The Proton X50 is now official. Proton has teased its upcoming crossover in its 2020 Merdeka video,
showing a blue example along with the rest of the current product range.
Finally, the automotive industry’s worst kept secret is out. A few quick cuts show off the X50’s side
profile, quad tailpipes, LED headlights with daytime running lights and the
round Proton logo. Look closely enough and you’ll even spot red highlights on
the front grille and the brake callipers. The wheels match the 18-inch items
found on the Geely Bin Yue/Coolray in other markets.
This also confirms we are getting the
“Sport” version of the crossover (it’s available with two distinct faces in
China, this being the more aggressively-styled look), as seen in the frontal
shot and of course, the quad pipe close-ups. Interestingly enough, the teaser
car wears a body-coloured roof setup instead of black, although the floating
roof look is still in play with the blacked-out C-pillars.
There are no specifics released just yet,
but the Proton X50 is likely getting the 1.5 litre, direct injection
turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with 177 hp and 255 Nm of torque,
paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission as available in both China
and the Philippines. The 0-100 km/h time as claimed by Geely is 7.9 seconds.
Built on the modular BMA platform, the X50
is expected to be offered with class-leading safety features. Six airbags and
electronic stability control will be standard, while the upper variant(s) are
likely to have autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and even adaptive cruise
control (ACC) with active lane keep assist, surpassing even its bigger sibling,
the X70.
Now that Proton is actively teasing the
X50, the launch should be planned for the next month or two, matching the Q4
2020 timeline indicated earlier.
