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By
EWAN KENNEDY
4 August 2008
Persona
sedan is the latest car to come to Australia from the Malaysian
car maker Proton. Virtually a four-door variant of the five-door
Gen.2 hatchback that’s been here since 2004, it offers
exceptional value for money. Positively stacked with the sort of
equipment that’s usually only seen on upmarket European cars,
Persona has a price list beginning at only $16,990.
Features
such as reverse parking sensors and climate-controlled air
conditioning are standard and every model comes with alloy wheels.
Also in the list of desirable features are remote central locking
with boot release, reversing sensors, front and rear foglamps and
an MP3-compatible CD audio system.
We
like the fact that the Malaysians don’t follow the trend of most
other Asian marques in slavishly following European body styling.
But at the same time they don’t get too far away from the
mainstream and thus alienate buyers. The result is a good looking
sedan that stands out from the crowd without being overtly
aggressive in doing so. The back end of Persona is particularly
appealing to our eyes, with an almost coupe-like rear panel with
swooping lights.
The
rear of the Persona is tall to make space for a large boot, and we
found the 430-litre volume handy during our road-test week with
the car. Storage space can be extended to within the car by using
a 60/40 split rear seat back.
Not
all buyers like hatchbacks with the connotations of load-carrying
practicality. So those who still prefer the looks, and the extra
body rigidity, provided by a sedan may well find themselves drawn
to this Proton.
There’s
good interior space and four adults can be carried in reasonable
comfort although the boot/rear legroom compromise is weighted more
in favour of the aforementioned boot. Headroom will be fine for
most tall travellers, but you may be best to try if for yourself
as part of your pre-purchase testing.
Interior
design is also away from Euro mainstream, with a sporty metallic
instrument binnacle and air conditioning control clearly
influenced by Proton’s British subsidiary, Lotus. OK, so Lotus
is European, but it certainly makes its own statements in design,
and this is very obvious in the way the Persona's cabin is set
out.
There's
a glovebox in the Persona, a feature strangely missing from the
Gen.2 hatch. Persona's centre-console bin is much deeper than
average and its positively cavernous interior can swallow a lot of
stuff. Sadly, that’s not reflected in the tiny door pockets that
could struggle to hold the wallet of someone on the well-off side.
If
there's a drawback to the Proton Persona to our point of view
it’s the rather small 1.6-litre engine. It develops maximum
power of 82 kilowatts at 6000 rpm, and produces 148 Newton metres
of torque at 4000 rpm. This is the first all-Proton engine,
previous ones, although built by Proton, came from Mitsubishi.
Again, Lotus has provided expertise for the design.
While there have been improvements to the engine, particularly in
the torque range, since we first drove it in 2004, it still needs
more grunt to our way of thinking. Then again, we admit to being
revheads and the engine may prove fine for others. Provided they
are willing to use the gearbox to keep the 1.6 in its ‘happy’
range.
However,
Proton has elected to put the blinker lever on the wrong side for
Australia, meaning you have to use the gear lever and blinker with
the same hand, something that’s not always convenient if
you’re doing a lot of gearchanging. This is an odd setup,
because the Malaysians drive on the same side of the car as do
Australians and we would have expected the blinker to be on the
‘Aussie’ side of the steering wheel.
With
today's high fuel prices many buyers are putting fuel economy
higher up their list than before, so the Persona's 1.6-litre unit
may gain more favour than if it had been introduced a couple of
years ago.
This
smallish engine has a combined fuel rating of 6.6 litres per 100
kilometres according to the Australian ADR fuel consumption tests.
We found that low number was certainly within reach on highway
driving, and that suburban running would typically have it sitting
in the eight to nine litre range.
By
far the biggest benefit gained by Proton from its Lotus design
team is in chassis dynamics. On the road the Persona is
beautifully balanced with excellent handling road grip and precise
steering. The dynamics also adds that certain something called
character that’s normally only felt in cars designed and built
for the European market.
We
should also point out that a good chassis is one that’s always
crying out for more grunt, which may be one reason the engine
feels down on action.
If
you enjoy driving and like to make trips to quiet country roads
just for the fun of it, then the Proton Persona should sit high on
your short list of affordable machines. It really is something out
of the ordinary in this market segment, even to the extent that
you could say it has character, something that’s normally found
only in European cars.
AT
A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Proton Persona GX 1.6-litre four-door sedan: $16,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard
Air Conditioning: Standard
Automatic Transmission: $2000 option
CD Player: Standard
Central Locking: Standard
Cruise Control: Not offered
Dual Front Airbags: Standard
Front Side Airbags: Not offered
Stability Control: Not offered
Traction Control: Not offered
SPECIFICATIONS
(Proton Persona GX 1.6-litre four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.597 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.1:1
Bore/Stroke: 76.0 mm x 88.0 mm
Maximum Power: 82 kW @ 6000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 148 Nm @ 4000 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 4.052:1
DIMENSIONS,
WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4477 mm
Wheelbase: 2600 mm
Width: 1725 mm
Height: 1438 mm
Turning Circle: 10.1 metres
Kerb Mass: 1250 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 50 litres
Towing Ability: N/A
SUSPENSION
AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Multi-link, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 12.0 seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: Petrol 95RON
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 6.6 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 7.5/10
Air Pollution Rating: 6.5/10
STANDARD
WARRANTY:
Three years/unlimited km
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Marque Publishing Company
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