Preview of my new Proton Persona

Last Saturday morning I went to the Teras Beringin Proton 3S Centre(3rd Mile, next to Sunny Hill) with my dad to take a sneak peak at my new baby. The Persona my dad booked is a 1.6L(A) HL variant in tranquility black colour. Unfortunately this variant only comes with automatic transmission or I would've opted for a manual tranny for more power and fun. Plus a manual version would definitely be cheaper and have better fuel consumption. Its on-the-road price is exactly RM59,161 after deducting the RM500 discount given by Proton.

Under the hood of the Persona is a 1.6L 4 cylinder DOHC 16V Campro(S4PH) engine with Integrated Air Fuel Module(IAFM) that churns out 110bhp(82kw) at 6500rpm. Maximum torque on paper is 148Nm at 4000rpm. The price of the Persona has increased slightly since the IAFM version was introduced. The price of the BL and ML variants increased by RM500 while the HL increased by RM1000. The IAFM removes the infamous torque dip of the barebones Campro engine for better city driving. I'm not sure why the increase in price of the HL variant is RM500 more than the other variants since the changes are the same. Even Proton can't give a satisfying answer to this question. However, I read somewhere in a forum that Proton added more goodies into the HL version. I'll just have to wait to find out.

Exterior wise, the car looks really decent and doesn't lose out to other imported C-segment cars. Although it is practically a Gen-2 with a butt but its curves still give it a modern look. The metallic paint doesn't look cheap too. However, the head lamps are a little too small for a car this size and the rear cluster lights should have been upgraded since the Gen-2 has been around for 5 years. I'm not a fan of the crop circle tail lights since the Gen-2 was introduced. How I wish Proton would introduce LED tail lights like the ones sold at car accessories shops.

Now let's go on to its features. This car comes with power windows(front and rear), reverse sensors, hydraulic power steering, Macpherson strut for front suspension and multilink with stabilizer bar for rear suspension, 15" ventilated front disc brakes and a 2-DIN Blaupunkt radio and CD player with 2 speakers as standard for all variants. For the HL I get 2 SRS airbags with seatbelt pretensioners, ABS with EBD, 15" alloy wheels, front fog lamps, rear spoiler, electric remote trunk release, electric door mirrors, 15" solid rear disc brakes, GPS navigation system and a 2-DIN Blaupunkt radio and CD player with MP3 support and 4 speakers. It could've been better if this car comes with auto cruise. Proton's claims of a 430-litre boot is no joke as the boot is really BIG!

Next we move to the interior of the car. The dashboard is a little plasticky but it surely doesn't look cheap like in previous Proton cars(the original Gen-2 is the best example). The door panels have been redesigned to look more conventional. Front and rear headroom and legroom is decent like most cars in this segment. The interior still loses out to the Waja in terms of spaciousness eventhough it is wider than the Waja(some people say it is because the doors of the Persona are thicker than the Waja's). Another minus point is the steering wheel is a little too small and doesn't give a nice grip. The buttons of the audio system is also a little confusing and needs some getting used to. One thing I'd like to make clear is that claims that you can't see anything in the rear view mirror is completely untrue. These claims are probaly made by some people who never sat in the Persona before to convince you to buy the overpriced cars made by 'the other' national carmaker.

Overall, the Persona is a nice car at this price range. I believe many are wondering why I chose Proton. Well, the reason is simply because a non-national car with the same features would cost at least RM20k more! Plus, this car is jointly developed by Proton and Lotus. Even its ride and handling is tuned by Lotus(or as Proton claims). A car engineered with Lotus technology can't be that bad. I know Proton has a bad reputation for its quality issues(especially power windows problem) and many people are bashing them but those issues are only applicable to previous models such the 1st batch Waja and Gen-2. I found very few complaints in forums on new models such as the Persona and Saga.

And if anyone thinks that cars made by 'the other' national carmaker are cheap and of better quality than Proton, think again. You can buy a Saga 1.3L for the price you pay for their 1.0L kei car. And speaking of quality, most buyers thought that their connection with Daihatsu means quality. That's just perception, not a fact. After buying the 'rebadged Daihatsus', they will hide any quality issues they face with their car just to 'save face' and protect their resale value. I myself is driving a Kelisa and my dad used to have a Wira. Both have decent quality and never broke down before. So at most, Perodua's quality level is the same as Proton. No offence to any Perodua owners and fans out there. Just stating the facts here.

However, I'm not satisfied with how Proton market their products. They forced us to buy the GPS navigation system which we don't need for RM1400. They claimed that it came with the HL package and they could do nothing about it. In the end, we had no choice but to accept it. I'm really looking forward to taking delivery of the car. The standard procedures of my dad's government loan are delaying its delivery. I had to buy it to commute to college daily as both my parents drive to work. I'll write a complete review of its performance after driving it for some time. I never test drove one so I have no idea how it performs. So, will this be my first Lotus?