June 1^st, 2000

Persona is Australia’s most economical 1.6 litre car : NRMA

Proton’s Persona XLi has been named as the most economical 1.6 litre car, in a survey published by leading motoring organisation, the NRMA.

The economical Persona recorded a fuel economy of 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres in highway driving conditions or better than 50 miles per gallon in imperial measures.

City driving yielded economy of 7.4 litres per 100 kilometres, or better than 38 miles per gallon.

This means that the average city based motorist travelling 20,000kms per year would spend less than $25 per week on fuel driving a Proton Persona.

According to the NRMA’s figures, the Persona 1.6 tops not only every other 1.6 litre car tested, but all but one 1-litre micro car.

Persona economy was also better than Toyota¹s 1.3 Echo and well ahead of Daewoo¹s 800cc Matiz micro car, which could only manage 8 litres per 100 kms in the city and 6.1 litres per 100 on the highway in the NRMA test.

The NRMA’s figures were recorded in ‘real world’ conditions and not during special economy runs, which are known to produce figures ordinary motorists cannot match in day to day driving.

Persona¹s economy is all the more creditable given that it is a full five door small-medium hatch capable of seating five people with plenty of room for luggage.

According to Proton Cars Australia¹s national sales manager Mr Bill Gillespie, Persona is the surprise package of the small medium sector of the Australian market.

"Persona is an extremely economical and easy car to own and run and the NRMA figures serve to demonstrate that you don’t need to compromise with a one-litre buzz box if you want an economical and practical small car," said Mr Gillespie.

"With fuel costs rising steeply in recent times, the need to control weekly costs for people on a tight budget means that the Persona is possibly the best option on the Australian market at the moment.

"With a value entry price of just $19,490 plus on road costs for the five speed manual, Persona buyers can take advantage of the added room, features and performance and pocket the fuel savings on the way through," Mr Gillespie said.

Persona boasts power windows, air-conditioning, power steering, Blaupunkt AM/FM stereo cassette player all as standard equipment, making it even more attractive to buyers looking for economy without compromise.

Proton’s Protec customer care package is another feature which adds value and improves economy for Persona buyers.