Proton First MPV

The only thing we can do is hope that Proton MPV will be out soon… and it’s under 2000cc, or else the owner couldn’t get the fuel subsidy.Here some more details source, he managed managed to catch some of his hints from his writing plus others gathered from few forums and blogs, and these are the summary of information related to the Proton MPV which he deem reliable. Its up to the readers here whether to believe it or not. If you have other believable information to add here, please do so.The Project:
A little bird told me that the project had started a while ago, starting on par with the development of Persona. By now it should have reached quite advance stage of development process. There are news that says few clay models have been completed. The Chassis is ready now and structurul rigidity is still being fine tune to get better crash rating standard. The target product launch date is somewhere in the 1st quarter of 2009. So, we might see spyshots of this mpv on road test starting from Jun 2008 onwards.

The Capacity:
One of the most probable facts is that its going to be a 7 seater. And not just any 7 seater. It can seats 7 full size adults. Not like Citra or Livina which are actually 5 + 2 seater. The third row seats will not have raised floor level which are only suited for kids. The cabin space will be better and ample storage capacity even with the last seat up.

The Engine:
There are few engine option under testing and consideration. One of it is the standard campro 1.6 cps engine, secondly, the supercharge campro 1.6 cps with added vvt mechanism and lastly the Mitsubishi 2.0 V6 engine currently used in the Perdana. For the first option, I think the CPS version might be able to pull the load with 2 or 3 passengers but for fully loaded and climbing hill? I don’t think so. From waja to the latest model, Proton is well known for its heavier chassis and body which contribute to its magnificent handling. The third engine option is too outdated already and more expensive in terms of maintenance. It’s not going to appeal to the targeted market. So I think the best choice would be the second engine. Why? Because it can deliver the best power to weight ratio at minimal price. As quoted by Si-Fu, one of the regular visitor to PT blog: “The system above, provides good consumption at low speed, good low end and high end torque and most importantly power only when u need it.”

The Chassis:
The only choice proton would have is to start from the Waja Platform base. It was mention a long time ago that the Waja GX platform would spawn to many type of vehicles and one of it is an MPV. Based from the below data, The Chancellor platform is the best bet. This is also support the above statement regarding roomier cabin and storage space compared with the Wish.
Waja w/base: 2600 mm Dim: 4465 x 1740 x 1420 (L x W x H) mm

Chancellor w/base: 2850 mm Dim: 4715 x 1740 x 1420 mm

Wish w/base: 2750 mm Dim: 4560 x 1695 x 1590 mm

The Interior:
The news says that the interior are going to get the utmost attention especially on quality and praticality. Seems that dark color theme will be chosen as this is the prefered color by most Malaysian. The Dashboard, central console & steering wheel design will be something fresh and totally new. There will an extra aircond blower for rear passengers and the third row seats will be able to fold flat, just like the persona’s. There will be lots of cups holders as most MPVs and also not forgetting grocery hooks. As a whole, the interior quality will be on par with the best of the Japanese makes.

The Exterior:
For the exterior design, it is said that the Toyota Wish is it’s primary benchmark. The new Honda Stream and Mazda 5 are also included. So expect the body curves to be as stylish as this three models but slightly longer as to give better space for last row sits and luggage area. The front face might be taking some cue from the Lotus APX but overall, from afar, somebody could mistake it for the Toyota Wish.