Proton X50

X50 Overview

Launched as a rebadged Geely Coolray, the Proton X50 is the Malaysian car maker’s next onslaught in the SUV/crossover segment. The B-segment Proton X50 will be taking on the likes of the premium end of the established compact SUVs and has been made available in three different variants – Comfort, Sport, and Premium. The two color options being offered in two color options – white and red.

Proton X50 Interior & Features

The Proton X50 shares its entire interior cabin layout with the Geely Coolray, which already is a tech-savvy place, to begin with. The overall layout looks super cool, with a lot of design bits appearing to be a bit ahead of today’s generation cars.

The driver’s cockpit looks quite futuristic, thanks to a wide and flat bottom multi-functional steering wheel as well as a trapezoidal-shaped full TFT colored instrument console with a rounded upper edge. The center console of the dashboard looks swanky, thanks to a simple but elegantly shaped rectangular touchscreen infotainment system, as well as two protruding out rectangular AC vents below them.

The middle layer of the dashboard looks neat with its contrasting silver finish, with attractive looking AC vents on either ends. The upper layer of the dashboard is finished in soft-touch red fabric, while the lower one is treated in an all-black finish. The cabin is armed with the latest features like a panoramic sunroof, 360-degree around-view camera, powered and ventilated front seats, and more.

X50 Exterior

Save for the badging, there is nothing on the Proton X50 which differentiates it from the Geely Coolray. The Proton SUV is exactly the same vehicle as its Chinese counterpart, which is not a bad thing actually, considering that the Geely Coolray is already a good thing, to begin with.

At the front, the Proton X50 comes with an angular grille with a flat upper edge and tapered side and lower edges. The grille is flanked with angular headlamps which do get double LED projector headlamps with L-shaped twin daytime running LEDs surrounding the projectors. To add in a dash of style, the X50 has been adorned with sporty chin spoilers and fog lamp inserts on the front bumper.

The side profile of the Proton X50 is a good mix of new and traditional design elements, with the heighted stance and elevated ground clearance of a traditional SUV and a sloping bonnet of a modern crossover. To add some macho appeal to the design, the Proton X50 gets slightly squared front and rear fenders, however, the wheel arches are in a traditional rounded form, with tough-looking wheel arch molding running over them as well as the bottom of the doors. The sharp uprising kink in the C-pillar adds some more visual drama to the design.

At the back, the Proton X50 again retains the original design of the Geely Coolray in its exact form, with a curved character line joining the horizontally stretched trapezoidal LED tail lamps. The wheel arch molding of the sideways extends here in the form of a tough-looking bumper cladding.

Proton X50 Ride & Handling

The Geely Coolray drives like a typical crossover, with a sorted ride and handling balance as compared to the traditional ladder on frame SUVs. There is a planted feel in its suspension setup, which makes it a decent car to drive. However, the light-weighted steering setup, which makes city driving quite smooth, is not too involving on long stretches and corners.

X50 Engine & Fuel Consumption

Under the hood too, Proton hasn’t carried out any significant change to the powertrain of the Geely Coolray, and the Proton X50 too is powered by the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. The engine, here, is coupled to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and pumps out a maximum power output of 177 PS and a peak torque output of 255 Nm.

Proton X50 Braking & Safety

The safety equipment list of the Proton X50 mirrors that of the Geely Coolray, with the crossover getting features like front, side, and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, 360-degree around-view monitor, electric parking brake, blind-spot monitoring system, and reverse parking sensors

X50 Verdict

Given that it is exactly the same vehicle as to the Geely Coolray, Proton could have differentiated the X50 with it by introducing some of the styling tweaks. Nevertheless, this youthful-looking vehicle, with its premium and smartly laid interior cabin and a punchy engine under the hood, will appeal to the drivers young at heart.