Launched in 2003, the Jumbuck isn't the best-known vehicle in the UK. With the current trend for 4x4, high-rise pick-ups, the two-wheel drive, car sized Proton stands out from the crowd. The front spotlights, two colour paint, alloy wheels and rear 'styling bars' all give the Jumbuck a slightly sporty, youthish look, making me wonder whether it was designed to be a commercial vehicle or trendy surf truck.

My 10-year-old fashion guru pronounced it 'Cool' on first viewing and immediately asked whether we'd be going to school in it tomorrow - praise indeed from one so style conscious. So we know that the Jumbuck's got the looks, but is it all show and no go?

The Jumbuck is, in simple terms, the front end of Proton's Wira saloon with a ladder frame chassis attached at the rear to carry the load. This is no simple 'cut and shut' job though, with Lotus doing all of the design work for the conversion you know it should be good.

When you get into the cab, you'd almost be forgiven for thinking you were in the saloon donor car; our test Jumbuck - admittedly not the base model - had electric windows, a 4-speaker CD / Radio that actually worked well and air-conditioning (an £850 option). There were plenty of cubby holes, including a full width one behind the seats,to stash various items. The only storage problem we encountered was where to put a packet of cigarettes; they just didn't seem to fit properly anywhere. But, as smokers are most definitely a persecuted minority these days, we don't think this will present too much of a problem to most people.

The cloth covered seats (plastic ones are available in lower models) were comfortable and were easily adjusted to find a comfortable driving position. Proton have sensibly left several inches of room behind the front seats so you'd have to be an American Basketball player before your legs were too long to fit. After quickly altering the height of the steering wheel, putting a drink into the hidden slide out cup holder and setting the rear and electric side mirrors, we were ready to take the Jumbuck on the open roads.

Unlike a lot of light commercial vehicles, the Jumbuck's got a 1.5 litre petrol engine and it likes to be revved to get the best from it. Mated to it is a light and smooth five-speed gearbox, the two together making a lot less noise than a diesel powered equivalent. The steering worked well, OK it doesn't have the feel and response of a Porsche 911, but did you really expect that? The front McPherson struts and leaf-sprung solid rear axle suspension is definitely hard without a load behind you, but it wasn't ever skittish and, apart from bumpy surfaces and pot-holes, the ride was a comfortable one.

Putting out a totally acceptable 86bhp, the Jumbuck went with the flow of all the traffic we took it in and never needed changing down a gear just to maintain speed. Where permissible, the claimed top speed of 96.3mph sounds and felt achievable, although with no nearby Autobahn we weren't able to validate this claim. We are certain that driving the Jumbuck like this won't return the frugal 50mpg fuel consumption though. Thankfully we never needed to fully test the brakes to their limit but they too performed well and gave no cause for concern.

Loading and unloading the 1.63m x 1.34m (1.2m between the wheel arches) flatbed was simple enough thanks to the sensible 650mm loading height and there's even a fitted step at the rear to help get your cargo over the sides of the load-space. Apart from a certain co-reviewer getting their school bag out the back, we didn't use the step and it may well prove to be counterproductive as it stops the tailgate from being totally folded down to allow man, woman or forklift to get right to the back. Having said that, the tailgate can be totally removed if necessary so this probably wouldn't be a problem.

Not having a half tonne of payload to carry we weren't able fully load the Jumbuck - the closest we came was almost carrying some fly-tipped kerbstones to build a barbeque with. However, much to a friend's disgust, the unusually efficient local council had removed them before we got there - but we have no reason to expect that it wouldn't cope admirably.

We've left one of the Jumbuck's best points until last, the price. With a range that starts at just £5,995 (excluding VAT) and rises to £9,127 for the top-dog GSX, you're getting a lot of Jumbuck per pound and for suitable light commercial duties it's very hard not to be tempted.

Now, if this all sounds like sweetness and light, there were a couple of flies in the ointment. Nothing major that would stop us from buying a Jumbuck if we wanted one, but annoying nevertheless.

The first, and biggest (relatively), blot on the copybook was that the indicator, headlight and wiper stalks are on the 'wrong' side of the steering wheel. Of course, after a few incidents of indicating with the wipers and flashing the headlights to clean the windscreen we adapted, but it did remind us of 1970's Datsuns.

Our second and final complaint is that, like the indicators, the controls for the CD / Radio are back to front, with the volume knob on the unintuitive right hand side. We're fairly sure that both of these gripes aren't unique to the Jumbuck and probably apply to all Protons. This being the case we hope that they are things that the manufacturer will sort out in the future.

As you've no doubt realised by now, we really liked the Jumbuck and have no hesitation in suggesting that you take a look at one if you're in the market for a small pick-up. With its sales almost doubling from 340 in 2003 to 614 in 2004, more and more people are discovering the delights of the Jumbuck, why not join them?

To see the technical specification of the Jumbuck, please click here: http://www.proton.co.uk/jumbuck/specifications/technical.asp

For more information click here:

http://www.proton.co.uk/jumbuck/index.asp