2008 Proton Persona Sedan First Steer

As for the steering wheel itself, it is rather small in diametre and not unattractive, but its plastic construction may see you lose grip on hot days or after many hours behind the wheel, and the hard edge of the two upper spokes makes using them as thumb rests an uncomfortable prospect. The six audio controls mounted thereon are rather small, not unlike mobile phone keys and may take a little getting used to.

According to Proton Cars Australia’s Managing Director John Startari, the new Persona delivers on the basics offering buyers a better overall package while maintaining Proton’s reputation for excellent fuel economy, high equipment levels and value for money.

The vehicle, whilst indeed intended to suit a broad spectrum of buyers, is more squarely marketed at retirees, first car buyers, and young families who expect a feature packed car but perhaps can forego the outright performance offered by some of the more expensive rivals.

Under the bonnet the 1.6 litre CAMPRO engine has to work quite hard to deliver any real performance developing a modest 82kW @ 6,000 rpm and 148Nm or torque from 4,000 revs. It’s fine once up and revving but really needs to be kept on the boil to deliver any substantial performance results considering the overall weight of the vehicle. Proton believe the power to be adequate for their intended market.

In the gearbox department, Persona offers a five speed manual or four speed auto box with my pick clearly being the slick shifting manual transmission. Offering a more zippy drive and a good spread of gears it also boasts an ease of operation better than expected from Proton and is mated to a well weighted clutch with above average uptake feel which makes manual driving quite enjoyable.

The automatic on the other hand seems to suffer a little from a reluctance to downshift beyond third at highway speeds and is surprised by hard acceleration off the mark, often becoming indecisive when confronted with a hasty sprint from stand still. It may suit buyers with little want for performance but bear in mind that hills and fully loaded cars may also see these traits rear there head.

As one would rightfully expect from a brand who’s suspension is tuned by Lotus, the Persona offers brilliant, confidence inspiring handling with ride dynamics that well exceed those of its competitors.

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