Proton Exora

Pre-launch

The first sketches of a Proton MPV existed as early as the 1990s. During this period, all of Proton's offerings were either saloon or hatchback vehicles. In 2001, Proton experimented with larger vehicles by introducing the Juara Mini-MPV, a rebadged Mitsubishi Town Box Wide. However, its unconventional kei car design drew criticism and it was discontinued in 2003 amidst poor sales.

The Proton MPV project was later revived in mid-2006 under the leadership of the former Proton Managing Director, Syed Zainal Abidin. The car was to be designed to suit Malaysian tastes and expectations, and was initially believed to be based on a Mitsubishi or Volkswagen platform, but Proton later confirmed that it would be built from the ground up on an all-new platform. The result was the Proton P2 platform, developed in-house by Proton with consultancy from LG CNS. On 11 February 2008, the Proton MPV was officially announced for an early 2009 launch.

Sketches of the MPV were aired on Malaysian national television on 27 May 2008, previewing its various upcoming features. From the sketches, it was initially speculated that the Proton MPV was related to a similar MPV from China's Chery, but it was later proven that there were no such relations between the two cars. Nonetheless, it was clear that various styling cues were derived from the Mitsubishi Grandis, owing to the long-standing relationship between Proton and Mitsubishi. Proton filed a patent for the upcoming MPV with the U.K. Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on 24 October 2008, and it was approved several days later 4 November.

Spyshots of the finalized Proton MPV were leaked onto the internet on 23 January 2009, 3 months ahead of its official launch.

The official name Proton Exora, along with its tagline Keriangan Keluarga (English: Family Fun) was announced on 17 February 2009. 'Exora', which was inspired from the Ixora flower was chosen among 251,763 entries during the Name The Proton MPV competition by the grand prize winner, Norsholihan Binti Abdul Eanich. After a development phase of 18 months, production of the Exora finally commenced in March 2009 at Proton's Shah Alam plant.

Post-launch

The Proton Exora was officially unveiled on 15 April 2009, becoming Malaysia's first indigenously designed MPV. It was offered in two trim variants upon its initial launch, the M-Line and H-Line respectively. Both variants were powered by the 1.6 litre CamPro CPS engine and limited to a four-speed automatic transmission. The new Exora came standard with twin airbags, an Anti-lock braking system (ABS) with Electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and a Back-up EBD (BEBD) system. The M-Line trim offered a built-in radio with CD, MP3, WMA and Bluetooth compatibility, whereas the H-Line trim offered an additional roof-mounted LCD infotainment system with DVD playback, SD/MMC and USB compatibility. The H-Line variant also came with other exclusive kit, namely front fog lamps, a rear lip spoiler, leather seats, cruise control and an Atmel GPS touchscreen unit. The new Exora was priced between RM69,998 and RM75,998 at launch. Prior the launch of the Exora, the budget MPV segment in Malaysia was monopolized by the Toyota Avanza, Toyota Innova and Nissan Grand Livina. Unlike the Juara, the Exora was a true winner, and has since been consistently positioned among the Top 10 best selling vehicles in Malaysia.

Proton also showcased two concept models by Proton Design during the launch ceremony, the Exora Prime and Exora Prestige. The Exora Prime concept featured mostly cosmetic exterior and interior upgrades over the regular Exora, several of which made it into production two years later in the 2012 Exora Prime. The Exora Prestige variant on the other hand offered far superior levels of luxury and kit in an effort to gauge its potential as a vehicle fit for VIPs. It offered a built-in office working table, fridge and intercom, as well as a 19-inch LCD TV and a seat massaging system among others. Proton later revealed that the Exora Prestige was indeed being made and sold to selected VIPs. On 16 July 2009, Proton showcased the Proton Exora Turbo concept at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. It housed a CamPro CPS engine fitted with various aftermarket performance parts, offering 270 hp and 350Nm of torque, a massive jump from the stock CamPro CPS engine which could only put out 125 hp and 150Nm of torque.

Following the launch of the Proton Exora in April 2009, Perodua, which had also been developing a MPV since early 2008 previewed the Alza on 6 June 2009, a smaller, less powerful and thus less expensive MPV to counter sales of the Exora. Unlike Proton, which developed the Exora from scratch and kept capital outflow at a minimum, Perodua opted to simply rebadge the (Japanese: Toyota Passo Sette)/(Japanese: Daihatsu Boon Luminas). The Perodua Alza had a planned November 2009 launch, but Proton took advantage of the delay and introduced cheaper variants of the Exora in an effort to entice potential Alza buyers, the first of which was the Exora M-Line MT on 7 July 2009, priced at RM64,548. It became the first Exora variant to be made available with a five-speed manual transmission. A no frills version of the Exora was spotted undergoing testing on 22 June 2009. It later materialized into the Exora B-Line trim, debuting on 19 November 2009, four days before the Alza's launch. The Exora B-Line started from a relatively low price tag of RM57,548, but came at the expense of safety as it was only offered with a driver's airbag and without ABS and EBD. Despite Proton's best efforts, the largely cheaper Alza outsold the Exora by a significant margin, and the former replaced the latter as Malaysia's best selling MPV from 2010 and onwards.

9 July 2010 marked Proton's 25th Anniversary since the launch of the company's first car, the Proton Saga. In view of the occasion, Proton unveiled the Exora 25th Anniversary Edition, alongside a Saga and Persona variant. It featured a unique Pearl White & Black two-tone paint colour with commemorative decals and special eight spoke alloy rims on the exterior. Interior wise, it was offered with premium leather seats, a touchscreen LCD head-unit with SatNav and a reversing camera. The second row featured captain seats and twin built-in touchscreen LCD infotainment consoles on the headrests of the first row seats. Only 25 units were made, and each retailed at RM91,998.

Proton participated in the RAC Future Car Challenge on 6 November 2011 with plug-in electric versions of the Exora, Saga and Persona, in which the company claimed 2 awards despite their shortcomings.

Facelift

To ensure that the Exora continues to capture the MPV segment in the Malaysian market, production of a turbocharged Exora was conceived. It was launched on 15 December 2011 as two facelift models; the Exora Bold and Exora Prime. The Exora Bold is available in three variants, namely the Exora Bold Executive MT, Exora Bold Executive AT and Exora Bold Premium CVT whereas the Exora Prime was only available in one, high-end luxury trim. The Exora Bold Premium and Exora Prime are powered by Proton's new CamPro CFE engine which was developed in house by Proton and Lotus. CFE stands for 'Charged Fuel Efficiency. The facelifted Exora became the very first Malaysian car to feature a turbocharged engine. The new interior look of the Exora is designed to attract younger drivers who appreciate aesthetic touches. The exterior also features sport rims, smoked lenses, rear LED combi-lamps and a stylish body kit.

On 11 January 2013, the no frills version of the CFE powered Exora known as Proton Exora Bold 1.6 CFE Standard was launched to appeal to mass potential buyers by offering no additional accessories, but with standard CFE engine and ABS + EBD, with a marginally lower price tag. The latest facelifted Exora make it appearance in January 2015 and known as Exora Bold MC2.

Export markets

Proton export Exora to neighbouring Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Australia. The Proton Exora launched in Thailand during the 2009 Thailand International Motor Expo. Despite being a newcomer and facing stiff competition from rival Japanese makes, the Exora received critical acclaim from the Thais, scoring 1,388 bookings out of a total 25,220 placed at the event. Exora is Proton's best selling car in Thailand. In 2012, Proton replaced the Exora with the new Exora CFE for the Indonesian, Thai and Singaporean markets. The Exora CFE was previewed in Australia during the 2012 Australian International Motor Show. It will become Australia's cheapest MPV once it goes on sale there in mid- 2013. The Exora CFE also had a planned 2012 launch in the United Kingdom, but no such launch has occurred yet. A future launch in China and other left-hand drive markets are also anticipated, as there is evidence of left-hand drive Exora CFE testing units.

In July 2015, Proton signed a distributor agreement with Andes Motor, and the first left-hand drive Prevé and Exora evaluation units were shipped to Chile in November. The official launch of the Proton Exora in Chile has been tentatively pegged at May 2016.

Exora (2009 - 2012)

The Proton Exora Standard (formerly known as B-line) was launched only in manual transmission on November 2009. The standard Exora is the cheapest variant available and is still sold alongside the newer facelift models, the Exora Bold and Exora Prime as of Q1 2013. It is powered by Proton's non- turbocharged CamPro CPS engine and is only available in manual transmission. Furthermore, it shares the exterior body kit with the original 2009 Exora and lacks many features found on the more expensive Exora Bold and Exora Prime. It is the medium line of Exora which come in automatic and manual transmission. The main difference between the B-line is the safety features consists of airbag and ABS/EBD.

The highest specification of Exora which includes extra accessories like a rear spoiler, DVD player, semi leathered seat, and auto cruise features which the M-line lacks. Both the M-line and H-line are then replaced by Exora BOLD Executive after the launched of Exora BOLD.

Exora MC CPS (2011-2012)

On 15 July 2010, only just 15 months after the initial launch, Proton released the Exora MC, in which 'MC' denotes Minor Change. The car received a new body kit, chrome plated front fog light surrounds and 15-inch twin five spoke alloy rims on the exterior, whereas the interior featured darker grey trim panels and alcantara/suede on the door panels. A new Plum Red colour option was also offered, and the Exora MC received a minor RM1,000 price hike across all variants.

Exora Bold CPS/CFE (2012 - 2014)

In form of new bumper, the Exora Bold Executive is the facelift model of Exora M-Line released on 15 December 2011. It is still powered by Proton's non- turbocharged CamPro CPS engine. The manual costed from RM 66,762.00 and the automatic costed from RM 71,762.00 which also came with LCD + DVD player but without the cruise control feature. After the launched of the more affordable Exora Bold Standard which come standard with the turbocharged engine, this variant discontinued its production at the Shah Alam plant.

On 9 January 2013, Proton introduced the Exora Bold Standard. It slots in between the Exora Bold Executive and Exora Bold Premium, although eventually the Executive variant stopped its production to make way for this standard variant. It offers Proton's turbocharged CamPro CFE engine and CVT transmission, but with the expense of some luxury equipment. Costing from RM 68,550.00, it is almost RM 10,000 less expensive then the Exora Bold Premium The Exora Bold Premium shares much of its exterior and interior features with the Exora Bold Executive, but is powered by Proton's new CamPro CFE turbocharged engine and a CVT transmission for improved performance and fuel efficiency. It also features larger tyres, front & rear disc brakes and additional luxury equipment such as a reverse camera with rear view mirror LCD. Costing from RM 79,562.00

The Exora Prime is the most expensive variant available. It is technically identical to the Exora Bold Premium but offers far superior levels of luxury. The major distinguishing features of this car would be the captain seats in the second row, dual head rest LCDs and a unique colour option, Absolute Brown.

Exora Bold MC2 (2015 - present)

Photos of facelifted Exora Bold made a circulation on social media network in December 2014. The changes merely on cosmetic aspect. The SP variant design cues reminded to the Livina X-Gear crossover hues. Silently slotted to be launched in February 2015, it seems the MC2 Exora is the final facelift before a replacement model is being penned down.

There are 5 variants of the latest Exora, which come with either CPS or CFE engine. The first 2 variants are the MT and AT CPS Standard model. The other 3 CFE variants are Executive, Premium and Super Premium (SP )which are all in form of automatic CVT transmission. Two new colours are now available; Luxury Blue and Indiana Grey. Both Premium and SP models get ESC and 4 airbags as standard feature, while those pair of foglamps are replaced with LED DRL for safety reason.

The launching of MC2 also marked the reappearance of AT CPS Exora while the standard CFE CVT & Prime model is now discontinued.

Safety

The Exora has an equivalent 4-star EuroNCAP rating after 32 Exoras were crashed at the Applus+ IDIADA crash testing facility in Spain. Additionally, the Exora was awarded a 4-star rating by Malaysia's own MyVAP evaluation program. The Exora was given a four-star ANCAP safety rating, applicable to all variants. The MPV, which is equipped with dual frontal and side airbags with thorax and head protection for front occupants, scored 26.37 out of a possible 37 points. In the offset crash test, the Exora scored 10.55 out of 16 points – driver chest protection was acceptable and leg protection was marginal. In the side impact crash test, it managed 14.82 out of 16 points – driver chest protection was listed as acceptable. The Exora result – with testing carried out in July 2013 – reflected its performance in the 40% frontal offset test, where the risk of serious injury to the driver’s legs was high. Side impact performance was good, but overall pedestrian test results were poor, according to ANCAP. One of the key features that made these ratings possible is the use of high tensile steel for the body cage, providing better stability and increased impact absorption during a collision. Side impact bars are also installed to reinforce the door frames and to absorb impacts from both sides.

Other safety features include an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) to avoid skidding in the event of sudden emergency braking and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) to ensure that the correct amount of braking power is sent to the correct wheels according to the current weight distribution of the car. Two front airbags and pre-tensioner seat belts are installed for the front passengers. However, Exora models sold in Australia come with four airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in addition to the above. In the end of January 2015, the facelifted Exora Bold known as Exora Bold MC2 in Malaysia finally getting standard ESC, 4 airbags, reverse camera, rear fog lamp, plus DRL for the top variant just like the Australian version.

The Exora also features a Body Control Module (BCM) that allows automatic activation and configuration of various vehicle functions such as door locking/unlocking, interior lamps, headlamps, brake lamps, hazard lights and wipers.