malaysian subscribers happy 😂. Nice car by the looks but honestly don’t remember them.
I’m certain my late father in law had on of these it had a few electrical gremlins including locking them in the car it even did it at the dealer when he took it back Locked the mother in law inside probably had to fix it to get her out 😂😂😂
Gen2. Drove well. Everything inside terribly cheap but fine. I’ve had 5/8 of them In the motor trade. Saloon out looks the hatch. They’ve been so cheap over last 5 to 10 odd years as a used buy zero reason not to have one for a year.
I worked for a dealership. They were always cheap but reliable. I think they would still have a place in the UK market now.
Proton is really a good car. The body is very sturdy and does not rust, and I have driven 800,000 kilometers without any problems. Even the car has not been repaired until today.
Whether they rust depends on what country they're used in.
I’ve worked on a few of these at work and - really bad plastics inside - are a very cool looking car. The actual design and layout of the interior is actually really nice. If they had used different materials it would have been a seriously nice place to be. Great review Matt!
dont say you had to take that amazing radio out!
Yeah I agree. Plastic quality is poor
I had a brand new gen2 in 2007 same as your test car in silver,
Great car peppy, great handling, good looking( great design), 52 mpg on a run, cost me £55 a month, pay as much on a phone now!
Had kias, v/Hall, toyotas, renault, but really liked the gen 2!
Subaru owners took the mick out of me with the team dynamics alloys I put on, but hey Jo I got a new car for £8995 !
Plastic materials aside a great car,
With mone of the tech of today's stuff,
People may mock but did they own one ? I did!
I love the dash and the two-tone colour scheme. The stereo, info display and the ventilation controls clearly show that someone has actually sat down and thought hard about creating something a bit different, which hugely appeals to me. Coolest of all though, is that clock. It's amazing, and I'd love to have a replica of it on my smart watch! Great review Matt, many thanks!
I had an Audi A3 which was written off when someone crashed into it. I needed a cheap replacement and found a Gen-2 at the back of a used car lot, one elderly owner with 55k on the clock. I have to say, it was the maddest car I have ever owned. Not only could you not open the boot, if the central locking failed you couldn't open the doors manually. I had to get the RAC out to take it back to the garage. I was advised never to put the key in the same pocket as my mobile, as this could damage the remote locking. When I took it to the MOT it needed a brake cable for the handbrake. It took the mechanic three days to find one. He said in twenty years he never found a car so difficult to find parts for. Haynes Manual refused to recognise it's existence. The 1.3 engine was a joke on the motorways. You could never get replacement keys and all the trim felt plastic and cheap. It got written off in the snow when it slid and came off the road a couple of years later.
I went out and got a Ford Focus, which in comparison was a lot easier to live with, but really did feel a lot more boring. The Gen-2 really had it's faults, but I really do miss that car. I always kept the spare key as keep sake.
Know what you mean, quirky cars that could of been great. But parts were a nightmare, main reason I sold my Satria Neo.
Lol after all that slating, making it sound like the worst car ever, “I actually miss that car” funny 😂😂😂😂
Me and a colleague used to xar share to work, he had a white Daewoo Lanos which was awful. Then he changed to a Gen2 which was a very nice commute to work and that is the only one I've ever seen.
Sister had this car, she loved it. The best thing I could remember about it is that its aircon was super cold even on its lowest setting.
i would buy one just for that centre console / HVAC lay out .. that is cool
There's the Proton Impian too which should be looked out for. Lotus handling too.
No.
7:00 National food of Malaysia: Nasi Lemak. Extremely delicious. Highly recommended!
It's rice cooked in coconut milk served with curry, boiled egg, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts and sambal (chilli) sauce. Other popular Malaysian dishes include Laksa (curry noodle soup), Mee Goreng (curry stir-fry noodles), Nasi Goreng (curry fried rice) and Curry Puffs (curry pastries)... Are you spotting a theme? 😄
Saw loads of protons gen 2 and other models years ago when proton sponsored Norwich city FC they even had a small show room in the new stand.
Proton UK main office was in Norwich. See the link? 😊
3:19 This side profile instantly reminded me of the renault laguna 2, especially the rear section. Something about the door handle and side door strips screams renault at me.
Just recently restored 2005 Manual Gen 2 after 3 years of abandoned.
This car still great and now my lil brother used for college.
Peace from Malaysia
I bought Gen2 manual in 2004 and Gen2 auto in 2005. I still drive this Gen2 until now. 20th year already and still perform very good. I'll never sell my Gen2. I love my Gen2.
I owned a Savvy and a Satria Neo and both were fantastic cars to drive, very underrated in my opinion. Both cars were very solid and stuck to the road like glue. However I had a few niggjy faults with the Neo and decided to say goodbye. For old times sake I would love to drive one again, but I wouldn’t recommend getting a Proton now as parts are a nightmare to get hold of and garages don’t really want to work on them.
I loved my Gen2, it was an inexpensive hatchback and felt like such a size upgrade from the Corsa I traded in. The 1.3 happily went, especially when you put your foot right down. But I agree, it felt cheap inside, especially on the lower specs with the blanking plates etc. Also trade in prices were shocking. I'm glad it's still a car I can look back on with fondness.
What loverly little car, Sounds like a good a addition for the furious fleet. I think it’s right up your alley. Very quirky & unusual.
My partners mum had one until 2 years ago. Had the most firm ride I've ever known in an ordinary car and very cheap plastic on the interior, like a car from the early 1980's. But a very reliable car
There was also a dual fuel model that ran on petrol / LPG called the Proton Gen-2 Ecologic 1.6 which could help you keep your fuel costs down, giving you the choice of low cost LPG as well as regular priced petrol.
The earlier Impians also had an LPG option as used by the Lincolnshire Police. I believe it was a Prinz system.
Fun fact. they never sold this to Malaysians. Generally at this time, the export ones are better than the local ones. Local ones suffered from quality issues in this time.
I briefly owned a 1300cc Gen-2 a few years ago. Superb chassis with great damping, steering, ride and handling. It was a chassis in search of an engine. I've often wondered what a Gen-2 with a much more powerful engine would have been like, around say 170 bhp.
In my country, someone put a 576 HP engine in this car.
@@人民领袖-s9z ❤
I owned one here in Malaysia 1.6cc..easy maintenance and great handling 👍
The interior gives me the feel of an early 2000s General Motors product!
Loved it during the time I lived in Malaysia. Reliable car. Then I moved to Thailand and bought again a new one (a lovely Prevé) at a dealership in Bangkok. Then got a letter from the importer that they stop selling Proton in Thailand incl. all the dealerships. Pity, otherwise would bought it again, so went to Toyota. By the way, talk a bit slower, have the idea you got sometimes short in breath...
Export spec Protons at this time are a lot better than what they offer in malaysia. Generous compared to the local ones here. E.g. airbags & abs are only on top spec variants here. The Gen 2 suffered from too many shortcomings, production only lasted till 2011/12. The sedan version is more successful, produced till 2015.
I don't know why this popped up when I opened TH-cam, however I've watched all through and must say I remember these little rockets. Your video links up with new Proton cars X30 and X50 showing a modern SUV and I would very much like to see these in the UK.
I still have my proton gen2 I had since 2009
You have my sympathies.
My brother had a proton gen 2 on lpg. He absolutely ragged the hell out of it and it took it, the car handled so well and the engine was fantastic. With a turbo that car would've been seriously powerful
i have one still since 2005, still do. 99% city driving. translates to about 4 million KM highway driving. The secret sauce of the handling is the multilink suspension but if you ask me is not that great until i slapped on an anti roll bar; then it was a totally different story. The engine is based on a 1.8 Mitsubishi GSR, not some bull about Proton developing their own engine, I know this because some tech from the factory revealed it and also some parts are interchangeable like the clutch pump. I am from Malaysia, home of Proton.
What tech is that maybe - the piston?😅
Hi...i have to agree on everything you said about the Gen2..I own a saloon version of this called the Persona since 2012..with the persona we do get a slightly different interior design and the engine came with the updated intake system or something like that..give a better throttle response compared to the early model but still nothing to shout about much like the interior quality..
Here the Gen2 is derided for its appalling built quality..like you said great ride and handling..fuel consumption in town is not great.open roads however is better..
If anyone can overlook the lack of interior quality,this car is quite fun to drive actually.
Honestly being a Proton,the mechanicals can take a beating.. enjoyed your video
Funny how when new the interior let this car down whereas now as a used purchase its selling it for me. Very unique
I think there's a definite place in the market right now for a sub £10000 option given the prices have gone nuts and no-one has any money. Proton or Perodua could be well placed to fill it - cheap and reliable. There's a small town near here which was a bit down-at-heel and had a Proton dealership - quite a lot of Protons still trundling around there even today.
I also saw this at FOTU this year. I'll be honest, it was the curtains really did it for me.
Differences between proton gen2 1.3 and 1.6 is
Gen2 1.6 got rear and back power window but Gen2 1.3 only came with rear power window.
Gen2 1.6 Got two modal which is Gen2 1.6 and Gen2 1.6 CPS
Gen2 1.6 cps is more powerful than 1.3
In malaysia only Gen2 1.6 cps version having airbags.
Gen2 1.6 came with sport rim and Gen2 1.3 didn't came with it.
Current market price in malaysia is between RM6k to RM14k base on condition. Alot of modification parts available right now.
UK did not get the uprated CPS engine. And the specs were different too with twin airbags for 1.3 GLS as well as headlamp height adjuster (compulsory for UK and EU, I think).
Was thinking about buying one of these a few years ago. They had a factory LPG model
I've looked more recently and there's been none around on auto trader for a couple of years
I've never really given the Gen 2 a lot of thought (the Saga, on the other hand...) until now, but commercial vehicle-grade interior plastics aside, it's rather agreeable and rather stylish :)
Funny thing about those center buttons: some of them were completely functionless as the PCB behind them had no cutouts or traces for a button. I found that out when I had to replace mine
Womder what a Roverised version would have been like if the 2004 deal had gone through.
Exactly the same, but with some stick on wood effect plastic and priced like an Audi.
I've always had a soft spot for those, l even visited my local Proton dealership at the time to sit in one out of curiosity.
I too worked at a Proton dealership from 2005 to 2007 and had 2 as company demos. This was a truly frustrating car. The styling was brilliant, the handling was pretty good and the stereo and heater were brilliant. The Prodigy on full volume with the bass up was a delight (although you couldn't see anything out the back as the rear view mirror vibrated so much.
However
The build quality was horrific. The plastics fell off, the gearknobs scratched badly if you were a wedding ring, windows had a habit of falling into doors. The alarm/ immobiliser/ central locking had a mind of its own too. The Campro engine performed very oddly. So slow to pull away unless you revved the nuts off it and it loved to overrev when you took your foot off the throttle. Keep it on the boil and wait before changing gear though and it worked fine.
Sadly it didn't have enough street cred to attract young buyers and the awful build quality put off the Proton faithful, hence it didn't sell. There's still something oddly likeable about it.
Hi. That overrev thing is known as rev matching, which is also present in come sports cars like Nissan 350Z, 370Z and if not.mistaken Mazda RX7 and RX8.
It’s a shame they are not still selling in the U.K. they would give Dacia and MG a run for their money I never had one but I had another Malaysian car a perodua kelisa they probably came to the U.K. on the same ship greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Hi from Malaysia. Proton had a challenging time to meet Euro 4 emission compliance and then later Euro 5. There was no direct injection nor start stop technology like main European and japanese car makes to help reduce co2 and it had to say goodbye UK.
@@fauzanriez9472 what a shame I liked them thanks for the info
for the teashelf, as a malaysian they'll use teh tarik (ikat tepi for more genuine experience) on it lol
Proton sales really collapsed here in Australia ever since they changed from being modified older Mitsubishi designs to their own designs. It seems that cars like the Waja, Gen2 and second generation Satria were the beginning of the end of Proton in terms of being able to export cars successfully around the world. 🙁
The Proton Jumbuck was at one time a very popular small utility (pickup/bakkie), it took over from the Subaru Brumby/Brat somewhat, but with no replacement you don't see any of the type of vehicle around any more (apart from the odd Jumbuck or Brumby survivor). The small utilities offered in South Africa, Brazil and elsewise like the Renault (Dacia) Oroch or Volkswagen Saveiro are otherwise not offered in Australia anymore. I take it they are not offered in the UK either?
Hi.. you're right..when proton was doing mitsubishi rebadge,they were doing well..
The problems started when they start building their own cars.
Here in Malaysia the consumer wasn't expecting a lot when the Waja first came out..they actually kind of accepted the terrible lack of built quality..being the 1st you know.
However when the Gen2 was launched,things quickly went south from there..the quality was actually went from bad to worse.. consumers were expecting improvement but utterly disappointed..it was improved upon during late 2000s but by then it was a little too late..now the rest is history..
Proton had a terrible dealer network too which didn’t help in Australia had three protons myself a GEN-2 and 2 Jumbucks we’re definitely built to a price and when I was away from the metropolitan areas my Gen-2 less the 1000km’s developed a bad oil leak proton were less then helpful and said we can’t help you as the nearest dealer was over three hour drive away,
Weren’t terrible cars but my jumbucks were ok but one was at the Workshop more then on the road a shame they were a fantastic little ute,
Proton just disappeared into the background due to low sales in Australia a shame weren’t terrible cars,
Then GEN-2 did handle well I remember bought one new here in Australia in 2011 only had it for 5 years as it was starting to wear out by the time I sold it when I got a safety’s certificate or road worthy equivalent to a MoT I suppose for sale the guy said it was the only proton that passed a road worthy first time,
You don’t sit on the hard plastic and look at how well it has lasted. My 2019 Suzuki swift sport has lots of black plastic but the car is utterly reliable and is very rapid when required and also bimbles around town happily. I don’t think interior finish is that important so long as it serves its purpose. I have never understood this obsession with material you rarely touch.
The only reason I don't think these sold particularly well was a lack of dealer network. I mean they're obviously not the top end luxury quality market, but they're probably better than a Dacia and were a very reliable car with low running costs.
I think it is a wonderful car. Especially the Impin model that meets all the needs of a driver. In its time, it had a higher level than many cars, and even after all these years, it is still beautiful and mysterious
You've obviously never driven a decent car.
Proton bought Lotus, yes but is now in the Geely group of Chinese ownership. Volvo is in the same group
Looks like they copied the Renault Magane of it's time and just put a cheap interior in it. A neighbour had all the Proton cars and they never let him down. Great video Matt, covering a car most young people would probably laugh at nowadays.
This generation of Proton are very good cars, its a shame the importer kept pushing the price up as the now dacia buyer was really the target market but the importer priced them far too high
The proton Savvy is a great little car aswell as its based on the mk2 clio
I do wonder the "what if" about the MG/ROVER deal to make the gen-2 models the new 25/45 in the Rover range
This generation was crap best was the one before Magma engines
Proton fared better when price similarly to Yugos, Seats, Ladas, FSOs, Skodas. Not when priced too close to Ford Fiestas and Escorts and Vauxhall Corsas and Astras.
I came damned close to buying a second-hand one of these years ago when it would've been maybe four years old. It did look really stylish at the time, and the interior was pretty striking. (Yes, yes, I know the quality of the plastics used could've been better. Much better, to be honest...) It was a really nice drive and it could shift itself down the road pretty well! Can't remember what I bought in the end, possibly another Proton model as I had a couple of them. Edit: it was the smaller Proton Savvy I bought - that pistol-grip handbrake reminded me of what I'd bought. As I recall, that had a Renault-sourced engine under the bonnet - a 1.2 maybe?
Some really interesting, creative and aesthetically pleasing styling features on this Proton. Shame about the material choices overall but I like this car. 👍
Im still running this car since 2004.
Omg I still can’t believe you guys in the UK ohhh & ahh about a car with air conditioning. In Australia A/C was standard fit on most cars form the late 1980s early 1990s. In the 2000s to present we would be seen dead in car with out A/C.
Probably because it is a necessity down under but still can’t get over it.
it was still an expensive option in 2000, dont think you can get anything without it now but our summers are hotter
This Proton dosnt have AC
I saw one of these the other day and though it was a nice looking car. Love the interior styling clearly not the best quality plastics but the charm makes up for that imo
Brilliant video. I used to own a Proton Impian very good reliable car. It's a shame Proton cars have left the UK Market.
actually had one of these at my old college i think it was a 08 1.6 they were pretty cool but I have to say this we had the whole thing apart in the workshop and the engine wiring loom felt horrific they looked like house flex in places in my opinion they spent the whole budget on the drive train and steering the cam pro engines i love i just think the quality of the intirior and the wiring on the engine let's it down the engine wiring almost looked like a fire waiting to happen
Always liked them, still look great 👍
Proton has been struggling to sell cars in Malaysia and in other countries over the past several years. They are rare, even here in Singapore! Hopefully they will sell more cars domestically and worldwide later on, and get back on top of their game like they did back in the late 90s!
A Malaysian here. Proton is doing very well here domestically, with the new Geely based products like the Proton X50 being one of the better hotsellers of the b-segment crossover market, even the previous top seller the Honda HR-V has been toppled by it. Although I'd have to agree with you that Proton isn't really that great at export markets now, with only one or few exports to developing countries, the latest one being South Africa (after some hiatus too). Otherwise as a, well, not-so-overly-proud Malaysian (it actually gets alittle bit too much with us hyping over on some old Protons every once or so when they pop out in the UK 😂) I'd really hope Proton gets back onto its feet someday and reexplore the export market again.
Gen 2 was the malaise era for Proton, it was post-financial crisis so their product end up really, really crappy.
I always thought the side profile of these looked very like a MK1 Renault Mègane hatch even the rear door is very familiar to a MK1 Renault Mèganes in style anyway.
The custom fit rear curtains are intriguing
Iv'e always liked the gen -2....maybe now is the time to look at one
Didn’t the idea get floated that this would have been badged as the new Rover 45 at one point?
5:54 yes
Great Review Matt! It’s cool seeing rare normal cars. I‘d imagine parts for a Proton would be a nightmare to gain as it’s not been sold in Britain since 2016.
I have one at the moment, used headlights from a breaker were £70 and I couldn’t find calipers anywhere!! Gonna use shoppee from now on, and a courier to ship from them in Malaysia to me
Thats one clean Gen 2. Haven't seen a clean one in its home country .
I had a persona 2litre diesel (vw engine) tdi although it was nippy, drove well but, did no more than 32mpg, interior plastic flaking or falling apart and blew fuses at every opportunity.
Put me off them ever since. But the original Mitsubishi early ones had a certain charm 👍
I hand a early proton nice car had it a few years few cars later had a test drive in one of them didn't like the way it would rev slow changing gear the dealer said it was to burn off unburned fuel so I bought a brand new Citroen C4 and had nothing but trouble with it ....
If you're into weird handbrakes you should try and Alfa 75 or and Alfa 90!
already reviewed a 90!
u should TRY Gen2 limited EDITION 2008-2010 Campro CPS 125hp stock engine. it was tremendous completely amazing n fantastic
Correct. CPS system was designed by Lotus and even licensed to a Porsche once.
I have the same proton gen 2, same one with the same blue color. But the parts are so hard to get. It has taken me 3 months now to get the rear wiper arm which I have still not gotten one
Very nice.🙂 Very similar in style to the original Renault Megane hatchback. I could have considered one of these when car hunting in 2010.
Not a big football fan but I like the Norwich City colour scheme on the thumbnail of this video. 😁 Proton having once owned Lotus who sponsored the club in the 2000s. There used to be a small showroom at the ground - I remember seeing Jumbucks in there. I think Lotus still sponsor my local NCFC but they are now owned by Geely. I was sad when Proton sold Lotus.
Cheap plastic door pull it may have but still looks higher quality than the newest Mercedes A class which feels like you're going to snap it in two.
Nobody does door card descriptions like furiousdriving!
I think they also took some inspiration from the Mazda 323F/Lantis/Astina.
The last time I seen a Gen 2 was in the Lakeland Motor Museum in the lake District at the Lloyd Vehicle Consulting Social and i was rather exicted to see one.
A excellent review as always Matt, its a great looking car and with the Lotus Tweeks it looks like its a great drive i can forgive the cheap plastics if it drives good.
Really like the interior, such a shame the plastics are so cheap. Great review Matt!
Thanks! 👍
Spot those funky boot hinges?
Since you mentioned it.. yes it came with the linkages instead of the normal big hinges that eats into boot space..mine is the saloon version with same linkage..
Matt it would be a Teh Tarik shelf , frothy tea 😁 that’ll make all 9 of your Malaysian subscribers happy 😂. Nice car by the looks but honestly don’t remember them.
Proton gen2 body malay engine lotus uk❤❤❤ ilove uk
Didn't Rover sniff around this as a possible collaboration during its dieing days to replace the R25?
wouldnt surprise me
It did. It would do good for both sides, I believe. For sales volume and especially survival.
It reminds me in some ways to rover 45 Hatch MK2
Could have been a Rover! Quite like these - but the interior always looked low rent!
the maybach curtains are great lol
From the back if you squint it sort of looks like a Mondeo Mark 1 (sort of)
Dunno about a "posh sofa" - that shiny fabric on the doors reminded me of those shiny stretchy leggings Rod Stewart used to wear.
Never seen this or any other Proton in mainland Europe 😁
Not in the US or Canada either. Not sure about Mexico.
What’s with the chrome strips around the wheel arches was that original?
no, added later
I’m certain my late father in law had on of these it had a few electrical gremlins including locking them in the car it even did it at the dealer when he took it back
Locked the mother in law inside probably had to fix it to get her out 😂😂😂
I've bumped into them on ebay occasionally and pondered when they came about.
hello mate can you also do a review on proton impian ?!
not a bad car at all, quite like it 😎
12:38 honk!
Gen2. Drove well. Everything inside terribly cheap but fine. I’ve had 5/8 of them In the motor trade. Saloon out looks the hatch. They’ve been so cheap over last 5 to 10 odd years as a used buy zero reason not to have one for a year.
Gen.2 of supra
I remember looking at one of these I thought it drove well but as an unknown entity I chickened out and bought a Nissan 😊. Please don't judge me 😔
Did u use the tea shelf?
Dashboard
That car still looks mordern. I think the design has aged rather well.
The styling is rather alright indeed! It's a sharp looking car.
The minimalist theme was inspired by Lotus's Elise. The instrument meter especially, and the lack of proper glove box.
Never seen one in the flesh quite fancy a savvy mind
Looks like a Vauxhall Astra
A133 Colchester?
that area