The Geely Haoyue (Okavango) has been widely tipped to be the basis of Proton’s next new model, and now we’ve got further proof. Paultan spotted the seven-seater SUV on the North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) headed towards Subang, wearing Proton trade plates (they were previously seen on a Geely Binyue, which became the X50).
Although the test mule is covered in
copious amounts of camouflage, the basic silhouette, door-mounted wing mirrors,
“floating” roof rails and trademark rising shoulder line are recognisably the
Haoyue’s. One thing of note is that the taillights appear to be slightly
different from the Geely, while the number plate has been moved up from the
rear bumper to the tailgate.
This suggests that Proton is finally
making significant design changes to its Geely-based models, although this may
be a red herring and could simply be part of the disguise.Given Proton’s naming convention, could
the new model be called the X90? It seems very likely. The Haoyue is the
largest SUV in Geely’s lineup and is available in five- and seven-seat variants
– the latter with individually-adjustable seats. The utilitarian torsion beam
rear suspension even allows enough space with the pews folded flat for an
inflatable double bed, available as an option in China.
Power comes from the same 1.8 litre
turbocharged four-cylinder engine you’ll find in the X70, here making 181 PS
and 300 Nm of torque. It’s all sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed
dual-clutch transmission, again lifted from the X70. As for the Philippines,
the Okavango was launched there last year with the same 1.5 litre turbo
three-cylinder and 48-volt mild hybrid setup as the Azkarra (Boyue Pro),
churning out 190 PS. Prices range from 1,208,000 pesos to 1,328,000
pesos.
