Proton Persona / Wira (1993 - 2005) : IMAGE ISN’T EVERYTHING
Tuesday October 25
Models Covered: 1993-to March 2000: Persona saloon and five-door hatchback, 1.3 [LSi, Celebration] / 1.5 [GLi, GLSi, Celebration] / 1.6 [XLi, Celebration, SEi] / 1.8 [SEi, EXi, Celebration] / 2.0 diesel [SDi] / 2.0 turbo diesel [Tdi, Celebration] March 2000 to date: Wira saloon and five-door hatchback, 1.3 [Li] / 1.5 [LXi] / 1.6 S [LXi, Lux] / 1.8 [Lux, SRi] / 2.0 turbo diesel (five-door only) [TD] September 1997 to date: 2-door coupe 1.8 [Coupe, Celebration, Evolution 16v]
BY JONATHAN CROUCH
For some time, Proton was one of Britain's fastest growing marques, selling sensible and affordable cars to sensible, cost-conscious people. The new car model range has increased too, with the family-sized Persona/Wira bringing the Malaysian marque a steady stream of value-seeking buyers, whose needs cant be adequately served by the smaller Compact/Satria three-door hatch. With sales of all these new Protons registering healthy gains until the end of 1999 (sales have nosedived so far in 2000), the number of low-mileage, pampered examples entering the used market increased at almost the same rate great news for used family car buyers on a budget.
There's flush-fitted glazing, side impact protection beams in all the doors and body-coloured bumpers across the range. Power steering is standard on most models too. The Malaysians are keen to point out that the Persona is actually larger than most of its direct competitors its overall length is actually somewhere between a Rover 400 and a Vauxhall Cavalier meaning that five adults can be accommodated pretty comfortably
Theres bound to be a lot of P to V-plate Personas around in light of the companys recent new-car sales strength, with prices starting at around £1,400 for a 97P-reg four-door 1.3 LSi saloon or about £1,375 for a hatchback. Choose a 1.5 GLSi with a 97P-plate and youll be looking at roughly £1,425 or £1,550, depending on the number of doors you prefer.
For 98R-plate cars, around £1,600 should be more than enough to secure a 1.5GLSi saloon. If you prefer the hatchback, budget for about another £300. Late 99V-platers are about £2,000.
If youd rather have a 1.6-litre Persona, youll be looking at a minimum of around £900 for an L-plate XLi saloon or about £1,000 for the hatch version. 96N-platers will be around £400 more in each case, while roughly £1,500 is fair money for an R-plate saloon. (The corresponding five-door will be about another £100.
) A 99V saloon will be about £1,950 with the hatch another £100 or so. Expect to pay between £200-£600 for the more luxurious SEi (Celebration from January 1999) trim level with any of these cars. The 1.8-litre cars date from April 1996 initially with SEi trim, then EXi and Celebration.
Prices start at around £1,200 for a 96N SEi saloon. The two-litre non-turbo diesel was sold from April 96 and replaced by a turbo diesel model. The rare 1.8 twin cam coupes are more expensive and start at around £4,000 on 97R plates with late 01X examples around the £6,000 mark.
Expect to pay up to £200 more for the Evolution 16v.
Not much goes wrong. Look out for diesel models with a taxi history and loose trim; interior fittings are not of the highest quality.
(Based on a 1995 1.5 GLi - approx) A new clutch will be in the region of £160 and a full exhaust about £335. Front brake pads will set you back about £45 for the front set and £38 for the rear, while an alternator will be around £165 and a replacement starter motor about £125.
On the move, you won't set the road alight (unless your in the twin cam Coupe) - but you won't be disappointed either. The saloons and hatchbacks are far more refined than their predecessors and respectably quick. Even the baseline 89bhp model manages 0-60mph in 12.1s on the way to a top speed of 108mph.
Around town, you should manage about 30mpg and about 40mpg on the motorway; expect a range of at least 400 miles between refills.
There are faster, quieter and more frugal competitors for your used car pounds of course, but they're all pricier. Proton motoring makes a lot of sense.
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