Driving impressions of the Proton Iriz 1
Driving impressions of the Proton Iriz 1.Three & 1.6
Tech Highlights: (1.Trio) one thousand three hundred thirty two cc 4-cylinder petrol engine with four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing, 95.Two ps, one hundred twenty Nm; 5-speed manual transmission or CVT, torsion rafter rear suspension, electrical power steering | (1.6) one thousand five hundred ninety six cc 4-cylinder petrol engine with four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing, 108.8 ps, one hundred fifty Nm; 5-speed manual transmission or CVT, torsion slat rear suspension, electrical power steering, side airbags and curtain airbags (Premium version only) | Vehicle Dynamic Control standard for all variants
This is the seventh model developed by Proton which is not a clone of other models. Like the Preve and Suprima S, it’s been developed with a more global treatment. Realising that the domestic market it predominated could no longer be counted on to take up almost all its production volume in future – as it has all this while – the company must now develop models which not only have a stronger appeal to buyers overseas but more importantly, meet stricter regulations.
Tun Mahathir, Chairman of Proton, admitted (during an interview in Geneva in 2010) that in earlier years, Proton’s product development was focused on producing models which would sate the domestic market. There was less attention given to export markets back then as the domestic market could take almost everything the factory produced. This may have been why the export business never truly grew and even today, Proton does not have a significant presence outside Malaysia.
The Preve, Suprima S – and now the Iriz – are meant to switch that as they have been developed with export potential as a priority.
Thus, Proton has to now adopt the same strategy that newcomers to a market need to do when they are up against established competitors: give more but don’t charge more. It’s the only way to get consumers to attempt a fresh product instead of sticking to an established brand. The Japanese did it before and the Koreans are also doing it to win customers over.
Indeed, when you look at the equipment list of the Iriz, it is enormously generous for a car in this segment. Of course, Proton has also had to suggest a high level of equipment even tho’ they are at the entry-level end of the market. Malaysian buyers have been spoilt over the years by other makes and expect many items as standard – items which would be omitted in such low-cost variants in other markets.
Naturally, buyers will be glad to get such excellent value for their money but I feel that, for this fresh model, Proton has extended itself a bit more than necessary, including items which are expensive but would not make a difference to buyers. One example – the frameless wipers. These are found on much more expensive models but it seems unlikely that an Iriz buyer would be swayed to buy it because of that sort of feature.
Safety features are a different matter and the more the better but even then, putting the Vehicle Dynamic Control system as standard across the range must certainly have raised the cost significantly. Nevertheless, Proton is to be commended for this since it brings a higher level of Active Safety to this segment.
I bring up this point because Proton, with its limited production volume, doesn’t have meaningful economies of scale yet so its production costs are higher than that of the global players. Talking to the engineers, I can sense that they have found it a challenge to work with ‘controlled’ budgets and have to accept that they can’t always pick the best or latest available. In product development, every cost has to be accounted for; add one more item and its cost has to be offset by leaving something else out.
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The Iriz is a commendable effort with exceptional design quality, an significant area as very first impressions are crucial. Take away the badge and it could be mistaken for a product of any European brand. But that’s not to say that it’s simply copying European styling as the design of the Iriz is pretty unique too. It’s a fresh look that gives vibrancy to the car, making it stand out among today’s hatchbacks.
The platform is a plain one as virtually all models in this class are, with low cost being an significant consideration. The powertrains are adapted from those already used in the Preve and Suprima S, upgraded with fresh cylinder goes having variable valve timing. Tho’ they’re CAMPRO units, Proton seems to be discarding that name which was used for its very first own engine family.
There’s a choice of a 5-speed manual transmission or a CVT, the latter made by the same company supplying to Proton for the Saga, Preve and Suprima S. It’s a low-cost design which provides the advantages of a CVT, primarily fuel-saving, but uses the original system of transferring torque and does not incorporate a torque converter.
Albeit the Juara (adapted from the Mitsubishi Town Box) had electrically-assisted power steering, the Iriz is the very first of Proton’s own models to use electrically-assisted power steering (EPS). Fresh to this feature, the engineering team spent a long time getting it right and are proud that they have been able to tune the characteristics to what they believe are just right. One of the advantages of EPS is that it’s pretty much a programming thing where tuning is worried and from what we learnt, the ‘steps’ in assistance provided by the motor have been made closer to achieve a more linear feel.
As for the interior, high marks for all the aspects that would matter to buyers or make a difference in how they feel about a Proton. The materials used are of a visually high quality and more importantly, the texturing of surfaces on the dashboard is well done so as to enhance the feeling of quality. There are no slick glossy surfaces around the cabin (but metallic trim is used to differentiate the top version). Everything is dark but there are no reflections; gratefully, the designers did not go for the ‘piano finish’ which seems to be in style. While it may suggest premium quality, the problem with its slick and glossy surface is that it has a lot of reflections and fingerprints tend to show up after a while.
Besides the visual aspect, tactile feel is also significant in how quality is perceived. If switchgear makes a noisy noise when pressed or require a lot of pressure, the sense of quality is lowered. That’s the subtle difference you find in expensive cars versus cheaper ones and I am blessed to report that for the Iriz, the interior designers seem to have made sure that there’s a feel which imparts quality.
The front seats are generously-sized and structured for good support at the sides (and also the upper back of the bod) so the bod is held stiffly in place. As the roofline is fairly high, this benefits headroom. It indeed feels very spacious sitting at the back as the ceiling is higher up than would be expected. Legroom and knee room are also good, thanks to the generous wheelbase. But the seat height feels just a wee bit too high and kids may find their gams dangling over the edge. A designer said that the slope of the seat was the subject of much explore and among the cars they looked at was the Volkswagen Polo.
Boot volume is not particularly large but if more space is needed, rear seat backrests can be folded down
There are many convenience features, as would be expected of a modern car, but it’s the very first time I’ve seen dedicated charging points (USB) incorporated in a car. Like many portable power bank units, there are two USB sockets – 1.5A and Two.1A, the latter to provide a quicker recharge. While such a feature is certainly going to be appreciated (you can also connect to the 12V power socket with an adapter), users should be cautious when connecting their mobilephones. The older ones may not have been designed to recharge at Two.1A and the battery could overheat excessively so if in doubt, best to use the 1.5A socket to recharge. Proton should also place some stickers to warn people of this point as an incident like a phone catching fire due to battery over-heating could harm its reputation even tho’ it is not to blame.
The structure of the Iriz is also notable in that Hot Press Forming (HPF) technology is used for many members. Produced by Miyazu Malaysia (a company in which Proton is a shareholder), HPF parts are made by superheating the metal to 950°C as they are formed to significantly increase the tensile strength of the material. In conventional methods, such tensile strength would make the part powerful but HPF keeps the weight down while providing very good resistance to impacts.
This is one of the reasons why the Iriz has been able to achieve the maximum score of five starlets in the ASEAN NCAP test. Another reason is that it has an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system which most NCAP organisations today require in order to get the maximum score. If a model does well enough to score maximum starlets but does not have ESC, it will get only four starlets.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is an significant feature for driving safety. The system monitors the movements of the car and if it detects that the car could go into a spin as a result of quick switches in direction (like a unexpected lane switch to avoid something), the brakes on certain wheels will be applied to create a counteracting force and stabilize the car. The driver just has to stay tranquil and steer away from the danger. ESC is available in all variants of the Iriz as part of the Vehicle Dynamic Control system which includes Six pack and Traction Control.
Very quickly after the launch, Proton organised a media drive to Penang to give an chance for first-handing driving impressions. The drive included a test of the fuel consumption which Proton doesn’t officially state in catalogues. However, some numbers shown to the press in briefings for the 1.6-litre variant indicated 15.Two kms/litre with manual transmission and 13.Four kms/litre with a CVT.
The test was to be done over a distance of one hundred eighty five kms, and it had to be done within two hours and twenty minutes from Proton’s head office complicated to Gopeng in Perak. The time set was rather taut but this meant that we could not drive at speeds below what Malaysians would typically travel at.
In fact, we had to average inbetween ninety and one hundred ten km/h and even then, we incurred penalties as we were late. The way the test was set up was to ensure that we drove in a realistic manner, including having the air-conditioner on all the time.
The results were amazing as the best consumption achieved for the Iriz 1.Trio with manual transmission was 15.Four kms/litre while the Iriz 1.6 with CVT got a best of 15.6 kms/litre. While the Iriz doesn’t qualify as an ‘Energy Efficient Vehicle’ (EEV) by MITI’s definition, those numbers are nevertheless pretty good albeit it must be noted that they were achieved driving mostly on the highway in jam-free conditions. It would be difficult to get similar numbers in town driving with all the congestion.
The closeness of the consumption inbetween the 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre variants suggests that the larger engine has the advantage of working less hard to maintain a chosen cruising speed or while accelerating, consuming less fuel. The smaller engine works firmer but the extra consumption it may incur is offset by its 17% smaller displacement. So in urban conditions, the smaller engine would prove more economical if the speeds are low and there is not much hard acceleration done.
That’s the consumption part covered, what about the spectacle, rail and treating? The fresh ‘head job’ on the engines had certainly improved their character with improved breathing. They’re still willing to rev high but the torque curve feels more even now. The Iriz 1.Trio doesn’t have a spirited take-off tho’ but this could be attributed to the engines being fresh and taut (on the comeback journey from Penang, they felt much better).
There’s not much to say about a manual gearbox, which was in the Iriz 1.Three I drove, and it operated as sleekly as expected with clearly-defined gear positions. The CVT, on the other palm, is the one aspect of the fresh model that does not match the overall excellence. The engineers said they have done some work to refine its operation but it still has the typical feel of a CVT which turns off some people. It also generates noise at a level that is too noticeable. Unluckily, Proton is stuck with it for a while albeit the feedback has been noted and one treatment might be to put in more sound insulation to mask the noise.
As far as rail and treating are worried, Protons have always been above-average since the mid-1990s when the company acquired Lotus and all its secrets of suspension and chassis tuning. The Iriz is no exception and on the twisty Balik Pulau road from Penang airport to Batu Feringghi, the car showcased competency in this area. We couldn’t get to high speeds partly because we had to travel in a convoy and also because of the narrow roads, but I feel that the Iriz would give a good account of itself at higher speeds too (if I get a chance to test the car over a longer period… something which Proton has not been good at providing).
As mentioned earlier, the Proton engineers are proud of what they have achieved with their very first EPS system and justifiably so. Generally, I’ve not liked EPS because many systems are on the light side and lack feel. There are some exceptions where the tuning is well done and you know what the front wheels are doing and you don’t lose confidence at high speeds. The Iriz falls into this category of well-tuned EPS systems.
As I have always maintained, Proton has the capability to design and develop good products and its engineering abilities are extensive. On looks alone, the Iriz impresses – as virtually all fresh Proton models have. It also treats well and drives well, as the run to Penang and back displayed. In fact, its looks and driving characteristics would certainly qualify it as a global product, right alongside hatchbacks of other brands in the same class.
Unluckily with Proton, the products we test have always given good very first impressions and we have praised them accordingly. But since the Waja, there has always been a ‘but…’ and this relates to the build quality. You see, when the Waja was launched, we were told by the CEO then that its quality levels were higher than ever before; we believed him and wrote that – only to have readers who bought the car tell of nightmares about their engine stalling and power windows failing.
Then there was the Gen2 and again we heard the same declarations from the same CEO of how the car was made at a brand fresh factory and the quality was even better. The power window systems had been tested to ‘double the normal service life expected’ and didn’t fail. And we wrote all that, suggesting that Proton had learnt lessons from the Waja problems so the Gen2 could be very recommended – and we got the proverbial ‘egg on our faces’ as quality issues – including power window failures – occurred again! After that, we were more cautious about how we wrote about fresh Proton models as our credibility was at stake. As Malaysians, we want to support the national car company but not if angry owners who bought the cars influenced by our positive recommendation ask how much we were paid by Proton to say only good things, or whether we’re too frightened to say negative things about national cars in case we got arrested!
So with the Iriz, is there the same concern about quality? I’m coaxed that a real effort to build cars with more consistent quality began under the previous management (which was ultimately able to end the power window problem permanently) and the more latest products have not had the sort of scandalous quality issues that were associated with the Waja and Gen2. So there’s a strong chance that the Iriz will also be of more consistent quality. It’s not that Proton quality is poor, just that it has not been consistently good in the past.
It’s also nice to know that Proton is keen to address issues as quickly as possible, as evident by the attention paid to feedback from media after the drive. On every point raised, there was a response from the technical guys (and also the senior management team) and an assurance that a review would be carried out. Such a contrast from the days when the attitude was ‘What do you know? You are not even engineers’.
Proton is to be commended for being able to suggest a product with such an extensive list of features because it faces tremendous challenges as its production costs are not low and yet its pricing has to be lower than others. For now, while the Iriz could have a higher pricetag, the Malaysian public will not accept Protons priced at the same level as equivalent models of other brands. But if the Iriz has minimal quality issues and after-sales support is also improved, then there’s a very good chance that the brand strength will grow and Proton can then charge more for its cars, make better profits and allocate more for R&D to develop even better models in future.