Proton Satria Neo 1.6 GSX (2007) CAR review

Well there’s a blast from the past. A pretty unwelcome one at that

Hold on there. Don’t you remember the old Satria GTi? Okay, so the engine was rough as a a belt-driven sander and the square exhausts and riveted-on arches looked terrible, but it drove well. Very well in fact, because it had been for a chassis work-out at Lotus.

So what you’re saying is this is actually a hardcore hot hatch

Not exactly, although a hotter one is on the way and this one doesn’t look at all bad. The shape is modern if not exactly distinctive and there are some smart touches on even the most basic versions, including a chrome centre-exit exhaust.