People have taken notice, too. Demand has been so great, some orders placed in September-October are only now being delivered, and the waiting list remains around six to seven months.
While the X70, which was released in 2018, brought with it hard-to-beat tech features in a car at its price range, the X50 has improved upon them in nearly every way. Voice controls are more responsive, the touch screen interface is smoother and the artificial intelligence features look more realistic.
Under the hood is an engine that is a bit smaller, but you never notice the difference. The turbocharged 1.5L three-cylinder engine is 300cc’s smaller, yet it doesn’t feel any more sluggish because there is less car to move around. In fact, because the car is more compact, you feel a bit more comfortable driving it at higher speeds and taking corners.
It’s also a less thirsty engine. While the X70 was rated at 7.6L/100km, the X50 does the same distance with just 6.4L, a much appreciated improvement owing to the smaller engine and lighter frame.
First-in-class self-parking feature
The X50 features self-parking technology that was absent in the X70, a surreal experience if you haven’t experienced it before. This self-parking feature is a first-in-class for the X50 and is mostly available in cars twice the X50’s price.
After activating the feature by pressing a button on the centre console, you drive to an empty bay, press the button again, and sit back as the wheel spins on its own and the car parks itself.
It’s an interesting feature, and one Proton will no doubt continue to hone in future releases, but for now it remains a work in progress. Occasionally the sensors on the car do not register that a bay is open, and on a few occasions while testing I had to abort the park to avoid hitting other vehicles.
It’s very satisfying when it works, but it needs to be quite reliable enough to be used on a regular basis.
My only other issue was one that will only affect taller readers, but was impossible to personally ignore since I’m a six-footer. While the driver’s seat was able to extend far back enough to accommodate me, the right side wing mirror was less cooperative, unable to adjust sufficiently to give me a complete viewing angle.
Overall however, the newest member of the Proton family is one of the most appealing in the company’s current line-up. The looks, the stance, the feel behind the wheel, everything screams younger compared to the X70. While its bigger brother has more legroom and boot space, there’s still plenty in the X50, and you are not likely to notice the lack of extra space unless you’re routinely filling your car with golf bags or bulky luggage.
While families may prefer the size of the X70, most younger people would probably be far more comfortable with the compact X50, which is easier to manoeuvre in city traffic and feels a bit snappier on the open road.
On top of all that, it’s a good deal cheaper too. Starting at RM79,200 for the 1.5L Standard, you’d save nearly RM15,000 compared to the base spec X70, and close to RM20,000 when comparing the two flagship variants.
With an increasingly impressive track record, Proton has begun to establish itself as a real player in the automotive space, not one that depended on favourable tariff barriers. Now, it’s up to the powers that be to propel the national carmaker into a regional force.
Proton and Geely seem to have found a winning formula that’s brought Malaysians two world class-leading automobiles. But, one question remains: will Proton and the rest of the domestic automotive players get the support they need from the government to drive regional expansion?
