Here are some images of a taped-up Proton Iriz
roaming Klang Valley streets, thanks to Paultan's reader Prasanth Hari Kharan. They show
a red five-door hatchback, which is clearly the Proton Iriz, wearing swirl
camouflage on the front and rear bumpers, and black tape across the rear hatch. What this means is that Proton’s
Myvi/Jazz-fighting B-segment hatchback is ready for its first major facelift,
and second update since it made its debut in 2014.
In June 2017, Proton released an updated Iriz with
NVH refinements that included a reduction in the number of engine mounts (from
four to three), a new exhaust system and higher-quality sound insulation.
Proton also retuned the ECU and the CVT’s transmission control unit (TCU) for
quicker, more linear response.
The exterior was left untouched then, but it won’t
be so this time. The covered up front and rear bumpers hint at new mouldings,
and we can see that the rear reflectors are placed higher than on the current
car, which has them in the “diffuser” piece. The black horizontal covering on
the hatch could be hiding spaced-out Proton lettering, as seen on the
soon-to-be-launched Geely Boyue-based Proton X70 SUV. New rims are on the
cards, too.
Currently, the Iriz comes with either a 94 hp/120 Nm
1.3 litre engine or a 107 hp/150 Nm 1.6 litre unit, paired to a CVT automatic.
The smaller VVT engine can also be had with a five-speed manual gearbox.
