The Proton X70 is slightly over a year old now and Proton is rolling out the locally-assembled version very soon. Ahead of the launch, we now get a clear look at the new features thanks to a leak that was shared on a Facebook page.
New badge and colour
According to The Ajerul, the new Proton X70 2020 will get a new colour which looks like Honda’s modern steel metallic option. From the above photo, it does look a bit like gun metal. Visually, there are no changes on the exterior except for the new round Proton logo on the grill.
7-speed DCT
The new circular logo is also found on the steering wheel and the new X70 features a new gear shifter which looks similar to BMWs. The biggest mechanical upgrade for the CKD SUV is the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The car still has electronic parking brake with auto-hold feature.
According to Paul Tan, the new gearbox from Geely is a wet clutch unit and it frees up 15Nm of torque from the current 1.8L turbo engine. It was reported that Geely’s DCT conforms to Volvo’s stricter durability requirements and it is desigend for a service life of more than 350,000km.
No more AWD, new Premium option without Sunroof
The full variant option list has also been revealed and it appears there’s no more AWD option which is currently offered for the Executive variant. For 2020, there’s Standard, Executive, Premium and Premium X which are all front wheel drive. The only difference between the Premium and Premium X is a panoramic sunroof. Interestingly, the engine is marked as new but it is still a 1.8L TGDi petrol engine. The current engine produces 135kW (181hp) of power and 285Nm of torque.
Power tailgate and seat ventilation
New for 2020 is rear-seat recline which is available across the range. For the Executive variant and above, there’s power tailgate as well as front seat ventilation. The Premium model also gets power tailgate but it comes with the added foot sensor. Similar to last year’s model, the X70 Premium gets all the bells and whistles which includes Advanced Driver Assistance System, 19″ alloy wheels, nappa leather and a 9-speaker setup with subwoofer.
The Proton X70 2020 will be unveiled very soon and we expect the pricing to be somewhat similar to the current CBU models. The current X70 Standard 2WD is priced at RM99,800 while the top-spec Premium 2WD is going for RM123,800. What do you think of the changes? Let us know in the comments below.
