(First Impression) 2020 Proton X50

By now unless you are living under a rock in Malaysia, most of you have already known about the highly anticipated Proton X50 SUV. The hype was so high that it completely eclipses the launch of two of its Korean rival the Kia Seltos and Hyundai Kona. Finally, after months and months of teasing and countless of spy shots as well as media testing session the X50 was launch with a total of 4 trim levels. They are the Standard, Executive, Premium and the top of the range Flagship with prices ranging from RM83K to RM107K here in Sarawak. Of course, this will only be my first impression review and not a full coverage as testing has been made unavailable at the time of launch. I will be sure to do a follow up review once I can get my hands behind the wheel of the SUV. The 2 units that were available at launch in my local dealership were the Premium (in Grey) and the Flagship (in Red).

Anyways back to the X50. This 5 passenger SUV has an overall length of 4330 mm with the wheelbase of 2600 mm which puts it in the sub compact SUV category. So, in term of size the X50 competes with cars such as the Honda HRV, Mazda CX-30, Subaru XV and Toyota CHR. In term of pricing however the X50 is priced lower that all of its rival and actually match the pricing of the smaller Japanese sub compact sedan category meanings cars such as the Toyota Vios, Nissan Almera, Mazda 2 and Honda City. This segment has seen a huge growth for the past few years with sales figure surpassing mid-size sedan, mid-size SUV and MPV.

Let’s start off with the exterior of the X50 because I have to admit, this one of the best-looking sub compact SUV I’ve ever seen. Compare to its larger X70 sibling which have a more mature taller SUV stance and that controversial high rear end the X50 is pretty much the more handsome and better proportion looking little brother. Yes there is similarity with the floating C-pillar design and the infinite weave pattern grill that they both share but other than that, the X50 just looks like the more expensive and stylish model despite being smaller. The X50 also comes in a cool 2 tone black roof colour paint job on the Flagship model while the X70 does not.

Up front all cars feature standard LED projector headlamp with LED DRL. The front facia design is aggressive and sporty with the lower bumper design having an angular sharp splitter. A splitter on an SUV. Imagine that! Not only that it is finish in a rather cool carbon fiber look. There is also a red accent line on the grill with the new Proton emblem that basically had me screaming Golf GTi. Every model except the Standard model gets LED fog lights which makes for a bright illumination indeed.

Moving toward the side, the rising beltline and prominent lines make for an athletic stance with lower SUV body cladding giving that slight rugged and tough persona. Lower Standard and Executive model feature single tone 17-inch alloy wheels while the upper 2 model gets a dual tone 18-inch alloy wheels complete with red colour painted calipers! Now that is rather sporty for a mainstream sub compact SUV.

That sporty theme continues towards the back where every X50 gets not twin, but quad exhaust pipes! Seriously!? At first, I could not believe it but upon my own inspection of the car, yes those are real metal exhaust pipes with emission coming out of them. I mean this is almost luxury and high-performance SUV territory and not even the larger X70 have this feature. Besides those pipes the upper spoiler which also a standard feature is not your typical boring design. But truth be told I was hoping for the larger wing spoiler on the Geely Binyue but then again, they do have to keep the cost down. Lastly wrapping the back end together are a set of nice-looking tube style LED tail lamps that is connected by a trim piece which houses the Proton words alphabet.

As much as the outside of the X50 impresses, the interior of the SUV is where the X50 really shine. Seriously, it makes every other car in this price range feels cheap and empty. The level of built quality, finishes and materials are just as good as in the larger X70 but with an added touch of modern style. The floating touch screen infotainment system which are 8 inches on the lower 2 model and 10.25 inches on the upper 2 still does not offer apple car play or android auto but I can almost forgive them due to high tech GKUI system that is pretty much like in the X70. You can stream music online, connect the mirror link on your Android smart phone and not to mention the “Hi Proton” voice command function.

The dashboard features red colour upper leather trim with stitching on Premium and Flagship model while Standard and Executive make do with black. The gear selector is exact same one seen in the CKD X70. No surprise there since the X50 uses the same 7 speed dual clutch transmission as well. There is also a rather large grab handle on the front passenger side for some reason that is integrated into the dashboard. The steering wheel is leather wrap on all models except the Standard X50.

The seats are fabric for the lowest model while others get leatherette with black fitted to the Executive model and black with red accents fitted on the Premium and Flagship model. The upper 2 models also get power driver seat, full colour LCD meter cluster, anti-trap power windows all doors, automatic single zone climate control and on the outside roof mounted rails. Both the front and rear passengers have plenty of head and leg room to spread out. In the back, all X50 get air vents and dual charging port as well a center arm rest with cup holders. The angle of the seat back cannot be adjusted but the angle itself is comfortable and would not be an issue for me on longer journey.

Overall, the interior of the X50 is very much a pleasant place to be in. It gives you the feel like you bought a much more expensive car then what it really is. The Flagship variant also feature a large panoramic sunroof, auto diming rear view mirror and ADAS (Advance Driver Assistant System) which bundles up adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and high beam assist. Standard safety system includes 4 airbags, ESP, TCS, HSA, HDC and BA. The Executive model adds 2 more curtain airbags to 6 airbags in total.

Lastly the boot space is not the largest in class (title still hold by the Honda HRV) but you do get a decent 330 litre of room and the rear seats can be folded 60:40 to accommodate more load. There is also a space saver spare wheel under the boot floor. The rear tailgate is not powered but Proton do offer the utility package accessories which you can purchase for RM3300 that adds the power tail gate, boot tray, alloy doorstep trim and coil mat.

Lastly under the hood of the X50 comes 2 engine choices. The lower 3 models get a 1.5L 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that makes 150 Ps and 226 Nm of torque. While the Flagship model gets the same engine unit but with direct injection compare to the multiport injection of the lower model. The changes in this fuel injection system bumps the engine output to 177 Ps and 255 Nm of torque. All power is sent to the front wheels only via a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. No Awd is available.

The engine bay feature lots of plastic cover but it still not as covered compare to the larger X70 and it also misses out on the X70 gas style dampers hood holder and make do with traditional rod type. The base X50 Standard model can only be had with 3 colour options which are Snow White, Armour Silver and Ocean Blue. The rest of the model have the same colour option with the addition of Jet Grey, Citric Orange, and Passion Red.

Prices for the Proton X50 Standard starts at RM 83,019.18 while the Executive model goes for RM 88,716.01. The Premium and Flagship models are priced at RM97,290.20 and RM107,583.96 respectively. All X50 comes with 5-year warranty or 150,000.00 km, whichever comes first. With those prices there is no doubt that the X50 is going to best seller for Proton. The car pretty much ticks all the right boxes buyers want and looking for in a new car. Safety, performance, features, style and value. The pricing of the car would also heavily affect the sales of imported sub compact sedan as most buyer would now cross shop the X50 with that class of vehicle. So, all is good with the X50, that is until you decide to purchase one for yourself. As of today, most dealership has confirmed a 6-month waiting list if you book one right now due to popular demands. With that problem in mind if you are in a hurry to buy a new car right now below or around RM100K, best look somewhere else. Maybe all those sub-compact sedans might still have a fighting chance after all.

*All information and data belong and source from Proton Malaysia.