Ahh...Proton. When it comes to the name itself, most of us like to bash whatever they have made previously like broken power windows, overheated engines, weak gearbox, shockingly awful resale values, political issues and many more. But in these days, Proton is getting way better that what we have known, by making it to be more reliable and satisfies people's needs. Damn, I don't really know what's wrong with our illicit mentality that refuse to go forward. Sheesh.
With a long numbers of delays and management reshape, this week is the most gracious time for Proton. Introducing, the 2016 Proton Perdana, a brand new sedan that makes a comeback in the D-segment market after being phased out in the year 2009 (I'm not gonna include the one which owned by the government staffs here). The new might still based on the eight-gen Honda Accord that has been existed back in 2008, but with the new prestigious design on the outside, it makes the car to not look like a Honda and stays up to its Proton identity. To me, it looks significantly handsome and striking.
New Perdana 2.4 with Ruby Red paint.
Notoriously called the "Perdana Accord", "Accordana", and "Perdanaccord" by most people here, it is one of the main quest for Proton after having an intimate relationship with Honda. Three years later after selling the Perdana which essentially a rebadged Accord, Proton got the rights to sell the Perdana by changing the whole exterior design and some minor bits on the inside so they can make the car to be exactly what Proton should be. However, they have no rights to add more safety features, tweaking the engine or manipulating the dashboard design as they have to follow the agreement between them and Honda.
Another one with Cotton White paint
If you are planning to get a D-segment sedan which is cheaper than anyone else, then here's the right place for you to read. Here's the strategy guide for you to get to know the all-new Proton Perdana. For starters, the Perdana only sells in two variants, the 2.0L and the 2.4L. The 2.0 is the most simplistic Perdana to look at with no-nonsense body kits like the 2.4. There's a rear spoiler too, but it is only for the top variant. Both variants get 17" wheels in all four corners, albeit the 2.4 has two-tone coloured wheels while the 2.0 only gets mono-tone finishing. Also, they are fitted with Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres to add more comfort and efficiency. If it's too small to you? Get some Asantis, TIS or Vossens to make it more, VIP-ish look to this gorgeous sedan!
Like I mentioned previously, the Perdana gets an overhauled design with more subtle, yet prestigious than its Japanese counterpart. The new car gets a new front fascia with the new and slimmer HID headlights with PROTON lettering across each side and a standard daytime-running lights. Also, you can see the new Proton "Thundercats" emblem at the front grille. Even the grille itself has the design lines connected to the edge of the headlights, just like BMW. The side fenders get a faux air intake which is similar to Jaguar. Hope they won't get offended with that. The front bumper is beautifully sculptured with glossy black touches around the foglight vents and chrome finishes at the bottom. As for the 2.0, there's no chrome finishes on it.
New 3D-look badge. The back one is larger.
New sets of headlights with PROTON lettering on each side.
Chrome finishes around the bumper.
The side profile has been extremely tweaked and swoop to the rear to provide a fastback-design like the Jaguar XJ or maybe the Opel Insignia, although it is longer than the car is based on. And yes, it does not disappoint me with that look. What I can tell is that the Perdana has a coupe-like profile and more aerodynamic. Benefits? More trunk space and extra windows at the C-pillar. Not until you look at the rear bumper, which is so..bland... Well kids, it's better to invest two 3M spray cans to paint the overall rear garnish just to finish the whole bumper before your dad gets home, if he buys this.
Standard LED tail lamps
It's easy to spot the exhaust, if you look down under the bumper.
Now let's talk about the powertrain. Since the debut of the government-only Accordana, the engine choices are remained the same. For the 2.0L, it gets a 2.0 litre straight-4 Honda R20A3 engine with SOHC and i-VTEC that powers up to 154 hp at 6300 rpm with 189 Nm of torque at 4300 rpm. The 2.4 like the one you see here gets the familiar and rev-friendly 2.4 litre Honda K20Z3 engine with DOHC and i-VTEC that pumps up to 178 hp at 6500 rpm with 222 Nm of torque at the same rpm in the low variant. Both engines are paired with a 5-speed automatic transmission. And please, don't you really ever, drive it like Johnny Tran while screaming "Too soon junior!" to anyone cuz you might easily overtook by a Passat 1.8 easily.
When it comes to safety, all Perdanas get four airbags, which is two at the front, and two shoulder airbags at both sides. Too bad the low-end ones did not get ESC as standard.
Moving on to the next page, let's focus on the interior itself. If you already ride an Uber Black car that uses an Accord, then you guessed it, wait, I don't think I have to tell you about it since you're familiar with the cabin. Just kidding! Even though the Perdana still gets the whole cabin from Honda, there are some minor changes to the centre console. You can see that there's two coloured screens on it, one for displaying clock, air-conditioning systems and navigation, and another one is to command any daily driving activities like radio controls, Bluetooth and so on. And by the way, there are no navigation system for the 2.0L, which makes the top screen pretty useless.
Like most Protons, the Perdana gets the Android-based head unit, however this one has the 4.42 KitKat, which somewhat better and smoother than the one in the Suprima S and the Iriz, as both of them have the older Froyo and maybe Gingerbread versions, I think. Besides that, all Perdanas get 6 speaker audio system, not to mentioned is the subwoofer which is only applicable for the 2.4L.
Next up is the interior schemes. There are two colour schemes with respect to each trim levels. The 2.0L gets a full black interior with combined leather and fabric on the seats. The 2.4L gets a black and beige interior with full beige leather seats with "Perdana" letterings on each front seats to make it more luxurious and premium. Furthermore, the 2.4L is the only Perdana to have a fake wood trims overall compared to the dull-looking gray trims that can be found in the 2.0L.
Another thing that the 2.4 has is the paddle shifters, if you wanna shift manually with your fingertips when speeding up. For more comfort, both trims do get an 8-way power seat for the driver, and a 4-way power seats for the passenger, however it is unavailable for the cheaper variant.
Love the lettering at the seats. So,oo...premium.
There's also a power outlet and USB port, but I forgot to take out the partial shelf to reveal them.
Extra storage under the centre console.
Sitting behind is way comfortable as what you think. You get a plushy rear seats that seats three people without compromise.
Extra windows at the C-pillar
Rear aircond vents at the back.
Here's another interior shots when the car is turned on.
No changes in the dash.
All Perdanas have a backup camera and parking sensors in both front and back.
Android-based audio system. Smoother than usual.
Without further do, let's take this newborn D-segment sedan for a thrill in two test drives. Yup, two test drives. One at Glenmarie, and another one at Proton HQ itself. Both test cars are 2.4L with the classy Midnight Black paint that appeals everyone.
Here's the key itself. Similar to Honda's.
Here's the one at Glenmarie.
At Proton Center of Excellence.
Last but not least, it's time to tune to Linkin Park to get an adrenaline rush.
The drive
How's the new Perdana performs in a busy streets of Glenmarie? It's not really disappointing at all. You see, the new Perdana has a revised and the lowest noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) level compared to the original Accord. With that, you and your passengers won't be disturbed with too much wind noise to the cabin. It is really quiet too. Even though the car is a little longer and heavier than its original counterpart, but still, I have no complaints at all when turning or parking, since it has a backup camera and parking sensors all around. The seats are quite comfy too just like what most D-segment cars do. While doing this test, I brought my friend to sit behind. He also did not have any complaints about it too.
Now comes to the high speed test outside Proton COE dealership. Performance-wise, you're not gonna expect to make the i-VTEC kicked in so easily. Bear in mind that this car is not really meant for performance. Hitting the pedal to the floor, the engine revved smoothly like what Honda should be. When it comes to cornering, the Perdana performed really well during high speed especially at 100 km/h. However, I felt the rear tyres kicked out a little bit when it approached to 120 km/h while cornering. This can be fixed by adjusting the toe camber to the rear wheels or maybe adding an anti-roll bar for stable cornering.
The audio system sounds pretty great for this big sedan. With 6 speakers and a sub-woofer behind, this makes it to provide a good quality audio system in the cabin. The only thing that really made me looked down on it was the volume level. If you adjust the volume level to 1, you could barely listen to it, not only insects and mosquitos. At this point, Proton should recalibrate the audio level again.
The verdict
To conclude this post, the all-new Perdana is one of the most comfortable Proton that I've ever driven. While it was based on an 8-year old car, the new outlook, new audio system and a cheaper price tag in the segment itself, it might please most Proton fans alike, and executives or maybe potential UberBlack drivers. With this new car, this will be the new dawn for Proton.
The Perdana is one of the longest D-segment car and the cheapest that you can buy, if you're tired of seeing Camrys on the road. The 2.0L only costs RM 113,888 while the 2.4L gets an RM 134,888 price tag. Do note that these prices have metallic paint and insurance.
Hey, I thought they gonna use the new engine! So when it will be?
Well kids, Proton has to follow the whole agreement with Honda and they never ever touch anything in the portfolio other than that until the end of 2017 or 2018. After that, they can only get the rights to put their new NE01 engine and maybe undergo a facelift with more interior changes.
Thanks to Proton of Glenmarie and Centre of Excellence for giving me an exclusive look and test drives of their new Perdana.
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