Reviews of new Proton models within the last half-decade or so typically revolve around the ideas of “best effort to date”, “turn-around car for the company”, “make or break” and “this is a car it absolutely has to get right if it wants to move forward.” For the new Proton Iriz, these clichés just couldn’t ring truer, and while I won’t give the game away so early on, suffice to say, our national carmaker is fully aware that indigenously researching and developing cars only for our own people is simply not enough, and the Iriz represents the brightest and most credible beacon of hope in that respect so far. But at the same time, we’re talking about the Malaysian B-segment. Fiercely-competitive. High-volume. Price-sensitive. Numbers-driven. No-nonsense. And the baby Proton couldn’t be assigned a more formidable opponent even if it tried – why, only the best-selling set of wheels and default first car in Malaysia for the last nine years, the Perodua Myvi. Yes, Proton has been talking about upping its game and going global since time immemorial – how is the Iriz any different? Well, we’ve just returned from Penang, having spent the best part of two days getting to know the new car, as well as the men and women behind it. So here we set about dealing with that question – the answer to which isn’t all that straightforward.
From our tireless and exhaustive coverage of the Proton Iriz, you know a great deal about the car already. You know there are two new variable-valve timing- (VVT) equipped engines, three trim levels and all the differences between them, plus a choice of five-speed manual and CVT gearboxes
The first of the two small hatchbacks from the two national car companies making their debut this month has arrived – the Perodua Axia is the first of the duo to arrive, the car being officially launched moments ago at an event in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. As has already been mentioned in previous articles, the Axia – touted by its maker as the nation’s first energy efficient vehicle (EEV) – is an A-segment five-door hatchback, effectively the replacement for the Viva, which has been around since 2007. Bigger than the Viva, almost the equal of the Myvi The successor, based on the Daihatsu Ayla sold in Indonesia, is a slightly larger car – the Axia measures 3,640 mm long, 1,620 mm wide and 1,510 mm tall, with a 2,455 mm wheelbase, while the Viva stretches the tape at 3,575 mm long (-65 mm) and 1,475 mm wide (-145 mm). It is marginally taller than the Axia, at 1,530 mm (+20 mm). Comparing further, the Ayla – which provides the basis for the Axia – is 3,580 mm long (-60 mm), 1,600 mm wide (-20 mm) and 1,510 mm tall (equal), with a 2,450 mm wheelbase (-5 mm).
The Viva, meanwhile, has a 2,390 mm-long wheelbase (-60 mm). How the Axia stacks up in terms of exterior dimensions – against both the Viva and in-segment competitors – is tabled in a graphic here
yg mana lebih menarik ?
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