Owner Review: Owning this car is a love and hate situation - My Proton Persona

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Basic information

2018 Proton Persona 1.6 STD MT

Reasons why I bought this car

• Required a daily driver for my daily runabout

• Preferably Manual Transmission to make my boring daily drive a little bit more exciting (New and cheap manual cars are sadly going away)

• New car under manufacturers warranty so I will only need to prepare for annual insurance/road tax and maintenance expenses

• Reliable and dependable car, easy to obtain spare parts when the unfortunate happens

• Reasonable fuel economy rating

Additionally, I have also considered the used car market under a RM50k budget

Car selection process

• I had a budget of RM70K

• Models that I have considered include: Perodua Myvi 1.5 H AT, Toyota Vios 1.5J MT and Proton Iriz 1.6 Premium

Myvi 1.5 and Iriz 1.6 has no manual option but was some huge discount on the Vios Manual during the period of that time but I have decided to choose the Persona to save some money on hire purchase, knowing that I would only own it for around 5 years.

It was also the cheapest manual transmission car within the 1.5 to 1.6 (100+hp) category budget cars and the cheapest new car within the car models and variants I've considered. With cheap manual new cars cease to exist soon, I take my last chance purchase one.

 User experience

• I have already done 38000 km

First impressions of getting in and driving the car, surprisingly well-insulated cabin when compared to a 1st gen Myvi and 2nd gen Vios where I borrowed from relatives and drove for a while before buying this car. 

Steering feels ergonomic to hold. Clutch is pretty light and the stock bite point is just in the middle, just right for daily drive. Gear shifts have good mechanical feedback and feel tight on every shift but the original manual gear knob is too tall and unergonomic hold. After changing to a ball shape gear knob, the throws are shorter and more user friendly. 

Proton ride and handling for the Persona is adequate while driving on the highway the car feels well planted to the ground. The car takes corner tightly and in a linear manner. However, the rear end of the car will break loose if performed a sudden cornering too much due soft rear suspension setup combined with a bit of body roll because of a tall roofline.

The car is luckily equipped with stability control and will save you from these situations. Having driven the Iriz before you will notice the difference of the rear end is more stable than the Persona.

The original factory fitted Silverstone tyres are quite noisy and offer almost no traction in the wet, one of the tyres exploded and I've since replaced all tyres to other brands, it transforms the car into a more satisfying driving experience. 

Fuel consumption is still acceptable to me, for driving normally and mostly in Klang Valley Urban Traffic conditions, it has about the same fuel efficiency to the 2nd Gen Vios I once drove and 2nd Gen 1.5 Myvi (owned by friend of mine and we did some fuel consumption comparisons). 

Pros&Cons

Pros

• Great low and mid-end torque from the engine. 

• Higher (Shorter) Final Drive Ratio, giving an enjoyable torquey acceleration pull at any gear.

• Great chassis suspension setup, satisfying cornering ability and high-speed stability.

• Big boot space

• Surprisingly good sound system, boomy bass, good mids and treble, original Blaupunkt single din unit with decent Bluetooth audio receiving quality, only comes with 2 speakers(have since added 2 extra speakers on my own)

• Acceptable Fuel Economy

Cons

• Poorly Insulated Suspension and Bushings, Proton SC has tried to fix it under warranty but it still creaks and rattles occasionally during hot weather, well-known issue among Persona owners

• Some interior plastic parts are assembled in lesser quality, again Proton SC has tried to fix some of it but occasionally there is some rattle during hot weather

• Looks weird when viewed from certain angles, mostly because of the tall roofline to the big rear bumper.

• Seating position is a little bit awkward for the driver, mainly the seats for thigh support are too good so it's harder to adjust for a good position to stretch your legs on the clutch without hitting the dashboard (only for manual Persona)

• Rear seats for the thigh support are too long, although it is comfortable, there is less legroom for the passengers. 

• No other variants of Persona offered with manual other than the Standard. 

• Heavier than it's rivals, more than 100kg+

Ratings

• Total Score: 4

• Performance: 5

• Quality & Features: 3

• Space: 3

• Ride Comfort: 4

• Fuel Economy: 4

• Price & Cost: 5

Summary

Owning this Persona is a love and hate situation, despite having build quality issues on the bushing, interior parts and weird-looking tall roofline proportions, the car actually handles and accelerate quite well.

When the weather is right and the creaking noises are temporary muted, the car rides exceptionally smooth. Looking at the performance and cost scale on paper, it is pretty much a bargain when you compare it to its rivals, can't complain too much about the lesser build quality.

However, if they fix the build quality issues in the upcoming facelifts, the Persona is pretty worth your money as a budget B-segment sedan car that offers a manual. 

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