Proton MPV exclusive initial details revealed!

I have some preliminary details on the Proton MPV due to be launched in the first half of 2009. According to a source in Proton, the Proton MPV is on schedule and you can see one of the first chassis prototypes at the Proton Technology Week, so remember to head on there tomorrow from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM if you want to have a look at it.

The chassis reveals quite a bit about the car. There is also a model of the interior hidden in a box with holes cut into it, much like the peekaboo promo that Proton did for its previous two models. The following are what I gathered on the MPV:

Exterior

• Overall shape is like the Toyota Wish but the rear section of the roof does not slope down slightly like the Wish to improve headroom for the third row.
• Tail lamps use LEDs and have a vertical design extending from the top to down, unlike the Wish’s which do not extend into the D pillar. The tail lamps are slimmer at the top but curve out a little at the bottom, similiar to the Volvo XC90’s design. The signal lamps in the light cluster are positioned towards the top for better visibility. You can actually see this in the previously revealed sketch and the teaser video above.
• There is a swage line on the side profile of the MPV.
• The spare tyre is installed outside under the chassis instead of kept in the car so that you can get access to it easily when the luggage space is occupied.

Interior

• The peekaboo box revealed a two-tone beige interior, but sources in Proton say the colour of the interior has not been finalised. It may be either beige or grey.
• Luggage space is not that great with the third row of seats in place, but can fit one large golf bag. This means balik kampung with 7 people loaded and luggage for 7 will be a challenge.
• Second row splits 60:40 while the third row is a 50:50 split. The seats fold flat.
• Interior roof height is designed to be quite decent to accomodate people who want to ride with songkoks and turbans.
• The shifter uses a gated shift and is dashboard-mounted rather than mounted between the front two seats, a common modern trend with MPV-like vehicles.
• The in-car entertainment is a 2-DIN unit. There are options for a DVD player with an LCD display for the movie mounted at the second row roof area. There is also an option in the future for GPS navigation.
• The 2-DIN head unit is at the top of the center dash area below the aircond vents, and below it comes the air conditioning controls which are three knobs arranged in a triangle shape. Below that is the shifter.
• There are aircond blowers for the second and third row situation at the top left and right of the cabin roof (near the grip handles). Proton source says after testing this produced the best airflow.
• There is no armrest between the front two seats but the armrest is instead a fold-down type integrated into the seat itself.

Chassis

• The wheelbase of the chassis is estimated to be more than 2,700mm but less than 2,800mm. In comparison, the Honda Stream has a wheelbase of 2740mm, the Wish is 2,750mm, the Innova 2,750mm, the Livina 2600mm, and the Mazda5 2750mm.
• The front suspension design uses MacPherson struts and the rear design uses a torsion beam to minimize suspension system intrusion into cabin.
• The front end is designed, supplied and assembled as a single module for weight reduction and ease of installation to minimize QC problems.
• The MPV is said to have very good crash safety design from Proton internal crash tests. A few MPVs will be sent for official crash testing and rating soon.

So there you have it. If you want to look at the interior and chassis for yourself you can head to the Proton Technology Week event tomorrow. The event is happening at the Proton plant in Shah Alam. On the KESAS highway heading towards Klang, turn left after the Center of Excellence and then turn left into the Proton plant.


An initial concept sketch of the Proton MPV interior, but the production version will be tamed down.

Proton MPV teaser video gets attention…

Day 1 visitors having a peek at the new MPV’s interior.

A forumer posted photos of a Proton MPV test mule with a Toyota Wish body. Proton is currently performing on-road tests of the new MPV and is either:

a) employing a well known disguise technique of using the body of a similiar vehicle to hide the chassis of a car being tested, or…
b) is currently performing powertrain tests with a body of a similiar weight and size.

The photos show that the interior features a Toyota Wish dashboard with a Proton steering wheel. The interior seems to have a bad fit and finish - weird gaps here and there very atypical of a Toyota.

Look at the area around the left-most air conditioning vent as well as the area where the dash meets the center tunnel which runs between the two front seats. The dash could be looking that way because it has been adapted to fit the Proton MPV’s interior. If you look closely, there’s nothing where the dash-mounted shift lever is supposed to be. There is very likely a Proton powertrain and gearbox under this test mule’s engine bay.

On-road tests with a different body can be done if the air intakes provided by the donor body’s grilles and bumper vents as well as undercarriage design are modified to match amount of air cooling that the final product’s design will give the engine bay. Adding ballasts or stripping unnecessary equipment is done to ensure the final body is the same or similiar weight to the actual product.

Hopefully more photos of the new MPV will surface soon, perhaps later in the year we’ll see some with the actual body.