Proton Iriz production ends after 11 years – last body produced on Sept 9, no more Proton hatch since 1994

Pour one out for the Proton Iriz, production of which has apparently ended this week with the last body, #97576, having been churned out by the Tanjong Malim plant on September 9. That’s according to the above image that has surfaced on the Proton Iriz Club Malaysia (PICM) Facebook group, quashing any hope of the hatchback receiving a Saga-style makeover.

While the national carmaker has yet to announce the news publicly (and the car is still listed on the official website), it’s likely that sales will end quietly, as was the case with the Exora MPV in 2023. This means that Proton will soon be without a hatch in its lineup for the first time since it launched the Mitsubishi Mirage-based Satria way back in 1994.

It’s a case of what could have been for the Iriz, which was launched with much fanfare almost exactly 11 years ago as the car that would take the Proton name overseas and save the company. You can trace the model’s roots all the way back to 2010 with the Giugiaro-designed EMAS concept (not to be confused with the eMas 7 EV that took the name 14 years later) that made headlines at the Geneva Motor Show that year.

Not much of Proton’s splashy period actually came to fruition – remember that it was also during this time that it brought range extender EVs to the UK and made the now-infamous announcement to launch five new Lotus models at the Paris show. But just three years later, the world would catch a glimpse of what the EMAS was turning into with the first spyshots of what was then known as the Global Small Car (GSC).

Yours truly joined paultan.org in early 2014, just as development of the car was properly gaining speed, with photos of disguised prototypes being sent to our inbox seemingly every week. It was a truly astonishing period as we learnt more and more about the car as the months progressed, with whispers of “Myvi killer” suggesting that Proton was serious about trying to beat Perodua at its own game.

The Iriz eventually made its debut on September 25 that year (who could forget the tagline “Betul² Onz”?). Offered in 1.3 and 1.6 litre versions and retailing between RM42,438 to RM62,888, it was priced to tackle the Myvi head-on and specced to beat it – particularly where safety was concerned. I even managed to become one of the first people to drive the car at the launch, describing it as a promising but flawed machine.

Unfortunately for Proton, Perodua cut its legs from under it by launching the smaller and cheaper Axia just ten days before it, stealing its thunder. Only one of these two cars ever received a second generation – take a guess as to which one.

In the end, the Iriz never quite managed to meet the frankly unrealistic expectations it was burdened with. That caused a dramatic curtailing of its future plans – it never did manage to get exported to the UK, Australia or Europe (although it did end up being turned into an R5 rally car in the UK, achieving modest success), and it also never received the driver assistance package it was tested with, even as Perodua rolled out its own Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) technology across its lineup.

Neither did the Iriz receive the electric version that it was designed for – and which resulted in the car’s tallboy design – nor the sportier turbocharged engine (paired with a six-speed manual gearbox, no less) that was teased; those Proton firsts ended up going to later Geely-developed products. We still haven’t forgiven the company for denying us the pukka Iriz R3 of our dreams.

To its credit, Proton did give the Iriz several updates over time to address issues with refinement and CVT performance. These included two significant facelifts in 2019 and 2021 thanks to Geely investment, the last one turning it into a surprisingly attractive car and finally bringing the rugged-looking Active variant into production (albeit in significantly watered-down form).

The Iriz also sired a sedan version in 2016 in the shape of the third-generation Persona. That car ended up becoming more successful, repeating the effect seen on the previous model versus the Gen.2 and indicating that Proton arguably should have led with the four-door version first. As yet, there is no news about whether production of the Persona would end alongside the Iriz, although we suspect it will soldier on for a couple more years at least.

I think we’ve said enough about the Iriz, which will be fondly remembered (our own Hafriz Shah will – he even bought one!) despite not setting the sales charts on fire. Take a bow, you likeable not-so-Global Small Car, and enjoy your well-deserved retirement.

GALLERY: 2021 Proton Iriz Active in Malaysia

AD: Drive the Proton model of your dreams. Submit your details and Proton PJ will get in touch with you.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.