Proton Iriz!

vr2turbo

((( God Level 30,000 RPM )))
Helmet Clan
Moderator
May 11, 2010
30,001
8,385
1,713
Petaling Jaya
I am still thinking about the term "global" used by proton. Whatever it mean.....

Will the car fulfils the global requirement (say, US, UK, Europe, China, etc), globally acceptable in the design sense? safety requirement and sold widely across the globe?

I am not questioning nor criticizing the global car, but proton has to make sure the term "global" they use really reflect its meaning.

Reminds me of Waja that Proton claimed to be the BMW of the East, or something like that....
Design sense depends on individual taste, but safety issue have to pass their test.....:smokin:
 

ken yeang

6,000 RPM
Senior Member
Feb 2, 2006
6,617
1,327
1,713
But many Myvi Extreme on the road.....:biggrin:
Nowadays, many cars are simply stuck with whatever emblem the manufacturer could think of....but unfortunately with little meaning. It's like gimmick to boost sales. Reminds me of those 1980s action figure toys like "Centurion", with power Extreme thingy to attract kids...

Has BMW ever put "extreme" emblem on their cars?? I suppose the engineers let the performance of the car speak for itself, rather than relying on the "Extreme" emblem...
 

Supra_Fanatics

Beyond 20,000 RPM!
Senior Member
Sep 17, 2008
20,673
3,998
1,713
Nowadays, many cars are simply stuck with whatever emblem the manufacturer could think of....but unfortunately with little meaning. It's like gimmick to boost sales. Reminds me of those 1980s action figure toys like "Centurion", with power Extreme thingy to attract kids...

Has BMW ever put "extreme" emblem on their cars?? I suppose the engineers let the performance of the car speak for itself, rather than relying on the "Extreme" emblem...
Which what my friend say is true, nowadays modifications definitions is LED, HID, DRL, Bodykits, Stickers and not concentrating on performance. All just want to look fast but not being fast.
 

ixeo

4,000 RPM
Senior Member
Jun 26, 2005
4,788
3,080
5,213
KL, Malaysia
But many Myvi Extreme on the road.....:biggrin:
Most all just mod.. the bumpers buy outside very cheap... but poor people will buy Extreme version from P2..because all under 9 year installment plan... so they buy a fully modded car..

I am still thinking about the term "global" used by proton. Whatever it mean.....

Will the car fulfils the global requirement (say, US, UK, Europe, China, etc), globally acceptable in the design sense? safety requirement and sold widely across the globe?

I am not questioning nor criticizing the global car, but proton has to make sure the term "global" they use really reflect its meaning.

Reminds me of Waja that Proton claimed to be the BMW of the East, or something like that....

Global term used by Proton is to tell Malaysians that this is a global car, on par with VW Polo & Ford Fiesta (Car of The Year in many countries).

Doesn't mean it is sold or successful globally.

Think of it as a "siok sendiri" term. Sales of Proton globally is laughable. :rofl:

I think the styling is GOOD. The dash and all, looks great. That engine and transmission? Not so great. Ford Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0L will be more fun to drive from a power delivery standpoint, better emissions (euro 5 duh) and better fuel economy (I didn't even look this up, but Campro engine is outdated, no way it stand a chance).
 

cvkit17

2,000 RPM
Senior Member
Mar 20, 2012
2,884
1,354
1,713
Kuala Lumpur
Since I've tested the car, maybe I should share my thoughts of the car.

Exterior
There were 3 variants on display in the showroom that I went. 1.6 Premium, 1.3 Executive, and 1.3 standard. All 3 of them are in different colour. Citrus Green, Atlantic Blue, and Silver Moon Dust. All 3 colours look nice to me, especially the Atlantic Blue.

The front does looks a little bit like a ford fiesta. And the back actually looks better in actual than in pictures. Even without the body kit, the exterior does not feel empty. The car looks great in overall, but please do not look at the exhaust as it might cause severe eye injury.

Interior:
Cabin space. Well, not bad. The seats at the back is more comfortable the of suprima s, as the thigh support is larger. There are 7 cup holders in the car which fits only 5 persons. Don't ask me why. The leather seat design is not bad actually as the executive feel is there. But the fabric seat is not as comfortable than of Axia. Axia fabric seat is soft and comfy, it's like an old sofa which you wouldn't want to remove your butt once you sit on it.

The door trims looks abit dull to me. Proton should have thrown in some colour or finishing that makes it appealing. The dashboard design is quite nice, nicer than the Preve and suprima. There are stitchings (fake one) like what toyota has it in the current vios. However, it doesn't produce the same outcome. I feel that the vios fake stitching really does trick my eyes, while I can't bring out the executiveness from my eyes on Iriz fake leather stitching. Well that could be because of the plasticky plastic feel of dashboard. I still feel that the plastic being used or maybe the moulding is not as good as even of a perodua. Apart from that, the meter is too small. The numbers are small, the needle is small, the dial is small, but hey, the center LCD that indicates which door is open is huge!! You won't miss if any door is open in the car! How great is that. The meter does not give out a wow factor. Well at least to me it does not. And my old man might need telescopic specs to read it. Another downside of the meter is that it is not lighted up during day drive.

Moving to driving position, the side mirror is positioned too low. Even though there is no telescopic adjustment for the steering, I still feel comfortable and the ergonomic is good, until I tried to engage the manual stick into gear 1. F-king far. Too far too I actually had to lean slightly to the front to confidently get it engaged. Not to mention also the gear knob design...really, Proton, wtf?

The sound system is good! I was told by the sales person that proton is still using blaupunkt. At least it is some branded speakers which has got recognition, unlike perodua which gives us paper speakers.

The test drive:
So the variant that I tested was 1.3 Executive manual. The car is fully loaded with people - 5 ekor. Since the variant is not equipped with keyless entry, I did not have the chance to test Proton keyless entry. The crank was good, and the sound was good too. Vibration is not noticeable too. The odometer shows only 273km. I tested for a short 7km, on main road and residential area.

Power and acceleration: I was like Jeremy Clarkson, tried to make the car going faster by shaking my body front and back. Seriously I could not feel any power at all, even though I'm flooring the pedal at gear 2 and the rpm went up to almost 5k. Well ok this is a 1.3 and not only it is fully loaded, the engine hasn't really break in as well. So I give it a 30% reduction in power in comparison with driving it with only 2 persons in car and the engine has well been trained. No doubt, the car feels heavy but the rev doesn't. It revs happily but did not translate to acceleration, which means it could be giving a bad fuel consumption.

Gear change: like driving a lorry. I'm driving a manual myvi and I feel that it is a lot better than iriz even though it is still rubbish. It is rough, long throw, and the gear knob...wtf proton. But I guess after some good mileage with proper maintenance, the gear shift could be better. Oh ya, the clutch is soft. Waaayyyy softer than my myvi. Good if you are stuck in traffic jam.

Noise and vibration: The nvh suppression is surprisingly good. I bet the passenger didn't know that I revved the engine up to 5k rpm. Road noise is within acceptable level. Not bad.

Brake: Although it grips, the sponginess is quite immense. I did a hard braking (though it didn't step all the way in at once) at around 40kmh and the car slowed down better than expected. But the sponginess feel does reduce some confidence. Maybe the pads hasn't really break in?

Ride and handling: It is stiff, which reminds me of my myvi. Body roll is within comfortable level and it the solid ride feeling is there when going straight. I did not have the chance to really test it in corners, but what I can tell you is although the steering "heaviness" is good (some people might feel that is it abit heavy since it is eps, but I like heavy and solid feeling), it is not as responsive as I expected it to be. And steering feedback is absent too. I did a 3 point turn in a tight space and the turning radius is good. It did not disappoint the fact that a small zippy Zappy car should have small turning radius.

Blind spot: I came very near to a kancil! The front A pillar blind spot is not there, as iriz copied jazz and made a small triangular window portal there. But Proton missed out that the rear blind spot is the most important one. I was entering the main road from an intersection. I looked into the rear and side mirror, I saw a black car was coming from the main road, at 5 o clock direction. I saw a kancil behind the black car which was following the black car quite near. I signaled and join the road slowly, and I intended to let the both the cars pass before entering the road. However, the kancil slowed down as the black car passed. I was actually searching for the kancil! Totally lost it! I believe the kancil wanted to let me pass but because I slowed down intentionally to let them pass, he ended up in my blind spot, which is just beside me. The line or blind point is the front bumper of the kancil is at the B pillar, 5 o clock direction and wallah!! The car disappeared. So to anyone who will be getting an Iriz, please get a huge and long rear view mirror with blind spot viewing mirror installed at the side mirrors, and drive cautiously.

Will I get one if I'm looking for a car?:
Probably, but not now. Proton is famous for its first batches of new models. Most of the first batches have many problem which proton slowly rectifies one by one throughout the years. That's why they can sell a model for a decade. It is one of the cheapest car equipped with features we would like to have like ABS, airbag, and vsc. I believe many parents will get Iriz for their children, if they are not anti proton. I had tested many small cars like ford fiesta, Suzuki swift, honda jazz, kia picanto, Mitsubishi attrage, myvi, and a few others. While proton claimed that Iriz is benchmarked against the fiesta and polo, I feel that it is still far away from them. It is comparable on paper, but in actual it's totally different. However, it is comparable or better than some compact cars in some aspects. For example the ride is better than honda jazz, but not fiesta. I feel more comfortable in iriz than swift, but swift braking win hands down. Pros and cons, it all depends on what does one expect from it. Cheers :driver:
 

vr2turbo

((( God Level 30,000 RPM )))
Helmet Clan
Moderator
May 11, 2010
30,001
8,385
1,713
Petaling Jaya
CV, can be writer already......:biggrin:

---------- Post added at 10:01 PM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 10:00 PM ----------

Which what my friend say is true, nowadays modifications definitions is LED, HID, DRL, Bodykits, Stickers and not concentrating on performance. All just want to look fast but not being fast.
The extreme badge did not say performance mah! P2 extreme badge for looks......hhahahhahahhaha:rofl:
 

ken yeang

6,000 RPM
Senior Member
Feb 2, 2006
6,617
1,327
1,713
nowadays......almost every product got "geng" names.....

Just take food stuff and drinks for examples....

MONSTERS drink
NOS energy drink
Maggi Kari Meletop
Kopi Super Jantan
Livita EX!
Livita GO!


So, I wont be surprised in a few years, some parent would name his boy "Extreme".....
China parents have already been naming their kids like STORM, FIRE, EAGLE, HERO, THUNDER, KNIGHT, KING....
 

stupidcar

5,000 RPM
Mar 18, 2013
5,567
850
713
Kuala Lumpur
nowadays......almost every product got "geng" names.....

Just take food stuff and drinks for examples....

MONSTERS drink
NOS energy drink
Maggi Kari Meletop
Kopi Super Jantan
Livita EX!
Livita GO!


So, I wont be surprised in a few years, some parent would name his boy "Extreme".....
China parents have already been naming their kids like STORM, FIRE, EAGLE, HERO, THUNDER, KNIGHT, KING....
Wajalution.
 

beatnik

500 RPM
Senior Member
Nov 28, 2004
924
74
3,028
Visit site
I am still thinking about the term "global" used by proton. Whatever it mean.....

Will the car fulfils the global requirement (say, US, UK, Europe, China, etc), globally acceptable in the design sense? safety requirement and sold widely across the globe?

I am not questioning nor criticizing the global car, but proton has to make sure the term "global" they use really reflect its meaning.

Reminds me of Waja that Proton claimed to be the BMW of the East, or something like that....
they are pushing the "global" word.. but during the launch, Tun M said Iriz needs a new engine to compete globally :banghead:

the proton vvt engine could be good 10 years ago.. but its still rough and not refined by today's standard.
 

Izso

NA NA NA NA NA
Helmet Clan
Moderator
Mar 28, 2004
15,389
6,411
5,213
KL
Cvkit's point is spot on regarding the Iriz. Which is why I'd get the 1.6 manual anyday over the weak 1.3. 1.3 Exec has no rear wiper though. So that's pretty cool, sure beats putting a teddy bear in place of the wiper (JDM stylo)

And I personaly think the Iriz suspension is way too hard. With 3 adults in the back (me being large in the back), the large sized sales woman in the front and a medium build driver, the suspension was surprisingly firm. If it wasn't loaded at all it probably would bounce all over the place.
 

ericmaxman

Senior Newbie
Senior Member
Thread starter
Jul 18, 2008
664
216
1,543
Kuala Lumpur
they are pushing the "global" word.. but during the launch, Tun M said Iriz needs a new engine to compete globally :banghead:

the proton vvt engine could be good 10 years ago.. but its still rough and not refined by today's standard.
Honda anyone? :rofl:
 

ixeo

4,000 RPM
Senior Member
Jun 26, 2005
4,788
3,080
5,213
KL, Malaysia
Will I get one if I'm looking for a car?:
Probably, but not now. Proton is famous for its first batches of new models. Most of the first batches have many problem which proton slowly rectifies one by one throughout the years. That's why they can sell a model for a decade. It is one of the cheapest car equipped with features we would like to have like ABS, airbag, and vsc. I believe many parents will get Iriz for their children, if they are not anti proton. I had tested many small cars like ford fiesta, Suzuki swift, honda jazz, kia picanto, Mitsubishi attrage, myvi, and a few others. While proton claimed that Iriz is benchmarked against the fiesta and polo, I feel that it is still far away from them. It is comparable on paper, but in actual it's totally different. However, it is comparable or better than some compact cars in some aspects. For example the ride is better than honda jazz, but not fiesta. I feel more comfortable in iriz than swift, but swift braking win hands down. Pros and cons, it all depends on what does one expect from it. Cheers :driver:
You own a Myvi, how does it compare?
You are looking for a car that drives A to B with reliability and purely as a city commuter car.
 

vr2turbo

((( God Level 30,000 RPM )))
Helmet Clan
Moderator
May 11, 2010
30,001
8,385
1,713
Petaling Jaya
Wajalution.
This one is clone......:biggrin:

---------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 09:43 AM ----------

Cvkit's point is spot on regarding the Iriz. Which is why I'd get the 1.6 manual anyday over the weak 1.3. 1.3 Exec has no rear wiper though. So that's pretty cool, sure beats putting a teddy bear in place of the wiper (JDM stylo)

And I personaly think the Iriz suspension is way too hard. With 3 adults in the back (me being large in the back), the large sized sales woman in the front and a medium build driver, the suspension was surprisingly firm. If it wasn't loaded at all it probably would bounce all over the place.
Fuh! sound like my VR with full adjustable......:biggrin:

---------- Post added at 09:46 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 09:45 AM ----------

Honda anyone? :rofl:
Re-badge the old City?....:rofl:
 

cvkit17

2,000 RPM
Senior Member
Mar 20, 2012
2,884
1,354
1,713
Kuala Lumpur
You own a Myvi, how does it compare?
You are looking for a car that drives A to B with reliability and purely as a city commuter car.
I wish I had more time and roads to test the Iriz for a comparison. If I'm looking for a Point A to Point B car, I'll most probably still stick to the myvi because I have more confidence that it wont fail. Not to say that Proton will surely fail (fail as in sini koyak sana breakdown), but the Iriz has no history so far. The only history it has is Proton's reputation.

If compare the ride, Iriz is better. Body roll is lesser, steering feels more solid, brakes...well just as rubbish as myvi actually..ok mayb abit better. Speakers are better, bla bla bla in all way, it is a better car compared to the myvi because it is made to beat the myvi. However, myvi has an advantage of power over weight ratio.

I nearly got myself a Fiesta before getting a myvi. The only holdback was fiesta got no f-king manual!! So I got a myvi manual instead, at a more cheaper price tag of course. So I was thinking why not use the $$ to play with the myvi and see what i can get out from it? My myvi is still no match to a fiesta now even after some mods. But is it less fun? I believe Izso, Suprafan, Stupidcar could tell..:biggrin:
 

^pomen_GTR^

7,000 RPM
Senior Member
May 13, 2010
7,509
1,690
1,713
The Mines
I am still thinking about the term "global" used by proton. Whatever it mean.....

Will the car fulfils the global requirement (say, US, UK, Europe, China, etc), globally acceptable in the design sense? safety requirement and sold widely across the globe?

I am not questioning nor criticizing the global car, but proton has to make sure the term "global" they use really reflect its meaning.

Reminds me of Waja that Proton claimed to be the BMW of the East, or something like that....
i mean its ready to accept any country specific regulation on car specification and safety.....