Well, I must say this came as quite a surprise. I have not been greatly impressed by what Proton has offered in recent years, and I wasn't looking forward to the arrival of the Satria Neo with much enthusiasm. But it has turned out to be a remarkable little car.Its looks are generic small hatchback. You can idle away a few minutes by looking round it and seeing what else it reminds you of (a bit of SEAT Ibiza, a hint of Toyota, a smattering of Rover), but it still looks pretty good. It also looks quite sporty - almost as if this were the competition version of a more humble model - and that impression is quickly confirmed once you start driving.The reason for this is displayed on a small badge on the tailgate. "Handling by Lotus," it says. Now, past experience suggests that this is not necessarily as good as it sounds. Proton owns Lotus, and has frequently called upon the small but legendary UK company to work its sorcery on the suspension of previous models.The results have not often been exciting. I've wondered in the past how long a Lotus-tweaked Proton has actually gone through the development process, and suspected that in some cases the answer can be counted in hours. That's definitely not the case here.For something costing around £10,000, the Satria Neo is a wonderful car to drive, with lots of grip, excellent turn-in, and splendid balance between the front and rear through corners. There were times when I found myself laughing out loud at the sheer fun of it all.This has been achieved without greatly compromising the ride. The suspension is reasonably soft for a sports hatchback (if a little firm for something that would be used only for urban driving), and any temptation to fit crashy low-profile tyres has been avoided. The overall effect is superb; of all the Protons I have driven, this is the one that most deserves its Lotus badge.The handling is so good that it obliterates most criticisms of the straightline performance - if you needed to get from A to B in a hurry, you could do so just as well in a Satria Neo as you could in something substantially more powerful.Still, it's worth mentioning that this is not an especially powerful car. In 1.6-litre form, as tested here, it has 111bhp, which isn't outstanding. It's also proportionally quite weak compared with the 94bhp offered by the alternative 1.3-litre engine. There isn't much difference in top speed between the 1.3 and 1.6 models, and the 1.6 is quicker by just 0.6 seconds from rest to 62mph.Oddly, though, the 1.6 performs much better in the official fuel economy test, with a combined figure of 42.8mpg compared with the 1.3's 39.8mpg. Even the 1.6 automatic is only barely behind the 1.3 at 38.2mpg.The interior is roomy enough in the front, but there's no way you could fit six-foot adults in all four seats. Speaking as a 6'3" adult, I found the headroom was limited, which meant I was looking through the top couple of inches of the windscreen.When I needed to use the sun visor, it blocked my view almost completely and forced me to bend my head down to that I could see where I was going.I wouldn't want to be heightist about this, though. I took two shorter friends on a 200-mile round trip and they both had enough room. The one in the back also mentioned that she was far more comfortable than she had expected to be when she first saw the car.We didn't take an enormous amount of luggage on that journey, but it was enough to stretch the 286-litre boot capacity to its utmost. If you need more space, and don't need to transport anyone other than yourself and one passenger, the luggage volume can be increased to 615 litres by folding down the rear seat.Any complaints? Well, I don't see the point of a seatbelt warning system which beeps disapprovingly at you when you turn on the ignition if the front passenger belt hasn't been fastened, even when there's nobody sitting there. And although the radio has an RDS facility, it's not very good at finding - or holding on to - stations when you're in hill country and the reception isn't 100%.Visibility is only moderately good. The worst thing about this is that the windscreen pillars are quite thick, and I found myself having to peer round the driver's side one in particular at junctions and on the entry to right-hand corners. The rear pillars are more obstructive still, though at least Proton - unlike several other manufacturers - has ensured that the rear side windows are a decent size and shape.However, none of this is enough to cancel out my enjoyment of the driving experience. This is the jewel in the crown, the thing that makes this car stand out from other budget hatchbacks. Largely for this reason, the Satria Neo is by far the best car Proton makes, and also the only Proton I have ever wanted to own. Engine 1597 cc, 4 cylinders Power 110 bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 42.8 mpg / 157 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.5sec Top speed 118 mph Price From £9999.00 approx Release date 01/02/2007
Our Rating
