A Deeper Look Into the Left to Right Conversion of the Proton X50

It’s actually quite easy to dismiss the Proton X50 as a rebadged Geely Binyue. Though it’s true to a certain extent, that would also dismiss the hard work by Proton’s head of Safety and Intelligent Drive, Zanita Zainuddin and her team. 

Adapting a car from left-hand drive to right presents small but critical issues. Some of them might not even be noticeable until the car is involved in a collision. 

In Zanita’s quest to achieve a full five-star ASEAN-NCAP safety rating for the X50, her team often found a tearing in the front floorboard area in frontal collisions. This is unacceptable because ASEAN-NCAP certification is extremely strict on tears at the feet area. 

To remedy the situation, Proton reinforced these areas with ultra-high-strength steel to shift the force to other non-critical areas. As a result, 40% of the body, including the front, side, and back was made with a combination of high-strength steel variants. 

Regardless of the drive side, the engine of the Proton X50 is placed more to the right of the vehicle, therefore the driver of a right-hand-drive Proton X50 is always more susceptible to foot injuries compared to a left-hand-drive Geely Binyue. 

To protect the driver’s resting foot from excessive foot injuries, the footrest for the Proton X50 had to be modified for the foot to remain on the footrest with minimal slippage. It’s things like these that show Proton development team’s commitment to details. 

That’s not all. The curtain airbags on the X50 have been tweaked for better head protection in impacts. Initially this was done to comply with the ASEAN-NCAP criteria which states that curtain airbags must cover a wide range of body types. The improvement in occupant protection was so good that Geely has also committed to adopting the design for future models. 

Geely and Proton also worked together to meet the Child Occupant Protection (COP) assessment. The C-NCAP that most of the Geely Binyues were made for do not currently assess that part of vehicle safety, but they are likely to introduce it in 2021. What Proton has done is to lengthen the hook on the ISOFIX interface, making it easier to fit and adjust baby seats. 

With Geely and Proton being subjected to different safety approvals and market standards, both brands benefit from each other at the development phase. It’s definitely good news for consumers as they get to enjoy safer drives.

“Proton has always emphasized safety as one of its unique selling points unbiased to any country or platform. It is not surprising then, that we continue to challenge ourselves so that this DNA is inherent throughout our range of models, be it our locally produced car or the current joint development with our partner Geely,” Zanita said.