Faults:

Initially this was a great little car; not much in the way of power though since it is only 1.2 litres.

Noise issues as mentioned in many reviews, but acceptable, and comfort was also acceptable.

Easy to start every morning, cold or warm mornings, one touch on the ignition and away it went, sitting around 750 RPM. Then out of the blue after putting around 13000km on it, it became difficult to start, and when it did, it went to 1110 RPM for around 30 seconds, then jumped to 1400 RPM, before slowly falling down again, and when it reached 1000 RPM, the whole car began to shake, but again it dropped back to sit around 800 RPM and was easy to drive from then on. The whole process would take around 3 minutes.

Found I had been sold tyres on the car that were 8 years old. OK, my fault for not checking, but on inspection they looked real great with little wear. When I went to purchase some new ones, I found the size wasn't available from any of the large tyre companies, although I did find some new ones from Hankook (remember this if you want tyres for this model).

Changing the wipers front and back, spares cost the earth, and I found purchasing from a third party better.

Servicing the car was initially a nightmare, as where I lived (Central Coast NSW), no one wanted to touch it for service, as from what each one told me, we can change bits and pieces, but we can't hook it up to our computer to see if anything is wrong. The only two service centres near me were over 100km away, until one of the local dealers took over the dealership of Proton, so I am hoping that when I take it in, I will get some answers. I am worried that because this is only a sideline for them, selling new Protons, I am hoping the expertise required to service my Proton will be professional, and not one geared towards replacing everything, and will not cost me the earth. Irrespective, I will get it repaired, but will look to offload within the year, as when I tried to earlier, no one wanted to take it, and when they did offer, the trade price was terrible.

General Comments:

I think Proton had better get their act together and make spares cheaper if they want to break into the Australian market. Make communications with customers more direct, and make sure that the cost of a service is reasonable, so as not to make those who purchase want to dump it after a short while. In saying that, the car, when everything is going fine, is satisfactory to drive; after all you are not getting a V8.

Faults:

Engine management computer doesn't recognise both ignition keys; had it reset twice, but I'll just live with that.

Slave cylinder on rear brakes locked up, causing one rear brakeshoe to wear into the brake drum, warranty replacement of both rear brake drums, cylinders and shoes, very happy with the service.

Fuel cap works its way loose, emitting fumes. Had it replaced, but still leaks, very annoying.

Rear wheel spindles and bearing replaced after a recall.

Occasionally engine won't start, lock and unlock doors with ignition key, then it starts fine. I think the computer gets a glitch in it sometimes.

Tyres are expensive.

General Comments:

I like the car and would buy another one.

Engine has enough power when driven right.

Gearbox and clutch are good.

Love the cornering and handling, pump the tyres up hard and it gets noisy, but handles great.

Well equipped for the price.

I'm 188cm (6' 2"); headroom and legroom are fine.

Don't overload the car with lots of big heavy people, it's only rated to carry 350kg, so you may damage your suspension or wheel bearings.

If you are thinking of modding the engine for more power, bear in mind that the transaxles (CV joints) are only designed to cope with standard power, and are expensive to replace.