New Persona for Proton
Shah Alam, Wednesday, 15 August 2007 – Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billa Shah today officially launched the Proton Persona, the new sedan that is Proton’s pride and joy.
As the name suggests, this is the new face or persona of Proton, and it certainly looks like they are headed in the right direction. At a media preview a few days earlier, we go up close and personal with the Persona, and noted with interest the great pains taken by the design team to steer away from the noted shortcomings of the Gen.2.
The Persona is officially the replacement model for the Wira, and although it is built on the same platform as the Gen.2, and shares the same front end, the similarity ends at the ‘B’ pillar (the centre pillar that separates the front half of the car from the rear half). The Persona is now a ‘regular’ sedan, with a full roofline that extends to the rear of the cabin instead of sloping downwards like the roof of the Gen.2. What this means is that you now can get some decent headroom for the rear passengers, in addition to a regular boot in which you can carry some belongings. Also gone, and may I add, gladly, is the poor rear vision through the rear windscreen. The Persona has a regular-type rear screen through which you can view the world behind you without any problem.
Now that there is a boot, they have listened to the customer, and in addition to a remote boot release lever in the passenger cabin, there is also a key/lock at the rear. And now that the heavy rear hatch is history, the boot is very light to open and close.
The exterior looks good, and is pleasing to the eye. There are some who say it looks like a popular Japanese make at certain angles, but overall opinion is that at last we have a decent-looking National car. Shod on 15-inch wheels, the Persona comes in three model variants, the base model being called BASE LINE (how innovative..), followed by the mid-range model called (yes, you’ve guessed it) MID LINE, and top of the range model called the HIGH LINE. All three are equipped with the Campro 1.6 litre engine.
According to Dato Syed Zainal, CEO of Proton, the designers have tuned the transmission control units on the automatic model to give the car better response. We did get to try both the manual and auto, and confirm the auto does seem to drive better in the engine /power/response department. The manual feel a little sluggish at engine speeds below 3500 rpm, but comes alive after that.
In terms of ride and handling, the Persona is one of the best cars around, and in my opinion beats many of its more expensive competitors. When pushed hard into a corner, the Persona goes into gentle understeer, in a very predictable kind of way, and is very easy to control. Straight-line stability is good, and lane change stability is excellent. If you have any complaints about the Persona, it will not be on account of its handling.
Looking around the Persona, there are plenty of improvements. Here are some of them.
Firstly, the exterior door handles are much better and work well. The interior door handles are also much improved. Next, the wing mirror controls are now placed with the driver door controls situated on the door armrest. Thirdly, there is now a glove box, and a centre console that also acts as an armrest in between the driver and front passenger seats, and four drink holders.
Prices range between RM45k for the Base Line, to RM55K for the top of the line High Line Model. The car looks good, drives good, and is priced good. Proton seem very serious about making that turn to put Proton back into the forefront of the industry. The Persona is the first of many steps, and if build quality and customer service and satisfaction get enough attention, success is sure.
