While Malaysian politicians are bickering over the controversial decision to replace the Proton Perdana with the Toyota Vellfire as the government’s official transport, the Kenya Police Service has added the Proton X70 to its line-up.

According to Proton Kenya’s Facebook page, 30 units of the SUV were handed over to the African country’s police force.

The Kenyan-spec X70 is only available with one variant, the Premium 2WD which is powered by a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged engine (177 PS/255 Nm) linked to a 7-speed DCT. This unit is also offered on the X70 in Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh as well as the Proton X50 here.

Also read: Proton resumes exports, cumulative sales up by 1.6 percent

However, looking at the photos of the police X70, it appears similar to the Malaysian-spec Standard variant. This is based on the 17-inch wheels, halogen projector lamps, and lack of panoramic roof on “Inspector X70”.

According to Proton Kenya’s website, the lone X70 variant comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, and LED headlamps. As these police cars are usually funded by the government (i.e. taxpayers), it makes sense for them to use base models instead.

Similarly, our very own PDRM uses base models of the Honda Civic and Proton X70 for patrolling duties.

Also read: More power than the Civic 1.8, here comes the Proton X70 police car

According to Kenyan media, the X70 Standard cost the Kenya Police Service KES 3 million each (~RM 112k). The X70 Premium meanwhile is priced from KES 4.65 million (~RM 173k).

Proton is distributed in Kenya by Simba Corporation and at the end of 2020, began local assembly (CKD) of the Proton Saga at a plant in Mombasa. Simba Corporation also distributes Mitsubishi in the East African nation.

Also read: CKD production of Proton Saga begins in Kenya

Earlier this month, the Kenyan police force have also received 81 new 70 Series Toyota Land Cruiser to their arsenal of patrol vehicles. The addition of the X70 and Land Cruiser to the police line-up is a part of a leasing program by the Kenyan government that will see nearly 600 new vehicles dispatched to the country’s police in the coming weeks.