Check out the Malaysian Geely Coolray – the Proton X50
There was a time when the Malaysian automotive brand Proton was available in the Philippines. Back then they used to sell rebadged Mitsubishi cars. Times have changed and now there’s the new Proton X50 in Malaysia, essentially a rebadged Geely Coolray which is quite popular in the Philippine market.
For those who don’t know, Geely owns a 49.9% stake in the Proton brand just like how it owns stakes in other brands like Lynk & Co, Lotus, and the pride of many Geely owners – Volvo. The new Proton X50 is a product of that relationship just like how the larger Proton X70 is a rebadged Geely Boyue (or Azkarra in our market).
As expected, there are a couple of differences here and there as Proton and Geely are still two completely different brands. Based on these photos that we came across on a report by Paultan.org, we can see on the outside that the X50 loses Geely’s signature Expanding Cosmos front grille. It still does get red accents on its new front grille just like on the Coolray.
It also looks like the X50 will be getting a system similar to, if not exactly Geely’s G-Pilot safety suite as there is a sensor located below the license plate. This means it could come with autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control with active lane keeping assist. Proton’s CEO, Dr. Li Chunrong even confirmed that it will get full-fledged Level 2 semi-autonomous driving features.
Inside, the X50 remains pretty much unchanged from the Coolray. Just like our local market Coolray Sport variant, the X50 also gets the black and red colored interior. Rear A/C vents which we don’t get also appear to be available. Everything else except the Proton badge on the steering wheel also look to be the same.
No details have been revealed as to what exactly is under the hood of the Proton X50 but it will most likely be the same 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder found on the Geely Coolray. That produces 177 hp and 255 Nm of torque, paired to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The Proton X50 is expected to be launched in the Malaysian market soon.
