Proton launched the facelifted Iriz and Persona in August this year, and we’re now bringing you a side-by-side gallery of both in their range-topping guises. In the case of the Iriz, it is the Active which is priced at RM54,800, while the Persona is represented in Premium specification that goes for RM55,800 – these are on-the-road prices without insurance and factor in the ongoing 100% sales tax exemption for locally-assembled (CKD) cars.
Prior to the latest facelift, the Iriz had its own front fascia where a full-width chrome strip plunges downwards to cradle the Proton emblem. This is different from the Persona of the time that has its chrome strip running down the inner edges of the headlamps and across the base of the grille, which also comes with a different inlay compared to the hatchback.
With the latest models, both now carry a nearly identical front-end that features Proton’s Infinite Weave grille with the latest round badge. There is still a slight difference though, as the Persona has a chrome grille frame, while the Iriz has a black upper and red lower similar to the X50.
Lower down, the bumper has also been redesigned, with a broader lower grille and slimmer corner air intakes that house the LED daytime running light strips. As for the rear, it’s largely the same as per the previous facelift, but the bumper strip is now red instead of chrome on the Iriz – the Persona keeps the chrome.
The Active variant is exclusive to the hatchback and comes with SUV-style cues for a more rugged vibe. These include black plastic cladding, silver skid plates on the bumpers, silver roof rails, a black roof and side skirts, while the lower intake at the front is treated to a silver surround and a honeycomb mesh.
As mentioned in our initial launch post, wheel sizes have gone up an inch across the board, so the two cars you see here are wearing 16-inch alloys, with those on the Iriz being unique to the Active with their two-tone, multi-spoke design.
Moving inside, it’s again a case of similar but not identical, as both sport a revamped dashboard with a freestanding touchscreen measuring eight inches. The infotainment system in the range toppers come with the Geely Key User Interface (GKUI) and an eSIM for online navigation, music streaming, WiFi connectivity and the “Hi Proton” voice control system.
The placement of the screen forces the centre air vents, previously on either side of the head unit, downwards, sandwiching the hazard light and door lock buttons in the middle. Further down, there’s the manual air-conditioning controls and three USB ports instead of just one, with another being added near the rear-view mirror to make it easier to fit a dash cam.
Elsewhere, there’s a new centre console with a cleaner, one-piece design and houses the gear lever, three cupholders as well as switches for the front parking sensors, stability control and a new Eco drive mode. Joining this revision is a much-clamoured armrest, two more USB ports at the back of the console and a redesigned steering wheel airbag boss.
Like the front-ends of both models, the furnishings differ between the two, with the Iriz getting black, part-leather seats (with “Active” embroidered on the headrests), red seat belts, alloy pedals and red accents for some trim pieces. By comparison, the Persona goes for the classy look, receiving brown leatherette upholstery, normal black seat belts and silver trim instead.
The Iriz and Persona variants pictured here are powered by a 1.6 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder VVT petrol engine that delivers 109 PS at 5,750 rpm and 150 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. The mill drives the front wheels via a Punch CVT, which is the only transmission available – the previous five-speed manual has been dropped.
While the 1.6 litre engine is the only engine fitted across the Persona range, the base Iriz variant – the Standard – can be had with a 1.3 litre VVT unit that makes 95 PS at 5,750 rpm and 120 Nm, also paired with a CVT.
GALLERY: 2022 Proton Iriz Active
GALLERY: 2022 Proton Persona Premium
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stand no chance against Myvi, only geely x70 and x50 is good
While Myvi is getting an exciting facelift, this duo Proton facelift is so boring and pointless. Better for Proton to just rebadge any existing Geely cars rather than wasting money to facelift this Game Over car
Copy paste: “Sigh… somehow the only reason PaulTan loves to put up Proton articles so close to Perodua is to rouse the hate trolls and generate net traffic.
You find these same idiots fawning over 3 article below now come here like a drunken mob out of a bar trying to pick a fight. In the end only they look foolish to the public readers here.”
Copy paste: “Unending with this is better than this/that, who care sigh.This is abou’t persona and Iriz.You should skip mentioning another brand here.This is not Myvi review.There’re certain things you can share and a lot of thing you should keep it to yourself, a boundary that you shouldn’t cross, if you cross it, you’re a troll”
Tak payah pikir, tak payah pening, beli Proton saja.
Membeli kereta tanpa berfikir kerana tak mahu pening, budaya konsumer baru? Ini mesti sebab dulu dah gagal peperiksaan sekolah ni.
The clear answers for family guys. The perception of:
1.Good value for money
2.Solid Proton engineered product
3. Local smell/Malaysia’s pride
4. Easy to repair even bengkel bawah pokok pomen can do
5. Family legacy – father bought a Proton and grown up with a Proton constantly in the family
6. FC
7. Kedai potong got cheap & plenty quallitier part for my P1
8. Cheap roadtax
9. It is the clear our own Kegemaran Malaysia
10. Sturdy & tough HPF body, even if got whack by some idiot I know we will be safe inside
11. Ligthweight car
12. Got big boot, so as a man it is very versatile and easy to haul lots of things
13. Very reliable, constantly being refined and updated.
14. Proven Campro tech
15. Bullet prove
16. Internationally collaborating refined CVT
17. No start stop, save battery, save environment compared to other car
18. More planted drive on road, it won’t fly and do some acrobatic manouvres into longkang (unlike TheKing especially)
19. No teh tarik hook, dissuade using plastic bags. Saving the earth for future generations
20. Nice and comfy seats for long distance drives
21. Plenty of aftermarket part from abang to layang2
22. A few make up can unmistakabaly convert it to R3 Limited Edition hnnnggg version
23. Proton superb ride & handling yet improved NVH
24. Nice meter display cluster, more higher end than some rm100k car
25. Last but not least, using timing belt maa, no worries on timing chain will snap. Just only need to spend rm200 on the average lifetime of this car and drive worryfree
That’s why jgn cakap tak payah pikir. Tengok.. Ada org dah bagi 25 points yg kena consider dulu sebelum beli..
Tu lah sebab tak payah pikir, tak payah pening 25X, just beli Proton.
Tak payah pikir maknanya tak pakai otaklah tu
Which is why going for Proton is a nobrainer. Everything else is unnecesary.
I drive a Proton & before I bought it, I spent a considerable time in thought to weigh all my options to ensure that I can also afford to pay for my house & the other necessities for myself & my family while servicing the car loan. Thus your ‘going for Proton is a no-brainer’ comment does equate to livestock droppings which really suits your name, PlainBS.
(Like) Axia Style thin black claddings
(Dislike) Iriz Active thicc black claddings
Inb4 trollers…
I don’t think these two is selling well, right? Cause I barely see any on the road.
These were launched barely 2 months ago and one of those were just out of FMCO lockdown restrictions. What do you expect with barely less than 1 month effective sales lor. Give it time as sales of cars are picking up tremendously according to MAA monthly reporting.
Habislah Proton, it’s 2021 yet the Iriz and Persona do not come with AEB, please learn from the game changing Perodua, the market leader, on how to face lift a car. Perodua add new bumpers and AEB but Proton only added bumpers, ape ni?
Sigh… somehow the only reason PaulTan loves to put up Proton articles so close to Perodua is to rouse the hate trolls and generate net traffic.
You find these same idiots fawning over 3 article below now come here like a drunken mob out of a bar trying to pick a fight. In the end only they look foolish to the public readers here.
It is too tired to see why Lee yin still around but only pressing number of votes for green and red. Lee yin, honda navy, causes big problems to readers and everyone else in this since corolla cross japan since 10th sept. It is nice to give opinions but Lee yin always can’t accept peoples opinion. She really needs to change her attitude, the more she attack other brands, one day, they will come and hurt back to Lee yin.
Heheheh more like Iriz Hatchback vs Iriz Sedan
The Proton Persona has better interior than Honda City
At least dashboard while not a cockpit. It is not senget.
Unending with this is better than this/that, who care sigh.This is abou’t persona and Iriz.You should skip mentioning another brand here.This is not Honda review.There’re certain things you can share and a lot of thing you should keep it to yourself, a boundary that you shouldn’t cross, if you cross it, you’re a troll
Persona is a very practical compact sedan in terms of comfort, torque and driving experience. Just that Punch CVT does have some drawback
yo,can you guys make review for the actual fuel consumption on persona city driving, does its suck very bad for latest car fuel economy
If you enjoy driving a sedan with a boot, Persona it is.What’s the word, effortless ride that consume less energy.When you reach the destination, less tired, maybe the combination of bigger seat, ergonomic, noise insulation and suspension tune for comfort.Oh ya, this car also used for grocery shopping, so very useful, the boot space, my sister can’t even reach the end, very deep. If your friend drive another bee-segment, give them a trial ride, let the car speak for itself and don’t forget to videorecord that! I get the purpose of pre smoked rear lamp, the muted c-silverline is like the extension of the body paint to distinguish the red more. Makeup? Only did one thing though, my true confession, I’m a fan of this comic since middle school. She has dark eyelashes with violet mask, so once I saw the iriz active front led, I’m hooked haha! then the violet hue and space grey quite close. so after 200km odo, install the Iriz active led lamp into my persona, same pin and connecter, plug and play. Now I call this space grey Persona Active.
Actually, I despise Proton for its failure to deliver Good Quality and Reliable Car…and thought to opt for Honda City or Ativa..But after looking at Persona @ the showroom and test driving it…I’m convinced it is a much better car than its previous…The only that I’m still worried about is its “AFTER-SALE” services…call me a loser, I’ve booked one already.
All brands have bad apples aftersales toyota, perodua, bmw, merc… is just knowing to find good ones and proton do have those.
In the end, the Saga is still Proton’s local best seller.
No doubt.
So as axia the bestseller for perodua
Vios the bestseller for toyota
City the bestseller for honda
Mazda2 the bestseller for mazda
Basically the cheapest model will always be the best seller of any brand
That goes without saying so why bother saying it.
Surely you’ve casually missed the point that this Iriz vs Persona comparison is more likely to meet the quota for the daily no. of articles to be published on-line.
Sejak kena main tendang bola dengan proton SC aka eon servis masa pakai wira dulu, dah serik rasa nak pakai proton. Maaflah proton, hati sakit parut tak akan hilang, relay aircond jer rosak, sampai kilang aircond proton air kau suruh aku pergi?? Dari rawang, tendang kepong, dari kepong tendang Gleanmarrie. Serik dah aku..Dahlah aku punya dashboard penuh dengan kesan screwdriver kau buat..Aduihh..kompom Paultan x berani tunjuk komen aku ni..haha. Takpalah. Buat pengajaran.
Bro, hang keta ni dah 20-30 tahun dulu masa tu nak kata perodua pun lagi terookkkk dari proton zaman eon. Dahlah tu jangan nak banding dlu ngan sekarang hang. cuba pake keta proton skrang lagi mantap dan servis lagi baik dr dlu.
why proton engine still using timing belt instead of timing chain?
timing belt for smooth and less noisy than timing chain
The timing chain is like the other moving parts inside the engine, which is subject to premature wear & tear if the engine oil & oil filter are not changed according to the manufacturer’s schedule.
No point arguing this because it’ll be like arguing about manual vs auto gearbox, 4AT vs CVT, BEV vs FCEV, etc.
Typical 3 pedals: why no manual gearbox now a day?
Very small demand for MT versions in the market nowadays due to widespread lazy left leg syndrome…