Faults:

I have had this car for ten years and everything that has been done to this car has been to do with normal wear and tear i. e headlight bulbs, oil filters and the exhaust has been replaced twice.

Interior starting to look a bit worn and body work is surprisingly easy to dent!

General Comments:

I have had the car since new and it has been brilliant, it handles well, drives well and in my opinion I think it looks good.

The car has, for the main part of its life been used for motorway driving and has been hammered by me and yet it still drives well, although I do look after it. I have had the speedometer needle off the clock (130mph) on many occasions and I love it to bits.

I will keep on driving this car until she finally dies on me, which in all sincerity I hope is never.

Faults:

Firstly it was the fishtank tail lamp, then the trim started falling apart.

The engine is basically from Mitsubishi and has had no problems.

Other than that, occasional problems like trim falling off, wiring problems, fading interior, gear lock broke, petrol warning lights fail etc.

General Comments:

It is not a high performance car. The basic model is OK as most of the additional accessories which come with the car will fail later.

Faults:

This saloon has a design fault where a lead to the engine was too short and the wires snapped inside the insulation, making it difficult to find. The symptom was the engine cutting out when pulling away from stationary slowing, and the engine torque rotated the unit away from the bulkhead, parting the two ends of the wire. Since it was fixed, there has been no further trouble.

The clutch mechanism frequently makes a popping noise when depressing the pedal but I am assured (by the RAC) that this is common across all makes, not just Proton.

General Comments:

There is a huge (well, 4" diameter) plate glued with sealant to a drain(?) hole in the spare wheel well which frequently comes away - this could be the cause of the water ingress mentioned by the reviewer of the Aeroback. Otherwise, it is a well-presented, comfortable car.

Service costs are quite reasonable. The dealer scores I've given aren't really representative - the dealer I bought the car from was a cowboy and Proton removed the franchise from him - he then went bust, and the dealership subsequently appointed was also given the boot!