Hey guys... my friend is getting a new (well second hand from dealer) car and im giving her a hand choosing one as her trusty renault megane is doing her head in (imobiliser problems!).

What do you guys think of the proton gen 2... im looking at a 55 plate 1.3 gls 5 door hatchback... the spec is pretty extensive but is it any good????

Cheers

Phil

... the spec is pretty extensive but is it any good????

Cheers

Phil

erm, no! Depends hugely on budget but I would say there are far better options out there than this.

Proton Gen2 review, road test, prices - Fifth Gear

Chris

Lol... i thought as much... budget is £5,000.

Seen a few panda 1.2's... a nissan micra 1.2 S, yaris 1.0 vvti.

The basic requirements are... 5 door, small but pokey engine (cheap insurance, tax, fuel etc) and something that will last her a good long while!

How about something like this

Fiat Punto 1.3 Multijet Active 5 door Quality Used Car

punto 1.3 Multijet

My Mrs has had 3 punto Mk2's never a problem, 100% reliable and a lot of fun to drive and well equiped

yeh just been looking at the panda 1.3 jtd... £4,400 21,500 miles!

Honda Jazz 1.2, my mate has one with 135k on the clock, 5 years old,never had one problem with it, will sit at 90 all day long. they must be some good cos they are always in the top 5 of customer satisfaction surveys

Cool... will have a look at that.

Gonna see if i can find a micra dci... if not she's pretty keen on the panda 1.3 jtd!

Cheers for you're help guys... you've saved her from a proton! hehe... nah i wouldn't have let her get it anyway!

Gonna see if i can find a micra dci...

Think you might struggle to find a decent one within budget, and unless she's doing high mileage there probably won't be any return on paying a premium for the diesel version. The 1.2 will fairly easily return 45+mpg, and they're that common that she should have her pick of them to get a good example...

Rob.

If she can stretch maybe just over budget she could afford a high mileage new shape Swift. My sister's got one and loves it, it comes with a decent spec.

Examples:

£5700

£5000

Theres a 04 Fiesta on here for sale at £4500

The Gen 2 didnt get a good what car review. I'd say let her drive one and things so she can see herself.

If you're going to buy budget models it might be best to avoid ones laden with kit in case it all goes wrong.

So we have a budget.

What else is she looking for? Good to drive, practical, reliable and reasonable to buy and run?

£4000 puts you in the land of Focus 1.6 or if she wants a smaller car then point her to a Fabia or a Seat Ibiza 1.2 5 door.

Seen a few TDIs 1.416v engines lurking around between £3 and 5 k some. You really have to hunt.

quite a few 1.4MPIs though

If you're looking for no-frills and cheap to buy you could do much worse than a Hyundai Getz/Accent.

The 1.2 Jazz will NOT comfortably sit at 90 all day

Micra 1.5dci will have the Renault engine. It's got plenty of pick up in 85 or 100hp versions. The 65 is not great.

Fuel economy is good. BUT they soot up. I drove mine 110miles a day on NSL roads and it was still needing engine degunker.

Lots of problems with that engin in town cars. The EGR valve clogs up and the turbo can start to burn sump oil. It can't be shut off without damage.

Parkers had a forum dedicated to Renault diesel problems.

You can get a new fiesta 1.25 Style for £6800, so I would think you could get some good prices on used examples.

after diesel more than anyhting as she WIll be doing a lot of mileage with work!

that's why I as lloking at the panda 1.3 jtd.

also want to keep the engine size down though as shes a new driver etc so nothing over like a 1.7 diesel really.

her absolute max is 5 grand with her R reg megane with dodgy immobiliser to px with too. so maybe stretch to 5,400.

cheers

phil

Suzuki Swift diesel?

It's a 1.3, 60+mpg and a Fiat engine IIRC, fun to drive, big inside and loads of airbags.

Early ones (3yrs old) will be around the £5k or less mark (were £10k new)

Had a Proton as a courtesy car for second last Fabia service .

Pro's - It was a nice colour and shiny .

Cons - The interior was obviously modelled on a TONKA toy , straight line performance ok , cornering tolerable except for the " leather " seats which may have been teflon coated .

Tailgate weighed a ton .

May have kept it's price as well as yesterday's SUN !

What about a 1.4 tdi furby ?

Right! Think im getting somewhere.

It has to be low mileage as she's going to be doing a load of miles with work.

The short list is:

Fiat panda 1.3 multijet jtp

Fiat grande punto 1.2 active

and errrr... god im stuck! lol... there's just so many cars with so many different trim levels, engines etc!

Is that her shortlist?

I'd go with the Panda 1.3 multijet diesel if she wants a Fiat.

The 1.3 Diesel gets raved about and my mates mum has that engine in her 1.3TD Corsa.

If I had a budget of £5000 now I'd prob get a Fabia Estate with a TD engine either 1.4/1.9 but thats my personal choice.

Have looked around and for that budget there aren't really any low mileage fabia diesels.

Thats the main point of the panda... can get them with less than 10k on the clock under budget!

also want to keep the engine size down though as shes a new driver etc so nothing over like a 1.7 diesel really.

I wouldn't restrict yourself. The car is only as fast as your right foot.

Some of the modern smaller diesels kick out as much power as the older larger engines.

My mate used to work for Proton and he brought one of these over one night (Gen 2), so I had a little go. Sadly.... I quite liked it

In all honesty you'll be hard pushed to find a low mileage diesel. But mieage is hardly an issue. Any car thats well cared for will go any distance.