Ever since Proton launched the Proton Iriz back in 2014, sales have been rather tepid. It took Proton five years to sell over 50,000 units of the Iriz.

As for Perodua, the company has sold well over 200,000 units of the third-generation Perodua Myvi since launch, further solidifying its lead over the Proton Iriz.

Last year alone, Perodua sold 66,330 units of the Perodua Myvi, while Proton only managed to sell a meagre 7,636 units of the Proton Iriz.

To date, the Proton Iriz has yet to hit the 100,000 sales mark.

But before Proton wishes to hit the 100,000 mark, they need to ensure that the Iriz is competitive enough against the Myvi – the latter raised the bar significantly for a national B-segment hatchback when it was launched a few years ago.

Out of the box, all variants of the Perodua Myvi are generously-equipped, offering features like LED headlights, digital air-conditioning control, and at least four airbags across the range. Upper variants even include features like a built-in Smart Tag reader, six airbags, and ASA AEB suite.

Proton tried to counter the Myvi with the 2019 Proton Iriz, though the fancy “Hi Proton” voice command infotainment system and new looks barely helped the Iriz against the fight with the Myvi.

More updates for the Proton Iriz incoming

Come 2021 and it looks like the Iriz will be refreshed yet again.

This time around, changes, while not as comprehensive as the 2019 update, are said to encompass several quality-of-life updates.

For starters, we can expect Proton to offer an SUV-esque version of the Iriz, likely dubbed the Iriz Active. Taking inspiration from the Iriz Active Concept car from a few years ago, the production version, judging from spyshots, appears to be getting larger 16-inch wheels, fender extensions, and roof rails.

More recently, a spyshot in the night also seemingly confirmed that the Iriz could be fitted with LED headlights, though this feature could be limited to the range-topping variants only. Lower variants are expected to soldier on with halogen reflector headlights.

Elsewhere, the recent announcement by ASEAN NCAP stating that the updated Iriz and Persona obtained a 5-star crash test rating under the newer 2017-2020 test protocol hints at the fitment of some form of ADAS features.

Those hoping for the four-speed torque converter automatic from the updated Proton Saga might be in for a bit of disappointment, as our friends over at Funtasticko reported that the Punch-sourced CVT automatic could return, albeit further refined.

The CVT remains, but can Proton squeeze more life out of it?

With all said and done, are all these enhancements enough to grab some sales away from the long-standing Perodua Myvi? We reckon that it could be rather tough, seeing that the CVT has always been the Iriz’s biggest sore point. The four-speeder in the Myvi is proof that it doesn’t take a fancy transmission to be one of the best-selling cars in Malaysia.