Don’t test drive the Proton X50!
The newer products that Proton offers now have matured by leaps and bounds after the emergence of Geely. The X50 experience has totally changed my perception of the brand and I believe it will for many as well.
Don’t test drive the Proton X50!
Mention the name ‘Proton’ to any Malaysian with a driving license and I’ll bet each and everyone has a story to share with you… It’s synonymous with cars as ‘Nasi Lemak’ is to breakfast for every Malaysian.
Over the past weekend, I had the privilege to try out the new Proton X50, mind you, my last Proton was a 1.6 Satria GLi which was a great first car but nothing fancy to shout about, so obviously, I wasn’t expecting much from another Proton.
I’m not going to share about the normal horsepower and specs of the car but more on the experience and usability of the car. I had a short sightseeing road trip planned out with the family, might as well put the car through its paces to see how it fares.
The car that I had was the top of the range 1.5L TGDI with all the bells and whistles, it looks like a mini x70 but it surprisingly doesn’t feel cramped, it seats a family of 2 adults and 2 kids comfortably, the rear air cond vents keep them cool, while the panoramic sunroof kept them entertained, the addition of 2 usb ports was a nice touch which kept my electronics in charge. The boot would swallow our gear without fuss with extra space to spare. So far so good!
The cockpit was initially overwhelming to me with the barrage of buttons everywhere, but it’s nothing you can’t get used to after a bit of usage. Adjusted the motorised front seats, and off we started our trip. The route had a mixture of some highways as well as trunk roads, the X50 with its 1.5L turbocharged direct injection engine made little fuss with overtaking maneuvers as well as high speed cruising, the engine doesn’t feel strained and engine noise wasn’t noticeable, it’s definitely not underpowered but don’t expect it to keep up with Golf GTi’s or the likes of that.
It was my first time trying out the Adaptive Cruise Control and it was unnerving! I constantly had my foot on standby to hit the brakes in case the car didn’t slow down or stop itself when traffic builds up in front. And yes, it pulls the car to a full stop! As I continued with my trip, I found myself gradually trusting the system more to a point that I was quite dependant on it, especially during slow moving traffic crawls, it would hold a constant distance from the vehicle ahead without any brake or accelerator intervention from the driver, all I had to do was just steer the car. I was mind blown! How can I not have something like this in my future cars?!
We stopped to have lunch halfway through the trip, and after lunch, the kids wanted to get some snacks from the stalls beside to munch on while we continued the journey. Sure! I triggered the remote engine start on the car which was parked out under the hot sun and voila, when we returned to the car, it didn’t feel like an oven when the doors were opened.
Obviously there are a lot more great features that come with the car and it would take me forever to list it out. But the notable ones are the Intelligent High Beam Control, Auto Park Assist and Intelligent Cruise Control. All of which are supposed to keep you safe and enhance your driving experience. And in my experience, they do, it has also alleviated my wife’s fear of parking the car. The car feels so advanced that it reminds me of the feeling of purchasing a new smartphone, I’d discover a new feature every time I use it. And after experiencing technologies like these, you will find it hard to go back to a car without it.
The newer products that Proton offers now have matured by leaps and bounds after the emergence of Geely and I doubt people will feel ‘embarrassed’ to mention to their friends that they’re driving a Proton after a test drive. This experience has totally changed my perception of the brand and I believe it will for many as well.
From the continental car solidness of the chassis, to the well controlled ride comfort, from the advanced technologies that it comes with, to the very attractive selling price of RM103,000, the value you get out of this is unbeatable in the local car market. There’s really nothing much that I can complain about the car unless i’m nitpicking. It doesn’t have a button in the cockpit to trigger the power boot and the steering buttons take a little time to adapt to and navigate but these aren’t deal breakers at all.
I have fully paid off my Honda City and have always shrugged off the idea of taking up a new car loan again but this car has triggered me! And I bet it will for you… Please don’t go test drive the Proton X50!
