Geely Boyue has been previously confirmed as the first new Proton model in the Geely
era. The Boyue, already in production and on sale in China, will be Proton’s first-ever
SUV. As Perodua does not have an SUV in its current line-up, Proton’s Boyue
will also be the only SUV with a local badge in the market.
However, it is not yet clear what Proton’s
right-hand drive version of the Boyue for the Malaysian market will be called,
and if there will be local styling changes made to the SUV – the unit on
display here is Chinese-market left-hand drive Geely Boyue.
Measuring 4.5 metres long, the Boyue is a five-seater SUV designed by former Volvo designer Peter
Horbury, who heads Geely’s design studios located in Gothenburg, Shanghai,
Barcelona and Los Angeles.
In China, it is offered with a range of engines
which include a 2.4 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder (162 hp/210 Nm) and
a 1.8 litre turbocharged unit (163 hp/250 Nm). Transmission options include a
six-speed manual or dual-clutch automatic, depending on engine choice. The
T-GDI engine powers the unit shown here.
In its domestic market, the Geely SUV also offers an
impressive list of equipment like an eight-inch display screen, Apple
CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility, and safety kit includes lane departure
warning and adaptive cruise control (ACC), which allows the Boyue to match its
highway cruising speed with the car in front of it.
Proton’s version will come with a permanent SIM card
slot, WiFi and related services, plus voice recognition, it was announced at
today’s event.