Launch Photos: 2021 Proton Iriz R3 Limited Edition

The youthful Proton Iriz R3 Limited Edition was made to celebrate PROTON’s successful motorsports division, R3. The R3 badge has always been reserved for the sportiest Proton models and PROTON thinks that the Iriz is worthy recipients of this moniker due to the fact that these cars actually performed well during the recent Merdeka Endurance Races. 

Proton Persona, Exora, Iriz and Saga Special Edition Models Launched

PROTON conducted another over the internet launch today where the Malaysian car manufacturer launched four Special Edition models at one go. The limited production models have been given the moniker Black Edition for the Persona and Exora models and the R3 Limited Edition for the Iriz and Saga. These new limited run variants were designed to broaden the appeal of each model while offering more choice to customers. Note the slightly more mature and discreet 'Black Edition' moniker for the more family oriented Persona and Exora and the return of the R3 branding for the more youthful Iriz and Saga (starter boy racer or ricer) models.

New Special Edition Proton Iriz, Saga, Persona and Exora to be Unveiled on 18 February 2021 - at 11.00am

PROTON will be introducing its Special Edition models – the Iriz, Saga, Persona, and Exora. which is set to launch virtually on 18 February 2021 at 11am. These limited run variants will be enhanced with unique design elements for both the interior and exterior of these cars, the Special Edition models is here to meet customers’ needs and suits the most discerning lifestyle. In other not so marketing savvy words, the cars will have additional trim and shiny bits that will make them slightly different from the normal production models.

Malaysians will also be able to place bookings for the Special Edition models on the same date and time. These Special Edition models provide the same level of comfort, safety and handling that are offered in their standard models, except they have now been enhanced in the aesthetics department. Yes. They will look slightly tweaked with some bits here and there. 

PROTON Starts Off Strong in 2020 - Most Successful January Sales in 4 Years With Over 8,500 New Registrations (Short Analysis At The End)

After selling slightly over 102,000 cars in 2019, PROTON has started 2020 strongly with the Malaysian based company recording a total of 8,506 new registrations for the month of January 2020. This figure is a 20.2% increase over the same period last year. This also marks PROTON’s most successful January sales in 4 years. The company is on a roll and should be on its way to another stong year ahead with the launch of the locally assembled X70 SUV and maybe the smaller X50 SUV by the end of this year.

Motorsport: Team PROTON R3 Finishes 1st and 2nd at the Sepang 1000KM Race

Team Proton R3 (R3) has won the Sepang 1000km (S1K) race for a third consecutive time. The 2019 Proton Iriz driven by Mitchell Cheah and Fariqe Hairuman took the first place and the 2019 Proton Saga driven by Syafiq Ali and Admi Shahrul came second making it a memorable one-two finish. It was a challenging race as there was a safety car period and then some bad weather making the 1000km race of 181 laps cut short to around 9 hours worth of racing instead of much longer.

Proton and Bank Rakyat Are Offering Special Finance Packages For Fresh Graduates & Government Employees For Certain Proton Cars

PROTON and Bank Rakyat are offering special financial packages for fresh graduates and also to government employees on certain Proton car model. This special package will be valid until 31 December 2019 and amazingly provides up to 100% financing for fresh graduates and government employees. In other words, if you qualify, you don't even pay a single Malaysia sen when you drive off with the car. Well, then you have to start with the monthly installments, but that's another thing.

First Round of The Second PROTON 1 Tank Adventure Saw the New Persona, Iriz & Saga Covering 650KM on a Single Tank of Fuel

The second edition of the PROTON 1 Tank Adventure kicked off its opening preliminary round recently. It took place over the Malaysia Day weekend where a total of 60 participants in 30 cars, comprising of the 2019 Proton Iriz, Persona and Saga set off on another epic motoring adventure that covered a total driving distance of 650km that took them from PROTON’s Centre Of Excellence (COE) to Johor Bahru and back again.

Motorsport: Team PROTON R3 Does Extremely Well in the Production Series Races in Round 3 of the 2019 Malaysia Championship Series

Round 3 of the 2019 Malaysia Championship Series (MSC) saw Team PROTON R3 (R3) dominate M-production series races. Team R3 managed to procure a double victory which included a 1-2-3 finish in race two. The MSC Round 3 was held at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) over the weekend. 

Analysis - PROTON Cars Seem to Be Back On Track - June 2019 is the Second Highest Sales Numbers for the Company

The facts - Solid Sales Performance by Proton. The company sold 7,615 units June 2019. 18.1% Total Industry Volume market share from a market that had SHRUNK by 30.8% to 42,090 units (for June). But this drop is common after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive holidays. But still impressive.

Selamat Hari Raya - Site Updates and Do Note that We Have Not Been Quiet..We're on YouTube!

Videos - 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe preview - 2019 Proton Iriz Facelift Test Drive - 2019 Proton Persona Facelift Test Drive- 2019 Proton Exora Launch, Prices & Details

Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri...Maaf Zahir & Batin. No updates here but we have not been quiet during this month of Ramadhan. We did quite a few videos over on YouTube folks so while we have been taking a break from writing, we have not been stopping doing videos, which is why I do suggest you people subscribe to the Motoring Malaysia channel over on YouTube.

I have to say that YouTube is the future as more and more people like moving pictures. It isn't as easy to produce compared to writing but both have their challenges. Personally, writing is nice as it allows your poetic side to use words to convey a picture within one's mind. As for video, it is easier to record, but on a personal note, I prefer to make our videos have better production values rather than just doing one long take and talking about a certain vehicle.

Note that I do like editing my videos so that it becomes somewhat like a mini documentary with a lot of B-Roll showing the vehicles rather than just a hand doing a walkaround.

Anyway, here are some of the videos which I have not updated here as yet. There is one on the facelifted Proton Iriz & Persona and on the newly available for sale here in Malaysia, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. Not forgetting we have the launch video of the slightly revised 2019 Proton Exora 1.6 Turbo 

We should be active again after hibernating during this fasting month!!! Stay tuned for more videos!

Proton Finally Launches the Facelifted 2019 Proton Iriz & Persona Cars - Priced Cheaper Than Before!!!

Proton Cars have finally launched both the 2019 Proton Iriz and the 2019 Proton Persona yesterday. Both facelifted models feature revised styling, improvements to over 300 parts in each model as well as having the Geely-based GKUI infotainment system (in both the Premium 1.6 CVT variants of the cars) which makes it a first for B-segment cars with intelligent features to be sold in Malaysia. But the best thing is that Proton has slashed the official prices for the cars, they now offer more value for less.

PROTON Previews the Facelifted Iriz Hatchback and Persona Sedan at the Malaysia Autoshow 2019 - Not Officially Launched as Yet Though....

The 2019 Proton Iriz and Proton Persona facelifted models have been revealed to the general public at this year's Malaysia Autoshow yesterday. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had the honour of doing so during the official opening of the Autoshow. The two cars will be on display throughout the Autoshow which will continue till 14 April (this sunday).

The Malaysia Autoshow 2019 is Now Ongoing Till 14th April - Showcasing 100 Car Models and the Latest in the Malaysian Automotive Industry

The Malaysia Autoshow 2019, organized by Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) was officially launched yesterday. Held at MAEPS, Serdang, it will be ongoing from now to the 14th April. The Autoshow was officially launched by the Prime Minister, Tun. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad where he visited and officiated the unveiling of the Limited Edition Perodua Bezza Autoshow edition and PROTON's preview of the facelifted Persona and Iriz. 

PROTON Unveils the 2019 Proton Persona Facelift to the Media - Persona 1.6 Premium CVT Test Drive (Video) & Exclusive Online Booking Now Open Till 22nd March 2019 at RM9.90 Only

The 2019 Proton Persona facelift was officially unveiled to the Malaysian media yesterday and we also managed a test drive of the Persona 1.6 Premium CVT. This comes about eleven days after PROTON unveiled the 2019 Proton Iriz facelift. The whole preview process was held at PROTON’s Malaysia Design Centre and test track in Shah Alam. It was deja vu. Except this time the Iriz had become a Persona, which is essentially an Iriz with a boot. Since this is a facelift, the changes were down to the exterior styling, the addition of the voice command GKUI Infotainment system and some minor changes or quality improvements to 303 parts inside the facelifted Persona. 

Video: Review & Test Drive of the 2019 Proton Iriz 1.6 Premium CVT Facelift - At the Media Unveiling of the Iriz

Now aside from the 2019 Proton Iriz facelift media unveiling article which I linked here, I also have a video review made on the recently unveiled facelifted 2019 Proton Iriz! Yes, I managed to put together a video review of the test drive I had with the soon to be launched Iriz 1.6 Premium CVT.  Watch the video below folks!

Facelifted PROTON Iriz Unveiled - Will Be Available for Pre-launch Booking - We Also Tried the Iriz 1.6 Out For Some First Impressions Review

PROTON has unvieled the Facelifted 2019 Proton Iriz to the Malaysian media earlier today. If you have been following our Facebook Page as well as our Instagram Account, you would have already seen photos of it. The facelifted Iriz gets an exterior restyle that adds some of the new styling cues found on their recently launched X70 SUV and it also gets a voice command capable intelligent infotainment system which is similar the one used in the X70. These are the major visible changes with some 367 other changes underneath.  It will be available for booking online and at all Proton showrooms by tomorrow with its official launch sometime in March 2019.

PROTON Releases Photos of the Soon to be Launched 2019 Proton Iriz Facelift - with Details and Our Opinion on it

Proton has released the first official photos of the upcoming Proton Iriz facelift. The B segment hatchback is set to be launched sometime in the first half of 2019. The Iriz will receive some exterior redesign as well as the addition of a more connected infotainment system inside. This compact hatchback is the first existing model from the Proton line-up to receive a facelift since its partnership with Geely was announced.

Photos of the 2019 Proton Iriz Facelift - Unverified but quite plausible

These two photos are making its way on my watsapp chat groups. They are presumed to be the facelift for the upcoming 2019 Proton Iriz facelift. I cannot verify or confirm its authenticity but it looks plausible and production ready. They seem to be showing the car exiting the rain/water proofing testing facility.

Proton Sells 5,093 Units in October 2018 - Now Offering Zero SST as They are Absorbing Such Taxes Till Year End

September 2018 was not a great month for Proton and other car retailers in Malaysia. 1st September 2018 saw SST being reimplemented after a three month tax holiday as the Malaysian government scrapped GST and was going to revert to SST. However, October 2018 sales for PROTON cars grew by 12.6% in October where 5,093 units were sold, an increase of 569 units over the previous month and a slight improvement over the corresponding period in 2017. 

Zero Rated GST For Proton Sales and Service in Line with New Government Policy Changes [Uptated]

With the change of the new ruling party comes the promised removal of the Goods & Service Tax (GST), which caused a major outcry and may have been the main cause for the recent election results going the way it did. Anyway, an announcement was made recently that GST would be zero rated (0%) with effect 1st June 2018 before any reversal to the Sales & Service Tax format are made. In conjunction with this Proton has decided to offer an interim pricing scheme to ensure that their customers, both new car sales and also after sales, will benefit from the change.