Faults:

In terms of starting first time every time, and getting me from A to B, it's been faultless... so far.

There are a few issues though.

Both rear wheel bearings needed replacing when the car was bought, and there was also a fault with the driver's side electric window. This taught me not to use the local Proton dealer ever again, as it cost nearly £400! I've just used an independent for servicing/MoT's since.

I had to get a Thatcham approved immobiliser fitted, as my insurance wouldn't cover me for theft without one. That cost £140, and anyone considering buying a GTi should bear this in mind.

Noisy, ticking fan belt. WD40 helps.

Turning the air con on really does KILL the performance.

For me the most irritating fault is when you drive over a bump at speed, it throws the speedo off (eg. you're doing 60 and it's reading 80), and it only rights itself when you slow down and go to 2nd gear. Strange noise behind the dash while this is going on.

Paint gets chipped easy.

Rattly interior, cheap plastics and iffy build quality, but it's a Proton, so what do you expect?

General Comments:

To be honest, it's not quite as fast as I'd hoped. Between 4500-6500rpm, it goes really well, and it's got a decent 0-60 time of about 8ish seconds, but at lower revs it's as flat as a fart, and it does struggle past 100, although it does cruise quite nice. Apparently the older GTi's (1999-2002 I think) are a bit quicker.

It's still a nice car to drive though, with well weighted steering, slick gear change and a light progressive clutch. You can tell Lotus were involved with sorting the suspension and chassis; it goes round corners very well.

Lovely Recaro seats.

Standard stereo and speakers are a bit crap.

Fuel economy is pretty dire. On a long steady run, it's not too bad, but on short trips and B road blasts, it just gulps it. I struggle to last a week with a full tank.

Overall, I'm fairly satisfied, and plan to keep the car for a while. One of the reasons I bought this car was because they're rare and I wanted something different, but I do sometimes wonder if I'd have been better off sticking to mainstream Ford/Vauxhall.

Faults:

Nothing went wrong except a flat battery.

Changed before they went:

CV joints $300 at 90000kms.

Changed timing belt at 95000kms.

Clutch needs changing from today at 106000kms, July 2011, $600.

General Comments:

Serviced every 5000km and according to book on my own, sourcing parts from ebay and online.

Brakes, belts etc all very cheap.

Not the most comfortable car, but the best and most reliable car ever, and my missus has also owned a 2007 Satria Neo with no problems since 2007.

Faults:

New radiator at 130,000kms.

Rust wherever glue had been used ie all through the roof where the braces attacked.

Some weird thing where the accelerator wouldn't work (fuel inlet related).

Batteries would last about a year.

General Comments:

This was my first car, and despite its continual need for repairs, I loved it.

The back seat is quite small for a tall person.

Had a build up of wax in the injectors due to supermarket fuel. I really suggest using Vortex98 with the added efficiency; it worked out cheaper for me.

I wouldn't buy another because this one caught fire at a petrol station while I was inside it. This was caused by leaking O rings.

Faults:

I got the car with a cracked bumper (it's got a body kit), brown coolant (looked as though it had been through some red dirt) and a scratched dash insert and they were all easily fixed.

General Comments:

This car handles awesomely, has firm suspension which means there is little body roll around corners (took a 90* corner the other week at 60km/h with no complaints from the engine or tyres).

The engine on mine is fairly gutsy for a 1.5, but this could be due to the K&N Air Filter, extractor and larger exhaust. Also, it runs nicely, uses no oil or coolant, but doesn't really like high revs.

On the inside there is a real drop in quality, several rattles and squeaks that will drive some people nuts, but they don't really bother me. The air conditioner is nice and cold even during 35*C days. The visibility is great with nice big windows all round.

So to finish up, the car handles and look good, good on fuel and maintenance, but a cheap interior does ruin a potentially great little package.

Thanks.