The Geely Binyue Pro has just gone on sale in China and besides the minor cosmetic changes, the Chinese carmaker also threw in a major surprise – a new 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine with 6-speed dual-clutch transmission.

There are now 2 petrol engine options of the Binyue Pro – the 1.5-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder and a new 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder.

The 3-cylinder unit is something we’re quite familiar with, it’s a unit co-developed with Volvo and it packs 177 PS and 255 Nm of torque. It’s paired to a 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (same unit seen on the Proton X70 CKD) and allows the Binyue Pro to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.

It’s the first time the Binyue is offered with the 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder unit and it packs a healthy 141 PS and 235 Nm of twist. Transmission choices include a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed DCT, the latter is a wet-type clutch in case you’re wondering.

The sporty exterior treatment such as extended front spoiler lip, side skirts, blacked-out 18-inch alloys are reserved for the top-spec 1.5-litre Binyue PRO while the 1.4-litre variants get a standard exterior package.

Features available on the Binyue Pro are exactly the same as before with 10.25-inch floating centre touchscreen with the GKUI19 operating system, dual-tone upholstery, panoramic sunroof, N95-level cabin air filtration system and Advanced Driver Assistance System.

The Binyue Pro 1.4L is priced at RMB 79,800 (RM 49k) and RMB 91,800 (RM 56k) while the Binyue Pro 1.5L goes for RMB 99,800 (RM 61k) to RMB 119,800 (RM 73k) for the range-topping Binyue Pro Battle variant.

Interestingly, this price point puts the 1.5-litre variants of the Binyue Pro costs the same as the Geely Boyue in China.

How does this relate to the Proton X50?

Earlier we reported that the Geely Vision S1 crossover was spotted in Malaysia and that particular model shares the same engine as the Binyue Pro albeit with a CVT automatic instead.

This suggests that Proton may be conducting a feasibility study for the 1.4-litre turbo engine for the Malaysian market and perhaps debut it in the highly anticipated Proton X50.

The 1.4-litre turbo is an exciting proposition for the X50 because not only it is a 4-cylinder (better refinement compared to 3-cylinder) unit, it also offers decent performance and possibly bring down the cost of the X50. But the question is, would you rather have the CVT automatic or 6-speed wet DCT?