The Proton Juara is a

microvan A microvan is a van or minivan which is within the Japanese kei car classification or similar, and is smaller than a mini MPV. In China, these vehicles are nicknamed ''mian bao che'' ("bread-loaf vehicle") because of their shape.

mini MPV Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-s ...

produced by the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n automobile manufacturer Proton between 2001 and 2004. It was launched on 22 July 2001 as Proton’s first non- saloon, hatchback or coupé model. The Juara was to be jointly developed by Proton and

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Mitsubishi badge. However, its poor reception and slow sales led to an early end to its production in 2004.

Etymology

The name ''Juara'' means "Champion" in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

History

Pre-launch

The first sketches of a Proton MPV (

multi-purpose vehicle Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is ...

) existed as early as the 1990s, during the dawn of the MPV era. During this period, all of Proton's offerings were either saloon, hatchback or

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

vehicles. Proton began development of their first MPV, then codenamed 'Proton RGW', in late 1999. It was based on the

Mitsubishi Town Box Wide The Mitsubishi Town Box is a kei car (Town Box) and minivan (Town Box Wide) produced for the Japanese domestic market (JDM) by the Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. It was initially available with the alloy-headed '' 4A30'' 657 cc inl ...

platform, which Proton had intended to re-engineer over 2 or 3 years to suit different tastes.

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.rebadge In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...

the re-engineered Proton version as a Mitsubishi car for export markets. The joint development had aimed to lower costs for both companies, where Proton would be spared from paying royalties to Mitsubishi for the use of their platforms, and Mitsubishi would save on production costs if Proton were to re-engineer cars for them. Proton officially announced their MPV plans to the public in early 2000, and by November that same year, the first prototype had been completed. Production of the MPV began in the second quarter of 2001 at the HICOM Automotive Manufacturers Malaysia (present-day

DRB-HICOM DRB-HICOM Berhad () is one of Malaysia's leading corporations, involved in the automotive manufacturing, assembly and distribution industry through its involvement in the passenger car and four wheel drive vehicle market segment, the national t ...

) plant in Pekan,

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

Post-launch

The Proton Juara was launched on 22 July 2001 at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Esplanade. The launch was endorsed by the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The name ''Juara'' was only revealed on its launch date, and it was intended to pay tribute to the nation's sports champions of that period. The Juara was to be a niche product, and was deemed a 'lifestyle vehicle' as well as a

Mini MPV Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-s ...

by Proton. However, the Juara's unconventional kei car dimensions and van-like design was not well received by the Malaysian public. Nonetheless, the Juara's unique package makes it highly versatile and practical. It offers three rows and up to six individual seats, depending on the configuration. Both the second and third row seats can be moved, removed or folded with ease. The overall looks of the Juara remained largely unchanged over the

which it is based on, bar the unique Proton corporate front

grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...

, front

bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 197 ...

, bodyside mouldings and 14-inch alloy rims. The Juara also came standard with dual front

power window Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by pressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a crank handle. History Packard had introduced hydraulic window lifts (power windows) in fall of ...

s with anti-trap, power-adjusted

wing mirror A side-view mirror (or side mirror), also known as a wing mirror, is a mirror placed on the exterior of motor vehicles for the purposes of helping the driver see areas behind and to the sides of the vehicle, outside the driver's peripheral v ...

s, follow-me-home lights and a CD-radio player. The Proton Juara is powered by a 1.1-litre Mitsubishi 4A31 S4 4-cylinder EFI petrol engine which produces 71 hp or 53 kW of power at 6,000 rpm and 94 Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm respectively. Only a 4-speed automatic was offered. The Juara has a top speed of 135 km/h and a 0–100 km/h time of 18.1 seconds. Its suspension setup consists of MacPherson struts at the front and trailing arms in the rear. Proton claimed to have tuned the suspension for car-like handling based on expertise gained from Lotus. Uniquely, the Juara is one of only a handful of Proton cars to be rear-wheel driven (

FR layout In automotive design, a FR, or front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one where the engine is located at the front of the vehicle and driven wheels are located at the rear via a drive shaft. This was the traditional automobile layout for mos ...

). The Juara also became the first Proton to feature Electric Power Steering (EPS). Safety-wise, the Proton Juara came equipped with a reinforced body structure with anti-intrusion bars, as well as front-ventilated disc brakes and rear drum brakes respectively. The brake line also has a load-sensing proportioning valve which prevents rear wheel lock-up on wet surfaces when the Juara is lightly loaded. However, there are no airbags or an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). The Proton Juara was sold in four colours, namely yellow, silver, iridium, and black, all of which have two-tone combinations on the

s and bodyside mouldings. The car was sold in several trim variants, of which the 1.1E was most popular, which retailed at around RM49,200 at launch. Its closest rival was the

Perodua Kenari The Perodua Kenari is a city car produced by Malaysian automotive company Perodua. The Kenari is based on the second generation Daihatsu Move kei car (minicar) with a 990 cc DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the ca ...

. The Juara's market performance was generally poor, with production stopping a few months after its introduction in July 2001. However, production resumed in mid-2002 with significantly reduced pricing, but sales remained unsustainable. Proton discontinued production of the Juara altogether in 2004. The car was never exported from its domestic market. On 15 April 2009, the Juara received a spiritual successor in the form of the

Proton Exora The Proton Exora is an automobile produced by Malaysian car manufacturer Proton. Considered to be a compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in the C-segment, it became Malaysia's first locally developed MPV upon its release on 15 April 2009. The Exo ...

. Unlike the Juara, the Exora has become a best-seller for Proton both domestically and in neighbouring export markets.

Sales

References

{{Proton vehicles

Juara Juara is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the states of Brazil, state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region of Brazil. It is known as the Cattle Capital. Its area is , and its population is 35,121 ...

Cars introduced in 2001 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Kei cars Microvans Mini MPVs