2008 Proton Persona Sedan First Steer
7 May, 2008
43 Comments 
2008 Proton Persona Sedan First Steer
Prudence Persona-fied
Models Tested:
- 2008 Proton Persona Sedan 1.6 litre manual - $16,990 (RRP)
- 2008 Proton Persona Sedan 1.6 litre auto - $18,990 (RRP)
Options:
- Metallic Paint $350; Cruise Control $700 (plus fitting)
Ride & Handling, Equipment Levels, Practicality, Price Tag
Performance, Brake Pedal Feel, No ESP or Side/Curtain Airbags
CarAdvice Rating: 
- by Matt Brogan
Following an extensive two day drive program through Victoria’s picturesque alpine region, CarAdvice is pleased to announce inspiring news that Malaysian manufacturer Proton may finally be on track to shake up the lower end of the small car market with an impressive new comer, the Persona sedan.
The all new single specification Persona shares only its name with the superseded model and is more reminiscent of the GEN.2 hatch on which the Persona’s platform is based. It’s a simple, yet elegant small sedan not too dissimilar in looks to the current Mazda3.
Smaller, recessed avian-esque headlamps and restyled grille with new black and silver corporate logo flow downward to a narrow air intake beset by standard front fog lamps. From the rear, a high boot line with bold chrome accent brings memories of Chrysler’s Neon of some years back.
Representing tremendous value for money, Persona offers an expansive array of standard equipment including ABS, EBD, dual front airbags, auto locking doors, climate control air conditioning, power windows and mirrors, remote central locking, rear parking sensors, alloy wheels and a single disc MP3 compatible Blaupunkt audio system.
Inside the cabin is similar to the GEN.2 in many respects boasting red back lit Lotus inspired instrument binnacle with inset white faced fuel and temperature gauges, door mounted power window switches, and centre stack under dash ventilation controls, which as nice as they look, can be a little difficult to reach.
The re-designed centre console houses two front and two rear (fold down type) cup holders, a small enclosed storage area under the armrest and two mobile phone/sunglasses trays to each side of the gearstick, further complimenting the in door map pockets, glove box and small under dashboard (driver’s side) mounted shelf.
Location: Home / Proton, First Steer, Behind the Wheel / ...
Rate Post: 
(5 votes, average: 3.6 out of 5)
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May 7th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
*****PRIMO!*****
You can buy a proper brand and car for that sort of coin.
Soon as My. GovCo pulls out of Proton the company is dead.
Wonder who will buy brilliant Lotus when that happens?
Cheers,
F-0
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May 7th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
i cant beleive that it got 4 stars in the looks department!
“brings memories of Chrysler’s Neon of some years back.”
THAT IS NOT A GOOD THING!
If this car looked better they would sell a tonne of them.
It looks absolutely hideous!
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May 7th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
While I wouldnt want my kids and immediate family in any of these, I do admit that for a relative ‘newcomer’ they arent half bad for their mentioned target market. U just hav to compare them properly. Like for instance, instead of matching the GEN2 to say an equivalent Mazda, Honda or Fiat, it looks tempting next to a Hyundai Getz. The Lotus suspension is yummy but maybe Proton should get an engine that actually breaks 100kw.
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May 7th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
You’re spot on Andy, it’s the old “apples to apples” equation. Run this up against an Elantra and suddenly it looks pretty good, though perhaps a tad slower. I’d probably still take it over a Barina sedan or Yaris sedan too.
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May 7th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I feel dirty saying this, but I think that the latest Protons are actually quite nice looking cars (at least compared to what Korea is throwing at us). The problem though, as it has always been, is quality. Dodgy plastics and panel gaps that you could park a truck in are reminders that Proton are still off the ball.
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May 7th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
This looks pretty good and better than most small sedans on the market. Like the Gen-2, the engine isn’t great, but good to see build quality appears to have improved even though this wouldn’t have been too difficult to achieve.
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May 7th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Proton need a 2 litre then people would look at them
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May 7th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Terrible looks
Terrible quality.
Terrible depreciation (you know it will)
10 years behind it’s time…
Again the Malaysian-Government-supported maker produces a crap car. And they wonder why their other “offerings” have failed.
Anyone know what the tariff an Australian made car gets slugged in Malaysia?
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May 7th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I don’t understand why a car like this is spec’d to run on 95RON minimum fuel?!? Most buyers of this car probably won’t realise until they fill up for the first time that its going to cost them an extra 7c a litre compared with the typical Japanese/Korean rival.
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May 8th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Low rent, poor quality car gets 3.5 steering wheel score? The same score as the Peugeot. I don’t understand Car Advice system???????
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May 8th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Good value for money but the diesel i30 will go further on a litre but for a small premium er $3K? That would get my money.
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May 8th, 2008 at 1:39 am
add 3k and get the civic or corolla. you’ve instantly made that money back or more once u drive it off the show room.
proton=value for money?? hmmmmm
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May 8th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Hey Harry,
Yeah isnt it 100% at least? Malaysia has one of ASEAN’s most prohibitive import regimes and even with the latest round of FTAs within ASEAN, they’re only going down to 15% or soin a decade. pathetic
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May 8th, 2008 at 6:06 am
to have an idea of how much malaysians pay to keep this proton alive.
just take the australian car price and times it by 4. also keep in mind the average wage earned in malaysia is the same as the australian average. give or take. but just in malaysian ringgit. so buying a camry in malaysia is like buying a BMW M3/new GTR in australia. and both with cash to spare.
that is the level of commitment or more appropriately…sacrifice that they have to put up with to keep the white elephant alive.
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May 8th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Its the old saying, good things arnt cheap and cheap things arnt good!! you get what you pay for.. Unless its an overpriced euro brand then you pay for a badge..
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May 8th, 2008 at 9:36 am
1.8/2.0L money for a 1.6…?, not my idea of good value.
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May 8th, 2008 at 10:37 am
This car is rubbish, like all Protons.
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May 8th, 2008 at 11:08 am
This car sells for around RM55k in Malaysia…what the? And the avarage wage over there for a high school leaver is about RM20k to RM25k per year? Go figure…
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May 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Car Advice - you are losing credibility by giving this car three and a half stars. That is all that needs to be said.
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May 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Iamthestig -
LOL
Tusskkkkkk!
C/A gave it 3.5 stars in NEGATIVE!
“-3.5″
Cheers
F-0
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May 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
“Iamthestig” - I think I agree
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May 8th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Yeah, apparently this is better than a Corolla which only managed 3.25 stars in a recent review… LOL !!!
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May 8th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Just another rubbish comparitively unsafe car on our steets.
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May 8th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Although I dont think id say hideous, I generally agree about the looks. Its not good looking. I dont think that CA are losing credibility because it probably is a genuinely good car. The problem with Proton is that they keeping hiding the fact that they are under powered with the “Steering By Lotus” badge. If they did have a 2.0L in this it would be focus money. I dont care about Alloy wheels or foglamps. Id prefer almost anything. But then again 20 years ago nobody wanted a Japanese car and they got good then nobody wanted a Korean car and they are getting good (Hyundai i30, Kia Cee’d) and maybe, if the company can stay alive that long, It will be Malaysias time to shine by 2028. Hmmm - Doubt it though. I just wish they would sell Lotus so they dont become an indangered species. Also - that steering wheel is NASTY!
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May 8th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
The steering wheel (or star system you refer to) is a balance of all aspects of the vehicle combined in to an out-of-five score. Build quality, fit and finish, looks, drive, ride, comfort, space, braking, handling performance, economy, safety, etc…
It is also important to realise that this includes and is relative to price, hence why a $30K car may get the same rating as this $17K car.
If you’d prefer not to have the steering wheel system or would instead prefer an out-of-hundred system like some other publications, let us know your thoughts. We’re always open to suggestion.
As to anyone who “bags” the car on what Proton was, or what their arm chair ideals of the company may be - go and drive one. Keep an open mind, judge it on its merits and be honest. You may just be surprised.
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May 8th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Exterior looks good but the interior isnt perfect and it is a bit slow.
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May 8th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
its funny how so many people who have never even driven or looked at one up close are so willing to give the car a spray after someone who has actually had an extended drive in one is saying “no hang on, this car isn’t actually all that bad!”
look up youtube for top gear and fifth gear episodes relating to the proton savvy, they actually say that it’s actually an alright little car!
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May 8th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
The thing i like to always point out is that it wasn’t all that long ago that subaru’s where considered in the same light as hyundai’s, daewoo’s and even proton’s! Times change as do car manufacturers. Look at hyundai and how far they have come in recent years for evidence
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May 8th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I agree with crouchy on the style of this car[or lack there of]. It brings back bad memories ff the chrysler neon.
A hyundai Elantra with ESP drive away for $19990 excites me more than this offering.
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May 8th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Matt, for me personally, no disrespect intended, I merely observed some contradictions. For example: The Peugeot 0-100 in 10 seconds. The Proton 0-100 12 seconds. The Peugeot was too slow but the Proton was recommended as a leisurely drive?
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May 8th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I like it except for the ugly front end. Lotus tuned suspension means this would offer more enjoyable dyanmics than a Kia Cerato or any other similarly priced offerings ( except maybe Mazda2, Fiesta)-I’m sure theres a number of people with that high on their shopping list, and I’m one of them.
Interestingly, the CAMPRO (Cam Profile Switching) engine lacks the CPS system it was designed with, so there is a gaping torque hole between 2000 and 4000 rpm- this is apparently in the pipeline though.
Does anybody know if we are getting the new Saga? It looks like a brilliant little car and has the CPS system equipped. If it came here a sub $13k price is a must though.
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May 9th, 2008 at 1:19 am
a hyundai barely excites me. no matter if it was i30 or kia ceed. after 6 months to 1 year nobody is going to be bothered with it.
a measure of a good car is not whether you like it or not….but rather if you would buy it or not…with your own money.
topgear or fifth gear might give a quarter of a thumbs up for proton. but i doubt they would actually buy one or recommend thier family/friends to buy one. i suspect it gets some positive reviews mainly coz lotus is involved.
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May 9th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
PoisonEagle, the Saga will be here early 2009.
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May 13th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Does anyone in Australia buy Proton cars? Resale values must be awful, provided you can find a buyer. What happens when this car company goes broke? Any resale value is totally gone.
The Top Gear show in UK blew up a Proton car with a bomb to say how bad it is.
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May 15th, 2008 at 11:08 am
LOL…
So first we get a very cushy review of the car, now we see the banner adverts.
You are losing credibility by the day…
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May 17th, 2008 at 3:09 am
It’s boldly priced. Who would want this thing over a proven Jap that costs the same? If Proton were to establish a name beyond Malaysia, they need to come up with a dramatic change quickly. When Korean cars came to be known, they were poorly made and goofily designed. Despite having drastically improved over the years, this first impression is probably a scar that will never vanish from the eyes of some buyers.
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May 18th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
i just clicked on an advert from this website: www.newsedan.com.au, Proton dare not even put their badge on their advert - and all of a sudden we get a car advice article on how good this car is?
Come on car advice - don’t sell us out. This was a bit see thru and I’m not impressed
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May 21st, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Not pretty BUT much better looking than the hideous new elantra!! damn they are uglheee!!!
a friend has a proton gen2 hatch in black, with the factory 17″ wheels ( they won it lol ) and i have to say, they love the thing!
T
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May 21st, 2008 at 6:25 pm
proton jumbuck should be renamed a hairy goat as for the mechanics and safty forget it what aheap of crap!
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May 26th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Alert!
This crap needs RON95, repeat.. It demands a PREMIUM diet $$$$
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June 11th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Speaking of which when was the last time you saw a Proton outside of Malaysia
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June 30th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
All the comments above are based on pure speculation. Has anyone driven this new Proton? Fair go mate! Give it a shot, then comment. I think it is great value for the buck. Will petrol at sky-high prices, I think the mileage one gets from this Proton is simply earth-friendly!
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July 10th, 2008 at 3:56 am
my friend has it.it is a nice car.it similar to a toyota vios.maybe better. it is equipped with Intake Air Fuel Module (IAFM) to boost its engine performance and to reduce the fuel consumption. it has been named Best Model of the Year for Malaysia in the 2008 Frost & Sullivan ASEAN Automotive Awards. for me, it is a perfect car. most of the people are overshadowed by their experience with previous proton cars. they should test drive this new car first before making any assumption.
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