Geely Galaxy E5 in Malaysia – Proton eMas 7 twin travelled 3,700 km; eMas 7 going on nationwide tour

Remember the photos of the Geely Galaxy E5 we shared yesterday? Well, there’s a reason for those cars being here – the electric SUV, developed alongside the Proton eMas 7 (stylised as e.MAS 7), has marked the completion of its “world tour” (more like Southeast Asia) at a ceremony at the Proton Centre of Excellence (COE) last night, previewing the eMas 7 ahead of its launch at the end of the year.

A total of four units were seen at the flagship showroom, each covering a distance of around 3,700 km. Starting from Guiyang, China, the cars then crossed the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Laos and Thailand before reaching Malaysia. The journey was complicated by the recent Typhoon Yagi, which caused severe flooding in Laos.

This is our first time seeing the Galaxy E5 (branded as the EX5 globally) in person – without the camouflage seen on the eMas 7 mules – and it appears to be identical to the Proton save for the badging. Highlights include slim headlights, prominent L-shaped light signatures surrounding the front air curtains, a strong and smooth shoulder running the entire length of the car, an upswept window line and full-width taillights with distinctive horizontal “dashes”.

The cars you see here wear the larger of the two available wheel options – 19-inch turbine-style alloys. These are one inch bigger than the ones fitted to the eMas 7 prototypes. Despite these rollers marking the vehicles out to be of the range-topping variant, they lose out on the optional ripple-effect front fascia illumination.

The appearance of the undisguised Galaxy E5 also gave us our first good look at the left-hand-drive interior – and by extension, the Proton’s right-hand-drive one. As photos suggested, the car has a soft, minimalist aesthetic, with a clean horizontal dashboard, a gently-sloping centre console that wraps around the driver and an ivory colour scheme. About the only aggressive bit of the cabin is the oblong steering wheel.

As expected for a Chinese car in 2024, it’s the tech that dominates proceedings. You get a slimline 10.2-inch instrument display and a 15.4-inch infotainment touchscreen, both running on the Flyme Auto operating system. Developed together with founder Li Shufu’s smartphone company Meizu, it’s slick, responsive and even supports screen mirroring through selected Meizu devices – although it’s unclear if the eMas 7’s system will get this function. No Apple CarPlay or Android Auto here, unfortunately – typical for Chinese-market cars.

Other standout features include a large panoramic glass sunroof, a 50-watt Qi wireless charger, a sizeable storage space underneath the centre console and a 16-speaker Flyme Audio sound system, replete with headrest speakers. You also get power-adjustable front seats with memory, heating and ventilation, and there’s even a powered ottoman for the front passenger to recline in absolute comfort.

The Galaxy E5’s cabin has no less than 33 storage spaces, including drawers below the rear air vents and rear seats, along with 51 litres of underfloor storage in the boot.

All Galaxy E5s are front-wheel drive, powered by a single motor producing 218 PS (160 kW) and 320 Nm of torque, getting the car from zero to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. The E5 is also fitted with a Geely-developed Aegis “short blade” lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, with the Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture (GEA) allowing the pack to be integrated into the structure – a process known as cell-to-body (CTB).

Two battery sizes are offered – the 49.52 kWh version has a CLTC range of 440 km, while the 60.22 kWh model is said to be able to travel up to 530 km on a single charge. Geely does not specify charging speeds, only saying it takes 20 minutes to charge from 30 to 80% on a DC fast charger and nine hours to charge from 10 to 100% on an AC charger (7.5 hours with the smaller battery). The cars obviously come with China’s GB/T charging ports, rather than the CCS2 port the Proton version will almost certainly come with.

Proton claims the Galaxy E5’s trek to Malaysia demonstrated the car’s reliability and durability. “The Geely [Galaxy] E5’s achievement of driving over 3,700 km from China to Malaysia is a significant achievement. This brand-new EV navigated tough weather, challenging road conditions, and even floodwaters,” said Pro-Net CEO Zhang Qiang. The durability, reliability, and quality of the Galaxy E5 highlight the engineering excellence behind the Proton eMas 7 – demonstrating how it will be a game-changer for our market.”

With the completion of Geely’s journey, the baton has now been handed to the eMas 7, which will embark on its own nationwide tour starting October 5. The prototypes are slated to cover well over 2,000 km across every state, including Sabah and Sarawak. The public will be able to catch the cars ahead of the tour at key locations in Putrajaya on September 25 and Shah Alam on September 26.

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