Proton recently launched the new Proton Perdana and most of you are aware that it is based on the eighth generation Honda Accord which was produced from 2007 to 2012. This 2016 Perdana features the same eight generation Honda Accord chassis, engine, transmission but with a massive rework of the body. Here we have a comparison in terms of styling - the older car is the one with the 'GP40' registered plate, the newer one is the B plate test car.
This all-new 2016 Perdana has totally new body panels up front (bonnet, fenders, bumper, lights. It has a reworked rear from the C-pillar backwards with a fastback design instead of a usual three-box body styling. Proton re-engineered the whole rear end giving it a very sporty look with an extra rear quarter glass at the C-pillar compared to the eighth generation Accord. The A-pillars and centre B-pillars, front doors are taken over intact. The rear doors keep the door skins but the window frame section is all new to match the new rear profile and styling.
The new Perdana also comes standard with 17inch alloy wheels and tyres for both 2.0liter and 2.4liter models. On the earlier government specced Perdana, and the original Accord, the 2.0liter came with 16inch balloons.
I have driven both the 2.0liter and 2.4liter cars at the Proton Test Track in Shah Alam. I have recently driven the 2.0liter Perdana over various roads also - from the highway to the B-roads. That report will be written soon.
This article is just to show to you the difference in styling that Proton has made to the total look of the Perdana. There was actually a ton of work done to the Perdana compared to the original car. I have to say that this could be like how a company like Volkswagen Group does to their cars. Take their MQB platform, it gave rise to the Golf Mk7, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia, Audi A3 and more. Of course, this is two different companies which is not in a group. But note that Honda has never actually given out their platforms to anyone (Rover in the 1980s-1990s was co-owned by Honda), so this is actually automotive history here.
I personally like this new, very European styled Perdana over the original styling. It has presence, especially if it were in a lighter colour. Not like the black pictured herein. But since this were the cars that happened to be parked side by side during the media drive, it has to be featured for this comparison. Of course, the Government Perdana cars only came in black and grey.
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So there you have it. A comparison in terms of design and styling. Quite a lot of changes externally actually. And the changes actually work. The car is very stable at high speeds and slightly quieter (not by much) than the original car. I have a feeling that this is due to the aerodynamics in part and the 17inch wheels with the latest tyre technology (newly specced Goodyears) . I will tell you more in a full report as mentioned earlier.
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