Proton Exora 1.6 Hi-Line MPV - Test Drives in Bangkok

PROTON EXORA. There are good car names and not so good car names.
A case in point is the Chevy Nova launched in North America decades ago. In Spanish No-Va means No Go! During the same era in Europe there was the Made in Deutschland Opel Aska. Swedish translation: ashes! Not so cool names. “Ashes and No Go!” And VW Golf was re branded in North America to Rabbit. What's wrong with golf.

      Now, Proton Exora. Proton makes me think about nuclear physics, the atoms and protons. And Exora is something dynamic maybe exotic? But the name Exora was actually picked from the "Name The Proton MPV competition". The winner was awarded with the first Proton Exora straight off the production line.

      Apart the name, the looks, the design is also important. Proton is perhaps not a automotive beauty contest winner. But a good looking vehicle. Since this Malaysian car was launched 1985 a clear Proton design identity is noticeable. The Carsanook demo came in a sparkling crystal white paint job.
      The vehicle sports a well balanced design. Sleek looks with a long roof line. Sporty, sedan looking nose and those large angular transparent projector headlights. The solid rear view with a roof spoiler and the vertical red high mounted brake light cluster. Also a cool detail, the the LED integrated wing mirrors. Additional safety when making those dangerous right hand turns at dusk or dawn. 

Step inside. Exora's interior is the best part. This is a compact yet roomy people carrier. A seven seater minivan. Our top of the line EXORA 1.6 H-Line (automatic transmission) came with leather suede/upholstery plus all the bells and whistles. Including clever cup holders and storage space. Four adults will travel in great comfort with separate air vents for the second row passengers.
The third row is a bit tight for adults but perfect for children. The in-car entertainment system is one of the highlights. Multifunction steering wheel with FM and CD controls. All in your hands. Plus a CD/Audio/MP3/WMA and blue-tooth entertainment center including a mini- movie theatre with a DVD 8,5 screen for the rear passengers, plus a remote control.

      In the engine room a bit of Lotus racing technology. The power plant is a 1.6 liter engine pumping out 125 horsepower and 150 Nm torque at 4,500 rpm.

      And for engine noise the Proton engineers have done a good job. The ride almost free from noise, so the passengers can enjoy the latest Jolie & Pitt movie.
On the road. City driving in Bangkok in spite of the length 4,5 meters and the weight 1,4 metric tons the Exora was easy to manoeuvre thanks to the commanding view and the smooth automatic 4 speed gearbox.

On the highway. At the traffic lights. Flat out 0-100 kph. Around 16 seconds (with passengers and luggage).
Safety package includes two front air-bags, ABS, EDB, stability and traction control.
At a cruising speed 100-110 kph the Proton Exora feels steady and
enjoyable to drive. In the back the passengers are watching the latest Hollywood action-shoot-them DVD.

      A mini van for all seasons. A comfy ride, Smooth ride. Luxurious leather seats and a 8 inch screen movies. No more of the “are we there yet?” If want a family a people carrier at a reasonable price
RM76,xxx this mini MPV is a good choice. Trust me.

Proton MPV naming contest

Proton announced a contest called the Proton MPV Naming Contest to find a name for the MPV. The contest closed on 30 September 2008. This is the second time Proton held a naming contest for their new car after Proton Saga.

The result has been announced on 17 February 2009. The name Proton Exora was picked from the Name The Proton MPV competition grand prize winner Norsholihan bt Abdul Eanich among 251,763 entries. The winner was awarded with the first Proton Exora off the production line.

A controversial rule in this naming competition stated that an entry must not be taken from flora or fauna, but the winning entry Exora is inspired from the Ixora flower. Proton later clarified that the word Exora was only similar to Ixora but not a direct name of a flora or fauna so it was allowed.

Proton Exora - What You Need To Know

The new Proton Exora, officially launched by the Prime Minister is a model which should have been available a long time ago. Of course, this is not really Proton’s first MPV as there was the Juara, a mini-MPV cloned from the Mitsubishi Town Box. Being a latecomer in the MPV segment is not necessarily a disadvantage for Proton because it had the chance to see the shortcomings of other MPVs and not only avoid them but also offer a better product. From what can be seen, Proton made full use of its 'lateness’ and has come out with a model that is innovative and it also has that Lotus DNA which has given its recent models noteworthy ride and handling.

 

As mentioned earlier, being late allowed Proton to see what the competition offers and do better than them so the dimensions for the Exora could be made class-leading. As the chart below shows, it is longer and wider than the Nissan Grand Livina, Toyota Avanza, Naza Rondo and even the Toyota Innova. From earlier spy pictures, it did not seem that long but apparently it is.

The inside of the Exora is very impressive from the point of view of spaciousness and also appointments. With this model, the interior designers have outdone themselves and far from looking cheap (which was often the comment about Proton interiors), there is thoughtful use of different textures for the various surfaces which makes a lot of difference. In the past, this sort of thing was not given a lot of attention and dashboards looked really cheap and plasticky.

In keeping with the times, the Exora (H-Line) has a standard DVD player/monitor mounted on the ceiling. It’s a standalone unit which can play DVDs and also accept media cards so apart from watching movies, the occupants could review their holiday pictures as they go home.

One thing which Protons have been praised for – right from the first Saga – has been the air-conditioning. Given our hot climate, a high-performance cooling system is important and with the Exora’s large cabin and extra glass area, this would have been a challenge. To ensure that everyone stays cool, there are vents on the ceiling – two on each side so that even those in the third row get cool air. The fan speed can be controlled but the switch is too far forward (ahead of the DVD player) and would be better if it was positioned over the second row

For now, the Exora has only one engine – the 1.6-litre Cam pro CPS+VIM which produces 125 bhp at 6000 rpm and 150 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. It’s a familiar engine by now so we won’t get into much detail. A turbocharged version is rumoured for introduction later on but no one will confirm it. Incidentally, the Exora has front-wheel drive in case you don’t realize it.

The Cam pro engine – after the CPS version - has proven itself to be a good power plant in sedans but with the Exora weighing over 1,400 kgs, the weight-to-power ratio is obviously not as good as what it would be in a Waja. For this reason, a lot of effort was put into retuning the transmission control unit to provide the drive ability that would be acceptable.

This also necessitated a change of the final drive ratio in the Mitsubishi transmission to a lower 4.625 (all the other ratios in the manual and automatic transmission are the same as in the Waja and Gen2). This means that overall gearing is lower and that enhances low-end performance but sacrifices a bit at the top end. However, the Cam pro CPS is already known to be inherently strong at the top end so losing a bit is no big deal. Most owners would probably not notice it anyway. There is also a lock-up clutch installed which provides a direct solid link in top gear at cruising speeds, reducing power losses that occur with the hydraulic linkage.

The Exora was crash-tested for 12 different requirements, optional and mandatory, all of which it passed. Besides ensuring that it can meet the legal safety requirements in countries that it will be sold in, Proton’s engineers also aimed for a high rating in the EuroNCAP crash test. EuroNCAP is an independent organization which conducts crash tests on vehicles sold in Europe and car makers pay attention to its results which are also made public. While EuroNCAP has not actually crashed an Exora (and would only do so if it is sold in Europe and it chooses to evaluate the model), its criteria are available to manufacturers who can conduct their own crash tests and see how well their new model will fare. In the case of the Exora, the crash tests conducted in an independent facility in Spain showed that the MVP could score 4 stars (out of the maximum of 5) based on EuroNCAP criteria.  

PROTON EXORA MINOR CHANGE (MC)

Proton Exora Minor Change (MC) has been launched, which in summary experienced a ‘transformation’ in cosmetic. Exteriorly, new body color was introduced which is Plum Red & new body kit is attached. The ‘Exora Prestige’ is used & new 15 inch design on its wheel. Interiorly, the big changes is the darker color trim.

So, the price of the Proton MC are as below:

• Proton Exora B-Line MT RM58,998
• Proton Exora M-Line MT RM65,998
• Proton Exora M-Line AT RM70,998
• Proton Exora H-Line AT RM76,998

Source: Paul tan

Back to the Exora MC, which looks much better and somehow “more premium” than the car it replaces. Most of the effect is from the new Plum Red exterior colour, which joins four other hues.

Other changes on the outside include the newly designed 15-inch alloys (now featuring five twin spokes) and a new body kit.

The latter is most obvious up front, where the front lip follows the look of the Exora Prestige seen at the model’s debut last year.

Inside, the most obvious change is the colour of the trim, which is now in dark grey (from very light grey).

The centre stack used to have a “brushed metal” texture, but is now smoothened out with some subtle graphics in place.

The leather seats in the High-Line display model pictured here are also in black.

There’s also a handy boot organiser (divided into three sections), which all trims except for the Base-Line model will get. The updates are small but make a big impact – the new colour really suits the car quite well, the chrome on the bumper complements the chrome on the grille nicely, and the darker interior looks better. Just in time for "balik kampung."