Proton Satria Neo Winning Hearts On Top Gear Australia

Above: Shannon Noll poses with The Stig

The best advertising is free advertising: even better than that is free advertising plus great feedback. According to Proton Cars Australia’s Billy Falconer, that’s exactly what the Proton Satria Neo has been receiving on the set of Top Gear Australia.

The Satria Neo is driven each episode in the ‘star in a bog standard car’ segment, an opportunity Proton jumped at when offered by the show’s production company, Freehand, earlier in the year.

"The feedback from the Top Gear Australia people has been absolutely fantastic and we are very pleased to be a part of the show," Falconer said.

"The Satria Neo may not be as big a star as The Stig but it is being watched by many hundreds of thousands of people around Australia each week and is very valuable exposure for Proton," he added.

"With handling engineered by Proton subsidiary Lotus the Satria Neo has proved to be an extremely strong performer on the Top Gear Australia track."

Above: Actor Steve Bisley

Powered by Proton’s CamPro 1.6 litre twin-cam multivalve engine making 82kW and 148Nm of torque, the Satria Neo returns a combined city/highway fuel economy of 7.2 l/100km (manual).

The Satria Neo is available with five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions.  The three-door manual Satria Neo GX is the price leader for the range, at $14,990 plus on-road costs.  The Auto model is $16,990 plus ORC.

Features include air-conditioning, reverse sensors, ABS anti-lock brakes with EBD, SRS dual front airbags, seat belt pre-tensioners, power steering, power windows, power mirrors, central locking with integrated remote keyless entry, alarm and immobiliser all as standard equipment.

The Satria Neo GXR includes the same standard equipment, but swaps out the standard 15” steel wheels for 16” alloy wheels with Continental Conti Sport Contact low-profile tyres.

A rear spoiler, cruise control (Auto model only), auto climate control air-conditioning and front fog lights are also standard with the GXR.  The Manual model is $17,990 plus ORC, and the Auto $19,990 plus ORC.