Amen to what Eric said 'cept he forgot to mention that the windows tend to bind but there are a lot of help threads here for that. The stock CD player should never be used or you may lose your CD's forever (not scratched - stuck in the player). Getting in & out of the back seat can be a real pain but Tone has some extenders to help with that.

"Although I am too old for such a hip piece of machinery"

I'm not sure what you mean by that. There are at least several members here who are 50+. I'm not - I'm only 48 but my son will be turning 15 this year too. He will not be driving the Proton. Not because he can't - well, he can't because I won't let him

Get yerself the VX & give him your old beater car you use for commuting. Even if your son gets to be a VERY good driver, everyone else at his school will 'feel' their way into a parking space & college is even worse.