Which Proton X50 is better: diesel or petrol?

The Proton X50 has quite a lovely drivetrain and looks to match the go. Unfortunately, there are no diesel powertrains available for this model, but we do have 2 petrol engines to compare.

Tayedza Mbiri

28 Feb 2023 · 09:10Buying a Car

1 / 3

Proton is on the global offensive offering what they call 'affordable luxury' and now this has spread to the South African market. One of the flagship models, the X50, has made its way to South African shores. My colleague Sean Nurse reviewed the flagship Premium model.

Related: Everything you need to know about the Proton X50

There's a whole host of kit available for the Proton X50 and this makes it a compelling option to consider in the compact SUV market. If you're keen on one, you can search AutoTrader for official used and new options. While you're at it, if want to sell your current car to fund the purchase of a new X50, consider trying out Instant Offer tool.

Engines

Thanks to some extensive engineering, we can behold the 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol 3-cylinder engine found in the X50 in a choice of 2 flavours. The 1.5-litre found in the Standard, Luxury and Executive trims feature Multi-Point Fuel injection whereas the Premium trim level motor has Direction Injection which bumps up the power figures marginally. Coming with the Proton X50 range is a 5-year/80 000 km service plan, a generous 5-year/Unlimited km warranty and 5-year Roadside Assistance.

	Proton X50 1.5T Standard	Proton X50 1.5TGDi Premium
Engine	1.5-litre turbocharged petrol 3-cylinder multipoint fuel injection.	1.5-litre turbocharged petrol 3-cylinder direct injection.
Transmission	7-Speed Dual Clutch Transmission with Manual Mode	7-Speed Dual Clutch Transmission with Manual Mode
Power	110 kW	130 kW
Torque	226 Nm	255 Nm
0-100 km/h	No official information available	7.9s
Fuel consumption (Claimed)	6.5l /100km	6.5l /100km
C02 Emission	No official information available	No official information available

*Information collated here is from duoporta.co.za, Proton South Africa and Proton Global and was correct at the time of writing and subject to change at any moment without notice.

Verdict

At the time of writing this article, only petrol engines were available for the Proton X50 range. Despite that, we did have two different petrol engines to compare to see which powertrains were the best. As seen above, the Direct Injection version of the 1.5-litre engine has a marginal bump in power while still keeping the claimed fuel consumption relatively frugal. Unfortunately, official information is a bit sparse in some areas for the Proton X50.

Written by Tayedza Mbiri

Starting his petrol-infused passion at a ripe young age playing a plethora of racing video games, Taye has been into the motoring industry for years. During his university years studying Law, he dipped his toes into motoring photography, videography, and exploring what Southern Africa has to offer for the motoring scene at large. Most recently, he presented a YouTube series for a famous Japanese manufacturer and now finds himself fresh on the AutoTrader content creation team. He hopes to own a 90s Subaru one day soon. Read more