1.6 Persona ecoLogic Auto 4dr Saloon

Not what you used to expect from Proton...

Chosen from a long list as the most suitable new VFM family car in 2009 upto around £13K.

Advantages over it's most talented rivals were it's spaciousness, sleeker styling inside and out, performance/driveability of the 1600 petrol/LPG engine, fine ride/handling balance and likely cheap running costs, ( considering it's size/weight and performance capability.)
Reasonable cost option of a proper autobox was a welcome bonus I happily took advantage of.

Downsides that blighted the earlier GEN-2 Hatch versions of highish emmisions, limited rear headroom, ropey trim, stiff ride, lack of low-down torque, rather variable build quality and some minor NVH issues have been thankfully fixed in this Persona, (IAFM) saloon variant.
Below 3500 RPM it is a quiet, comfortable car with broad power spead, (engine a bit boomy above that, but it pulls strongly) mated to a good computer-controlled autobox that quickly learns your driving style and the all-disc brakes are also good.

Car is used for a wide variety of work, including city traffic jams and high-speed long journeys.
Boot capacity/length is as good as most large hatchbacks and has proven most useful.
Economy averages at 42MPG on unleaded and 28 MPG on LPG, which works-out around 30% cheaper in hard cash terms and a huge range if both tanks are filled.

Only failure in 14,000 miles was a rear door that refused to lock/unlock on the remote, easily fixed by the dealer, who's charges are reasonable, but workmanship is a bit patchy.

Overall it has proved very satisfactory so far and offers genuine VFM if kept long-term, (or bought used) to avoid the usual cheap mass-market car awful depreciation.
Dos'nt present itself as an inferior product to the more obvious choices - quite the contary. Friends/neighbours have assumed it's about £15K worth and none of them guess it's a mere Proton...

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