Proton Exora Turbo Now Cheaper at RM69,000

Fancy a turbocharged Proton Exora to haul those 6 passenger in hurry but can't quite afford the Exora Bold Premium? Your prayer has been answered quietly by Proton with the introduction of the Proton Exora Bold CFE Standard, effectively displacing the CPS-powered Exora Bold Executive. The new variant of the Proton Exora slipped quietly to the showroom, and it is priced from RM68,550. The Premium version is priced at RM79,562, while the Exora Bold Executive (CPS) was RM66,762.

Externally, the Exora Bold Standard wears the facelifted body like the rest of the range, but with the fog lamp, rear spoiler and alloy wheels eliminated. Meaning that it will look like the rest f the updated Exora with the bolder (no pun intended) front bumper, updated rear bumper and smoked rear light. Interior-wise, it is on par with the Exora Bold Executive, meaning that it is fabric upholstered, silver-lined centre console, no DVD player and the auto-cruise and reverse camera deleted. Steering wheel-mounted audio switch is gone too. No bid deal though.

Safety wise, the 4,592mm long Proton MPV is still protected by dual SRS, and the ABS and EBD is retained too. There are no mechanical change to the setup offered on the more expensive Bold Premium.

For a reminder, the turbocharged CFE engine produced a healthy 138hp@5,000rpm and 205Nm of torque from 2,000-4,000rpm. Read more about Proton CFE engine HERE.

The only drawback is the color choice. You must like the lighter hue to Proton Exora or else you have to pick up the other variant. For Proton Exora Bold CFE Standard, only Solid White and Genetic Silver are offered. However, at only RM68,550 do you think it is still smart to buy a RM69,503 Perodua Alza Advanced or RM64,203 Alza Premium? Think about it...Proton Exora deserves a bigger share of pie....

Malaysia Motoring News thinks Proton Exora Turbo drives like a dream for an MPV. Read about it HERE.

Photo source: BluePearlAuto
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Proton CFE Engine - The Engineering Details

Note: Read first till the end before accusing a copy&paste from Lotus Mag.

Proton CFE engine has been introduced to the market at the very end of last year, under the hood of the facelifted Proton Exora MPV. The engine has been long rumoured, and has been long spied tested with the bigger-mouthed Exora for quite some times. Some called it Campro Turbo, while some referred it as Project Pheonix. Thanks to the publicity generated by the buzzy spyshots sites in Malaysia, the arrival of the CFE engine is very much eagerly awaited. 

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The Brief.

CFE. It means Charged Fuel Efficiency. The engine was born out of the necessity rather than the desire to soup up the Campro engine to rival the Lamborghini. It was back in 2009, when the Exora MPV was at its final validation stage. It became clear that the Achilles heel of the much lauded Proton's first MPV would be its powertrain, where even the CPS mechanism won't be enough to mask the lack of torque, long plagued the Campro family, and the unsuitability of small capacity NA gasoline to power such as weighty people carrier.

After a series of feasible study, Proton has concluded that it would develop a turbocharged variant of the Campro engine instead of buying-in a 2.0L NA gasoline engine. In terms of the combustion concept, it was decided pretty much from the beginning to stay away from the Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) - although that such a trend at that time and a commoner today - to accommodate the low octane rating and fuel quality of Proton's export market and its home market itself. This is essential as it could raise some durability concerns should some problem occurs later.

The baseline target was to achieve horsepower output and fuel efficiency of the modern 2.0L at that time. However, with the heavy weight application in mind, the torque delivery must be substantial even at low engine rev, something only a turbocharged engine can deliver.  

The Design.

As the CFE is Campro based, there was a necessity to carry over the cylinder block, or else, Proton might as well make an all-new engine if the cylinder block needs to be totally redesigned. Hence an intensive round of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were performed to assess the limit of the Campro's block without compromising its stress-endurance and jeopardizing its coolant effectiveness. 

The results of the FEA and CFD indicated that the cylinder block could be retained with the improvement to the water jacket to sustain the higher heat duty of the forced-fed engine. Another changes required was the modification to the oil gallery to include the piston cooling jet. The stroke of the crank also has been shortened to 86mm , a 2mm reduction. This is because the height of Campro's block did not provide sufficient space to increase the piston crown strength with the size limitation to withstand the compression ratio which it self is boosted by charged air from the turbo. More and more juicy details after the jump.

Proton Exora FL - specs for BOLD and PRIME revealed

The anticipation for the launch of the facelifted Proton Exora range is running high. The soft launch is rumoured to be done on 16th December, with the official launch in January 2012. Perhaps this is to ignite the public interest in the model and holding them back from buying other rivals, which could be heavily discounted during this year end sales promotion.

Proton-Sales website has revealed the full specs of all version for the 2012 Exora. The current Exora shape will stay in the form of Baseline model, essentially the model we have had on our road right now (with material-coloured door handles, moulding, rear garnish and front grille, deviod of fog lamps and rear headrest etc..). The facelifted range starts from Medium-Line onwards, up to the range-topper 6 seater Exora Prime. It remained to be seen if the Exora will adopt the latest Proton trimming systems namely Standard, Executive and Premium Line. Below are the details of the line-up of 2012 Proton Exora.

Proton Exora Baseline

1. No aesthetic change

2. Powered by Campro CPS

3. 5 speed manual gearbox only

Proton Exora BOLD M-Line

Features of Exora BOLD M-Line:

1. Aesthetic enhancement covers new front bumper with Proton's new corporate grille, smoked headlamp, new rear skirting incorporating black lower garnish, smoked rear combi.

2. Powered by Campro CPS, transmission option both 5 speed manual or 4AT

More detail of the the variant,features and Campro CFE specs after the jump.