Proton Satria Neo

By Gareth Dean
To me, all cars carry an association; Honda Civics remind me of a bovine-related collision I had on an English country road one night, Toyota Hi-Aces have a fist-shaking, expletive-riddled association of being cut up in traffic and Proton… well, I learned to drive in an old Persona Compact with a dodgy gearbox – enough said! Would the Proton Satria Neo be able to undo those memories of smoking clutch plates and bashed alloys?At R134 995, the Satria Neo sits in the same price bracket as similarly engined offerings from Ford and Renault. It is on the specifications front where Proton hopes to get the edge on the competition; ABS with EBD, climate control, airbags, rear parking distance sensors, MP3 compatible CD player with Bluetooth capability, electric windows and mirrors are among the standard features of the car, the only optional extra thus far being leather upholstery at R4 999. A rather vocal 1,6-litre mpi DOHC engine, which generates 82 kW, powers the Satria Neo from 0-100km/h in a claimed 11,56 secs on the way to a 190km/h top speed. This unit is mated with a five-speed manual gearbox with a notchy feel to downward shifts – oh dear, those driving lesson memories have re-emerged!

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