Welcome back everyone! It's been awhile since I didn't touch anything on my webpage due to various reasons especially moving to another college, which made me really busy like moving out and paperwork. So today, I'll give you another review of this brilliant national car, the second-generation Proton Persona, one of the latest B-segment sedan in the country.
Let me tell you what happened nine years ago. Back in 2007, the national car maker, Proton, launched the Persona which was a sedan iteration of the Gen-2, and replaced the ageing Wira at that time and became one of the best-selling vehicle throughout its life cycle. As for this year, the Persona is no longer a C-segment sedan, as the Prevé stepped into the throne. It doesn't really sound like a downgrade to me, because the Persona is more than a normal hatchback with a boot like the rest of the segment in the market. Proton has sacrificed a lot of time to bring this car into another dimension which caters more about the performance and safety that suits everyone's needs.
Before moving to the whole glimpse of the specs and the interior, here are some photos regarding the launch of the new Persona. Let's have a look!
Both are Persona 1.6 Premium. The Carnelian Brown one has the optional bodykit.
15" wheels seems "OK" for this, but with the Iriz wheels, it will definitely look better.
The guest of honours, including the CEO of Proton, Datuk Ahmad Fuaad bin Kenali and the chairman of DRB-HICOM, Tan Sri Mohd Khamil bin Jamil.
First customer of the new Persona on stage.
This artwork is magnificent to look at. Hope to see the painting again at the COE.
Just like the Perdana, the Persona got it too.
Same goes to the front headlamps as well.
Let's go back to the topic shall we? Alright. Much like the rest of lineup, the Persona has three different trim levels, namely the no-frills Standard, the mid-trim Executive, and the top-of-the-line Premium.
You can recognize the Standard version by looking at the black wing mirrors, zero foglamps as well as body-coloured window frames and more. The good news for the Persona Standard is this is the only trim level that has a proper stickshift. The bad news is, it is not available in the upper trim like the Iriz due to demand. Sigh.
Move along to the middle-range Executive 1.6, it gets the proper yet not cheap-looking painted wing mirrors like the one that I had mentioned before. It has the double-DIN audio unit as well as 60:40 split rear seats, which only this one and the top notch trim got them. It gets all the audio controls on the steering wheel too. Moreover, it gets the foglights and a rear spoiler as standard.
And for the final touch, is the Premium 1.6. This one got all the bells and whistles that we all needed. There's leather seats all around, a proper stereo with navigation system, chromes all around the AC vents, automatic headlights as well as a proper keyless entry system with push start button ignition system.
All Personas have two-tone beige and black interior colour scheme at the dashboard as well as the door panels. The gear knob is also new for the slush-box, but it doesn't seem to fit in because it's so 90s and bland. The instrument cluster has a new background with the Eco light as well as the blue monochrome LCD multi-function display. The Eco light only works if you drive efficiently or slow.
Most of us think like "Meh. It's just an Iriz with a boot". No, really. Even though the Persona has the same chassis, the overall look is completely different aside from the A-pillar, which is the front doors and the wing mirrors, and makes the Persona to have its own, well, persona. Hehe. Most importantly, the car has an appropriate proportion for a B-segment sedan. However, he thing that tickles me is that there's no daytime running lights and projector lamps like the Iriz. I don't really know why, but maybe it won't affect the overall costs of the car if I can guess. With the beautiful touches and the PROTON logo embroiled in both headlights and taillamps, I doubt that it is a bonus for that. Besides, I personally love the way Proton sculpts the rear end. It's not overdone, and it is clean like the rest of current and upcoming line-up. The roof might look a bit weird, but at least it has more space at the back seat so comfort is added for the rear passenger compared to the predecessor. Body kit-wise, it seems a real deal for the car especially the Premium 1.6, as they have no nonsense ricer-ish like the others in that segment.
The base model Persona Standard 1.6
"Look at that! It's a proper driver's car!"
Even a low-spec Persona has Bluetooth in the stereo, although it is in a single-DIN configuration.
The Executive 1.6.
Interior of the Executive 1.6. Note that there is a double-DIN stereo like its hatch counterpart.
The Premium 1.6, with body kit.
Here's the fun part of the Persona. Regardless of what trim level you want to pick, the boot space is definitely bigger than the previous one. You will find a massive boot capacity of 510 litres, which is 2 litres bigger than the Prevé, but it can't compete against the Honda City which has 536 litres of boot space.
All of them has only one engine choice, the nippy 1.6 litre inline-4 engine with Variable Valve Timing (VVT) straight from the hatchback counterpart that produces 107 hp at 5750 rpm and 150 Nm of torque at 4000 rpm. Uniquely though, the engine has been slightly tweaked for better fuel consumption and performance. With that being said, Proton changed the overall ECU and TCU performance that improves them respectively up to 5.6 litres/100km and 6.1 litres/100km depend on the transmission used (manual and CVT respectively). Proton also change the engine mount setup
from 4 to 3 to reduce vibration to the cabin, which provides lower NVH level to the surrounding.
The quirks of the Persona aside from the looks is the brakes. It is no longer having a 4-wheel disc brake like the old one, as currently it switches to 2-wheel disc brakes (2 discs at the front, 2 drums at the back). But, the braking performance is significantly better when it comes to a complete stop from 100 km/h to zero at just 41.4 metres with full force on the brake pedal. This makes up to 3.2 metres shorter brake distance compared to the previous generation.
Suspension-wise, the Persona still uses the same MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam setup behind just like the car is based on.
Proton is really being serious about safety in their vehicles since the debut of the Prevé back in 2013. Like most current in-house design Proton vehicles, the Persona uses Hot Press Formed (HPF) steel, which is really strong compared to the normal carbon steel that most current vehicles are manufactured elsewhere. HPF consists of heating the sheet metal at hot temperature and finally stamped the mold at a very low temperature. With this process, the car feels more solid while having less weight at the same time.
Besides having the HPF steel in the passenger cell, the Persona gets ABS with EBD, hill-hold assist, all-around sensors as well as traction control and electronic stability control as standard across the range. Six airbags and a reverse camera are available too, but only available for the Premium trim.
A cutaway model to display the active and passive safety of the car.
Overall results, the Persona is still one of the safest car to buy in the market as it has been tested and achieved five star crash test ratings from ASEAN NCAP in all trims.
Since there were no test drive for the Persona at the launch event, I eventually went to the nearest Proton showroom (actually it is kinda far from the convention centre), which is just located at Seksyen 7 in Shah Alam.
By that time, I managed to try out the Persona Premium 1.6. Too bad that I did not have the photos of the test drive car because my camera ran out of juice and my phone camera couldn't focus anymore. The test drive car had the Carnelian Brown paint with the body kit just like the first photo that I've shown. Without further do, let's start the engine and take a short drive.
The Drive
Proton promises that the Persona to be one hella fun to drive car. Based on my perspective, it is fun to drive indeed. I still remember the day when the Iriz came to the showroom and the driving was so exceptional. Same case goes to the Persona because the suspension system are mechanically identical, and makes the car to handle seamlessly and sporty. The main motive of the car is how quiet the car is. With the new engine mount setup, the vibration is lower compared to the Iriz, and makes the Persona to be one such improvement in terms of NVH level. In addition to quietness, the acceleration is much more smoother and a little quicker with a century sprint (0-100 km/h) for about 10.9 seconds as what Proton claimed. Curiously speaking, it is actually 10.6 or 10.7 seconds when I pushed the car to maximum throttle.
Inside is actually identical to the Iriz, but with a different colour scheme. It makes the car to be young and bold when driving around. The only thing that is different compared to the hatch counterpart is how spacious is the rear seats. The rear seats has an excellent support and you don't need to seat straight like the one in the hatch. If it is a Premium spec, consider it as a bonus as the leather seats are very plushy.
The Verdict
In a nutshell, the new Proton Persona is all about practicality with a sense of sportiness and safety being blended together. With all the standard safety features and a cheaper price tag in its class, you will never regret of owning it. Needless to say, I hope that this car will be a hot seller after Proton convinced a lot about safety features to people so they will choose the right car to own and thus reducing risk of losing a life in an accident.
Proton announced that the Persona has the most affordable price tag in the whole B-segment market. The base Standard 1.6 with a manual and CVT costs RM 46,800 and RM 49,800 respectively. The mid-range Executive 1.6, which is only paired with CVT box costs RM 55,800 and RM 59,800 for the upmarket Premium 1.6.
If you want to get your hands on the wheel, head up to the nearest Proton dealerships near you. I would like to give a huge applause and a special shoutout to Proton Holdings Berhad, to invite me for the launch of the all-new Proton Persona, as well as Proton Edar of Seksyen 7, Shah Alam to provide me a hands-on of the new car.
Comments
Post a Comment