It was a day of many firsts for me, the day Proton corporate
communications invited some of us to test drive a prototype of the new Proton Exora MPV.
Yup, we got to drive a pair of Exoras, both the same colour but taped
up in the typical black disguise that you’ve seen countless of times on
the spyshots featured on this site.
We drove 2 prototype units, one with a manual transmission and one
with an automatic transmission, from Proton’s plant in Shah Alam along
the KESAS highway, then onto the MRR2, Karak Highway, and then the East
Coast Expressway, where we made a U-turn at the Lanchang exit and on
back to the Proton plant (we stopped at Karak town for awhile). The
first half of my journey was in the manual model while the 2nd half was
in the automatic model.
Look after the jump for my experiencing with the Proton Exora,
as well as some other information gathered from our session with the engineers.


I believe one of the first questions you would like to have answered
on the Proton Exora MPV is whether it is underpowered or not. The next
would be whether it is spacious inside and comfortable. I will quickly
answer these concerns. Bear in mind all of my testing was done with
between 6 to 7 people on-board, so I don’t know how the car performs
with only 2-3 people in it. I would assume it would be so much better.
Comparing kerb weights, you can actually predict that an Exora with
only the driver in it would probably feel like a Waja with 4 people in
it?
The engine used under the hood is the Campro CPS engine and its CPS
and VIM activation parameters are similiar to the unit installed in the
Waja CPS and the GEN2 CPS. It is only the Satria Neo CPS which has
different CPS activation timing. It produces 125 horsepower at 6,500rpm
(7,000rpm redline) and 150Nm of torque at 4,500rpm. I am sure there is
still some improvements that can be squeezed out here as a competitor
engine can churn out 160Nm of twisting power from a normally aspirated
1.6 liter and the CPS is a long stroke engine which means it should be
able to be quite torquey by nature. The gearbox has had its final drive
modified to help with the power delivery, and 110km/h RPM on the auto
is somewhere between 2,700 to 2,800rpm (cannot remember exactly right
now for some reason).
The achilles heel of the Exora is the Campro CPS engine. With the
automatic transmission, it is best described as being just enough to
move the car, and you can feel the engine being worked really hard to
move the MPV, which was loaded up with 7 people. With a kerb weight of
1,380kg, adding all the passengers brings it close to its gross vehicle
weight of over 1,900kg. It is seriously no mean feat.
You can truly feel the torque curve of the CPS engine with your
butt-o-meter, no measuring devices necessary. Every dip and peak in the
curve can be felt because the pace of the MPV’s acceleration depends on
every single Newton meter that the engine can churn out. Proton’s
famous air conditioning compressor which works great but seems to sap
plenty of engine power can already be felt in cars like the GEN2 CPS,
but it is even more prominent in this car, slowing things down
considerably when it kicks in.
Now the thing is, the only time where acceleration was found to be
sluggy to the point of annoyance was when the Exora was starting from a
standstill. Not so much in the manual version but it’s quite bad in the
auto on even a slight incline. Once it gets going and the Campro engine
is in its powerband, things get going sufficiently. I won’t go to the
extent of describing it as swift or any similiar words, but I think
perhaps 80% of the time and an majority percentage of situations, the
Exora has enough power. Most Genting slopes can be taken with 2nd gear
in the manual if you have enough momentum, with only the steepest
requiring a shift to 1st gear. Mind you, this is according to a Proton
engineer as we didn’t climb Genting in our drive.
The manual has more ratios and saps less power. The auto is a little
more lethargic and there was one occasion on an incline where it felt
really sluggy because I had the pedal to the metal and there was room
to do a downshift but it did not! Perhaps there is still some work and
finetuning to be done on the TCU? Had to manually downshift via the
auto’s gate shifter.

Click to enlarge
I think you can begin to visualise how you will have to drive this.
Plan your journey well and look far ahead at traffic as to plan your
route through the road’s traffic – minimize braking and keep the
momentum up, because once you slow down, acceleration is going to take
awhile. Stay out of the fast lane because if you change lanes to
overtake, it’s going to take a long time and you might annoy the hell
out of cars coming up behind you. I personally drive a car that is
quite underpowered as well and for slow and comfortable driving you
won’t have issues with the Exora.
Just don’t try to get anywhere in a hurry. Not with your entire
family on board anyway – too heavy and not good to endanger them. Also
you have to be careful when trying to get across busy crossjunctions or
enter busy roundabouts, I foresee that might be a problem with the auto.
On an empty road and ample space for acceleration, the Proton Exora
can actually achieve some really high speeds. 140 to 160km/h are no
problem given enough time and even beyond that is possible on a
downhill stretch. These high speeds can be sustained easily, it is only
when you slow down and try to climb back up to those speeds where it
takes a long time. Typical Campro and Campro CPS, only shines at the
top end, which is why I feel turbocharging with a low pressure turbo
will do wonders for it.
Another thing I noticed is how smooth the engine was. It was very
loud at high revs approaching the 7,000rpm redline and its boom echoed
throughout the interior, but there was not much vibration, something
that many current CPS-equipped car owners experience when they send
their rev needles to the redline, especially in the Satria Neo. And the
engine is pretty docile at regular highway cruise speeds. It’s quite
quiet actually. Conversations can be carried out all the way form the
front row to the third row without having to raise voices. That is a
sign of some pretty impressive sound proofing and NVH optimisation. It
remained calm and serene without us having to raise our voices to have
a conversation even at speeds of beyond 170km/h. It’s really
impressive. Like I mentioned before, the only time the cabin seemed
overwhelmed with noise is when the Campro CPS is near the redline. Then
you get the boom and blare.

Click to enlarge
The Exora dashboard is probably a first Proton dashboard that does
not seem like it is built for midgets in a long long time. It isn’t set
too low in the interior. Had no complaints about it so I guess it is at
a proper proportionate height. The gear shifter is raised and is very
near to the steering wheel so it’s pretty easy to reach for whenever
you need to shift gears. The speedo is easy to read and done in white
and red.
There is now an instant real-time digital fuel consumption readout
but in our prototype vehicles this was not working. It displayed data
but was incorrect, with consumption numbers (in liters per 100km) being
excessively low most of the time. A Proton engineer told me the
prototype car had an old version of some software update and had not
been flashed to the latest version yet so the calibration for the
instant fuel consumption readout was all wrong. I have a miff with the
way you get the meter to display but I will cover this in a later story.
I was happy with the position of the steering wheel. It isn’t too
far away. Near enough for me to have a comfortable and firm grip. The
seat could be pushed back as far as I required (I am 182cm tall) and I
even tried pushing it completely to the rear, but there was still a
seriously large amount of legroom in the 2nd row. The driver’s seat was
slightly elevated and offers a SUV-like commanding view of what’s
ahead. The Proton Exora was stable and planted for as fast as I drove,
which is only up to about 160km/h at one point. The fastest I went most
of the time was only 140km/h, if I recall correctly. I didn’t dare
speed further than that actually as there were 6 other people in the
MPV with me, I didn’t want to risk anything.
The steering has a nice weight to it and is easy to keep steady
through negotiating a corner. It was precise too, pointing the nose of
the car exactly where you expect it to go. No complaints about the
brakes and there was also minimal brake dive. The Exora can be ever
slightly floaty at times depending on how undulating the terrain is but
I found that I only felt this as the driver, didn’t notice it as a
passenger.

Click to enlarge
I drove more like a typical MPV driver would, but as a passenger I
witnessed some pretty mad cornering around the Karak curves at speeds
of 120 to 140km/h without the Goodyear Assurance tyres even making much
of a fuss. As usual, the Proton boys have got the car’s ride and
handling close to perfect. One of the most impressive things about the
MPV is the fact that the third row felt as chill as the 1st or 2nd row,
just that it has less space. At this price level or even much more
expensive than the RM70k to RM80k that the Exora is expected to be
priced at, you usually get a third row that is quite uncomfortable when
the vehicle is on the go, because of its position right over the
vehicle’s rear axle. It’s usually quite bumpy and headroom is sometimes
limited. The Exora trumps all its competition at this.
The third row is so comfortable compared to the bouncy stuff you get
with other cheap MPVs and even when one fellow journalist was whacking
the corners at high speeds, I didn’t feel thrown around or dizzy. When
the Proton Exora travels over an irreguliarity in the road such as the
usual place where 2 different pieces of an elevated highway joins
together during a corner, the rear end of the car remained composed and
calm. Other MPVs would swing and bounce around, creating discomfort for
the third row. There are air cond vents for all 3 rows, and the rear
rows get its own dedicated blower located in the space above the rear
left wheel. The fuel filler is on the other side of course. The rear
ceiling vents also have their own blower speed control mounted on the
ceiling. Air conditioning for 2nd and 3rd rows is really best in class
and the vent angles can be adjusted easily.
Now that we have the Proton Exora’s engine, handling and comfort
nailed down let’s talk about space and later proceed to usability/ease
of use. As previously mentioned, there is plenty of second row space.
Both the 2nd and 3rd row have the ability to have their seat recline
adjusted. The third row backrest and seat angle moves together when you
adjust its reclining position to maintain a comfortable hip point. For
me to fit in the third row requires the 2nd row to be a little more
straight up than the optimum comfortable position. That way I can fit
comfortably with only the cloth of my pants barely touching the 2nd row
seat back.

Third row legroom – I am 182cm tall
I didn’t really feel like I was sitting on the floor of the Proton
Exora though my knee was higher than usual and it was impossible to do
any form of leg stretching, but get into the third row of an Exora from
a competitor and you’ll feel relieved. There is also plenty of headroom
for all 3 rows. Headroom is seriously aplenty here. It makes it easy to
get into the third row as you do not have to bend down too much. The
third row is going to be seriously comfortable for kids. With the third
row fully reclined, the seatbacks are pretty much very close to the
rear glass. Luggage space is limited to the triangular-shaped area
between the seatback and the floor, which fits 1 golf bag and a few
other small items. If you make the third row seatback a little more
straight up, you create more luggage space, but it’s not going to be
very comfortable for adults at all. The M-Line also lacks any headrests
for the third row so it could touch the rear glass sometimes.

Third row headroom – I am 182cm tall
The second row of the Proton Exora has no sliding ability. But what
it can do is tumble-fold completely forwards, creating an empty space
in the area where the 2nd row is. This makes it quite easy to get into
the third row. The 2nd row seats split 60:40 and the tumbling mechanism
can be done independently of each other. The tumbling mechanism works
via pulling a strap – from what I understand you pull it a little and
it folds down once, pull it completely and it tumbles completely
forward against the first row seatback. As I previously mentioned,
there is quite alot of space in the 2nd row. Perhaps some of that space
should have been allocated in improving some of the third row space.
When I suggested this, a part of the Proton team gave an answer that
makes sense somehow. Proton wanted the MPV to feel big, spacious and
comfortable. It is the number one selling point for an MPV and an MPV
has to do that well for it to be considered a good MPV. Not handle well
or outrun a sports car. So what they did was make sure at least 5 out
of 7 people in the MPV enjoy a great experience. Not 7 people enjoying
a mediocre experience.
A convenient teh tarik hook is located in the lower area of the dash
near the front passenger footwell, and the front seats have some hooks
at the back of them for 2nd row usage as well. There are plenty of
cupholders and bottleholders, even for the third row.
One main pet peeve I have is that NONE of the Exora variants
destined for Malaysia have ISOFIX points, not even a single one in the
Exora. When I asked the engineers about this, the reason given was cost
and the lack of regulations requiring ISOFIX points in Malaysia.
Personally I feel as a national car company which gets plenty of
incentives from the government and is government-owned, safety for the
rakyat and future leaders of the nation should be at least given
priority! Not just airbags, etc. You harp on the necessity to have
seatbelts and force people to wear belts in all seats, so why deny
children the safety of a properly fixed child seat? I know this isn’t
up to the engineers and decide and from what I know they have no
problems implementing this, so it is more of a product planning
decision.

AA surveys show that child seats that are fitted with the adult
seatbelts are typically 70% to 80% misfitted with around 30% being
seriously misfitted. So what happens during an accident or harsh
braking? Your child might just fly together with the misfixed seat!
When even the Satria Neo has ISOFIX points, why not in the Exora? if
you say lack of regulation requirements – then why are they in the Neo?
Cost, how much can ISOFIX points cost! RM50 to RM100 per point? A
maximum of RM500 per car, with overly inflated costs for 2
ISOFIX-equipped seats in the 2nd row? Couldn’t scrapping some of your
Corporate Social Responsibility programs cover the cost of proper
ISOFIX points in your Exora? Spend the money on your real customers
instead of others!
Why wait for the government to enforce something? Proton should be
proactive in taking this step. Malaysians are not educated on such
safety features. Do your part in educating them. Perhaps in your focus
group studies for the Exora, none of the potential customers asked for
ISOFIX points because they don’t even know what ISOFIX is. That is no
reason for you to omit them. Put them in and educate them. Don’t be
penny-wise pound-foolish. The good PR from this will be valuable, more
than the cost of the points themselves. Really good child seats with
ISOFIX support can be expensive. Package them together with your hire
purchase loans for families to be able to afford them.
Do it, and do it soon. Showing that you are concerned about your
customers will do wonders for your image. Then move on later to more
than just 2 front airbags, and perhaps some form of stability and
traction control. Dual SRS airbags should really be made standard. I
hope there are people in the Proton management/product team reading
this.
The Proton Exora MPV is a very impressive product on the overall,
and even more so when you take into account its expected price level.
It’s got best in class interior room and can be compared to vehicles
that are on class above. It can move a whole family along in comfort,
just that it is slow in getting moving. I know it sounds like I’m
making excuses for Proton but from my own personal driving experience
there were only certain times when I felt it was underpowered. Given
that most of our drive was on the highway, most of the situation we
only had to get up to cruising speed once and the Exora maintained its
speed well. It’s just too bad that Proton has no powerful engine to put
in it at this point and has to compromise with the Campro CPS as the
sole option. It’s fine as a very baseline engine but it really cannot
be the only option. Hope that’s fixed with the Campro Turbo.
The lack of certain features such as ISOFIX points in the Malaysian
version in no way cripples the ability of the Exora to be a fine MPV of
course but it reflects the still on-going shortchanging that Malaysian
consumers always seem to get, because from what I was told, ISOFIX will
be in the export cars. In fact these are only the very few things that
I have to complain about, the MPV does its MPV duties really well and I
am impressed at how Proton engineers really got it right the first time.
Anyway forgive me for the lack of photos from the actual test drive
session. We weren’t allowed to use any photos actually and had to get
photos approved on a case by case and photo by photo basis with
justification. Whatever photos I justified using are already in this
story. I must thank Proton especially their corp comm team and
engineers for organising a well-planned and extremely informative test
drive session. More to come – some juicy details on some various new
features and specs of the Proton Exora including the BCM module.

Many people are comparing Proton Exora with Grand Livina & Toyota
Avanza. Here are a picture of 3 of them sidelining. In terms of
feature, you can already see the differences.


Avanza-Grand livina-Exora