Proton Jumbuck

Good little trouper! – Got mine maybe 8 years ago, 2nd hand for $5k, and she's been a real trouper. Mainly used for tip runs and such and I've been retired for awhile so I don't use her much anymore but deffo would buy another. Mike Dolan in Bendigo has serviced her a few times and always does a solid job! Show details

Go And Go 4G15P engine clocks 1,604,516 KLM's – There was a recorded instance of the engine exceeding 997,000 mi (1,604,516 km) in a 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage sedan.The 4G15 is known as one of the longest living Japanese engines ever produced where new variants of the engine are still being produced and used in Chinese cars since 2005 Show details

Unstoppable little ute – I have owned 3 Jumbucks now, bought second hand except the first one, bought new for $14,900 drive away. Great reliability, used for firewood, soil, mulch, landscaping stuff, furniture removals, etc and have never been let down by mechanical issues . Having said that, however, internal trim and accessories are way below average, with things… Read more

breaking off regularly, such as plastic door step cover, map pockets on doors, and fuel filler cap locks on all 3 I've owned. Also had issues with radio/CD players, and the headlights are pretty poor.

If you can overlook small bugs like these, the Jumbuck is a great little workhorse which seems to never want to stop going and handling loads, although performance under heavy loads is pretty underwhelming. Handling is great.

I would buy another new one if they ever bring out a new model again, providing the price is kept sensible. Pity they must be run on premium unleaded .

Cheaply finished, totally lacking in power but so reliable and cheap to maintain – Bought my jumbuck new in 2003. So many things needed replacing under warranty in the first two years including: the carpet, drinks holders (too flimsy to actually use and badly positioned in front of air conditioner), map holder on door - held on by two small screws so gave up trying to keep attached in the end= ditto for plastic step guard inside… Read more

door - stereo and speakers replaced- new one also started playing up within a couple of years - can only get one station now...etc etc. It is supposed to carry 800kgs and a tonne with the gate down but it has no grunt. It has carried so much for me but I limit it at 500kg and it struggles -particularly up hill. Takes forever to get to 100kms even without a load (which reminds me the speedometer doesn't work either) but runs smooth once it gets there.

However, after 12.5 years this car has cost virtually nothing to keep running. I have always used premium unleaded and serviced it myself. But depsite this neglect, I've probably only spent about $2000 on her in repairs for the usual wear eg replaced timing and fan belts last year and had work done on the brakes.

Costs me $50 to fill the tank with premium and I get good mileage from it. It is no doubt worth nothing now on the second hand car market so I'll keep running her while she keeps going. Very handy little car if you need to move stuff.

Great car, lots of room in the back, sporty feel, reliable, cheap and hot! – I've wanted one since l saw it but was a bit pricey, I've bought a couple of ebay since, one for $2200 and one for $1250. My review is of the the base model for $2200, the other one l put back on ebay. Base model jumbuck is better without elec windows and mirrors (less that can go wrong) I would travel interstate with a ute full of tools and… Read more

towing a small pop top caravan, it's an underpowered motor so it did struggle but big deal, claimed consumption on the internet is 6.8/100kms but mine was around 10/100kms and driving around 800kms a week l would use a bit of fuel so l put it on injected gas, $3650 and l think l got around $1800 back from the government plus l claimed the cost on tax.

I went from $1.45 per litre getting 450kms per tank which was around $75 to paying $.70 per litre for LPG in a 90 litre tank- $63 for 800+ kms.

I've put 50,000 kms on it and have not had a problem, in the last few months l had a satria gti engine put in taking it from 63kw to 103kw (4g93p engine, very fun car now)

You can get a clean one on ebay for around $1800 if you can wait till one pops up, if it's interstate then you can get it shipped for around $400. Try to get one that's had the clutch replaced and not driven by a young person, clutch replacement is $750 labour and $200 in parts..

They are a cc or ce mid 90's lancer from the doors forward and have a Mitsubishi 4g15 engine and gearbox as standard so parts are easy and cheap (motors go for $200 on ebay!), also they can fit a pallet in the back and can take 550kgs l think, not bad at all.

I've had defenders, falcons, fairlanes, clubsports and this is my favourite car, because it fun/cool/awesome but mainly because it's a small car, people at the shops have always dinged my car with parking spots get smaller every year and l was sick of it so l got the smaller car.

With a small car weighing less (the buk is 1000kgs and my fairlane was 1800kgs) it is less maintenance on tyres, brakes and suspension, my defender was all wheel drive which meant it had to power two diffs all the time plus it had two gearboxes...

Everyone has seen crash footage of a jumbuck but nothing was said when the same car in a sedan body (lancer) was crashed.. I think there was a smear campaign to try and stop the small utes effecting the Aussie ute market personally, also that person with the glasses on TV tells people not to by a car without esc/abs and traction... Gimme a break.

It's more important to be buying a good cheap car and being debt free, if you have money to waste then buy a $30,000 car and watch it drop $15,000 in a few years plus the interest you pay making it a 35/40 odd thousand dollar car, get a cheap car and save for a house.

Don't get me started on how poor a car Holden and ford make. My missus runs a Mini Cooper and that is another fantastic car, other than a buk or Mini Cooper l would get a VW golf Chicks dig it Underpowered towing a small caravan and tools, otherwise a bloody beauty

Not a $20,000 car – I bought mine new in 2009, the lower spec model because I wanted a ute for rubbish runs, etc. and general use. There's only me so passenger seating wasn't an issue. If you want a one tonner, go buy your hilux or navara or such. It's a half tonne capacity, the same as a 1.5 litre hatchback and with a load performs as such. I've got 90,000km on mine… Read more

now and the o2 sensors on the exhaust give a lot of trouble (Proton don't want to know about it) and you need to do the gearbox oil change on time or it's hard to get into gear.

I went to North Queensland from Perth with a full load of camping & travel gear and a hard-shell camper on top (on a frame I had built) and the only trouble I had was tyres because I underestimated the weight so didn't have the tyre pressure right. I consistently get 7.5-8.5 litres/100km with a mix of around town and country running. The vehicle is serviced as close to every 10000km as I can, not at a dealer because the nearest one is a fair way away. My mechanic uses a Mitsubishi computer program to reprogramme the o2 sensors and get rid of the light on the panel. If anyone knows how to fix the sensor problem I will be eternally grateful. Mine was $13000 cash new and I didn't have $20000 and I'm not sorry.

5 February 2016 update: I've had sensors replaced three times in two years as well as computer reprogrammed a number of times, both Proton and Mitsubishi programmes. The wiring has been traced as well and checked for breaks. There have been other electronic problems with things not working, but we seem to have them all sorted now. The latest was odometer and trip meter not working and taco sticking. The instrument technician repaired some clips and clamps that were broken (apparently done very easily) when the dash was pulled out and the printed circuit replaced. All appears to be working now. Suggestion; get an instrument tech to check the dash for breakages and things not fitted properly. Problems don't stop it, cheap to run Consistant problem with the o2 sensors and no apparent fix

Proton Jumbuck.320.000 Hard km And Still Going – Have owned our Proton Jumbuck since new back in 2006. From day one the little ute was put to work and has not missed abeat since then. Used out on a farm in Gippsland Victoria it handles what ever is thrown at it. From a bale of hay in the back to a tub full of fire wood it does not say no to any job. Mechanically it has been great 320.000 km and… Read more

still have not touched the engine (all of which have been hard km),apart from regular 10.000 km servicing that's all the old girl gets. Can only speak very highly of this ute and would recommend to anyone looking for a little ute that will take a beating and still get the job done. Sure the body has got battle scars but the power plant behind this old girl has no signs of stopping. Will out work any Great Wall ute any day. Its a shame Proton stopped making them.

March 16th 2017 Update: Just clocked over 400.000km and still going.

An update from our earlier post when the old girl had just clocked 320.000 km we are proud to inform that our old girl has just clocked over 400.000 km. Engine and driveline have not been touched apart from the usual service and maintenance. Looking at retiring the old girl now but looking at buying another Jumbuck. Reliability of this little ute has been amazing .If your looking for a cheap reliable ute one of these may be the car for you.

It's a good little ute – It's a good little ute to get a round in. It's a good front wheel drive ute because I drive it a round my paddock.

Proton jumbuck – I purchased my current 2006 proton jumbuck two years ago second hand I have had one before I bought new 2004 that was reliable a gli I now have a glsi I love the size run my cleaning business out of it gets heaps of looks, since I have had the vehicle I had to rebuild the gearbox at 95000 km,s the bearings failed had to wait six weeks for parts… Read more

according to mechanic, lost keys car had to be shipped to local dealer so they could recode a new key and was very expensive to replace I got two keys one has broke since and is now useless now won't start car, interior light never works and very poor fuel consumption and is a tad underpowered it is after all only a 1.5 litre and parts a horrendously expensive from dealer, it is a cheap ute and that is exactly what you get and is reliable enough can be fun to drive and is very handy size I won't get one again due to niggling little issues and have replaced clutch as well and about to replace timing belt apart from that it keeps going and will take good sizeable loads always carting my cleaning gear no problems has a sporty go kart ride can be fun to drive and sometimes feels painfully slow the vehicle has now travelled 107000kms. Love the size and looks, will take good size loads, can be cheap to run and fun to drive. Niggling reliability issues, parts prices, fuel consumption and can be underpowered. Trim rattles

PROTON JUMBUCK – I have owned mine for six years.tough reliable and takes a beating.carted wood rocks bikes engines towed used as a ute and done everything i have asked it to do.Proton support is poor and some parts are very expensive .Main issue oxy sensors.Improved with exhuast cold air intake.must run on premium. lacks a little in the bottom end for towing is… Read more

good on fuel till you hit the hills.lights are poor so and have clipped some roo's.

Just hit 235.000ks still going strong.Strange to say i have grown fond of this car.prefer to drive it over my xr6. go cart handling .takes a punishment .low maintanance.heater is awsome. lacking power.cab is small.rough ride.not super good on fuel.

Fun to drive so far, cheap but questionable build quality – Bought mine from a dealer last month, 2003 model for $4500, I was looking for a ute to do tip runs, carry a dirt bike and take my dogs to the beach in, etc. It drives pretty good, and feels nice and zippy, a bit like driving a go cart. Max speed 135km per hour, 110km comfortably. There's plenty of room in the back, I can roll out my swag nicely… Read more

with the lid down. I like the size and humble look of it and most of all the price. I would love a Toyota Hilux they are awesome but I don't want to shell out the money for one so I settled for this Ute. So far I'm pretty happy with it, but I'm not sure about how reliable it will be or what sort of milage I can expect to get out of the engine in the long term, mines currently at 127,000 Km. I will mention though as soon as i started driving a couple of things have started to break, including the driver side door document carrier, it just snapped off, the petrol door came off flying off (I glued it back on), the radio cannot tune to a station properly but who cares really??, and the Car Horn is terribly quiet and useless. The car has been well looked after too, so I think it just comes down to cheap Malaysian parts and labour. All in all I like it a lot, If I get 5 years out of it with minimal maintenance costs I'll be pretty happy, but all this remains to be seen.....Fingers crossed it keeps trucking along..... Its a cheap little Ute, fuel economy is okay, tray is good size and useful, fun to drive poor interior build quality, only takes Premium unleaded

Great little ute – I got the 2003 model with 217,000kms in 2010, since then have taken her to 265,000 and have built her into a b'n's work ute. she takes abuse, [censored word removed], hard work. chewed up a gearbox towing a prado and 30ft caravan. blew an engine doing a burnout/circlework comp she has taken more abuse than what I ever expected. have since… Read more

done a conversion to the 2.0l mitsu evolution engine which is 98% complete. Took a lot of punishment to kill, takes cheap lancer parts which are common Genuine parts are costly, however Mitsubishi parts fir as forward of firewall is CC, CD, CE lancer components

Excellent – fantastic small cheap ute, easy to drive, great on fuel, good bang for your buck. Fits quite a reasonable load in the back excellent small ute. great on fuel at under 8L/100km. loved the two levels of aircon. cheap to buy. struggled under really heavy loads (although I guess it wasnt really designed for that anyway). I would have liked a 4wd option.

Lemon right from the start – Did research and bought the Proton Jumbuck brand new in 2008, and traded it in for a more reliable car in early 2010. in the one a half years since I owned it, I was back for warranty more for 40 times for various issues (they wired the normal beam and high beam the other way round, CD player didn't work, engine cut out on us while driving,… Read more

power window stopped working, power mirrors stopped working, C02 sensor failed, and a continual problem with the engine light just to name a few problems)

Dealership was not helpful, Proton Cars Australia was equally not helpful. Promises to extend the warranty was not met. Refused to offer a new car to replace what was obviously a lemon.

Would never touch a Proton car with a 10 ft pole.

My other 2000 Kia Rio, also a 1.5l engine had more power than an empty 1.5l 2008 Proton Jumbuck.

Bad warranty service, poor build, bad quality control