Proton Exora CPS 1.6 Review: Move people, move...

What we like:

Likeable exterior

spacious interior

flexible seating arrangement

cabin well-insulated against wind noise

engine and 'box are well-calibrated .

What we dislike:

Engine seems to run out of puff on the highway

seats in the third row feels under-padded.

So you're in the market right now for a people carrier, but don't intend to pay so much for the instalment and maintenance. There's the Chery V5 to consider, but with a 2.4-litre engine, the yearly road tax and insurance amount seems too much. The next affordable competitor is the Kia Carens Elite, but then again, with that 2.0-litre engine, it's not cheap to maintain and insure as well.

That leaves you with only the Proton Exora. It seems Proton has for itself here a winning car, a car that is honest with what it's built and designed to do. It comes with a generous equipment list, and being the sole 1.6-litre MPV in the market now, we're looking here at Proton's next best-seller.

It could do with some slight improvements in the performance department, but this being Proton's first attempt at the MPV market, it's already good enough. The $57,999 price tag further seals the deal...

Credits: Story & pictures by Azfar Hashim, reporting from Jakarta, Indonesia