Proton X50 and X70 launched in South Africa after a 10-year hiatus
Louis · Sep 14, 2022 05:38 PM
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After 10 years of hiatus, Proton makes a comeback in the South Africa market. The first two models to launch in South Africa is the Proton X50 and Proton X70. The Proton Saga will be made available by late-2022 or early-2023.
Proton's official distributor, Combined Motor Holdings (CMH), saw a gap in the market for a premium SUV within the budget of the average buyers. Premium SUVs are often out of the reach of these buyers and thus, both the Proton X50 and X70 fills in this gap. This is also true for many Malaysians as models such as the X50 was the best-selling vehicle, surpassing the Perodua Myvi for July 2022. Proving that Proton sells premium SUVs without the premium price.
Standard features on the Proton X50 are 17-inch alloys, LED headlights, fabric seats and an 8-inch infotainment. The Luxury variant adds the same equipments as the Malaysian spec X50 such as leatherette seats and 6 sixbags instead of 4, which comes as standard.
On the other hand, the Proton X70 gets the 1.5 TGDi engine as standard, which means the 1.8 TGDi engine available in Malaysia isn't offered to South Africans. Starting with the Standard variant, it doesn't vary from our Proton X70 MC featuring 17-inch alloy design and 6 airbags as standard.
The Executive variant adds ADAS, 19-inch alloy wheels, Nappa leather upholstery and can be had in an all-wheel drive option as the third variant in the lineup.
The range-topping Premium variant further adds a panoramic sunroof.
Transmission will feature the same 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (DCT) across both models similarly to our market.
The Proton X50 starts from ZAR 449,900 (RM 116k) goes up to ZAR 579,900 (RM150k). The more mature Proton X70 will start from ZAR 529,900 (RM 137k) and goes up to ZAR 639,900 (RM 165k).
Louis is an automotive writer whose background was in the legal industry. Jumping from law firms to car dealerships, he finally found a career he loves and will never have to work a day in his life. He enjoys detailing his car and going to the gym during his free time.