It’s a trend these days for global car manufacturers to create high-riding B-segment cars from their B-segment hatchback platforms. It’s not so much that people actually take these things off-road, but it’s more for people who like the rugged looks and prefer a higher seat position.
Peugeot has the 2008 based on the 208, Ford has the EcoSport built from the Fiesta, and Honda’s HR-V is built on the Jazz platform. Some manufacturers don’t really go to the extent of creating a whole new model, such as Volkswagen’s CrossPolo based on the regular Polo hatch, but then they also have a proper B-segment SUV coming up called the Volkswagen Taigun.
Since Proton has global aspirations for the new Proton Iriz and its platform, we thought we might show you how a small B-segment SUV based on the Proton Iriz could look like. Malaysian Photoshop wizard Theophilus Chin came up with this “Proton Irox” based on photos of the Proton Iriz. Quite an apt name which plays on the Iriz name and an off-roader’s possibility of traversing rocky terrain.
Currently we’ve got the likes of the Great Wall M4, the Toyota Rush, the Ford EcoSport and the Peugeot 2008 to choose from in the Malaysian market, with the Honda HR-V set for a possible 2015 introduction. What do you think? Would you be interested in a B-segment SUV based on the Iriz?
