I guess today is the day that most of you have been waiting for – the day that the car that promises to set off a snowball effect of recovery at Proton. First sightings of the new
Proton sedan were early this year in April, but we actually got to see 3D renderings
of it in March. Little did we know that it was a real car to be put into production.
As most of you have known by now thanks to a tip off by The Edge, the new Proton
sedan is called the Proton Persona. The name is not unfamiliar as it has been used
before for the UK market Proton Wira. This makes the name somewhat apt, as it is
finally the car that will replace the Wira, something the GEN2 did not do when it was introduced a few years ago.
Proton has taken steps to ensure the Proton Persona is what the customer wants,
not what the management wants. Many models clinics and surveys have been conducted
to ensure market acceptance. After my first impression of the car at the media preview
earlier this week, I must say that Proton has done a relatively good job with this car!
Read more on the Proton Persona after the jump, or click here.
Most of you have an idea of what the exterior looks like already. It’s basically a
GEN2 with a boot. Other than the tail lamps, the entire car from the B-pillar onwards
has been reworked. The new car is 167mm longer than the Proton GEN2, and 12mm
longer than the Proton Waja. The boot is a respectable 430 liters in size, which is larger
than the Toyota Vios at 400 liters. It also features a lock, something that was missing
on the Proton GEN2. A 60:40 split rear bench folds flat in case you need more space.
Rear headroom has been improved by 43mm over the GEN2 thanks to a redesigned
roof curve at the rear. It now measures at 980mm, compared to 950mm in the Vios
and 970mm in the City! It only loses out to the Myvi which has a pretty tall roof at 995mm.
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