The upcoming Proton X90 has been sighted once again running tests on Malaysian roads, this time along a stretch of the PLUS highway. The national carmaker’s upcoming seven-seater SUV was found running tests, and the X90 was in a tight convoy with a Mazda CX-8, suggesting that the Japanese SUV was being run for benchmarking purposes. This would not be the first time that Proton has evaluated its upcoming seven-seater with the CX-8, as the latter had previously also been sighted with the X90 on test runs going up Genting Highlands, at the time also joined by a previous-generation Kia Carnival.
Based on the Geely Haoyue, otherwise known
as the Okavango in markets such as the Philippines, and the large SUV offering
from Proton that is to come next year could be offered with a 1.5 litre turbocharged
three-cylinder petrol engine.
The Okavango for the Philippines uses one such engine with a mild-hybrid setup producing 190 PS and 300 Nm driving the front wheels through a dual-clutch transmission, though another possibility is the fully internal combustion version that currently powers the 2022 X70 MC and the X50, and Proton has also said that its Tanjung Malim engine plant is capable of producing the engine in different versions.
As for the Malaysian market, the Proton
X90 has been delayed from its original launch timeline this year due to
pandemic-driven lockdowns locally last year, as well as due to those in China,
so the X90 will be one of three models to be launched by the national carmaker
between 2023 and 2024.
