The New Proton Perdana. It’s A Head Turner For The Right Reasons

MAC spots the elusive new Proton Perdana out and about and, in true journalistic fashion, whips out his (mobile phone) camera for a quick report on Proton's latest creation. I apologise for the somewhat amateurish pictures but it was my first glimpse of the new Perdana and all I had on me was my trusted mobile phone, and, well, the excitement of seeing the all new Perdana sort of got the better of me. Perhaps the pictures don’t do the new stylish head turner justice; just take it from this writer that it looks good in the flesh. The new Perdana pictured in Sungei Buloh just north of Kuala Lumpur is the new large D-segment sedan from Proton and an integral part of the Proton turnaround initiative. Although this vehicle first broke cover at a press conference in early December 2013 when Prime Minister Najib Razak was presented with the first unit, so far the cars have been conspicuous by their absence. Thus far, the Malaysian national car manufacturer, Proton, has only committed to building 3000 units, all of which are destined for use by the government. The second generation Perdana is based on the Honda Accord and will replace the somewhat outdated Perdana Mk1 which was originally introduced in 1995.

“This is a short-term solution to replace the aging Perdana currently being used by the Government officials, and Proton was given just eight months to do this. But even with such short request time, we were up for the challenge – and through sheer dedication and hard work, we are here today to present the completed Perdana,” said Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil. “We are truly grateful to the Prime Minister and the Malaysian government for keeping their faith in Proton, and for giving us the opportunity to once again be the provider of the official government vehicle. I represent all Warga PROTON when I say that this moment serves as inspiration and motivation for us to work even harder than ever, to continue leading the national automotive industry,” he added. This is the first time that Proton has collaborated with Honda and at first glance, we like what we see. I may have to try and get a test drive at some stage.