Enough with the facelifts, the Proton Persona needs an all-new model

The Proton Persona just had its second facelift (known as MC2) that was launched last week. Being a 5-year-old model, it’s approaching the end of its lifecycle by conventional carmaker standard.

Despite the continuous updates in exterior styling, the Proton Persona has an inherently disproportionate design that no amount of facelifts can fix. After all, it’s based on the Proton Iriz and it has to conform its limitations.

Its lurchy CVT aside (though it claims to be further improved in the MC2), the biggest turn-off for this writer personally is the overall look. The tall body, tiny wheel arches that no matter the wheel size fitted, it wouldn’t appear proportionate.

The general rule of thumb is that a car’s height should not be more than 2 times its wheel arch. Without even needing to illustrate, it's quite obvious the Persona's height is more than twice its wheel arch.

Also read: Think the 2021 Honda City Hatchback looks weird? There’s a good reason why

This calls for an all-new model, and the all-new 2021 Geely Emgrand seems to be the ideal replacement for the Proton Persona, as it ticks all the right boxes to be a budget sedan.

Also read: Budget sedan with premium features, this is the all-new 2021 Geely Emgrand

The 2021 Geely Emgrand sits on the BMA platform that also underpins the Geely Binyue (Proton X50 to us) and Geely Binrui sedan. As the Geely Emgrand is built with budget in mind, it doesn’t share the more advanced turbocharged powerplants.

Instead, it gets a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine that churns out 114 PS and 147 Nm, mated to a CVT-type automatic transmission.

Visually, it’s a traditional 3-box sedan design with clean and simple lines. Most importantly, it’s decently proportioned.

It also adopts Geely’s latest design language, encompassing Geely’s signature front grille with vertical slats. And over to the rear, there’s a light bar that stretches across the width of the car, which appears to be the current trend in design.

Inside, it looks upmarket despite its budget proposition and is a significant step up compared to the current Persona. There’s a digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment display that runs on GKUI.

Dimensions wise, the Geely Emgrand measures at 4,638 mm long, 1,820 mm wide, and 1,460 mm tall, with a wheelbase stretching at 2,650 mm. The Emgrand can be viewed as a C-segment-sized car that is priced like B-segment car.

In a way, it sort of harks back to the first-generation Proton Persona, which was said to be closer to C-segment in terms of size but priced lower than B-segment rivals.

An interview session with Proton chief designer Azlan Othman and Geely Design Shanghai vice president Guy Burgoyne indicated that Proton will be progressing from simple rebadge (Proton X50, Proton X70) to full top hat change.

Top hat refers to the body structures above the engine bulkhead like the A-/B-/C-pillars for example.

Also read: Proton-designed Geely-based models by 2026

This means the next-generation Proton Persona could be a redesigned version of the Geely Emgrand, not unlike the Perdana or more affectionately known as the Accordana. Perhaps it could take things further with a unique interior design as well.

That being said, a replacement to the Persona won’t be happening anytime soon as Proton appears to be currently working on the 7-seater SUV Geely Haoyue, which could be named Proton X90.

Also Read: Spied: 2021 Geely Haoyue spotted on Malaysian roads - Proton X90 is real after all?