2022 Proton Iriz and Persona – why still Punch CVT?

2022 Proton Iriz and Persona – why still Punch CVT?

With Proton having officially unveiled facelifts for the Iriz and Persona hatchback and sedan models at the beginning of last month, the B-segment duo continues to be improved, most apparently in its infotainment, looks and equipment.

Less was mentioned about the cars’ mechanical components, and how much has been done to improve them. Some will be wondering – why has Proton retained the Punch continuously variable transmission? Proton vehicle programme executive Adzrai Aziz Ibrahim offered explanations in detail through a virtual briefing.

Proton arrived at the decision to stay with the Punch CVT gearbox after having conducted plenty of study as well as taking into account market feedback, said Adzrai, in particular benchmarking Japanese B-segment cars for this purpose. The CVT is the transmission that offers the best fuel consumption for the price and segment; this is in fact adopted by most brands in the segment, he added.

While the latest Iriz and Persona facelifts were rumoured before launch to make the switch to a Hyundai four-speed torque converter automatic transmission, this was not chosen for the recently-launched cars as four forward ratios were deemed insufficient and therefore would be detrimental to fuel consumption.

This is of greater importance to cars like the Iriz and Persona, rather than outright cost, and in addition to the fact that the B-segment duo sells in far smaller numbers than the Hyundai 4AT-equipped Saga – Proton’s best-seller – of which 4,500 to 5,000 units are sold every month, therefore the cost of engineering the fitment of a new gearbox to the Iriz and Persona could not be justified.

A six-speed automatic “might be a consideration,” said Adzrai, though it would certainly be more expensive, therefore the decision was made to stick with the CVT. After a lot of discussion, Proton had found that most reservations expressed about the CVT was in terms of perceived quality.

These had originally been addressed in the 2019 facelifts, however they were not publicised. Since the introduction of the revised transmission, there has been a reduction in warranty claims of over 80%, said Adzrai, and therefore the CVT has proven to be reliable. For this reason, Proton decided to retain the Punch CVT unit, instead of developing a new gearbox which would have brought the risks of introducing new parts.

Having said that, Proton decided that the CVT should not remain completely untouched, and therefore it has been given updates to be on par with the other CVTs used in cars of this segment, said Adzrai. Of these, Proton had benchmarked the Toyota Vios and the Honda City, which also use stepless transmissions.

Refinements made to the Punch CVT is the return of the SAT (stepped automatic transmission) mode, after it was previously removed. This now returns in a more integrated form as opposed to its earlier iteration, which featured a separate button to activate its use.

2022 Proton Iriz and Persona – why still Punch CVT?

This earlier version was found to be less than seamless in practice; when the SAT button was pressed, it would simulate stepped ratios and remain that way until the driver deselects it to return to conventional, stepless CVT operation. Proton had found that transmission button modes tend not to be used, and when the simulated AT mode in a stepless CVT is used, it often “does not drive as well,” noted Adzrai.

What Proton has now, then, is an adaptation of the stepped automatic mode that does away with a separate button activation, and instead uses throttle input. For throttle position of between zero to 60% or 70%, the transmission functions normally as a CVT, beyond which it goes into the ‘stepped’ mode.

This is to mitigate the “droning” noise when a CVT-equipped vehicle is taken to full throttle, as it selects the ratio to place the engine in the thick of its powerband – around 5,000 rpm to 5,500 rpm – while the rest of the driveline, and therefore vehicle speed, gradually catches up. For this reason, Proton has employed the stepped transmission mode for use during hard acceleration.

With the prolific work that has gone into improving and refining the transmission in the 2022 Iriz and Persona, why was this not publicised in promotional material at the cars’ launch? As it turns out, Proton has decided that attention was best focused upon the more apparent new features such as the new GKUI with its voice command functions, as well as to promote the advent of the Iriz Active as a new variant.

GALLERY: 2022 Proton Persona 1.6 Premium CVT

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Mick Chan

Open roads and closed circuits hold great allure for Mick Chan. Driving heaven to him is exercising a playful chassis on twisty paths; prizes ergonomics and involvement over gadgetry. Spent three years at a motoring newspaper and short stint with a magazine prior to joining this website.

 

Comments

  • Dong gor on Sep 01, 2021 at 8:26 pm

    Just kill it and bring another geely model here. Remember the promise of 1 new model a year? It’s September already

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 10
    • PlainBS on Sep 01, 2021 at 10:44 pm

      The pandemic play a part as well. Now most of the automotive brands’ major plans have to delay 1 year.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 2
      • Roti john on Sep 02, 2021 at 1:23 pm

        Another FL but Proton keeps losing money. Better to just discontinue this Game Over car and bring more Geely models.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
        • Lets See on Sep 02, 2021 at 5:13 pm

          https://paultan.org/2021/01/04/proton-sold-109716-cars-in-2020-up-8-8-from-2019/

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • Bro, next slated is most likely C segment sedan aka Binrui where there is no Preve replacement yet. No need to rush Proton they have their roadmap and so far sticking to it and it works.
      https://paultan.org/2019/08/07/proton-to-introduce-new-sedan-in-2021-likely-preve-replacement-another-sedan-and-suv-to-follow/
      Another sedan will follow up next year, could be A or B segment follow up by an MPV. My money is on Saga replacement. Persona still sells so it can soldier on with these improvements making it even better now than ever before.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
    • Kapchai on Sep 02, 2021 at 7:35 am

      X70 launched in 2018.
      X50 launched in 2020.
      Next is 2022.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
  • Yb Albert sister on Sep 01, 2021 at 8:42 pm

    Just let go this model, bring in Geely new model. Rebadge to proton like x50. Close case.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 9
  • Truth on Sep 01, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    still useless punch cvt

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 14
    • Copy Paste on Sep 02, 2021 at 12:28 am

      Copy paste: “Losers are created when they become overly negative and have nothing positive in their life. This mindset is created through a lack of gratitude and appreciation for what they do have. Selfishness becomes the dominant way of living and everyone else is the problem in their eyes. Losers stop taking responsibility for their negative action and decide to do nothing.
      Life can change in a moment when you make a better positive decision. It’s this decision-making ability that allows someone to go from being a loser to being a champion.”

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 2
  • PlainBS on Sep 01, 2021 at 10:42 pm

    Simple, because this is Proton previous mistake and it’s too costly for them to change it now.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 5
    • Copy Paste on Sep 02, 2021 at 12:31 pm

      Copy paste: “The CVT is the transmission that offers the best fuel consumption for the price and segment; this is in fact adopted by most brands in the segment, he added.”

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  • Western Star on Sep 02, 2021 at 12:39 am

    Punch are also used by Ford, Nio, Geely and MINI worldwide and soon by PSA Groupe. Hardly useless unless you don’t know what you’re talking.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 1
  • Dylan on Sep 02, 2021 at 12:52 am

    Using ‘stepped’ mode to mitigate droning sounds interesting.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Truth Hurts on Sep 02, 2021 at 9:05 am

    Real reason is because its cheaper cost wise and get slightly better fuel economy.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • anonymous_c on Sep 02, 2021 at 11:43 am

    “These had originally been addressed in the 2019 facelifts, however they were not publicised. Since the introduction of the revised transmission, there has been a reduction in warranty claims of over 80%, said Adzrai, and therefore the CVT has proven to be reliable.”

    So warranty claims data since 2019 and maybe let say until end of 2020?

    Pandemic data can’t replicate much since many existing consumer might not be able to travel far as compare before Malaysia impose lock down.

    Just note that warranty claim from consumer will definitely be less

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
    • Engineer on Sep 02, 2021 at 11:20 pm

      OTOH most of those complaints are from low speed usage aka city drives, so pandemic restrictions would shed even more light onto the issue as owners would drive more often within small areas as compared to long highway drives.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • Muhammad Hafiizh on Sep 02, 2021 at 2:49 pm

    City and Vios use CVT with a torque converter while Punch CVT use clutch solely, that’s why the refinement is lower

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • FrankC on Sep 02, 2021 at 7:08 pm

    Paul tan, give us a test drive to verify this improved cvt claims.. Can ah?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Proton Supporter But Lost 90% Hope on Sep 03, 2021 at 4:57 am

    What a load of bull. Just admit that you prioritize maximizing your profit and only kept Punch because they could provide you that. Its a crappy gearbox. Please stop fxking up your models with this crap CVT gearbox! I want to buy my next Proton but I’m holding back so hard with my current one because of all your annoying flaws!!! Just make it perfect! You have all the means to do it. Proton has risen so much and proved all the haters wrong (I know so many big talking Proton haters who used to talk crap about Proton’s ‘power windows’, who now currently own X50 and X70)… Don’t give them another chance in the coming years to talk crap about your Punch CVT gearboxes, just like they ignorantly did with the power windows!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
    • Rakyat Malaysia on Sep 03, 2021 at 8:57 am

      There’s always the saga u know. Ancient old tech 4AT just as u demanded. If got money go for x50 standard. But if u haven’t tried the latest iteration of these cars b4 u whack, u are no better than those haters and ignorants.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 3
      • Lost 90% Hope on Sep 04, 2021 at 3:39 am

        There are many types of CVTs, I dont need to go into detail. Punch CVT is crap, the achilles heel of Iriz and Persona, and we all know it – I’m whacking on point.

        I didn’t even mention anything about Saga 4AT Not even related, won’t need to answer you on that.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
        • Copy Paste on Sep 04, 2021 at 10:10 am

          Copy paste: “Punch are also used by Ford, Nio, Geely and MINI worldwide and soon by PSA Groupe.”

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • Dzulkarnaen Mohamad on Sep 05, 2021 at 10:26 pm

    I ve owned the Exora cvt, CRV cvt & Yaris cvt. The Exora & CRV cvts are not much different. The most annoying thing of the both is the noise of the gearbox and it was nearly the same. The cvt gearbox feedback of the CRV is slightly better because it has a sport mode that has some sort of driving learning function. The cvt will auto down shift once you reduce the speed before entering corner and you drive it a bit harder. Just like you re playing a car racing game with an auto gearbox. But the cvt noise is tremendously louder. But for the Yaris I d felt it as it was not a cvt. It was definitely quieter. And yes it has a normal AT simulation when drive it harder and feel the gear is stepping up as tachometer is rising. If proton can have the Yaris cvt it would be a great drivetrain.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Engineer Bawah Pokok on Jan 08, 2023 at 9:32 pm

    CVT was OK to be remain. But please install torque converter. The clutch based coupling is very problematic.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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