Remember the photos of the Geely Galaxy E5 we shared yesterday? Well, there’s a reason for those cars being here – the electrical 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 on the Proton Centre of Excellence (COE) last night, previewing the eMas 7 ahead of its launch at the tip of the 12 months.
A complete of 4 units were seen on the flagship showroom, each covering a distance of around 3,700 km. Ranging 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.
That is our first time seeing the Galaxy E5 (branded because the EX5 globally) in person – without the camouflage seen on the eMas 7 mules – and it appears to be an identical to the Proton save for the badging. Highlights include slim headlights, outstanding L-shaped light signatures surrounding the front air curtains, a robust and smooth shoulder running all the length of the automotive, an upswept window line and full-width taillights with distinctive horizontal “dashes”.
The cars you see here wear the larger of the 2 available wheel options – 19-inch turbine-style alloys. These are one inch larger than those 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 looks of the undisguised Galaxy E5 also gave us our first good take a look at the left-hand-drive interior – and by extension, the Proton’s right-hand-drive one. As photos suggested, the automotive has a soft, minimalist aesthetic, with a clean horizontal dashboard, a gently-sloping centre console that wraps around the motive force and an ivory color scheme. Concerning the only aggressive little bit of the cabin is the oblong steering wheel.
As expected for a Chinese automotive 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, each running on the Flyme Auto operating system. Developed along with founder Li Shufu’s smartphone company Meizu, it’s slick, responsive and even supports screen mirroring through chosen Meizu devices – even though 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 big panoramic glass sunroof, a 50-watt Qi wireless charger, a sizeable space for storing underneath the centre console and a 16-speaker Flyme Audio sound system, replete with headrest speakers. You furthermore may 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 at least 33 storage spaces, including drawers below the rear air vents and rear seats, together with 51 litres of underfloor storage within 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 automotive from zero to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. The E5 can also be fitted with a Geely-developed Aegis “short blade” lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, with the Global Intelligent Latest Energy Architecture (GEA) allowing the pack to be integrated into the structure – a process often 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 alleged to give you the option to travel as much as 530 km on a single charge. Geely doesn’t 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 include China’s GB/T charging ports, reasonably than the CCS2 port the Proton version will almost actually include.
Proton claims the Galaxy E5’s trek to Malaysia demonstrated the automotive’s reliability and sturdiness. “The Geely [Galaxy] E5’s achievement of driving over 3,700 km from China to Malaysia is a major achievement. This brand-new EV navigated tough weather, difficult road conditions, and even floodwaters,” said Pro-Net CEO Zhang Qiang. The sturdiness, reliability, and quality of the Galaxy E5 highlight the engineering excellence behind the Proton eMas 7 – demonstrating how it’s going to 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 can embark by itself nationwide tour starting October 5. The prototypes are slated to cover well over 2,000 km across every state, including Sabah and Sarawak. The general public will give you the option to catch the cars ahead of the tour at key locations in Putrajaya on September 25 and Shah Alam on September 26.
GALLERY: Proton eMas 7 prototype
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
