Proton Persona
 (4.3/5)
owner rating
No Longer On Sale
from RM 602.94 /month
from RM 45,200.00 to RM 54,900.00
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15 Owner Reviews
Date Reviewed
10 May 2022
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
James
1.6 Premium CVT (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 4 Years
Fuel Economy: 12.0 km/litre (8.3 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,800 km/month
    1. Price below RM60K, it's the cheapest new sedan with 6 airbags
    2. Front supportive seats (great thigh length base, high back support)
    3. Decent steering tuning (for a ELECTRIC POWER STEERING, it weighs nicely, not as numb as other priced rivals)
    4. Undercarriage & floor insulation is good (going over rainy water puddles, minimal sound intrusion)
    5. Good 4 speakers system (bass & treble decent enough as stock system)
    6. Roof sound-proofing is good for the price
    7. Solid door open-close (feels hefty)
    8. Tall interior height (1.9m tall occupants sit front or back, can fit comfortably)
    9. Huge boot with great loading depth
    10. Swap with 195/55R15 tyres for extra comfort
    1. CVT jerking at low speed crawl (even sending for clutch-adaptation at service centers few times, the behavior will appear after a few days)
    2. High fuel consumption at city crawl (8km to 9km/L) vs highway cruising (avg 15km+ @legal speed)
    3. DASHBOARD RATTLE NOISES (few service centres even reassembled the dashboard: multiple clips snapped, insulation kit added as warranty claim, AC vents creaks over rough bumps, HVAC knobs rattle at idling, headunit casing rubbed against dashboard housing especially during hot weather)
    4. Rear seat mounting bracket board loose, causing rattle and knocking with rear parcel board
    5. LED HMSL (few LEDs will GG every few months)
    6. Door panel rattles (driver side & rear doors) due to speaker boominess [resolved after installing dual-layer soundproof]
    7. High center of gravity, high seating position, cornering at high speed is a bit scary, rear of the car feels empty & wants to skip
    8. Low-end torque is poor & CVT sluggish pairing
    9. Highway cruising speed 3k rpm, CVT drone & window seals are quite bad
    10. Rear legroom is extremely poor (due to lengthy seat bases)
To Improve
1. That CVT spoils the experience
2. Better sound insulation (door & window seals), the car is very tall for a sedan
3. Plastic parts' interaction (dashboard assemblies & the parts' clips & fitment)
4. Design wise: As it derives from Iriz, the proportions are odd. Not much could be done to alter most of the dimensions.

Anyhow, for a B-segment sedan in the price range (40k to 55k), it suits young families, individuals looking for a decent comfortable car that is rather enjoyable to be driven (except the culprit CVT).
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
17 July 2019
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Wan Muhammad Zafuan Bin Wan
1.6 Premium CVT (2017)
Bought used, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 12.0 km/litre (8.3 L/100 km), RON95
    Got lucky to purchase a used Premium variant with low mileage.
    Good things about this car :
    1- Stable handling. Can take corners confidently even at 100km/h. But, going downhill, still a bit scared (maybe because I am not an expert driver.)
    2- Confidently overtaking cars and big vehicles.
    3 - Fuel consumption is ok. But still cannot beat Perodua.
    4 - Very good suspension. Feels buttery driving in 'kampung' roads.
    5 - The features (only Premium variant) are very satisfying to have.
    The buts :
    1- Jerky at taxiing speed (20-30km/h).
    2- Sometimes, lack the agility required to move around heavy traffics. (MyVi is better in this aspect.)
    3- I don't know why, but it seems there are inconsistencies around the edge of the exterior body. There are difference in gap between the metal alley on both sides of my tail lamps.
    4 - The metal fuel cap is such a pain! I tried opened it during my first day of refuelling and it scratched my car's body! Damn tight!
To Improve
1- Hope the next generation Persona will no longer have any jerky issues, and if Proton have resolved the problem anywhere near the future, hope mine can be rectified too.
2 - There seems to be some issues with the quality of the exterior built. But for me, that's inevitable. I am glad that my unit doesn't have rattling issues.
3 - Very hopeful that this Persona model line wont be discontinued. (Considering Geely's influence). Very good and satisfying car. Just need better consumer experience improvement.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
25 September 2018
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Aerish
1.6 Premium CVT (2016)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 8.1 km/litre (12.3 L/100 km), RON97, Mileage: 100 km/month
    - Good handling at its class (better than Vios & Honda City)
    - Value for money. At less than RM60K, you get 6 airbags, leather seats, DVD player, keyless entry, push
    start & stop button and other safety features
    - The car does not feel underpowered in most circumstances.
    - The front passenger and driver seat is comfortable because the seats are well sculptured and it will hug
    you during corners
    - The suspension is quite comfortable
    - Rattling near the dashboard, all four doors, and handbrake
    - Chirping sound has occurred near the dashboard area after 1 year of usage
    - The is no adjustable headrest for the rear seat
    - No armrest
    - Bad sound system. The speaker cannot produce a good amount of bass due to the bad quality of DVD
    - The DVD player sometimes hang
    - Wind noise quite intrusive after 80 km/h
    - Legroom is quite narrow due to its big seat
    - The CVT is not 100% smooth because it will jerk during low speed and becomes noisy during high speed
To Improve
- Add more insulation foam to the doors and dashboard to avoid rattling
- Proton should fix quality materials into the car's interior
- Better use Jatco CVT instead of Punch CVT
- Add armrest to the car
- Replace fix headrest to adjustable headrest for the rear seats
- Improve the NVH level
- Replace the DVD player
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
7 August 2018
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Naaga
1.6 Standard CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 15.0 km/litre (6.7 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,700 km/month
    Driving Dynamics Super,
    Car was so smooth and ride n handling was so awesome,
    Got front sensor,
    The sound system was awesome
    In the 100km/h the car rpm was became 3000 rpm above,
    No rear vents,
    No touchscreen radio,
    No steering tilt,
    No fog light
    And the information meter for fuel range was cannot read correctly
To Improve
Want fog light,
Want touchscreen radio
Have to improve the information meter for the fuel range
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
10 July 2018
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
baharudin
1.6 Premium CVT (2017)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 15.0 km/litre (6.7 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,000 km/month
    dynamic driving and features
    steering a bit light on low speed and dashboard rattled. SC asked to leave the car for two days. Ridiculous...
To Improve
solve dashboard rattling problem
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
8 April 2018
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
NIC
1.6 Standard CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 14.1 km/litre (7.1 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 2,000 km/month
    -Handsome and sport front looking car
    -Good of ride n handling (balance in between comfort and handling)
    -Surprisingly punchy engine, very good mid range rpm response (test it to believe it)
    -Above average NVH level for this price range
    -Fit and finish consider OK for this price range
    -Fully equipped with safety features even from the basic model
    -Solid chasis
    -Able to handle high speed steadily, car feels planted at high speed
    -Big boot space
    -Very much refined CVT tuning compared to previous CVT model, its now much more responsive and linear
    -Noisy CVT droning noise if you are doing high speed cruising (above 120kmph)
    -Jerky CVT during low speed, need sometime to get used to it.
    -Cannot respond to suddenly acceleration from standstill ONLY(clutch cvt no choice)
    -Rear leg room isn't that big enough
    -Rattling from dashboard after 500km
To Improve
City drive FC can be worst, need to be improved
CVT refinement to be improved (low speed jerky issue)
Dashboard rattlings
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
26 November 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Amarzaman
1.6 Premium CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 12.0 km/litre (8.3 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,600 km/month
    - Safety is top notch for the price offered (6 airbags, ABS, EBD & VSC for premium variants).
    - Significant quality improvements compared to Proton's previous models.
    - Cabin noise has been significantly reduced compared to Proton's previous models.
    - Better handling & suspension compared to Proton's previous models (except for preve or suprima s).
    - Improved Fuel Consumption compared to the previous iteration of campro engine.
    - No rear aircond vents.
    - No centre armrest for front passengers.
    - Fuel consumption is good, however still lower than competitors in the dame segment.
    - Stock tyre too noisy & wet grip not very good.
    - Plasticky aircond control knobs.
    - No DRLs like its sister model, IRIZ.
    - No cruise control like its predecessor.
    - No door visors, floor mats, trunk tray offered for premium variants like what has been offered in previous models.
    - Need extra effort for braking.
To Improve
- Provide rear aircond vents, centre armrest, DRL, cruise control, door visors, floor mats & trunk trays on the next facelift of this model.
- Change the stock tyre to a better performance tyre.
- Dual tone alloy rims for premium variants.
- Change to a better material for the aircond control knobs.
- Improve Fuel Consumption, maybe new engine & transmission on the facelift model.
- Improve braking mechanism so that less effort is required to step on the brake pedal.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
26 November 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Hui Wun
1.6 Executive CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 14.7 km/litre (6.8 L/100 km), RON97, Mileage: 300 km/month
    -superb handling and amazingly small turning radius
    -aggressively looking front grille
    -soft and comfortable suspension
    -responsive and powerful acceleration. press the fuel pedal down more to unleash its 1.6 engine power, useful especially during taking over.
    -light steering wheel that is able to give confident during driving
    -nice looking rims
    -spacious boot, can fit in many stuffs
    -fuel economy. got around 500km on 80% highway and 20% city drive for rm60 ron97
    -worth the price. u get abs, esc, 2 airbags, front parking sensor, welcoming light,adjustable wiper speed and more with only rm53k
    -rear window is a little too small to look through using back view mirror
    -blindspot around the back of the car due to above reason, need to be extra careful when reversing
    -acceleration from stationary slightly delayed but is acceptable
    -some jerk when moving at low speed during traffic jams (<10km/h)
    -small rear legroom when driver seat is adjusted to my position (I'm 1.78m)
    -seats fabric material collects dusts easily (can be fixed by purchasing premium model or seat cover)
    -rear lamps look a bit too tiny
To Improve
-tune the CVT to reduce lag and jerk straight from factory so that customers do not have to bring it to service center to update it
-make the rear lamp look wider horizontally and use led instead of normal halogen bulb
-change car seat fabric
-add a cup holder at driver side aircond vent like how myvi and vios did
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
12 September 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Heng
1.6 Premium CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 12.0 km/litre (8.3 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,500 km/month
    - great safety features that at below / at most 60k pricetag
    -1.6L engine
    -light and smooth handling
    -comfortable seat and roomy
    -stable when drive in highway
    -poor fuel efficiency especially drive in city
    -dashboard rattling sound (after fixed at service centre still same)
    -jerking during low speed especially when trap in traffic jam
    -tyre noise is terrible (silverstone)
    -CVT delay in response when start to move from stationery (feel like manual gear-slow in release the clutch)
    -air cond water drops at driver legroom
    -slow response/hang Proton info system
    -small tyre/rim compare to previous persona
To Improve
-improve CVT
-improve fuel efficiency
-improve NVH
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
16 August 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
MOHD HUSNY
1.6 Executive CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 14.0 km/litre (7.1 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 500 km/month
    - Feul efficiency is acceptable which can get around 16km-17km per liter if in highway
    - Tip top safety features that we can get at price below 60k
    - sporty design especially front grill.. A lot of my friend said it is Honda-like design
    - Big Boot space which can carry a lot of bags especially for "balik kampung"
    - Dashboard Rattling sound (which can be fixed at service centre)
    - The lack of quality plastic for interior (it is acceptable for this kind of price tag, it is bad if u buy toyota / honda brand but use similar plastic material)
    - got a few gap in between front bumper and body
    - No rear aircond vent
To Improve
- instead of using VVT why should proton add VVT-i or Dual VVT-i function to this persona, VVT is an old version of VVT system
- i prefer the enjine to be 1.5L to get more fuel efficiency. Honda city & Vios both are using 1.5L why cant persona?
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
18 June 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Kam Chiew
1.6 Standard CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 0.7 km/litre (142.9 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 5 km/month
    Stable and fun to drive
    Powerful engine
    Light and amooth power steering
    NVH level is much better
    Comfortable seat for both front and back
    Noisy engine during pickup
    Cold start engine sound, need to replace valvetrain according to SC Mutiara Damansara (was heard the noise but after 1k km service, the noise still there)
    Got dilema on whether to open the engine as if will cause lots of engine problem in future
    Boot lid sound when you press the button to open it
    Tyre noise is loud (Silverstone Kruizer 1)
    Obvious body roll on uneven road
    Aircond sound (like snoring)
To Improve
Refine the engine to have more response during pickup
Change to more llw noise tyre
Check every engine before deliver the car to customer for cold start engine noise
Front seat adjustment too tight, maybe some grease need to be applied
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
21 March 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Yong Poh
1.6 Premium CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 13.0 km/litre (7.7 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,500 km/month
    - Very comfortable and roomy. Easily to fit in 5 adults.
    - powerful. Even it is fully loaded, it is still able to move off uphill.
    - stable/superb handling (i own a myvi. As comparison, this persona is much more stable than myvi when cornering or speeding)
    - reasonable fuel efficiency . 7L+/100km for combine cycle.
    - full safety spec. 6 airbags plus ESC.
    - the after service provided is good (3s centre at Mutiara Damansara)
    - CVT not 100% smooth. Quite jerky when driving < 20 km/h. Beyond the speed, it is quite smooth.
    - Some rattling sound from dashboard (intermittent).
To Improve
- to refine/re-tune the CVT. Improve the smoothness for slow drive.
- to provide headrest for rear seat passengers
- to provide optional kits (like door visor, luggage tray etc)
- room for improvement -- to improve further the fuel efficiency & reduce carbon emission to obtain EEV status
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
8 December 2016
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
CHEE KIAT
1.6 Standard CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 13.0 km/litre (7.7 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 2,000 km/month
    -Nice to drive around city, taller, better turning radius, fuel effiency than the predecessor.
    -The driver seat are big and comfortable for taller people, back seat are quite comfortable too.
    -Handling is good, stable cornering and powerful enough to easily go up to 140kph. Safety features are there, ESC, ABS, EBD.
    -Great engine refinement improves from the iriz, engine are smooth and silent like japanese car.
    -The car are comfortable and silent cruising around the city. Big boot spaces to put luggage for balik kampung.
    -Super value for the price, some nice features even better than the more expensive japanese car.
    -Some rattling sound from the passenger side dashboard when go through uneven road.
    -Wind noise quite loud after 100kph.
    -Tyre profile should be bigger as it feels quite bumpy when go though uneven road or yellow line.
    -CVT quite jerky if driving under 20kph when traffic jam.
To Improve
-More insulation foam in the dashboard to prevent rattling sound. More rubber strip at the outside edge of the car door.
-Front seat trailer should have stopper to prevent back passenger getting wounded by the sharp metal edge if wearing slipper.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
8 December 2016
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
SYAMIL
1.6 Premium CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 15.7 km/litre (6.4 L/100 km), RON97, Mileage: 1,750 km/month
    - very nice looking
    - NVH very superb than older version.
    - good handling
    - price very affordable
    - comfort
    - fuel efficiciency better than 1.3 VVT model.
    - very suitable for city driving.
    - before this persona only 2 years waranty but this model proton give 5 years..wow
    - tyre look like no matching with the body
    - not too powerful but its ok.
    - not too comfortable in highway driving
    - please produce manual trans in premium variant.hmmm
To Improve
- get more powerful engine
- dont copy iriz.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
8 December 2016
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Tank
1.6 Standard CVT (2015)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 13.0 km/litre (7.7 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,300 km/month
    -Good fuel efficiency compare to previous persona
    -Quite tall for a sedan, fun to drive in the city
    -Good NVH level quiet ride when drive below 80km/hr
    -Fantastic value for the pricing
    -Electric power steering and VSC, ABS, EBD even with the standard variant.
    -Stable handling and powerful enough to easy go up to 140 km/hr
    -Nice wide front semi bucket seat
    -Well improved car system intellegence, improved to be more to a daily city car.
    -CVT quite jerky when driving slow comparing to normal AT gearbox
    -Should have thicker profile tyre 185/60 r15
    -Half a seconds hesitations to pickup from a completely stop.
    -The car will not move forward like a torque convertor AT car when u engage to the gear. Must at least -press the fuel pedal, require some practice to drive in a jamming situations or else u will feel the car very jerky.
    -Should put a rubber stopper to the sharp front seat trailer, behind passenger tend to get their feet torn injured if they r wearing slipper.
To Improve
- More CVT refinement tuning on the slow drive or u may choose the manual variant better.
- I would choose the highest specs if there are rear disc brake.
- Standardise the coil mat, door visor, boot tray as a gift to buyer for them to need to find it aftermarket.
Yes, I would recommend this car