SPIED: 2021 Proton Iriz facelift with LED headlights!

The facelifted Proton Iriz and Persona are continuing to make the rounds ahead of their launch, and this latest spyshot finally gives us a more detailed look at the front of the Iriz. Zola from the Proton Persona Community Malaysia group on Facebook snapped a photo of the camouflaged hatch, revealing some significant changes to the front fascia.

For the first time, we can see that the car will finally receive LED headlights. The new units may look similar to the outgoing halogens, but they feature a smaller and more complex array of reflectors, similar to what you’d find on the Perodua Myvi and most Hondas. With this, Proton will finally be on par in the lighting department with the Myvi, which comes with LED lamps as standard.

Despite redesigning the entire headlight assembly, the national carmaker has elected to retain bulb indicators and bumper-mounted LED daytime running lights. Speaking of which, the front bumper has the same general contours as the previous model‘s, although the repositioning of the DRLs further up suggests there might be some tweaks in store. Unfortunately, the grille is out of sight, so we can’t tell if the polarising V-shaped chrome bar design of the current model remains.

Peering through the front windscreen reveals another big change – it’s what appears to be a freestanding centre touchscreen/head unit, similar to the one added to the Saga in 2019. This addition will likely mean a comprehensive redesign of the centre stack, given that the air vents flank the touchscreen on the current Iriz.

Beyond that, we know of some of the revisions in store for both the Iriz and Persona. Both models will get the option of larger 16-inch alloy wheels (first introduced on the Iriz R3 Limited Edition), while the Iriz will gain a new SUV-style model with roof rails and wheel arch extensions, harking back to the Active concept of 2014. The Persona will also gain LED taillights and a redesigned rear bumper.

Under the skin, the two cars could ditch their long-serving Punch CVTs for the Saga’s Hyundai-sourced four-speed automatic gearbox. The engines the transmission will be connected to should remain the same, however – a pair of VVT naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engines making 95 PS and 120 Nm of torque on the 1.3 litre version (only available on the Iriz) and 109 PS and 150 Nm on the 1.6 litre unit.

We’re also expecting some changes to the safety specification, given that Proton has resubmitted the Iriz and Persona for ASEAN NCAP testing, where they scored five stars. Autonomous emergency braking would finally give the two cars some much-needed ammunition to battle the Myvi, which is available with this system. However, the two test prototypes you see here don’t have a windscreen-mounted camera, which is usually found on cars with AEB (unless it is a radar-based system that uses a sensor on the front bumper).