Proton Juara (rear), Serdang
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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 ''miàn bāo chē'' ("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-segm ...
produced by the
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
n automobile manufacturer
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
between 2001 and 2004. It was launched on 22 July 2001 as Proton’s first non- saloon,
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
or
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
model. The Juara was to be jointly developed by Proton and
Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
as an export model under the
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
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.


History


Pre-launch

The first sketches of a Proton MPV (
multi-purpose vehicle Minivan (sometimes called simply a van) is a 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 MPV (multi-pu ...
) 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 A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
or
coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
vehicles. Proton began development of their first MPV, then codenamed 'Proton RGW', in late 1999. It was based on the Mitsubishi Town Box Wide platform, which Proton had intended to re-engineer over 2 or 3 years to suit different tastes.
Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
had also expressed intentions to
rebadge In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. T ...
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 ...
) plant in
Pekan Pekan is a town in Pekan District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is also the royal capital of the state. Its name comes from a flower, the '' Bunga Pekan''. Pekan is also the name of the district the town is situated in, and a parliamentary constituen ...
,
Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...
.


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-segm ...
by Proton. However, the Juara's unconventional
kei car Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term ''kei'' is a shortening of , (kanji: ), which translates to English as "light vehicle" (). With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners ...
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 Mitsubishi Town Box Wide 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 1974) ...
, 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 A small number of cars in the 1920s, such as the 1925 Flint Model E-55, f ...
s with anti-trap, power-adjusted
wing mirror A side-view mirror (or side mirror), also known as a door mirror and often (in the UK) called 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 ...
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 Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...
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 A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
). 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
airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. ...
s 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
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 1974) ...
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 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. Some people even referred Proton Juara as "moving fridge" ( Malay: ''peti sejuk bergerak'') due to its odd bulky shape. 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 a discontinued Car, automobile produced by the Malaysian car manufacturer Proton (automobile), Proton. Considered to be a compact MPV, compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in the C-segment, it became Malaysia's first locally d ...
. 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 municipality located in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. It is known as the Cattle Capital. Its area is , and its population is 35,121 inhabitants (2020 estimate). The town's economy is based in three field ...
Cars introduced in 2001 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Kei cars Microvans Mini MPVs