The
Proton Iriz has been around for a few years already. When it first came out in
2014 I wasn’t too impressed with its drive. It was a dreary experience. It wasn’t
that the car was ugly or anything. It was actually quite nice to look at and
fresh at the time. It still is fresh to look at amidst a sea of Perodua Myvis.
The main problem was the way it felt when you drove it.
The 1.3 manual I tried had a loose gear shifter which was super notchy to
slot into gear at the same time, quite ironic in some ways (I heard this was
fixed quite a while back). It was also rough around the edges in terms of
engine noise and vibration came from it. The 1.6 Premium CVT however, it was the darn CVT
gearbox that liked to hold high revs which caused the car to be noisy and
vibrate its way to whatever speed you were accelerating too. Every time you d
in an Iriz, it felt like you had on a pair of thigh massagers on at the speed
of a blender chopping up vegetables. It was akin to a gorgeous woman promising you a good massage, but instead you got some wrestler from WWE pummeling you slowly, bit by bit and not very comfortable in the
long run.
Basically
both cars suffered from one simple issue, the refinement levels of the Iriz
were sub-par. In terms of equipment inside all Iriz were decently specified.
You had nearly everything you need and more in terms of equipment. The 1.3
Executive and 1.6 Premium edition, or whatever it was called were the great in
terms of spec. The 1.3 was actually all you needed for an urban runabout. The
1.6 had ample poke to have fun in. Both came with great safety features and
equipment. The only issue was clear and simple for me. It had terrible
refinement overall. Could have been the worse in class. But now, it has been corrected and about time, too.
The
Proton Iriz Gets Some Refinement
Proton
has come out with an Iriz refinement variant to address and improve the compact
hatchback. The newly refined Iriz will
be sold at all Proton dealerships starting 1st June 2017. The
exterior will have some slight cosmetic changes. There is a blacked out grille
(from chrome) on all variants, two toned side skirting, two new colours and a
black painted roof on the higher specced variants. The interior has new fabric
and leather seat design (very much like the Martini Racing stripes – a very nice
sporty touch) as well as a slightly different interior finishing in terms of
colour tones.
Other notable equipment includes SmartLINK (for most smart phone
devices) for the infotainment system and PKE (Proton Keyless Entry), again for
the higher specification variants. All
models get an ECO indicator now, in line with the changes to the powertrain and
drivetrain which this car has.
The
Iriz’s refinement or improvement exercise is like an iceberg. Most of it is
actually underneath the surface. You cannot see it but it is a heck of a lot as
it addresses the NVH and refinement issues that bug the overall outcome of the
Iriz. Fortunately for Proton, this isn’t a daunting task for them as most of
the work was done on the Proton Persona sedan, which in turn was based on the
Iriz in the first place. What Proton has done is reverse the process again and
incorporate all that they have found out whilst building the Persona back into
the Iriz.
This
is a very good thing as the Persona is one of the best compact sedans out there
in terms of safety, refinement, ride and handling. The car offers the best bang
for your Ringgit in terms of these categories which I think is very important if
you like driving spiritedly. The Persona is up there with something that was
designed by the Germans in terms of high speed stability and refinement. The
only issue with the car is its slightly challenging looks (well, you can’t win ‘em
all) and the market’s perception of the brand overall. It is actually better to
drive than most of the Japanese and Korean compact sedans out there. So the Iriz basically gets what Proton has
learnt from the Persona.
They’ve
also added more soundproofing to the front of the car and also changed the rear
muffler setup. All of these improvements in soundproofing are claimed to
contribute to an interior noise level of around 5 decibels lower than the older
Iriz. The rear muffler is quieter but still has the same level of performance
as the one before so that performance isn’t sacrificed.
There
is another big change to the drivetrain. Proton has remapped both the control
units for the engine and the gearbox. Both the ECU and the TCU have remaps. The
programming was done similar to the one used in the Persona and tailored to the
Iriz. According to Proton, the Iriz now has a crisper throttle pedal feel than
before. It also gets the nice, step-up style of power delivery like the Persona
instead of holding on to peak engine revs all the way to the redline or
whatever speed you intend to reach.
The additional programming also allows the new Iriz to achieve similar fuel consumption as the Persona. It also sports the same ECO light on the meter cluster which will turn green when you drive economically. According to Proton, the retuning of the ECU/TCU could be done on the older Iriz but slightly limited to the lack of the ECO set up in the new Iriz/Persona setup. Proton may offer a remap to the older Iriz customers but nothing has been finalised at this time. So you guys with the earlier Iriz, keep your fingers crossed!
And
so to the drive experience...
I tried out the 1.6CVT Premium first and then
the 1.3CVT Executive variants. The first thing you notice on the outside is the
blacked out grille and the roof on the 1.6liter variant. The grille now makes
the Iriz look so much better. Somehow removing the chrome has made the car look
so much better than before. The front looks a little sportier in nature. The
black roof also gels well overall although I think it may add up to the
interior temperature if it is sitting under the sun for too long.
As
for the interior, the first thing you notice here is the new pattern for the
seats. Nothing else seems to be unfamiliar as I couldn’t tell whether there is
that new coloured interior compared to the old one. The upgraded parts are all basically
underneath and so the only real way to experience this new Iriz is by driving
it.
In
both the variants I tried I felt a marked improvement in terms of NVH
reduction. There is definitely an increase in refinement overall. The 1.6liter
(which is used in the Persona) and the 1.3liter engines have the usual character
of the Proton CamPro engine in terms of the noise and feel it produces. It
however is now held together by the new mounting points and feels so much
better on acceleration. Vibration is a good deal lesser when you are moving
away from a standstill.
The CVT gearbox
also steps up gingerly without holding out the revs at peak horsepower or
torque. It actually climbs more gradually than before. This adds to the
refinement as any engine that isn’t screaming at the top of its lungs all the
time is a good thing. Proton also says the throttle input is crispier than the
original but to me this wasn’t much of an issue with the Iriz. I only felt the
gearbox is better and there is less vibration throughout the car.
In
terms of drivability, both the 1.6 and 1.3 are able performers at normal road
speeds. I suppose the 1.6 with its 107horses and 150Nm is slightly better in the mid-range and high up
(since the test was at the Proton test track, we couldn’t do a proper high
speed run). The 1.3 (93hp/120Nm) feels very adequate driving at normal speeds of around 80
to 130kmh. The larger wheels and tyres in the 1.6 may contribute to better road holding over the really skinny looking 1.3 tyres but aside from making the
Iriz look better, the Iriz could still holds the cornering line quite well.
In fact, the narrower tyres actually helped with the car’s NVH in my opinion.
If you sat in the 1.3 at the back, it was actually a tad bit quieter than the 1.6. Less
road noise in the 1.3 due to a narrower contact patch between the road and the
tyre helps. Of course, since all Iriz variants come with Electronic Stability
Control, the car is quite stable even if you take it into a corner too fast for
your own good. So if you want the most refined Iriz in terms of noise levels,
it is actually the skinny tyred 1.3 variants.
Other
aspects of the Iriz like its steering feel are good. It is precise enough for
you to place the car where you want, the chassis is very predictable in terms
of finding its limits and the ride is quite excellent over the rough patches on
Proton’s test track (well, Proton’s test track isn’t the smoothest track there
is). Wheel control is good too over these rough areas as you can still hold the
outside line on the banked corners at speeds over 140kmh if you are brave
enough.
Now
the question that some of you may ask are the improvements good enough?
Iriz 1.3 CVT Executive
I think
they are. The NVH refinement upgrades now make the Iriz sit somewhere around the middle of the pack rather than way down below. It still
would need a slightly more refined engine to reach the top of the compact hatchback segment. The Persona sedan, with the same engine and gearbox is quieter, this is also down to the fact that a hatchback is usually less rigid than a sedan and any sedan is usually more refined than a hatch.
However, it is actually good enough for someone as pampered as I am (yes, I am a very spoilt little boy) would
want to drive it on a daily basis. You now add that slightly better than
average refinement to a car that already rides comfortably (I like how the
chassis absorbs the road undulations) and already handles quite well (i.e fun
to take corners in), it becomes a car that I wouldn’t mind commuting in. It also looks a lot better than the Persona and if you do not need the bootspace, then the Iriz is for you.
Closing comments
The
2017 Proton Iriz refinement exercise isn’t a full facelift model according to
Proton. This is just something that the management of Proton thinks that needs
to be done as fast as possible. I suppose this is because it is actually quite
easy to incorporate all of the fixes due to the parts sharing between the Iriz
and the Persona. Proton has done the right thing by quickly bringing out this
fixes for the Iriz.
I personally now think that the Iriz is actually now a much closer rival to the Perodua Myvi. It brings some fresh looks to it (funny how
some black out does go a long way), that fun to drive factor, a better ride and
almost equal refinement - I call it a draw as the Myvi has a quieter engine and
smoother but ancient 4 speed automatic whereas the Iriz makes up for the
comfortable ride and a soundproofing level which is very close to the Myvi. The
Iriz may still lack a little bit in interior and boot space but that’s about it
actually.
The
only other issue is the pricing for the 1.6liter CVT. The current Iriz 1.6 CVT Premium sells for over RM62,400. It isn’t as competitive as one would like and I do
hope Proton will bring is down to under RM59,000 where it The 1.3liter cars are the ones to get
actually. With Proton’s long warranty period of up to 5 years, these give you
best bang for your Ringgit in terms of driving pleasure and now, come with some
refinement.
You
definitely can now choose an Iriz if you want an affordable, fun compact hatchback
as it now will will not shake, rattle and roll your body like it did before. Heck, it's now on my radar if I wanted a small, affordable roundabout that would give me that occasional driving pleasure and one that I would take on longer drives out of town.
- [UPDATE] - We've done a video review on the Iriz 1.6 CVT Premium CVT which we've now linked below-
__________________________________________________
The new 2017 Proton Iriz with these new Refinement bits will be sold at all Proton Dealers by 1st June 2017. Prices of the current range starts at RM41,500 for the 1.3 manual to over RM62,000 for the 1.6 CVT Premium.
The New Front Grille with the 'Proton Wings' in black (above) and the original Iriz with the chrome wing on the grille bit (below).
Another Iriz 1.3 CVT Executive. The external differences between the 1.3 & 1.6 are limited to the base 1.3 does not get the side skirts and rear spoiler you see here but these same alloy wheels. The 1.6 gets a black roof, a larger rear spoiler you can see down below and side skirts too.
Five New Colours -
Auto Open Hatch/Tailgate
New interior mats
New 'Martini Racing' type seat fabric
Keyless Entry
PROTON IRIZ 1.6 CVT PREMIUM ALL ANGLES
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