Proton X90 helps Malaysian carmaker stand out from the crowd

Captain's chairs in second row gives this six-seater SUV a unique selling point.

The aptly named Flagship derivative tops the Malaysian carmaker’s line-up. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe

It’s fair to say that Malaysian carmaker Proton did not exactly end its decade-plus local hiatus with the biggest of bangs last year.

The introduction of the SUV pair the X50 and X70 which aim to be a more premium offering and later the Saga compact sedan did little to bother the Richter-scale, especially as it found themselves in the middle of a massive Chinese offensive. Speaking of which, the general misconception is that Proton is in fact a Chinese brand.

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The short answer to this complicated assumption is that it is not a Chinese brand parse. But here’s where it gets complicated. Although Proton is Malaysian registered, it has operated under Chinese parent company Geely Holding Group since 2017. The latter which also owns Swedish marque Volvo, which technology is filtered into the Proton brand.

Enter Proton X90

But instead of trying to figure out the intricacies a Chinese owned Malaysian car brand which features Swedish technology, it’s much less complicated focusing purely on its latest product on our showroom floors. This being its new flagship product the X90 which The Citizen Motoring recently got to spend a week in. And our tester was none other than the aptly named Flagship which at R679 900 tops the four-model range.

Proton X90 rear view — _{The Proton X90 Flagship rides on 19-inch alloys. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe}

Straight off the bat, we felt that the X90 does a better job at finding a niche than its siblings. Featuring a 48-volt belt starter/generator sourced from Volvo, the Proton X90 can at least claim to be the most affordable seven-seater in South Africa with hybrid assistance, albeit of the mild variety.

And what’s more, even though the Flagship offers six and not seven seats, it has an ace up its sleeve by being one of very few three-row SUVs that features two captain’s in the second row. Complete with armrests, reclining function and ventilation, the Proton X90 Flagship’s seating configuration can be the type of deal-clincher the brand’s initial reintroduction lacked. And the light let in by the standard panoramic sunroof adds to the sense of space in the cabin.

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Ahoy, maties!

So comfortable are the captain’s chairs that this scribe’s two primary school children preferred it above the luxury confines of a large German sedan that we had on test during the same week.

While the two seats in the third row are not as plush as the two captain’s chairs leg room is adequate in the rear. The boot space left with the third row up is adequate for daily life, while it transforms into something ginormous with the third row folded back.

Proton X90 second row — _{The captain’s chairs in the second row of the Proton X90 was a big hit. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe}

The cabin is very elegantly finished in Nappa leather, brushed aluminium and decent plastics. The overall look and feel gives impetus to Proton’s pay-off line “Affordable Luxury”.

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Creature comforts

The Proton X90 Flagship features a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 10.25-inch fully digital instrument cluster. A host of creature comforts include a very efficient voice command system, ambient lightning, wireless phone charger and six-way electronically adjusted driver’s seat with lumbar support.

The long list of standard spec also includes 360-degree surround-view camera system, auto LED headlight, rain-sensing wipers, hands-free electric tailgate, 19-inch alloy wheels and remote start function.

Proton cabin — _{The Proton X90’s cabin lives up to the slogan “Affordable Luxury”. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe}

An impressive list of safety spec included adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition.

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Proton X90 has plenty of power

The X90 is powered by the same 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine that features in the X50 and X70. Together with the electric assistance it features a 10 kW/35 Nm power bump over its siblings. A total of 140 kW/300 Nm is sent to the front wheels via seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

With enough low-down torque on tap, a somewhat sensitive accelerator means that you can easily wheelspin the X90. But once you learn the right input, acceleration is surprisingly lively.

Our fuel consumption of around 11 L/100 km was quite a long way off Proton claim of 6.8 L/100 km. But to be fair the X90 spent most of its time in city traffic.

Like its siblings, the Proton X90 Flagship is rock solid, but with a nice little niche to boot. And that will go a long way for the average buyer to take notice of Proton.