2002 Proton Satria GTi 1.8L petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Great fun, but unreliable!

Faults:

From new, the stabilizer bar came loose and took 3 weeks to repair.

At 16000 kilometers, a short developed in an electrical circuit (did not find out where) and was off the road for 2 weeks.

At 62000 kilometers, spark plug leads shorted and blew ignition coil. New leads took 3 1/2 weeks to come from Proton.

Developed many rattles in trim constantly requiring rectification.

Steering wheel vibrates during idle.

Front and rear decals (badges) peeled off.

Many other parts including rear view mirror, dimmer switch, plastic stereo surround, etc... have been replaced.

All has been repaired under warranty thankfully, but I would not say enthusiastically.

General Comments:

I have thoroughly enjoyed driving the car, on long and short drives. Around the city, it is able to set the pace, in the country and on winding roads the car is completely at home. Rough roads can be a little choppy though.

The car is quick and handles like a go-kart. This is by far its best feature and I couldn't rave about this aspect enough. Very few roads I have found can really do it justice.

The Mitsubishi engine is reliable and strong, but the overall build quality does let the car down.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 3rd August, 2004

26th May 2005, 03:54

The car is under powered and toooooooo heavy to be classed as a Hot Hatch.

Its quite slow really.

26th May 2005, 03:56

Good handling, but "oh so slow".

1st Jun 2005, 05:22

Everyone says its really slow, but I don't understand? I have a year 2002 model and it is quick especially when launched at 5k rpm. Try driving it with full throttle shifts (accelerate hard then change gear without taking your foot off the accelerator). Warp speed!

29th Oct 2005, 07:03

Yes it is seriously a very slow car, but makes up for it in handling.

11.1 seconds to 100km/h is quite bad, my 1.5l echo can do it in 9 seconds.

20th May 2006, 18:32

Have a year 2001 model. Handles great around corners. Initially was impressed with the power (used to own a ford laser) but later found it a little low in the power stakes. Put a power chip in for $1000 bucks and use 98 octane found a nice power boost to keep me satisfied for a little longer. Until I get used to the power once again...

Tom Z

26th Oct 2006, 01:15

0-100km/h in 11.1 seconds??? are you sure or are you just doing a "GTI-Bashing"??? The GTI has 150 ponies under its hood stock standard with no mods... ermmm!!! With that kind of ponies & power-to-weight ratio, it should be under 8 seconds, unless the Law of Physics has changed...

22nd Nov 2006, 07:14

Yer the 0-60 time is actually 7.8seconds, where the hell did you get 11 from lol.

29th May 2008, 05:19

I have a Proton Satria GTi non turbo. How many seconds do they do the 1/4 mile in?

1999 Proton Satria GTi 1.8 from Qatar

Summary:

Over Rated

Faults:

First My rear lights stopped working, secondly the a/c radiator fan stopped working and then the radiator cooling fan stopped working thus overheating the engine... Now one fog light is not working..

The worst Thing is like every other proton the interiors are squeaking as if they are going to fall apart...

General Comments:

1. The car is overrated both in price and quality

2. Bad and over priced service.. from the dealers

3. Doesn't have quality parts...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th April, 2004

9th Apr 2004, 14:34

These are not overrated in the UK, because everybody knows they're crap!!!

27th Oct 2004, 14:42

The only good thing on the satire gti is the handling. Other than that it's a waste of time, too slow with overrated looks. I totally agree with the previous comment made.

2002 Proton Satria GTi 1.8 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Overpriced and overrated non performance car

Faults:

The delivery of the car from the Proton dealer was terrible.

It took 4/5 weeks to get the car after many promises the car would arrive "tomorrow."

After 6,000 kilometers a spark plug blew out of the engine into the bonnet causing the head gasket to blow.

The engine had to be rebuilt.

The engine is noisy and on the initial delivery the CV joints had to be replaced.

Terrible cold starts - the car will not accelerate for at least 5 minutes.

General Comments:

The handling of this car is good.

The Recaro seats are great.

The interior is substandard and looks very poor for what the car costs.

The GTi has been marketed as a "performance car" but it certainly is not.

If you were going to purchase a Proton the XLS represents better value for money than the GTi.

The GTi is an overpriced, under performed vehicle not worth the amount they are sold for.

Proton's lack of service is as overrated as the GTi.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th October, 2003

11th Jul 2004, 11:39

This particualr car was either made last thing on a friday afternoon or owned and driven by a complete cretin!.You Decide!

27th May 2007, 08:24

Pretty sure you shouldn't be expecting that much from acceleration on a cold start. And why would you want to, you can do serious damage to the engine, perhaps why the engine had to be rebuilt, unless it was an absolute lemon.