PROTON is launching their first SUV in Malaysia very soon and this is the first product that’s co-developed by Geely and PROTON. During the exclusive preview to the media, it was revealed that the SUV will be called the PROTON X70 and it’s open for booking starting tomorrow.
To be among the first to own the PROTON X70, you can place a deposit of RM1,000 beginning 8 September 2018. To see the vehicle up close, PROTON will be organising preview sessions for the public between 19 September until 4 November 2018 across 7 cities throughout Malaysia which include Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.
The X70 name was selected from a total of 89,800 submissions through an online contest. This is the first alphanumeric naming system used on a PROTON model. According to their research, this would allow them to sell the X70 in ASEAN as well as international markets without language barriers to overcome. The letter X is synonyous Crossover or SUV while the number 70 denotes the type of class or size (bigger means larger).
The PROTON X70 is based on the Geely Boyue (pictured above) which is also known as the Geely Emgrand X7 in other markets. The design team had made some changes to the exterior in order to differenciate the X70 from Geely’s model.
The front grill will get a different design featuring a large PROTON badge that’s framed with 3 black horizontal bars. There’s also daytime running lights (DRL) which gives it a “pair of eyes” that mimics the face of a Malayan Tiger. Meanwhile, the interior gets premium materials such as Nappa leather and brushed aluminium accents, and there’s also a touchscreen interface on the dashboard.
The PROTON X70 is expected to be available sometime in November and it will be priced below the Honda CR-V. The CR-V is currently priced from RM138,308 for the base 2.0L 2WD variant and it goes all the way up to RM163,191 for its range topping 1.5L TC-P 2WD model.
The official specifications and features have not been announced but you can expect three trim levels: Standard, Premium and Executive.
Standard will come in 2WD only while the Premium and Executive variants get 2WD and AWD options. There will be only one engine option across all trim levels, a turbo GDI engine producing 181hp and 285Nm of torque. The engine power figures are nothing to shout home about when you consider manufacturers can easily and reliably push out 200+ hp from a 1.6 turbo-charged engine. For comparison, the X70’s close competitor, the Honda CR-V 1.5 turbo pushes 190hp and 243Nm of torque.
Expect a whole host of driver-aid technologies to be available, at the very least in the Executive and Premium trim of the X70. These include automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, 360-camera, blind spot monitor and possibly lane-departure warning and avoidance plus a tyre pressure monitoring system.
From the models what were presented to us during the session today, we can see the top-spec Premium version gets a built-in air purification system and a multi-speaker sound system complete with sub-woofer.
In Cars, Local News, Proton / By Gerard Lye / 7 September 2018 12:57 pm / 37 comments
Now that Proton’s first-ever SUV has finally received its name, the question on the minds of most Malaysians is why the model is being called the X70.
As you may know, the national carmaker previously organised an online poll inviting the public to vote for the name of the Geely Boyue-based model. At the time, four choices were available – X7, PX7, X70 or X700.
During this morning’s media preview of the X70, it was revealed that almost 90,000 people took part in the poll, of which 60% voted for X70. The fact that the name won by a majority isn’t just a demonstration of democracy in action either.
Proton says X70 was selected as it would be more acceptable in ASEAN as well as other international markets without having to adjust for naming conventions in other markets. As the SUV will be exported outside of Malaysia, the need for a standardised nameplate would make things easier from a coding perspective as well.
Breaking down the name, Proton explains that the letter ‘X’ serves to denote vehicles in the crossover or SUV segment. Meanwhile, the number ‘70’ refers to the size/class of the SUV, and provides Proton with naming system that allows bigger or small models to be added in the future. Think Volvo’s XC line-up that ranges from the compact XC40 to the XC60 and on to the XC90.
To add, Proton CEO Li Chunrong mentioned during the preview that the name was also chosen to emphasis the automaker’s name rather than the model on its own.
The X70 is the first Proton model to use an alphanumeric naming system but it won’t be the only one, as future models being introduced will follow the same system as well. Whether this will spell the end of iconic nameplates such as the Saga, Perdana, Persona, etc. remain to be seen.
GALLERY: Proton X70 colours
In Cars, Local News, Proton / By Matthew H Tong / 7 September 2018 11:51 am / 126 comments
We’re weeks away from the official launch of Proton’s first ever SUV, and a closed-door viewing at the company’s headquarters in Shah Alam earlier today finally revealed crucial details of the car, as well as the name, which is X70. The new model will be sold through qualified Proton sales outlets only, and bookings can be made beginning September 8, 2018, with a deposit of RM1,000.
To start, there will be four variants on offer, starting with the base Standard 2WD, Executive 2WD, Executive AWD and Premium 2WD. All variants will feature a 1.8 litre TGDi turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 181 hp and 285 Nm of torque.
Design-wise, it’s pretty much the same as we’ve come to expect, seeing the number of times the X70 has been leaked. Up front, it gets a unique winged grille design with three horizontal bars that converge into the Proton badge, and the entire piece is encased in thick chrome surrounds. Very little cosmetic changes have actually been made, because the bulk of work has been to convert it from left-hand drive to right-hand drive – the Boyue is the first Geely model to be converted to RHD.
Proton’s head of design, Azlan Othman, had earlier said the reason for the minor cosmetic tweaks is to speed up the X70’s market introduction, but more visual changes will come in the CKD version, which is slated for a mid-2019 arrival.
For now, the X70 gets keyless entry (with active touch sensors on the front door handles) with push-start, electrically foldable wing mirrors, LED projector headlights with LED DRLs, LED fog lamps, 18-inch alloy wheels with Hankook Dynapro HP2 (225/60 R18) tyres, and dark-tinted LED tail lights. As with all recent Proton models, both the head- and tail-lights feature Proton lettering.
Inside, again, things remain fairly similar to the Geely Boyue facelift, on which the X70 is based on. There’s brown Nappa leather on the seats, door card inserts and steering wheel (on the Premium model, Exec and Standard get synthetic leather), automatic dual-zone climate control and a widescreen 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (1,920 x 720 pixels) with 4G connectivity. Auto headlights and wipers are also on.
There’s also voice recognition support (designed with Malaysian English in mind), as ‘demonstrated’ by our premier Tun Dr Mahathir, as well as a fully-digital and configurable instrument panel, which is a first for the Proton brand.
Decorative trim and material include brushed silver and wool inlays on the dash and silver grab handles. There’s also an Infinite Weave design element found on the door handles and speaker grilles. Elsewhere, there are rear air-con vents and a full-sized panoramic glass roof, but the latter is only available on the top variant.
According to Yang Jun, VP of group engineering at Geely, the X70 will not be short on technology and equipment. Other features include a 360-degree camera, which shows a 3D view of obstacles surrounding the car, as well as a forward-facing camera at the top of the windscreen to enable the car’s driver assist systems. These enable functions such as autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. The X70 will also come with a blind spot monitor.
Also on are the “Smartphone Remote Control” and “Smart Air Purifier” features, the latter in reference to the “Air Cleaner” system that can be found above the rear air-con vent between the front seats. A tyre pressure monitoring system is also on the equipment list, and safety kit will include six airbags.
Other amenities include USB charging ports for the front passenger seat, two more at the back of the centre console, as well as another port behind the rear-view mirror, for those who want to install driving video recorder (dashcam). On the top-spec Premium, the front passenger seats are powered with Toyota Camry-like shoulder controls to boot, while a rear subwoofer is present under the boot floor, sandwiched between the space-saver tyre.
In terms of performance, the output seen on the 1.8 litre TGDi turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine – which uses Shell oil as the recommended lubricant – is the highest tune available for the petrol-powered Boyue, and the mill is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. There are front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions to be had. According to the energy consumption label found on cars in China, combined fuel consumption for a TGDi front-wheel-drive Boyue weighing 1,690 kg is 7.8 litres per 100 km (12.8 km/l).
So far, the available exterior colour options as we can tell are red, white, silver, grey, brown. As for the name, Proton adds that ‘X70’ was the most popular choice from almost 90,000 participants that voted in the company’s poll, accounting for 60% of the total votes.
So far, the national automaker has 77 test vehicles in its fleet and has performed up to 300 vehicle tests and over 500 vehicle system tests on the car. Approximately 750,000 man-hours have gone into the making of this model, and the test mule has clocked over two million kilometres of reliability testing.
As for pricing, the automaker isn’t saying anything yet on how much the X70 will cost, so everyone will just have to wait for that to be revealed.
So, what do you think of the Proton X70? Is it living up to the hype, and has it met or surpassed your expectations? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to stay tuned for more updates.
GALLERY: Proton X70 colours
GALLERY: Geely Boyue 1.8L TGDi facelift
