KUALA LUMPUR: The basis for Proton's first sports utility vehicle (SUV) made its maiden appearance in Malaysia today following the official signing of an agreement between Proton and Geely.
It will be the first new Proton to be sold following the collaboration with the Chinese automaker.
The model on display is the Geely Boyue, an SUV already in production and being sold in China.
Sold in China with a choice of either a 2.4 litre naturally aspirated or 1.8 turbocharged engine, the SUV makes 162hp and 210Nm of torque with the former or 163hp and 253Nm of torque with the latter.
The new SUV comes with a comprehensive and modern equipment list which includes an eight-inch display screen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility.
Safety features include lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control (ACC), a common feature found in the latest Volvo cars which allows the SUV to cruise automatically on the highway with the use of radars.
In terms of dimensions, the Boyue is a medium sized five seater SUV, at 4519mm it is approximately the length of Honda's latest CRV (4584mm) and shorter than the Nissan X-trail, at 4,640mm.
There have been no indications on pricing in Malaysia, but the base model manual transmission was reported to be priced at 98,800 Chinese Yuan (RM62,000) at time of launch in China.