It’s safe to say that the Proton X70 has been nothing short of a massive success for the national carmaker. Since its launch in late 2018, it has been one of the company’s bestsellers, with more than 26,000 units finding homes last year alone. More importantly, it has sown the seed of change within Proton, altering long-running customer perceptions and informing a new range of vastly improved models.
And it only takes one drive in the SUV for you to see why. Proton may have drummed up hype with its attention-grabbing “Hi Proton” voice control system, but look past the trinketry and you’ll realise there is a solid car underneath. Interior quality, long a bugbear in Chinese vehicles, is exemplary; it’s also supremely comfortable and quiet enough at a cruise to shame vehicles two, maybe even three classes above.
But it’s not perfect, and the sole notable bugbear – and not a big one at that – is the gearbox. The six-speed automatic may be a world away from the wretched Punch CVTs, but it’s still not the sharpest of transmissions around, masking the X70’s true turn of speed. It also contributes to the car’s less-than-stellar fuel economy.
Happily, all that will change when the CKD locally-assembled 2020 model goes on sale very soon, as it will receive a new seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, developed in collaboration between Geely and Volvo. Is a high-tech gearbox a good fit for this large crossover? We tested it out in China to find out.
Full disclosure first. The car we drove in Ningbo, Zhejiang a few weeks ago was the Geely Boyue Pro, an upgraded version of the model the X70 is based on. Before you get any ideas, no, the Pro isn’t coming to Malaysia anytime soon – we got our hands on it simply because it was the only Boyue variant to come with the 1.8 litre TGDi engine and DCT combination (which has since been extended to the normal version).
So the main focus here is the transmission which, as mentioned, is a wet clutch DCT. This gearbox is fitted to a variety of Geely and Lynk & Co models, usually accompanied by the latest 1.5 litre turbocharged three-cylinder mill. There is also an electrified version that is found on the group’s plug-in hybrid models, including the Volvo XC40 T5 Twin Engine (the regular petrol variant gets an Aisin eight-speed auto).
In the X70, the non-electrified unit will be paired to the existing 1.8 litre turbo four-pot, replacing the six-speed torque converter auto built by the Geely-owned Drivetrain Systems International (DSI). In fact, Geely no longer uses gearboxes from DSI, as the six-speed slushbox it now utilises – confusingly mated to the 1.5 litre mill in the Boyue Pro – is sourced from Aisin.
Back to the DCT, which is said to be of roughly the same size as the outgoing auto and weighs less, tipping the scales at just 75 kg. The gearbox comes with a BMW-style shift-by-wire electronic gearlever and paddle shifters, and can shift gears in as little as 0.3 seconds. It also has a maximum torque rating of 330 Nm, which allowed engineers to free up an extra 15 Nm from the 1.8 litre mill, bringing the total up to 300 Nm, available from 1,750 to 4,000 rpm. Power remains identical at 181 hp at 5,500 rpm.
The increased torque comes as part of a revision of the engine, internally referred to as Generation 3 (the one in the CBU, imported X70 is known as the Generation 2). There aren’t any mechanical changes, save for updated emissions equipment that can be tuned to meet new Euro 6d regulations, if so required.
Geely claims the DCT provides class-leading efficiency, and it says it actually benchmarked Volkswagen’s dry clutch DSGs (which provide lower driveline losses than Wolfsburg’s wet clutch units) here, with an overall efficiency figure of 94.6% and a maximum figure of 97%. The latter number is close to a good old-fashioned manual gearbox, and is also much higher than Aisin’s eight- (88%) and six-speed (89%) autos.
But while the company says that’s enough for a 1.0 litre per 100 km improvement in fuel consumption over the previous Boyue, the Pro’s quoted figure of 7.5 litres per 100 km is only 0.3 lower than before. Time will tell if the CKD X70 can achieve the same sort of improvement in the real world.
It’s important at this point to address the elephant in the room – reliability. Dry clutch DCTs may be efficiency champions, but both VW and Ford have been scarred by various issues related to these gearboxes, such as premature wear and poor refinement over time. The subject of a mountain of complaints, recalls, buybacks and class action lawsuits, the dry clutch DCT has sullied the reputation of the once-adulated technology.
Simply by switching to an inherently more robust wet clutch design, Geely is confident it is able to avoid these issues. Speaking to us during the event, senior chief engineer Tejinder Singh said that bathing the clutches in cooled oil gets rid of the temperature-related issues that beset dry clutch DCTs, and it also eradicates most of the low-speed hesitation and juddering encountered by consumers in the past.
Geely’s DCT also conforms to Volvo’s stricter durability requirements, designed for a service life of more than 350,000 km – significantly higher than the industry standard of 240,000 km. The company has also conducted numerous hot and cold weather and high-altitude tests in China, South Africa and Europe, racking up over nine million kilometres before putting the gearbox into production.
One important fact often overlooked by consumers is that DCTs require different fluids with unique properties compared to traditional automatic transmission fluids. Geely’s unit uses a proprietary low-viscosity formulation, which Tejinder said further improves reliability and smoothness.
It is, of course, way too early to properly assess maintenance costs vis-à-vis the previous automatic gearbox, but while Proton has yet to announce specific figures, it said that service intervals will be comparable, and in fact the fluid will be cheaper than the ATF used in the CBU X70.
We tested the Boyue Pro at the Chunxiao powertrain plant in Ningbo, which builds the DCT for every application, even the Volvo ones. The state-of-the-art facility, opened in 2017, currently churns out 50,000 of these gearboxes every month, but Geely expects to ramp up that figure to a whopping 200,000 units monthly. A second plant is being built in Changing, also in Zhejiang, to increase production still further.
At this juncture, I would like to point out that the “test drive” in question consisted of just a couple of runs up and down the arrow-straight and runway-flat piece of road behind the factory, so it could hardly be considered a challenging route – a more thorough test on local roads will be conducted very soon. This, then, is merely a brief taster of what’s to come, but hopefully an informative one all the same.
Something that consumers will need to understand before getting into the car is that because a dual-clutch transmission works in a fundamentally different way compared to a regular automatic, it also behaves differently. Engineers work very hard to replicate the behaviour of a torque converter, from its smoothness in operation to its quick response upon stepping off.
One of the biggest hurdles these engineers face is implementing a “creep” function – the ability of the car to simply roll forwards (or backwards, in reverse) without touching the accelerator. It’s something that comes naturally to a torque converter, but in a DCT this requires the slipping of one of the clutches, which of course causes wear. Balancing the requirements of customer satisfaction and reliability is therefore key.
Indeed, the first thing I noticed driving the car was that the “creep” was not quite as pronounced as it would have been with a conventional auto. This wasn’t exactly a bad thing, just something I had to get used to (as will owners). At least the gearbox responded quickly as soon as the brake pedal was released, and did not adversely affect our progress from a standstill (I’m looking at you, Mercedes-Benz A-Class).
And once we got rolling, the Boyue Pro picked up speed noticeably quicker than the CBU X70 ever could. Whereas the outgoing model felt a little lazy off the line, the new one accelerated with considerable vigour. This could have been down to the extra twist on hand, but I’d wager a guess and say that the DCT was actually more efficient in transmitting power to the ground.
Gearshifts were also seamless and instantaneous in automatic mode, and downshifts came swiftly whenever I floored the throttle. One minor niggle was that the paddle shifters weren’t quite as responsive as I’d have liked, often taking close to a second after clicking one of them for the shift to follow through. It really wasn’t that big of an issue, however, especially on a family-oriented SUV.
More worrying was the fact that some members of the media reported a slight but noticeable thump as the gearbox downshifted while coming to a stop, though it wasn’t something that I personally experienced. While it might alarm those stepping out from a smooth-shifting automatic, it could simply be a quirk of this particular DCT, and it certainly wouldn’t have been as pronounced as in, say, a tired VW dry clutch DSG.
We were also given the opportunity to try out the previous Mercedes GLA back-to-back with the Boyue Pro. This being fitted with a first-generation Daimler DCT, it inevitably felt outclassed, being slow to respond to throttle inputs and shifting sluggishly between gears. It was a perfect demonstration of how far dual-clutch technology has come, even though both feature wet clutch designs.
Despite the brevity of this encounter, one thing is clear – Geely’s venture into dual-clutch transmissions is a very competent one. This is a high-tech gearbox that belies the relative inexperience of the company, performing better than gearboxes from supposedly more established brands. It exhibits very few flaws but provides some excellent benefits, not least being the car’s newfound verve under acceleration.
Some questions remain, of course. We still don’t know how well the gearbox will fare in our weather, on our roads and amongst our cutthroat traffic, though we’ll find that out soon enough. And while Geely makes big claims about the DCT’s reliability, those of you who have been stung by past issues will understandably still be concerned. Like I said, only time will tell.
Until then, the introduction of this new DCT looks to bring some welcome improvements to an already compelling package. More than that, it proves that Geely isn’t going to restrict Proton from receiving its latest technologies, and for us customers, that can only be a good thing. With the smaller X50 SUV also due to arrive this year, it’s set to be a great 2020 for the once-beleaguered national brand.
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No thanks. Will regret when no rv nextime.
And in 5-7 years time x70 rv will be same price as brand new myvi. 123k become 50k. 99k become 30k.
123K become 50K. That’s a 59% depreciation over 7 years.
Which is not that bad, dumb ass.
Yeah Axxx is always dumb ass and idiot komentor here. He kan kataxxx bawah tempurung only live in tempurung cave never come out. Tempurung warrior. Rm123k x70 in 7 years is rm17k.
As if we cannot tell these dumbassed Axxx comments are coming from you hijacking his username. Idiot.
We all know who hijacked “Axxx” id and reverse his/her type of comment so no point in trying to pura-pura. If you’re resorting to this kind of childish bashing tactics, it just shows that you’re on the verge of losing and what “Axxx” said is hurting you in a way because it’s true.
Yeah myvi is for ppl who cares about rv who just wants to go to point a to point b. no driving taste. City & vw jetta 1.4 also the driving experience is like land & sky the difference. City drive 160 gotta push it. Jetta effortless
City is a B seg car. U should compare it to the Civic.
BTSH, let see 5 years old X70 resale value.
Gip muka kesian la, 5 years old premium high spec x70 gip u 50k lar.
Later honda haters will come shoot said honda no good. Mazda, toyota perodua the best
Proton haters already beat honda haters to the punch.
Do you know why companies like VW and Ford failed big time in Malaysia?
These are the two biggest car companies in the world. They spend billion on research and development and they know everything about dual clutch.
When the two companies cannot solve their own dual clutch issue, do you think a China company can be trusted?
Geely started in 1997
VW and Ford started in the 18th century!!!! They were around before 1900 la
I think I better bilip VW and Ford. They themselves cannot find a solution for their DSG/ Dual clutch.
How can young 1997 Geely know more?
Remember that Geely bought Volvo and this gearbox was developed with Volvo, a company established in 1927. Clearly Volvo has great engineering depth and their cars are some of the safest and very reliable.
Volvo only famous for its safety. Other than that never heard about anything special except for the shortest 6-speed gearbox to fit in the S80 & XC90 due to six lnline engine fitted in FWD. Most engine & gearbox in the past is also source from others like ford, yamaha, aisin, borg and latest China. If they are so great at first dont think geely will own them now.
Don’t wait 5 yrs time. 2 yers time already become that figure.
x70 quality is GLC and BMW X3, volvo XC60 oso.
7 yrs of use will expect it to depreciate in the region of 55%-65%. Left 35%-45% of original value. If after 7 yrs still can fetch RM50k is a good deal. Why not !!!!
Habislah basher! Dia nak beli pun dah habis jual stok. Kesian dia.
According to Oto.com.my 2013 CR-V sold at RM146k (+RM23k) now have a resale value of RM69k (+RM19k).
So in terms of value that X70 is having on par slightly better RV compared to a far more expensive CR-V, you get more features & safety, and the initial +RM23k saved can be invested for a much higher appreciation compared to RV of that CR-V.
Not a bad deal for X70 owners current and potential buyers. That is why X70 owners are smart buyers.
Nahhh cant agree with u. I would say in 5 years time 123k become 30k and 99k become 20k. This is real p1 RV. Still nobody gonna buy even low price.
26,000 disagrees with you.
if that came into reality, I would buy 2 2nd hand x70. 30K ma for car 5 year age
The most important question:WHAT IS THE REPLACEMENT COST for a new gearbox,the day the warranty expires?
No point syiok ,syiok,syiok for first 4 years 365 days.IT will cost a bomb,once this canggih machine kaput.,a day after warranty expires.
Anyway,Malaysians dont give a damn,until the inevitable happens.
Replacement cost very cheap Nia.. Made from tongsan very cheap only.. If want more cheaper parts. Can Pre order at taobao
The replacement cost is RM50k. Outside warranty, after 5 years, you will see the RV collapse because everybody is really scared of Dual Clutch
You can see what happened to VW Passat. History never lies
Why worry if those who can afford Boyue. You work harder to earn one.
Previously I question why do a car manufacturer want to use something that they know will become useless in 4-5 years? If it’s proven to be useless in that short period of time, wouldn’t it be unwise to include that thing at all?
“.. kaput, a day after warranty expires”? That’s some magnificent prediction. It’s OK to be wary about these kind of things but this DCT tech is not new so it’s too early to predict.
you know, people now like proton so much that they buy the new x70 in droves and soon will drool over x50 and x70 dct. these people will tell us in 5 years’ time whether they have made the right choice or not. guess we have to wait til then. BTW, when preve came out, everybody said it was better than civic fb at a much lower price. today, i think many preve buyers regret their decision. i dont wish bad things for people, but it’s best to curb our expectations and not be fooled by short-lived hype and excitement.
I still see more Preve running on the roads than Civic FBs. In fact, this gen Civic is a rarer sight now.
My Preve reach almost 300,000 km and still in a good condition except wear and tear part to be replaced when required as per manual book. The major issue only on CVT gearbox and OCH. For OCH, just change before 40K km and you will be safe for the problem. For CVT gearbox maybe there are issue there but not all Preve owner facing this problem including me. Maybe you need take care the service
My wet clutch DSG in my VW Golf always breakdown. Wet or Dry semua sama lah
Tikus, tikus. Still with the fake stories.
Tikus is roti john la… dunno how to differentiate kah?
You are all from the same guy lah. What the difference does it make?
The most important question: Does wet clutch DCT encounters the same problems as their infamous dry clutch brethren? The answer is a clear and concise NO. So should CKD X70 owners worry, nope not really, unless they drive like asses which isn’t the fault of DCT.
you so sure meh after warranty expires terus kaput? come on, until when will you stick with that kind of mentality? past is past la. brand sudah bangun dari tidur, sudah angkat dari jatuh, sudah maju dari mundur. why masih mentaliti gua ni brader? kalau p1 tidak buat semua ini, rasanya p2 ada maju or masih facelift benda sama berulang2? kemajuan ini bagi p2 cabaran mau maju, dulu only makeover bumper, now pandai letak ciri2, semua sebab p1 implement dulu…dari DRL, ESC EBD…stop looking at cars by brand, start looking at features. you cant expect to be in the future with a mind that’s in the past.
LOL the comment simply said DCT could be problematic over the long run as had happened to other cars. he didnt say we couldnt trust it because it’s proton or geely. maybe check your own mentaliti. btw many seasoned drivers will not be bothered too much with non-essential features. granted ESC, EBD, ABS, all considered a given nowadays. we are more concerned on reliability. no point driving a fancy car if we cannot have a peace of mind.
Many who bought X70s are rich Datuk, Large company otai & mgmt, tauke, Bossku2 bisnes sendri…they stay Low profile in gud comfort car.
Those pipu & Abam2 wiv tight Bajet sempit bought import car Rm130k ke atas… Vellfire CRV CX5 Alphard Civic Sorento. Pegi shopping..parking outside, tepi jalan. Makan kat rumah ala kadar, pasal nk bawak kete besor. Emergency repairs, road tax and insurance… pening kepala pastu Sambung bayar. X70 jimat & selesa… ayuh semua
This Volvo teched X70 outclassed CX5 and CRV,
Volvo tech always breakdown but Volvo owners got money. Do Proton owners have money to repair like Volvo owners?
proton owner got money to buy proton car.. thus they pay proton price for repair.. did you get it? i cant brain why people like to condemn others in this page.. like they are ‘car sifu’ like godlike knowledgeable about all cars and fortune telling. Come on, if you really hate proton, don’t beleive, or whatever.. just shut up and go to other brand review. Instead trying to show off but getting hated by most readers.. please la, we are in 2020 already.
Question: why does Jonathan Lee talks like he is having a heart attack all the time. Its like he is always buffering.
you’re not the only one. i noticed this as well.
his sentencing structure abit choppy and would make people think he sound abit pompous.
Compared to Hafriz whose more laidback style. Best is still Matthew though….without braces. HAHA. sorry Matthew, we understand. love ya.
He self proclaim that is his British accent. Puik. He is worst presenter among the team.
Clarkson has got the same way of talking too.
Jonathan is trying the Clarkson/Hammond/May presentation style but it doesn’t suit him (yet?) nor the target audience here.
May I suggest you take a course on Presentation Style to fine tune it. Top tip, stop trying to “read off the script” as it makes you sound monotone, rigid, formal and uninteresting. Use the pause for emphasis but only sparingly.
That’s Rare! – if u slow down the tempo, Clearly, HalfNote with the Rest in between .Nothing against it, Easily Captured,
you guys are just too critical. GJ bro JL!
Sell here below RM88k.
It thoroughly shames the Lexus which is the reason why Jepunis fanbois cannot tahan so the only lame thing lame they cud do is bash it. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
At least China did all the work. What did Proton do? Nothing. So don’t syiok sendiri with other people’s hard work.
I agree, China cars will trash Jepunis but pls, don’t be proud and syiok sendiri with work done by others.
Already Geely buta buta give you the whole product like the X70 and X50…..better feel shame
Biasa la john. he always syiok sendiri from 2015 until now.
Biasa la basher hijacking other people names from 2015 until now.
Please don’t syiok yourself with such an electrifying car by Proton. Geely and Volvo did all the hardwork but it wasn’t the Chinese only effort, even their gb senior chief engineer is a Tejinder Singh telling us how much global is Geely had become as a Chinese carmaker. Geely isn’t ashamed to work with non-Chinese to produce a product meeting global standards and if Geely are satisfied with Proton’s hardwork in reengineering Boyue to RHD, it tells us Proton’s engineering capabilities have reached global standards.
So is Proton syiok sendiri? No, they should be d*mn proud for their first project to get a buyoff with such strict standards. This isn’t some syiok sendiri change bumper and badges like Rush to Aruz rebadging, this is real engineering hardwork put in by Proton team.
There isn’t really much of a Proton R&H DNA in the X70 as reviewed by most.
So yeah, X70 is basically a rebadged Boyue. Proton probably does all the local testing here with minor inputs.
In future, i hope can see a Proton car with Geely’s turbo engine and transmission (touch wood the Geely DCT don’t become another VW DSG nightmare).
Nothing wrong with rebadge. If Perodua can do it, so can Proton!
Why should i choose unreliable new tech if there is proven matured tech available?
Pls self quarantine yourself for 14 days
before resuming work.
Cannot. Semua dah habis stok. Habislah Proton! Stok dah habis!
Time for Proton to update their tagline: Proton, Its in the Driven. Hahahaha
When proton is using the same hardware that is put into premium brand like the volvo, you know that the talk of bringing proton to fight toyota and honda is really serious.
True question is what happens to Proton after the tech sharing ends after the MPV. Agreement from Geely was to share tech from 3 models (Boyue, Binyue, VF11).
In the next 5-10 years, will they be able to successfully develop new reliable and desirable tech? Or cling on to age-old technology that was given to them from the past (i.e today).
Let’s hope it’s not a de javu of the old Proton ways once Geely stops the spoon feeding.
Main question is how durable is Geely/Proton setup? Toyota has a legacy of a few decades under its name. In 10 years then we will how good Geely is so in meantime I rather shut up and wait than talk big.
Geely & Volvo has done their homework and did 9 million KM (yes, in millions) testing to proof the durability of their gearbox. Geely might be newer than Toyota but Volvo is by far older than both, and no one questions Volvo’s engineering and high standards legacy. Safe to say, if Volvo is willing to put this gearbox into their cars and vouch for it, there shouldn’t be any question on the soundness of the new transmission.
a DCT’s worst enemy is stop start traffic when you constantly need to modulate between the throttle and brakes..a poorly executed creep function aggravates the problem further. Its weakness is even more pronounced when applying similar conditions on inclined roads. These conditions plus our scorching heat is where the true test lies.
Good that the caveat of this particular test was highlighted up front because driving up and down clear straight roads hardly posed any issues even for the DSG of the old days. in fact these conditions are where a DCT thrives; but that’s hardly the driving conditions we go through on a daily basis.
The previous GLA didn’t have a nippy DCT but it was smooth and overcame the problems above. In fact quite a number of the smoothest and natural-feeling DCTs were fitted to electrified models and they weren’t very nippy at all.
Fantastic torque converters like the ZF8HP are living proof of the potential within this transmission format; delivering 200ms shifts (that’s quicker than most DCTs including this Geely unit) and capable of non-sequential down/upshifts…do we even need to live with the “characteristics” or niggles of DCTs anymore?
At China:
Geely Boyue 1.8TDI 7DCT-107k to 120k yuan
(RM63k to RM70k)
Expected Proton CKD X70 1.8TDI 7DCT – up 20%. RM75k to 84k
Geely Boyue 1.5TDI 7DCT – 89k to 109k yuan
(RM 52k to RM64k)
Expected Proton CKD X50 1.5TDI 7DCT – up 20%. RM 62k to RM 76.8k
Hooray, Proton X50 RM75k is coming.
Not overpriced.
How success can it be when the sales is contributed by increased of already high duty excise of other brands?
“to replicate the behaviour of a torque converter, from its smoothness in operation to its quick response upon stepping off.”
A torque convertor has a better response? Actually, the better response compared to a torque convertor was the reason for the development of the DCT… ;)
Hope they will update the dashboard to pro version at least for ckd units..old dash looks dated
That will come with the facelift. Wait for it
Only time will tell if this DCT is durable or not. Shame on Geely for using the old GLA as comparison as Daimler has moved on with a newer gearbox so should have done a comparison on fair ground with the latest DCT from Mercedes which points out that Geely’s DCT is no where near Daimler’s new setup.
Also like what Jonathan said, the creep mode is something we all got used to. If you keep creeping in your DCT vehicle, confirm the gearbox will kaput sooner or later since it has to engage and disengage the clutch to select the first gear. I bet most Malaysians will not know about this.
Finally about FC, yes the DCT has up to around 6% efficiency compared to the 6AT so that will translate to some fuel savings but not much. All depends on your right foot on the pedal.
I think the CBU owners will not worry so much now in this case.
“The company has also conducted numerous hot and cold weather and high-altitude tests in China, South Africa and Europe, racking up over nine million kilometres before putting the gearbox into production.”
The test locations are maybe hot but not as humid as in Malaysia. Moisture, if seeps into mechanical parts, can cause fast oxidisation, in sensitive parts like DCT. They should have tested it here.. Not in those dry places.
VW is doing well in China bcoz its dry just as in europe, but it can’t sustain our tropical hot & humid climate here.
Putting all the eggs into one basket.
Without a updated range of cars P1 will
never progress. Too much emphasis on X70 and knowing Msian in general cannot afford this while the Saga – near zero*margin due to cut throat pricing /Ertiga/Perdana/Exora is experiencing a slow death. Motorist fed up of the same dish served year in year out.
Does DRB have the capital to move fwd
or just wanna remain status quo.
And you are just looking at trees but not notice the huge forest. The X70 isn’t the be all, end all. The Saga still commands the majority sold, and Persona nearly outsold X70. Proton’s legacy models still has plenty of life in them, a testament to the sound engineering and R&D put into their cars. Moving forward, Proton & Geely will likely have synergistic relationship of reengineering relevant exist models and co-develop new cars not available to Geely (ie small cars).