This year's Chinese New Year balik kampung trip has been a bit different with the addition of my new ride the Proton Exora. I had a wonderful trip with my Exora. It serves my family well with strong, tough and practical characteristics.
It was a very relaxing and comfortable trip with the Exora, mainly because of it's ride and handling and space of cause, which it outclassed my Vios, the test-driven Avanza and my sister-in-law's Alza in every expect minus only its speed. Speed mentioned here is its acceleration, NOT the top-speed compared to the Toyota Vios because the Toyota is unrivaled in this category being a small normal aspirated engine.
I started the trip on early Saturday at around 5 a.m. morning while my kid still in his dreamland. I've packed everything in the car the day before departure and everything went smooth. Then I got stuck in the jam after Sg. Buloh toll because of an accident. Car was moving slowly and I am constantly doing up-shifts and down-shifts...
It was indeed a tiring affair until I realized that I can reduce the shifts by lengthen the car distance so that I don't need to push to a complete stop and clutch-down. This method really saved my left foot a lot. Also I realized that driving a manual must always "foresee" the road conditions a few cars ahead and make the gear-switch earlier. If in any situation the preceding cars slow down I will shift to free gear so that no complete clutch-down is required when the vehicle stops. I can concentrate solely on the braking.
Another issue is the Exora feels a bit heavy when accelerating from stop or low speed (~15km/h) especially in the rushing right lane. I realized more gas is required to keep pace with the fast moving cars but that isn't an issue because its high gears can build up speed when more gas is given. Once the car entering the right RPM then it cruises tamely.
I managed to hit 160km/h on my Exora on half throttle after a while, a mere second slower than the Alza or 2 seconds slower than the Vios I perhaps, but I must tell you than this beast can sustain really high speed without much trouble. No vibration issue found during high-speed instead it became more composed than before. I believe the top speed of 180km/h is achievable with full throttle.
The car was really stable given the curvy and sloppy PLUS road conditions. It handles so well just like a normal sedan car. The ride is absolutely refine. Same goes to the noise suppression level which is better than the Vios, Avanza and Alza, I can still listen to my music without much disturbance at high speed. Plus, my baby is sleeping so peacefully in his seat because of this car's stability. Credits for Proton Ride and Handling!
Overall this Balik Kampung trip has been a very pleasant journey for me. I didn't suffer any back pain or tiredness even after the long drive of approximately 7 hours back and forth (Unlike driving my Vios where I felt the tiredness at the back and legs). The Exora serves my family well. With its freezing air-conditioner and big space as well as nearly perfect ride and handling, it certainly worth its name as the Malaysia Rakyat's most affordable and practical family MPV.
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