Check Out This Overpriced Proton Satria GTi For Sale in the UK!

The Proton Satria GTi is one of the nation’s most beloved cars that stands tall against the might of the original Proton Saga and many other local legends. Originally launched in 1998, this ‘hot’ hatch is based on the standard 3-door Satria hatchback, which itself was based on the fourth-gen Mitsubishi Mirage. 

Co-developed with Lotus, both the GTi’s performance and look are stellar enough to convince folks at Proton that time to export this hatch to foreign markets, including the UK. While other Malaysian models constantly got berated by the Brits, somehow, they have a soft spot for this Asiatic 3-door sporty hatch, perhaps due to the direct involvement from famed British marque Lotus in developing it.

The Satria GTi was officially launched in the UK in 1999, with a price tag of around £14,500 (roughly RM87,000 at that time), and within half-a-year from its launch, Proton reported a total of 160 units were sold. Though relatively puny compared to the total sales of thoroughbred hot-hatches like the Volkswagen Golf GTI, such figure surely has sent buzzes across Malaysia.

Aside from its ‘astounding’ sales figure, auto critics from the Kingdom have also sung praises for the Satria GTi. For instance, UK’s renowned auto magazine Evo gave a four-out-of-five rating to the Satria GTi. More impressive is the fact that Richard Hammond, one-third of the Top Gear/Grand Tour trio, had opted for the Satria GTi over the Peugeot 206 GTi.

The ex-BBC presenter stated that the deal breaker for the Satria GTi was its Lotus-tuned handling, in spite the 206 GTi cost around £500 less than the former. Though a tad bit lacklustre for a Brit auto-journalist’s standard, the Satria GTi is quite a peppy car, thanks to its nat-asp 1.8-litre 4G93 mill derived from Mitsubishi that produces 138 HP and 164 NM.

Couple of decades later, the Satria GTi remains a favourite among very few Brits who got a knack for exotic Asian automobiles, and such statement is backed with this quite interesting finding.

In our recent web browsing session, we stumbled upon this rather interesting used car listing from the UK. Listed on the Phil Presswood Specialist Cars’ (PPSC) used car website is a rather mint-looking, UK-registered 2003 Proton Satria GTi. Though its exterior seems quite neat, this car has actually racked up more than 56,000 miles (90,000 KM), thus indicating it’s a well-driven car, not just collecting dust in someone’s garage.

Being put on-sale for £10,995 (RM58,808 approx.), this two-decade-old Satria GTi’s price has got on the nerves of some UK car enthusiasts, citing such price is quite astronomical, especially considering the relatively high mileage this car has put on. Twitter user @mctrekmeister was appalled to find out that the Proton Satria GTi's now have hit the £10K mark, in spite of "most of them weren't even that new."

(Image Source: Darren Henley via Facebook)

For comparison, we’ve found another Satria GTi for sale in the UK, posted on Proton GTi UK’s Facebook group. With its mileage reads at only 32,000 miles (51,499 KM), the owner only asked for about £5,000 for the car – that’s half from PPSC’s asking price!

However, such price might be just for some, too, after taking into account how many legally-registered Satria GTi are left on the UK roads. According to UK's automobile database site How Many Left, there’s a total of 54 registered Satria GTi left roaming across the Kingdom as of Q2 2022, essentially making it some kind of rarity. As the saying goes, less is more, or in this case, less unit means it’s worth more.

(Image source: Danial Khairi via Facebook)

Moreover, this is not the first time in a while that a Europe-based Proton Satria GTi is making headlines. Few moons back, one Malaysian bloke took his beloved Satria GTi for a spin or two around the infamous Nürburgring, also known as the ‘Green Hell’.

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend RM59,000, or even travel all the way to the UK to own a piece of Proton’s motoring legacy yourself. Here at Caricarz.com, there’s one Proton Satria GTi with even lower mileage for sale now at only RM26,900! So, what are you waiting for? Grab now while it lasts!

Images Credit: Phil Presswood Specialist Cars Ltd