2018 Proton X70 SUV – four variants, specs detailed

The second round of media previews for the Proton X70 happened today in Petaling Jaya, where Proton released more details on its first SUV, along with fresh images. Order books for the company’s first SUV have opened last month, and the car’s official launch will happen next month.

We already know that there will be four variants of the X70 on offer, and they are the Standard 2WD, Executive 2WD, Executive AWD and Premium 2WD. All are powered by a 1.8 litre TGDi turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 181 hp and 285 Nm of torque from 1,700 to 4,400 rpm, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with manual mode. As suggested by the variant names, front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions are available.

For the 1.7-tonne 2WD version, 0-100 km/h is done in 10.5 seconds and claimed combined fuel consumption is 7.8 litres per 100 km (12.8 km/l).

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The Standard 2WD gets halogen headlamps and 17-inch alloys – these two items mark out the entry-level X70 from the outside. Inside, the Standard comes with fabric seats and an 8.0-inch touchscreen hooked up to a reverse camera.

The GKUI infotainment system is Android-based and comes with an embedded SIM card, 16GB of memory, WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth, navigation and voice recognition, among other things. More on the GKUI in a separate piece later.

The next variant is the Executive 2WD, which adds on LED headlamps and LED daytime running lamps, plus 18-inch alloys. Inside, you’ll find leatherette seats, a powered driver’s seat and live feed from 360-degree cameras. The Executive AWD – as tested by Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim on Monday – adds on the on-demand Borg Warner-developed all-wheel drive and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

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The range-topping Premium 2WD pulls the X70 above some Japanese SUVs in terms of features. On top of the Executive’s kit, it adds Nappa leather seats, power adjustment for the front passenger seat, a panoramic sunroof and Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).

The camera and radar-powered ADAS includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control (ACC, from 30 to 150 km/h), lane departure warning (LDW, no steering), blind spot information system (BLIS) and intelligent high beam control (IHBC automatically lowers beam when oncoming car is detected).

Electronic stability control (ESC) and six airbags are standard cross the board. Proton says that the facelifted Geely Boyue, which the X70 is based on, scored five stars with a class-leading score of 58.2 in the China NCAP crash test, which is higher than the BMW X1’s 56.6 points. Expect five stars in the ASEAN NCAP results, which will be announced later.

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We already know that the Proton X70 will come in five colours (Flame Red, Snow White, Armour Silver, Jet Grey and Cinnamon Brown), but not all variants can be had in all colours. The range-topping Premium 2WD has Flame Red as its exclusive colour, but four other hues are available. The Executive 2WD, which is set to be a popular variant, can be had in four colours, while the other two variants come in two colours each.

Inside, the Standard gets fabric seats, while the Executive trim level gets leatherette (synthetic leather). Both are in black, matched by the door cards. The Premium’s Nappa leather seats and trim are in brown.

No prices yet, though. What do you think of the Proton X70’s specifications and how much would you pay for the various trim levels? For a one-glance view of what the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Nissan X-Trail offer, check out CarBase.my.

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