TANJUNG MALIM, Sept 25 — Proton Holdings Berhad has officially launched the long-awaited compact car. The ceremony was held at the Proton Tanjung Malim Plant, with the unveiling done by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, our ex-Prime Minister and recently appointed Chairman of Proton. Also present was Dato’ Harith Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer and key management officers of Proton.
The new compact 5-door hatch is called the Proton Iriz, and this marks Proton’s entry into the compact B-segment market which is currently dominated by the Perodua Myvi, a Daihatsu derivative. The Iriz is available with a 1.3 litre engine and a 1.6 litre engine. Each of the engine variants will have three trim levels, making a total of six choices for the customer to pick from.
Within these six variants, there are two options of transmissions, either a CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission) or a 5-speed manual transmission (5MT). On top of all this, there are seven colour options, so the customer is spoilt for choice.
On-the-road prices (P. Malaysia) for the 1.3 litre variants start form RM42,438 for the Standard 1.3 litre variant all the way to RM49,888, while the 1.6 litre variants start with RM53,438, topping off with RM62,888 for the top of the range Premium CVT. East Malaysia retail prices are an additional RM2,000, whilst the tax-free ones like Langkawi and Labuan enjoy slightly lower prices of RM4,000 and RM3,000 respectively.
At the launch, Dato’ Harith said, “ Proton Iriz is built on a totally new platform that is developed by Malaysians for the Malaysian and global markets. This compact car symbolises Proton’s commitment to customers by offering high standards of quality, safe and fun to drive, and built with comfort and convenience to the consumers.”
The Proton Iriz is Proton’s most comprehensively equipped car to date, with a host of safety features that include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a feature found mostly on more expensive cars, ABS, EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution), traction control (TC), Brake Assist (BA), and Hill Hold Assist.
The Proton Iriz also has a newly developed engine featuring Variable Valve Timing, and for the first time in a long while, Proton has launched a car with two transmissions. Whilst the mature buyers will probably opt for the CVT, the younger ones would go for the manual transmission.
The steering system is now EPS (Electric Power Steering), which will contribute to fuel efficiency, while the Premium variants will have six airbags, anti-trap power window for the driver, keyless entry, alarm system, and LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), and a reverse camera. In addition, ISOFIX anchors are included in anticipation of entry into the global market.
The Proton Iriz’s body structure uses Hot Press Forming (HPF), a German technology that Proton owns, being only the 6th country in the world to have this technology. The Proton Iriz is awarded 5-star in the Asean NCAP safety rating.
Aesthetically, the Proton Iriz is pleasing to the eye, and the hatch construction with split and folding rear seats gives it additional versatility in space usage. Inside, the Iriz is well appointed, and the materials used are of good quality. The higher ranges even have the luxury of leather seats.
“Proton has focussed on improving every aspect of the car, especially in safety and convenience. Proton Iriz comes with the highest safety standards Proton can offer, topped off with a 5-star Asean NCAP rating and we shall not rest on our laurels because this car is our benchmark for Proton’s future cars. We shall continue to improve and develop better performance cars that meet global safety regulations,” said Dato Harith, closing with, “This is the future we envisioned for all our products while we have also made the necessary improvements to our service. Both of these go hand in hand and represent the benchmark we set for the standards and quality that Proton aims to deliver to our customers.”
As of today, the Proton Iriz is available for test drives at all Proton showrooms nationwide.
