Last seen in November last year, the SUV was spotted earlier this week in the midst of hill trials, heading up Genting Highlands, by reader Akid Basarom, who managed to get these shots. Although the trade plates on the camouflaged example aren’t the same as that in the previous spyshot, they are from the automaker, a digit off from the ones worn on a Saga mule two years back. In any case, the by-now familiar silhouette identifies the vehicle quite easily.
In China, the Haoyue is offered in five-
or seven-seat configurations, and motive power is provided by a 1.8 litre
turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with 181 hp and 300 Nm being sent to the
front wheels via a seven-speed DCT, similar to that seen on the X70.
In the Philippines, the SUV gets a 1.5
litre turbo three-cylinder and 48-volt mild hybrid setup, and this offers 190
PS and 300 Nm of torque, again delivered to the front wheels via a seven-speed
dual-clutch transmission. It’ll be interesting to see if the brand adopts a
similar mild hybrid route for our market.
No word on when the Proton version – which
given the naming convention adopted by the automaker could well be known as the
X90 – is slated to arrive, but given the increased rate of field testing at
this point, it shouldn’t be too long.
