Proton does not build many cars like the Proton X70: a 5-door SUV with Petrol engine, built from 2018 as electrification stopped being an experiment and the crossover took every market. Its designer of record is Azlan Othman.
How it came about
The Proton X70 is a compact crossover SUV produced by the Malaysian car maker Proton. Marketed as a C-segment SUV, the car was launched on 12 December 2018, unveiled in a ceremony by then-prime minister and former Proton chairman Mahathir Mohamad.
Being the first SUV released by Proton, it is conceived by rebadging the Geely Boyue, following the acquisition of Proton by Geely Automobile Holdings in 2017. The X70 is distinguishable from the Boyue by some design element differences and its right-hand drive configuration. In the beginning, the X70 was fully imported (CBU or completely built-up) from China, but since February 2020 the locally assembled version (CKD or complete knocked down) was made available with several notable mechanical changes.
The hardware
Under the skin sits Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1585-1675 kg. The gearbox is a 6-speed automatic (CBU 2018-2019) / 7-speed wet DCT (CKD 2019-present). The wheelbase is 2670 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Proton's history is not in doubt: it was built at Ningbo, Zhejiang. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Tesla Model 3, the Porsche Taycan, the Chevrolet Bolt. Its Proton stablemates include the Proton Perdana and the Proton Arena.