In Cars, Local Car Launches, Local News, Proton / By Jonathan Lee / 9 June 2022 11:13 am / 59 comments

After nearly four years and over 70,000 units on the road, the Proton X70 has finally received its first minor change (MC), giving it mild styling tweaks and a new engine option to go with them. No, this isn’t a facelift in the conventional sense, even though its twin, the Geely Boyue, has gone under the knife twice in China (Boyue Pro/2022 Boyue and Boyue X) since the Malaysian version was launched back in 2018.

First, we’ll need to talk about pricing, which has been adjusted upwards. The 2022 X70 is available in five variants, starting from the 1.5 Standard at RM93,900 (up RM4,000) and rising up to RM105,500 (up RM4,500) for the 1.5 Executive. Making a return since it was dropped in 2020 is the Executive AWD retailing at RM111,300, while the 1.5 Premium with most of the bells and whistles costs RM117,900 (up RM4,800).

The Premium X remains at the top of the lineup, now named simply the 1.8 Premium and costing RM6,000 more at RM121,800. These figures are on-the-road without insurance, inclusive of the sales and service tax (SST) exemption valid until the end of the month. A five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and five times free labour for servicing comes as standard with every purchase, as before.

Even though there aren’t any wholesale aesthetic upgrades, there’s still plenty of things to talk about here. There’s a new powertrain, after all, which is the main focus of the MC. So, let’s get straight to it.

X50 engine on most models, lower outputs but less weight

The engine is a known quantity, especially to owners of the smaller X50. That’s because the 1.5 litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine has been carried over – here, it’s offered exclusively in direct-injected TGDi form, but even this high-output version is slightly less powerful than the outgoing 1.8 litre four-pot.

Power is rated 7 PS lower at 177 PS at 5,500 rpm, but the key stat is torque, which has fallen some 45 Nm to 255 Nm, made between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm. Proton says the shortfall won’t be noticeable in everyday driving conditions because peak twist is made 250 rpm lower down, and the 43 kg saved by dropping one cylinder should also help make up some of the deficit.

We say some, because the new X70 takes three tenths of a second longer to get from zero to 100 km/h, accomplishing the century sprint in 9.8 seconds. On the plus side, the company is claiming a seven per cent improvement in fuel economy, which to most buyers will be a more important consideration.

Three-pot engines aren’t exactly the last word in refinement, but the new mill, developed in collaboration between Geely and Volvo, gets a sound-insulating polyurethane engine cover to ensure the X70’s whisper-quiet driving experience remains undimmed. It’s also locally assembled for the first time, built at a new plant in Tanjung Malim – ahead of it being offered in more Proton models in the future.

Buyers hankering for the older 1.8 litre turbo four-cylinder will be please to know that it will continue to be offered but, as mentioned earlier, it will only be available in the most expensive variant. It produces the same 184 PS at 5,500 rpm and 300 Nm of torque between 1,750 and 4,000 rpm.

As before, models receive a seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, introduced on the locally-assembled CKD model back in 2020. Another product of the Sino-Scandinavian collaboration, the gearbox has been retuned in the 1.5 litre models to suit the new engine but is untouched in the 1.8 Premium.

Drive is sent to the front wheels, although you can once again get all-wheel drive as an option, brought back in response to customer feedback – particularly those in East Malaysia. It’s still limited to the mid-range Executive variant, however, meaning that the all-paw model misses out on the Premium’s all-important driver assistance features. More on that later.

Minor trim colour changes and new wheels, but design remains untouched

Now that we’ve gotten the sole big change out of the way, we can talk about the few aesthetic changes that have been added, which are little more than colour changes to specific parts. There are no new body panels, but the components that were previously matte grey (the Infinite Weave grille bars, front bumper corner “rings”, rear number plate garnish and decorative rear skid plate) are now finished in gloss black.

The sole exceptions are the chin spoiler at the front and the inserts for the air curtain inlets, which have been painted in a brighter matte silver. Meanwhile, the surrounds for those inserts are painted in gloss black instead of body colour, while the door mirrors are finished in metallic Quartz Black – both of these have been carried over from last year’s SE.

Finally, there are the two new wheel designs, both lifted from the Chinese-market Boyue Pro. The intricate 19-inch alloys on the 1.5 and 1.8 Premium are familiar and come from the SE, but the 18-inch rollers for the Executive have not been seen in Malaysia before. The Standard, on the other hand, rides on the same silver 17s as before.

The changes are even more minor on the inside, with just the black headlining being added for a sportier look. The gently undulating dashboard, tall centre console, prominent grab handles and flat-bottomed steering wheel all remain, as do the standard-fit seven-inch instrument display and eight-inch infotainment touchscreen – the latter hooked up to the Geely Key User Interface (GKUI) with “Hey Proton” voice control.

Unchanged kit list, driver assists still exclusive to Premium

Proton has also left the equipment count well alone. The 1.5 Standard continues to come with automatic halogen headlights with LED indicators, LED front fog lights with a cornering light function, LED taillights, keyless entry, push-button start, a multi-function steering wheel, manual seat adjustment, fabric upholstery, reclining rear seats, dual-zone climate control with rear air vents and an air purifier, an electronic parking brake, Internet connectivity, six speakers, rear parking sensors and a reverse camera.

The Executive and Executive AWD models add on LED headlights and daytime running lights, automatic wipers, black faux leather upholstery, ventilated seats with driver’s side powered adjustment, front parking sensors, a 360-degree camera system, eight speakers and a powered tailgate.

Stepping up to the 1.5 Premium adds a hands-free function for the tailgate and nets you brown Nappa leather upholstery, a power-adjustable passenger seat with “boss” switches, four auto up/down windows, additional voice control functions (including for the windows) and a nine-speaker Kenwood sound system. Just like the old Premium X, the 1.8 Premium gains a panoramic sunroof, but it also receives security window tint.

Safety-wise, the X70 comes as standard with six airbags and stability control; as before, only the Premium models can be had with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The suite is unchanged and includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, door opening warning and automatic high beam. As such, the flagship SUV continues to lag behind the X50, which can be had with Level 2 semi-autonomous driving features such as lane centring assist.

As always, we have a spec-by-spec breakdown of the available kit, which is as follows:

Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Standard 2WD – RM93,900 Gets as standard:

Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Executive 2WD – RM105,500 Adds on:

Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Executive AWD – RM111,300 Adds on:

Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Premium 2WD – RM117,900 Adds on:

Proton X70 1.8 TGDi Premium 2WD – RM121,800 Adds on:

The 2022 X70 is available in the same colours as before, with Snow White and Jet Grey offered across the lineup. Oddly, Armour Silver can be had on all but the Executive AWD, while Cinnamon Brown can be picked from the Executive AWD onward. Ruby Red and Space Grey are exclusive to the Premium variants. You can read our review here, and browse full specifications and equipment on CarBase.my.

GALLERY: 2022 Proton X70 official photos GALLERY: 2022 Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Premium GALLERY: 2022 Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Executive AWD

The design is so dated by now, such an eyesore. Proton resting on their laurels by not offering anything significant in 4 years even after the Geely model’s already gone through significant changes is even more disgusting.

yeah what rubbish is this? seriously proton.. so slow

Copy paste: “Danny Tan – I like my SUVs square, but looks are subjective”

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.. Metal sheet is superficial. The ckd came with a dct change, and this Mc comes with new engine. I don’t view these two as insignificant change. On the contrary much better than bumper or tailight change. And the sales number speak for itself

thats the problem with netizen. change bumper=complaint. Change headlamp=complaint. now change mechanical also complaint hahahahah. bukan dia nak beli pun.

Aikon on Jun 07, 2022 at 7:58 am I’m guessing they could intro the 1.5 to supplement the 1.8. Like the X50 which has 2 performance levels, the separation could be 1.5 for lower X70 variants and with a maybe slightly lower entry price too. The 1.8 could be reserved for top variants.

Cheaper roadtax & better FC is gooding for rakyat getting more squeezed with inflation. Right car with right engine for the right time.

Did you miss the point that price is also higher?

Everything is going up lar, unavoidable.

SG COE oso go up in price. So?

sinkieland is sinkieland lar, ni kan malaysia dei!

Abuhden. Are we also not part of the world facing global shortage & inflation? Oh waiii I remember u once said our car prices most expensip in the world but then Thai car prices even higher that ours so base ur logic Thailand must be on the Moon or Mars. Real stupido again.

bcause of no sst. but the actual price is more or less the same (or cheaper)

True. And P1 have been absorbing SST cost since 2018. Tahniah!

RM 121k 1.8TGDi ADAS AEB ACC BSM

A comprehensive specification since 2018, not Kosong.

HRV 1.5T looks better choice.

You are very welcomed to pay more and get less. We call them waterfish. Do you know what is a waterfish?

Nak gaduh mana lagi better buatpe. If when DAP comes back, tak kisah mana2 all cars will be expensip for rakyat except their members, T20, & cronies. Nak beli tu beli skarang, u wait new HRV come by that time DAP tookover habislah cannot buy anything!

Safety system still can’t keep up with proton…lack of rcta and 360 degree camera..why buy honda. Aftersales service and quality for honda also terrible

Come on Proton by making the 1.5L Premium & 1.8L Premium it is basically the same but discouraging others to purchase the later which is more expensive. Genuinely you should have included the 1.5L Hybrid option here in Malaysia while just removing the 1.8L altogether since the 1.5L is now proudly manufactured here in Malaysia and also using Petronas (GF6A) Engine Oil.

Also there may be False Advertising on your product presentation where you mention “Long Lifetime” namely 110,000km timing belt of the 1.5L compared to the almost no maintenance and also Long Lifetime of the timing chain in the 1.8L.

(Like) Proton X70 1.5 MC (Dislike) 2022 Honda HRV turbo

HRV looks worst than X70.

Yea, aftersales service and quality for honda is terrible, safety system still can’t keep up with proton…don’t know why honda still can’t lacking of rcta and 360 degree camera

Honda CR-V Premium has AWD & CarPlay, Proton X70 Premium no AWD & CarPlay

X70 Flagship had AWD but few buyers so they discontinued. HRV premium spec ada AWD tak? Why not?

X70 far cheaper than CRV heck even cheaper than HRV. Sendiri tukar android player with Carplay senang je. Apa lagi mau.

Long life timing chain engine “upgraded” to Low noise timing belt engine.

It’s unusual to launch a product without the SST now since it’s already mid of June. Still possible to get one at the published price? if not, why do this…

Will be extended in the final week of June, if not earlier.

Price inflated cheaper than Food price increase.

again, no AWD with the safety specs, end up nobody buy and then say nobody wants AWD

Imagine paying for the fully loaded decked out Premium trim only to realise that it is missing the most important feature: AWD.

Yeah right. Demand for AWD but when come time to put your money all go for FWD version. Same problem with manuals here. Cakap senang mau tapi 90% beli FWD/Automatic.

I am a CR-V TC-P AWD owner who wants to buy a locally assembled, under 1.6L SUV as a second car. Proton only offered Premium AWD for CBU, not CKD.

Haah! No wonder! Our resident troller is found out to be a Honda fanboy. So this is why he gets so triggered with Proton articles as it riles his fanboyism to the shits.

By stating you are a CRV owner, you have clearly stated your biased stance and your comments thereof should be viewed as such.

no awd? baca ke tidak ni?

boleh beli awd dengan advanced safety features ke?

Boleh pon. https://paultan.org/2018/12/12/proton-x70-suv-launched-in-malaysia-rm100k-124k/

u baik balik sekolah, baca pun x erti…i didnt know ada premium awd version

in this time and age, ADAS should be made standard across the range.

All come at a cost lo.. Apa pun mau, when show the price complaint expensive pula. Then complaint why China selling 60k here 120k. So predictable

Friendly reminder that the 1.5L 1477cc TL3 177PS 255Nm engine configuration is now being replaced by the 1.5L 1499cc TL4 181PS 290Nm engine configuration in China (see Binrui Cool). Not only does the new 1.5L TL4 benefit from the same 1401-1600cc road tax and 1401-1650cc car insurance brackets as the old 1.5L TL3, but it also produces comparable power to the original 1.8L 1799cc TL4 184PS 300Nm engine configuration which sits at the more expensive 1601-1800cc road tax and 1651cc-2200cc car insurance brackets. Our Malaysian X50 is still on the oldest and ugliest Boyue pre-facelift design whilst the Chinese Boyue has gone through several extensive facelifts (Pro, X, ’22) and is about to be replaced by an all-new 2nd generation (FX11)…

The new 1.5L TL4 engine is 4 cylinder whilst this TL3 in X70 is still the old 3 cylinder engine. Now Malaysia is the primary dumping ground of the Chinese old tech, but the rakyat thought it is new Volvo engine and still willing to pay the premium prices. Not to mention the design is of the 6 years old 1st gen one. Poor Malaysian.

The front and interior look like the 80s so boring and dull

can always go Taobao to buy the Boyue grill and bumper and change it.

Nak interesting beli Ferrari la.. Tapi ada duit tak?

engine downgraded; prices upgraded…typical Malaysia

the exchange rate equally shitty for RM against many other currencies.

Malaysian consumer felt like dejavu all over again, like previous products that came from Proton during introduction of Saga and Wira.

Geely has launched a new 1.5T 4 cylinders engine producing 181ps and 290nm which is almost on par with the 1.8 output but lower road tax and lower fuel consumption. It is quite risky to buy the 3 cylinders X50 and X70 now because in another 2 or 3 years time Geely may phase out the 3 cylinders and fully replaced with 4 cylinders. The second hand value of 3 cylinders of X50 and X70 gonna be really horrible.

Is there any chance Proton hesitate to bring in 4 cylinders 1.5T in future? Likely not since 4 cylinders 1.5 is in mass production in China now and 3 cylinders engine is less cost effective to be produced if quantity don’t justify. IMO 3 cylinders 1.5T may stop production in few years time. Otherwise it is just too expensive to spend money on R&D on 4 cylinders but not fully utilised.

I though proton want to replace all x70 engine with 1.5 liter engine, now its look like they want to sell all the unsold 3 pot cylinder to us and make 1.8 liter more premium. So why the change? Did they said 1.5 liter more advance/better than 1.8 liter?

Hopefully Paultan.Org team do comparison video between this new model and older model. Putting down the improvement of the X70 in article like this doesn’t help much in telling comparison. Maybe a video side by side two new model and old model would distinguised which is new,which is not. To me,look like the same though.Thank You Paultan.Org

Incase GST kick in, wil it b cheaper or more xpensive?

price up? or a bit cheaper/more or less than 2020 ckd one? previous price you quote is based on after sst discount.

The prices you see here also include the SST discount.

Boleh pandu uji. Boleh booking. Boleh Beli. Cuma tak senang dapat.

Seriously if people complain because it’s Minor Change …..

Why, don’t you think that something like this is also an assessment or correction so that Proton can make their car quality standards better than before? Okay, a lot of people don’t like it, but is it because of our mentality that Proton is now slower to make new products? Don’t they lose a lot of money because they produced models and end up losing money (before working with Geely) and again having to ask for a bailout from the government?

I would be happier if “Minor Change” was more about improving quality than the existing “big changes” (Ridiculous, after all it’s “minor” is not “major”, yet people think “MC” is “Major Change”), honestly Proton should be careful next time to make new Products, what segment which customers like and whether it can sell a lot. Hey, after all, the facelifted saga, iriz ,and persona actually improve the quality of these models

They also have to increase revenue first before they will make a new product that is 100% made by themselves (not a rebadge / rebage engineering from Geely) and I hope that too…

And the problem of spare parts, argh I’m tired about this problem over and over again hahaha….but like it or not, my suggestion, Proton should have to localize most of their components (manufactured in Malaysia) by 90%, and I hope this can fix the spare parts problem that has been facing for more than a year . Besides, the problem is that sending spare parts from China is definitely a complicated process, and as a result of Covid 19 (Yeah, and China’s recent problem with Covid in Shanghai), logistics has fallen apart, not only Proton but also other car brands…

Wow…2022 has been a tough year for Proton…i hope one of the management’s of Proton read this comment…so that they can improve themselves, and hope that next year they will be better than before

Wow a timing belt engine so high tech. never would have thought new engine still use timing belt instead of timing chain

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