All about Proton Exora V2

geng_tx

Getting the Exora to handle so impressively might have meant sacrificing ride comfort, something which could not be allowed in a family-type vehicle. Surprisingly, the ride comfort was also very good. Not soft like a French MPV but firm like a European one. Even on broken roads and bumps, the Exora maintained it poise and body roll was negligible. Most MPVs in this class tend to roll a bit when you push them hard through corners but the Exora cornered like a car! No kidding!

I would also add that the brakes worked very well and the feel was excellent. This is not what I would say of other Proton models and certainly not for the Satria Neo CPS which I drove recently and was surprised that the brakes were spongy. But with the Exora, I felt confident even braking hard late in corners to see how much the nose dipped (very little).

I would have suggested to Proton an advertising tagline like 'a 2-seater with space for 7’ but Honda already describes their Stream like that! And talking of the Stream, I would say that the Honda MPV along with the Mazda5 and Toyota Wish should not be considered rivals to the Exora. They are a notch higher and I doubt very much if someone who has eyes on any of them would consider the Exora. The more obvious rivals would be the Nissan Grand Livina, Toyota Avanza and Naza Citra, all of which are selling very well but will definitely lose sales to the Exora when it becomes available. What about the Toyota Innova? Some people considering an Innova might look at the Exora but the Toyota has a larger engine (and a higher price as well).

Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) were commendably low even though the unit was not a mass production one. In the rear seat, road noise could be heard but this is not unexpected because of the open space at the back. What was telling about the sound insulation was during the storm that we had to drive through. With low-priced models, roof insulation is often kept to a minimum for cost reasons but I don’t think this is the case with the Exora because there was no intrusive sound from the roof even with raindrops hammering down on it.

Now that we’ve moved inside, let’s talk about the packaging and accommodation. The cabin width felt generous and the large size of the front seat would also suggest this. I sat in the middle row briefly and didn’t take too much note but Paul Tan (who had his session a week after me) commented that the middle row gets much more legroom than it needs to have. As for the third row, I made sure I checked it out and sat there all the way from the Genting tunnel to Shah Alam. The space was fine for me and about the same as what is in a Grand Livina (and I also sat in its third row for a very long period during a test-drive in Bali).

From the first sighting of the bodyshell during the Proton Technology Week a while back, I wondered about the third side window. It seemed like a rather small opening and I felt that it could mean the people in the third row would have something like a small window like on an aircraft, which is not particularly pleasant. However, when I sat inside and looked out, the amount of glass area is actually quite large and kids will have a nice view of the world passing by.

Comfort-wise, the seats are well structured but I felt that the cushion thickness might be on the thin side. I’m not sure if this is because the interior designers wanted to get as much headroom as possible but if it is thin, then fatigue could set in on long distances. This only applies to the second and third rows as the front two seats are fine.

geng_tx

As the pictures show, the second and third row can fold down completely flat which is very good. However, the folding operation for the second seat didn’t seem so good though owners may eventually get used to it. It is not a straightforward operation and salesmen had better practice doing it so they do not struggle in front of potential customers! Incidentally, the head restraints are low-profile types which do not have to be removed when the seats are flat.

Looking around the cabin, I was impressed by the innovative thinking the interior designers had and I suspect a large portion of the R&D budget went to creating an interior that is among the best in this class of MPVs. At a workshop with Proton’s interior designers a couple of years ago, I had emphasized this as being very important because it is something that is related to perceived quality. Earlier models didn’t have the right textures and panels appeared cheap and plasticky. Some of the trim in the Exora was untextured because it was a prototype but I feel sure that the texture will be the right type in the production units because the latest Waja CPS is very well done. Maybe the interior designers did feel I had a point and have worked hard at it.



The Proton designers know that the one thing I have always asked about is a little thing called a teh tarik hook. I am sure you know what it is and many vehicles have it as standard. It’s a simple feature but very useful because our culture is such that we do have a lot of plastic bags of teh tarik,nasi lemak and so on. In the past, people would hang these on the door handles; okay but not the best way. So, to me, it has been odd that Proton being a Malaysian product did not have such a feature from the start and yet it is standard in a Kia, Honda, Toyota and other foreign makes (even the Land Rover Discovery!). I was told that this feature was a 'must-have’ for the Exora because they did not want me bringing it up again!

Actually, even though the Proton people associate me with the teh tarik hook,  I must explain that it was really the late Dato’ Gurcharan Singh, the first GM of EON, who brought it up. During the media launch of the Saga 1.5I in 1987 or 1988, he complained that there was no 'char kuey teow’ hook for him to hang the packet of noodles and he felt that was something a Malaysian Car should have as standard.

The cupholders and bottle holders get high marks. You may think that these are all the same but a good cupholder is deep so that the cup does not topple over when you corner. The ones in the Exora (there are ten) are very well designed, perhaps the best I have seen. Those right at the back, along the sides below the third windows, have a slot for magazines or comics, something which is also thoughtful.

geng_tx

Other nice things are the neat storage of the seatbelts on the second and third rows (not all manufacturers think of this) and this will also make sure that there are no customers asking why the seatbelts are missing. In quite a number of cases I have heard, customers are puzzled to find their rear seatbelts missing. Actually the seatbelts are underneath and during installation of the seat, the people are too lazy to pull them up and just leave them on the floor and drop the seat on top.

The most expensive version will have a DVD player mounted on the ceiling somewhere above the gap between the front seats. It’s a standalone unit rather than integrated with the audio head unit. I think it also takes SD card media.

As for the dashboard, the design is clean and contemporary. There are some carryover parts from other models but it did surprise me to see quite a lot of new parts which means a higher initial cost of production. Perhaps this also suggests that there are new suppliers and Proton has finally been able to get rid of those that caused its reputation to go downhill by supplying parts with sub-standard quality.

The instrument panel has a nice presentation and the only thing I would have an issue with is reflections at the top (inside the shroud) because the surface is too shiny and smooth. Tengku Azizan said that it was not the final trim and the 'ghosting’ I noticed would not be present in the production model.

The Honda-like steering wheel has a nice feel and has some buttons for operating the radio and handsfree connection via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth facility is welcome and will help in motoring safety. The only thing about these Bluetooth facilities in cars is that the standards keep evolving and some manufacturers like to be right up to date. This can mean that some older handphones have problems connecting because their Bluetooth version is older. I mentioned this to Tengku Azizan and he said that they would try to test as many different phones as possible and see if any had problems and then get the supplier to make the necessary adjustments.

One thing which you won’t see even in the showroom vehicles but which is also innovative is a Body Control Module. This is something which can control multiple functions in a vehicle and some of the features which I was told about were things like activation of the hazard warning lights during emergency braking and disabling of the central locking system (in unlocked position) if a child operated it more than 30 times in 30 seconds.

With a Proton, there is always the final question – what about build quality? I can’t answer that since the units I drove were prototypes and I accept that they had parts which would not be in the production models. But I feel sure the quality will be high going by what we’ve seen of the New Saga. It would be a real shame if all the fantastic efforts of the engineers and interior designers in developing one of the best MPVs in its class had poor quality.

So that’s about as much as I can tell you about the experience of driving the first truly Malaysian MPV. If you think that my positive views are enough and you do not need further convincing and you want to be among the first to own an Exora, then go and book one now (you only need RM1,000 to do so). And if you can't decide on the colour choices, the two new ones - Pyrite Brown and Gaia Blue – look very suitable for the Exora.

Footnote: As I mentioned in the opening part of this report, it was a real surprise to be offered a test-drive well before the launch of the Exora. I have had such opportunities with other companies before (and on some occasions, I had to go to Africa for the drive!) but I never expected it from Proton. After all, this is the company which – under the former management – was so paranoid about the public seeing a new model before launch that it selectively picked on one journalist to threaten with a legal suit for having pictures of the Gen2 on his website and when that didn’t do the trick, they asked the police to have the matter investigated as a commercial crime so as to intimidate the journalist into submission, maybe even hoping that he would still refuse to cooperate and be thrown in jail for being a 'threat to national security'!. Fortunately, such discrimination and childish attitudes do not exist in the present management and there is certainly none of the arrogance and boastfulness either. That today's Proton MD gave permission for such a test-drive to be done and did not have his legal department prepare a 10-page indemnity form to sign shows just how different things are. Thanks for the privilege, Proton.

On another note, I am obliged to refute the suggestion on another website that there was 'pressure on the management to allow other journalists to have a test-drive’ because it was alleged that we had learnt that a certain journalist on that website had been given the chance. From the way I described how I was invited to take part, it is very clear that the allegation is total rubbish, perhaps made to justify breaking of the embargo we had all agreed on. The rest of us had no idea that Proton was going to have such an activity so how could we even have 'pressured the management’? Doesn’t make sense at all, does it?

geng_tx

aku dipaksa utk pecaya...

sehingga launching date, aku nak percaya lah tulisan si CHIPS dari MTrader tu..

berfikiran positif

http://www.motortrader.com.my/NU ... cle_1821/page_m.asp

sumber dari MT

sori kalau dah ader, aku sibuk benar ni. tak de masa nak check thread terdahulu.....

mycos79

still loving you...'Proton'...hehehe

komem dari Bharian pon 'not bad'....so kita tunggu komen sebenar selepas pelancarannya...

t@t

kalo korang bca nst today didakwa chasis Exora ni dari Nissan Presage...projek JV renault+nissan....x tao ler btol/tak?





ada iras x?

[ Last edited by  t@t at 22-3-2009 21:33 ]

waja3373

Nissan Grand Livina lagi Best..... teknologi enjinnya hebat.......walaupun eksosori dalaman tak leh lawan Exora.

mycos79

...kasi can dulu kat exora

serupahero

Originally posted by p4k4bu at 21-3-2009 17:08


15/4 nanti sure sesak le showroom proton semua.... ketiak hangit2 belaka dok hempas pintu depan, pintu tengah dan pintu belakang. Itu belum campur yg komen "1.6 liter saja... under power la..."

Kerusi yang paling popular..............kerusi row belakang.. ..kalau tempat duduk tu luas dan selesa.. tak payah tengok engin ,hempas pintu, test drive..comfirm bagus..

ashna

Originally posted by t@t at 22-3-2009 21:30
kalo korang bca nst today didakwa chasis Exora ni dari Nissan Presage...projek JV renault+nissan....x tao ler btol/tak?

http://www.babez.de/nissan/presage/newtitel.jpg

http://ke ...

semua MPV ada iras...
tak caya kau tempek jer pic semua MPV yg ada kat pasaran...
kau kan tgk semua ala2 sama jer :re:

mycos79

meh tengok rangka...

http://www.proton-edar.com.my/exora/

rambutan

besar nih.... fuh

Fast-N-Furious

Originally posted by rambutan at 20-3-2009 12:52
untuk versi lelaki sejati proton bakal kuarkan dgn nama exo typeR... untuk yg berkeluarga versi exomart

ishh.. takbleh lar.. type-R tu honda dah register, nantik kena saman..

versi tu nanti, tak lain dan tak bukan, Exora R3 ler.. antara tambahannyer..

- enjin 2.0 with 5 speed manual
- ventilated disc and cross drill brake
- rim 18"
- ader sticker R3 kat body
- recaro seat
- steering momo race
- aluminium gear shift + hand brake
- sport muffler
- TEIN suspension
- aper lagi erkk.. korang tambah ler..

serupahero

Bagi rakyat Malaysia , selagi pintu tak bunyi GEDUMMM selagi tu belum puas hati...

Fast-N-Furious

ni first proton yg OEM kuar rim 5 lug... yg lain semua 4 jer..

sib baik tak 3 cam tiara tu, nak tukar rim pong takbleh, baper kerat kedai yg ader jual rim 3 lubang nieh..

nak tukar jadik 4, kena modified plak..

mycos79

lawa...

Chek_am8848

Exora nie.... brek disc depan sajer ker?

saper leh pastikan

mycos79

H-line ada brake disk. aku baca komen Auto BH hari tuh...versi manual M-Line brake drum

Fast-N-Furious

Originally posted by mycos79 at 23-3-2009 14:08
H-line ada brake disk. aku baca komen Auto BH hari tuh...versi manual M-Line brake drum

huhuhuh.. macam persona lar jugak nieh...

personally, aper lar kedekut sangat proton nieh. kete lain, kebanyakkkannyer, kalau 1.6 ke atas biasanya otomatik letak disc dah.

tapi rasanya proton buat ni utk marketing strategi kot, sebab kalau nak disc, terpaksa beli H-line.

lagi satu, kete yg pakai rim 5 lug, biasanya 1.8 dan ke atas melainkan SUV jer yg tak semestinyer 1.8. Proton letak kat MPV nie, more to cosmetic jer haku rasa.. dari segi harga, takde beza pong ngan rim 4 lug atau 5 lug.. so why not letak 5 trusss...

jofizo

pergh dah ada benang baru