It's very typical of proton to do this. Their design team is perhaps a bit inexperienced.


The persona is based on the Iriz, a B segment hatchback. Small hatchbacks tends to be designed with a taller roofline with a cab forward design. The tall roofline allows for the seats to be mounted higher so to aid legroom in an otherwise shorter platform/wheelbase.

Proton engineers just didn't know how to use that to the advantage, mounting the seats too low. Which is why you end up with loads of unusable headroom and tight legroom. Mounting the seats higher will also fix that sightline.

If all they did was just to make a 4 door hatchback with a boot, then all is well. But instead they tried to make a sedan (with sedan seating) from a hatchback platform.


This is many of the design mistakes that are very common in proton cars....or even some local produced cars.