Today we’ve been given a first full look at the new 2016 Proton Perdana – the national flagship D-segment sedan was revealed to the media ahead of its official unveiling slated for the first quarter of this year. While we don’t have photos of the car just yet, we can provide you with a written description of what it looks like, as well as how much it differs from the donor car, the previous-generation Honda Accord.
“The Proton Perdana is extremely gorgeous. We have a sexy car like the Suprima S and Iriz, and now we will have the sexiest car, the Perdana,” said Proton CEO Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah.
Firstly, there’s no getting around how massive the car looks in the metal, and this is reflected in the car’s dimensions. While the Accord is already a large vehicle at 4,849 mm long, but the Perdana trumps this by being an extra 150 mm longer, sitting at a hair under five metres long (4,999 mm).
In profile, this gives the Perdana a sleeker, more laid back appearance, compared to the Honda’s more upright, sportier look. Emphasising the added length further is a longer glasshouse that slopes further towards the back, accentuated by the teardrop-shaped side window opening – this lends the Proton a particularly elegant look.
The details of the car’s design are much like what we’ve seen in the official preview – and have been fairly accurately portrayed in Theophilus Chin’s speculative renderings of the car – although a closer inspection has revealed a little bit more.
The shapelier headlights are quite a bit more intricate than those fitted to the Accord, with projector units (xenons for the 2.4 litre variant and halogens for the 2.0) set in squarish housings that feature the Proton script. At the top, there are eyebrow-like LED daytime running lights which – for the first time on a Proton – are set in a single solid strip, rather than the individual diodes used on previous models. There are also LED indicators located in the bottom inner corner of the lamps.
One part that differs from the rendering is the grille, which has two chrome bars – the thicker upper bar is visually connected to the “eyebrow” DRLs, while the thinner lower bar flows into the lower edge of the headlights. The lower bumper is much the same as on Theo’s render, but the splitter protrudes much further than expected, giving the Perdana a surprisingly aggressive look.
Along the side, the real car pretty much matches up to the rendering, except that the door handles are mounted on the same line as the character line that extends to the tail lights, as on the Accord. The door handles themselves are, however, different from the Accord’s – they are now of a flatter design and are body-coloured (with chrome highlights), rather than the Accord’s distinctive “winged,” full chrome items.
Also worth noting are faux side vents with chrome highlights, which head of design Azlan Othman said will enable the company to add inscriptions denoting trim level, among others. Both 2.0 litre and 2.4 litre models will get 17-inch alloy wheels, with differing designs for each.
Moving towards the rear, the Perdana again pretty much matches up to what we’ve seen in the official preview and Theo’s renderings, with full-LED L-shaped tail lights (with C-shaped light guides), a chrome bar that connects the lamps across the boot lid, and a large diffuser-like bumper insert, complete with integrated dual exhaust outlets.
Inside, the Perdana is very similar to the Accord, apart from a few key changes – the colour scheme on the 2.4 litre model has gone from the full-black colour scheme of the Malaysian-market 2.4 VTi-L model to a black-and-beige palette as seen on the 2.0 VTi and 3.5 V6 models. The wood trim is also brown like on the range-topping model, rather than grey as on the 2.4 VTi-L. The 2.0 litre Perdana, on the other hand, gets an all-black interior with silver trim.
Another change concerns the infotainment system – the Perdana gets an upgrade to a touchscreen system, while the upper screen going from a monochrome display (which shows the radio, clock and climate control settings) to a full colour screen that now also displays navigation.
To be built at Proton’s Medium Volume Factory in Shah Alam (current government-only Perdana is made by Honda Malaysia in Melaka), the 2016 Perdana is expected to launch in the first quarter of this year, retaining the Accord’s 154 hp/189 Nm R20A3 2.0 and 177 hp/222 Nm K24Z2 2.4 litre i-VTEC engines and five-speed automatic transmission.
A revision is slated to arrive by the end of 2017, with the Perdana set to receive a new NE01 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, acquired from Petronas in 2012. Also being considered is Proton’s new 1.5 litre turbocharged, direct-injected TGDI engine, claimed to be able to produce 180 hp and 250 Nm. Whichever powertrain ends up being slotted in, a new torque converter CVT automatic is expected to become standard fare come end-2017.
We’ve also been given the initial details and specifications of the new 2016 Proton Perdana – you can read all about them here.
GALLERY: 2016 Proton Perdana teased
GALLERY: 2016 Proton Perdana rendered
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proton sucks..toyota all new hilux better
where’s the new supra..
Proton finally be responsible and start doing recall.
For this model better wait for 2 recalls then only buy. Don’t play-play with Proton quality.
“The Proton Perdana is extremely gorgeous. We have a sexy car like the Suprima S and Iriz, and now we will have the sexiest car, the Perdana,” said Proton CEO Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah.
Sendiri cakap sendiri syok
I lie through my teeth, ok? If not, Tun M will not give me bonus. Only sohais and Proton supporters believe me
Toyota worshipper
This Perdana got Honda R20 engine, FC gonna be that good. Want power, get the 2.4 k24 instead.
swap with RB3 absolute k24 , 205hp no prob.
Someone please do everyone a favor by going to the showroom and press the windows up & down 500 times, see whether still work or not
some other big brand also have power window issues, Toyota got it too.
try google it.
1 thing u need to do , dont put your car directly under the sun & put some power window lubricant.
Proton’s new Moving Coffin – no VSC???
This car is based on Accord, very good crash rating.
Even the Iriz got VSC/VSA , Perdana sure got it.
Overall this is like the Accord, including the engine.
with Lotus handling & some tweak, it gonna be a good car.
But some Proton main problem, their QC & Service Centre.
Cimparing a car with 4×4 ia just plain stupid
Kesian… Proton macais want to be ‘UMW motor’. ‘Praise’ Toyota all you want but you’re right, Proton sucks
Bodoh rasanya orang yang komen ni. Proton dah buat yang terbaik cuba pandu uji dulu baru nilai ngan komen. Toyota hilux 2016 it to much plastic use for dashboard and interior……. Toyota is so want cheap. Toyota suck……. booo !!!!!
Toyota and other cars recognized all over the world. Proton is a super fail overseas where they don’t get NAP protection. Proton ciplak from Honda.
International Toyota vehicles equipped with all of the safety features people could get. That’s how the world recognize Toyota. But their safety quality still laggs behind Honda of Japan and even Hyundai of Korea. Here in Malaysia your so ‘good’ UMW couldn’t even put VSC on a vehicle that have hundred thousands of price tag. That particular vehicle even come with only 2 airbags whilst the international version gets at most 7 airbags. If you ever driven a Toyota and compare it with a similar class from other brands, I think you might be ashamed of owning a Toyota. Toyota of International? Yes please. Toyota Malaysia? No just no…
Dorang Mmg bodoh, beli perodua, Toyota,Honda condemn proton. Dengar cerita terus judge. Bodoh.
Tong rubbish comments
Inspura pura car hahaha
your English says a lot.
Donkey supported
the rear bumper color is different from the rear body color..slight variation.
Proton Perdana bad RV..
at 5.0m length. What a joke.
really stupid to extend 150mm from the accord and make the parking worst.
then you go get Axia laa..
Or go get a Kancil.
Now they can have “class leading boot capacity”.
Go get a Peel P50
next Perdana has too much spyshot and teaser coverage… consumer just want a affordable, safe and reliable car
Agreed. Safety-feature wise, is this car able to match Preve Executive (with 55k price after discount), with the same good feeling of the handling and the safety features? That Preve Exec comes with 6 airbags, ESC and all, but the new Perdana only looks like a 2009 version (by looking at the interior). Seriously i driven The 2009 Accord many times and i know how sucks the handling compared to the Preve. (Yeah i know i’m comparing a new car with a 2009 car). Other than that the quality of the 2009 Accord and the engine is far better than any Proton. So my question is still, is the Perdana able to match a 55k Preve’s safety feature?
Someone, somewhere, sometime once said: These jokers are making cars? Picture says it all.
Again ??? Yawn…
Syukur lah.
Failure in r&d
The donor Accord is already a big and long car, in fact bigger than Camry and Teana but the geniuses at P1 made it even longer omg
“We have a sexy car like the Suprima S and Iriz…”. stop dreaming, pops!
Be honest. The rear part is fugly right?
for me, its ok for proton because at least they try to make better car, try to improve their cars. Nothing perfect in this world. So, be proud because nowdays it more better than before.
Better? Power windows in 2015 still failing, bro. Go to any service centre and see.
Nice
Need faux vents to distinguish the trim level? This azlano is a joke.
No secret, this will be an important ‘image’ model for Proton, just like the original Perdana, Perdana V6 and Chancellor in the past. It will probably sell poorly (or will it ?), but I’ve come to realize that it’s a ‘necessary loss, for long term gain’.
Anyway, I don’t want to speculate too much, and I hope it’s as amazing as Proton has repeatedly claimed, and lives up to the massive hype. If not, it’s ok, the ‘real deal’ is still the new Persona and Saga revamp… and also the Suzuki-Proton hatch.
If the same crap was made by your favourite company, you will be running naked shouting ‘its awesome’. Cliche.. get a job. Buy what u want. Do some research and get what u think is best for yourself.
The truth is, this car will not sell much, bcoz Poton supporter cant afford it..should price below Rm100k max, coz Poton supporter still can afford to buy after taking 9 or 10yrs loan…but now only Gment will buy as support. Those ppl afford to buy above RM100k car, will dun even look at it…Wrong pricing strategy..!!!
Looking forward to seeing the new car. Hope it delivers.
I own several cars. German and Jap. But I’ll still buy of these in late 2017 (to get the 2nd batch of Petronas 2.0 TGDi model) as I will support Malaysian product and hope that one day Proton will shine like the Koreans in the int’l market.
Proton perdana has the longest teaser in the history.
Clone car is suck
So Proton take old accord, spend time and money and then after that sell cheaper than original accord price. That is why forever cannot make money la!
How to order the perdana car .I’m fm kuantan
Cut &paste..ahbeng supporter
Wtf!100k+ for a local brand car?? People who can afford 100k+ car won’t buy proton.better get the camry,civic,ford focus,teana and so on.