Nice combo: buy a Proton Jumbuck ute and you could get a quad bike in the tray
And now for something completely different. Buy a Proton Jumbuck for $14,990, specify at least $1000 worth of accessories – and the company will toss a $2300 quad bike into the rear tray for no extra charge.
The offer is only available during the month of January 2008, and on-road charges have to be factored in for the Jumbuck. Nevertheless for comfortably under $20,000 you get two desirable new vehicles for not much more than the cost of one.
Proton’s price tag of $14,990 is for the lower-cost Jumbuck GLi. You can also get the same deal with the upmarket $16,990 Jumbuck GLSi, the latter having alloy wheels, cloth trim in place of vinyl, a four-speaker stereo in place of the two-speaker unit, as well as power windows and door mirrors. Air conditioning and power steering are standard on both variants.
Amongst the accessories on offer, don’t forget you have to buy at least $1000 worth to get the quad bike, are a tray liner, tonneau or hard tray cover and several other items.
Power comes from a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that provides reasonable, though far from exciting, performance. It’s an honest enough unit and economical unless you thrash it to try to pretend you’re the owner of a sports ute. The only transmission is a five-speed manual.
The Proton Jumbuck is a practical little half-tonne ute. The tray is a decent size at 1630 mm x 1400 mm, with 1200 mm between the wheel arches. There’s enough cabin space for most big blokes, though, to maximise tray length, there’s virtually no stowage space behind the seats. It’s the biggest selling Proton model in Australia and has gained favour amongst those who don’t need a one-tonne unit and who want to minimise purchase and running costs.
Protons are built to a reasonably standard in Malaysia and come with a three-year 100,000 km warranty that includes free roadside service.
