The Proton eMas 7 PHEV is a modern plug-in hybrid from China, where PHEVs are all the rage now. Cars with two sources of power isn’t a new idea, but the latest ones from China work a bit differently from their European counterparts, and this applies to Conti PHEVs from a decade ago right up to the ones in premium brand showrooms today.
Before we get to Pro-Net’s answer to some popular questions about the eMas 7 PHEV, here’s a brief recap. Launched in February, the eMas 7 PHEV is powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-pot engine with 99 PS/125 Nm, which is combined with a 218 PS/262 Nm electric motor for total system output of 262 PS/262 Nm.
Prime and Premium variants come with an 18.4-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery from CATL for a pure electric range of 83 km, or 943 km combined. The top Premium Plus variant gets a 29.8-kWh Geely Aegis short blade LFP battery for 146 km EV range and a combined range of 996 km.
By the way, we’re using WLTP figures, as we usually do on this website. For the eMas 7 PHEV, Pro-Net has – in a departure from its own norm – chosen to publish less-realistic NEDC range numbers, which are 1,000 km (Prime, Premium) and 1,065 km (Premium Plus) respectively, with pure EV range figures of 105 km and 170 km, respectively.
For charging, the smaller battery’s max DC charging rate is 30 kW, and going from 30-80% state of charge takes under 20 minutes. The Aegis battery can handle up to 60 kW charging, taking SoC from 30-80% in under 16 minutes. AC charging maxes out at 7 kW. With the RM4,000 launch rebate included, the three eMas 7 PHEV variants are priced at RM105,800, RM119,800 and RM125,800, respectively. You can get the full specs and galleries from our launch report.
So, can you drive the eMas 7 PHEV just like you would a normal ICE car, without plugging it in to charge? We’re not talking about a week or two without charging – that’s not an issue, of course – but on a longer term.
The short answer from Pro-Net – backed by Geely’s engineers in a live Q&A tech workshop with the media – is yes, you can drive the eMas 7 PHEV on petrol power alone. Even in extreme cases (they gave an example of one year without charging), this would not damage the battery as safeguards have been put in place to counter the potential ill-effects of this habit.
Like some other new-wave PHEVs from China, the eMas 7 PHEV’s battery is not allowed to be fully drained to 0%, which happens in European PHEVs. The idea behind this reserve of 20% to 25% SoC, or ‘ballast charge’ as Proton calls it, is to preserve the health of the battery. Note that even when the EV range shows zero on the dash, the battery SoC is actually still at 20% (Premium Plus) or 25% (Prime, Premium).
As is the case with your mobile phone, frequent full discharge of a battery isn’t good for its health, so the system ensures that charge never falls to below 20%. The engine will play generator to maintain this ballast charge, and keep battery degradation at bay.
With this self-preservation mechanism in place, Proton would be confident with its eight-year or 160,000 km warranty for the SUV’s EV bits (battery, drive motor, motor controllers), which includes a one-to-one replacement if the battery’s state of health falls below 70%. For the record, Pro-Net says that no matter how one drives the eMas 7 PHEV, it will not affect the warranty.
However, it must be noted that Proton recommends eMas 7 PHEV users to fully charge their cars at least once a month – this is stated in the manual, and we’ve just been told that a reminder will pop up in the screen too. The reason for this isn’t what you might think.
Battery health, right? No, because the battery degradation issue is already covered by the ballast charge safeguard – and warranty – stated above. Instead, plugging in periodically helps the battery to recalibrate. If the battery is left idle for long, the driver might see inaccurate range figures, so do it (and yourself) a favour and allow the battery to ‘clear the mind’, so to speak, at least once a month. This applies to EVs with LFP batteries too, but with no other source of propulsion, EV owners probably won’t need reminders.
Conversely, Pro-Net has said that it’s OK to use the eMas 7 PHEV purely as a EV, which means that you can fully charge it up (no problem, because LFP) and repeat the cycle every 100 or so km. This car’s fuel tank is pressurised, which reduces the evaporation of the RON 95 stored there, and slows down the natural process of fuel degradation. Yes, petrol can go basi.
The pressurised tank is the reason why one needs to go into the screen or long press the left side mirror button to open the fuel filler flap. The system needs to depressurise the tank before you can open the flap, for safety reasons.
So, to summarise it, you can use this ‘dual-powered’ car purely as an ICE car or an EV, keeping the other propulsion source purely as a backup. But why would you want to do that? There are better ICE SUVs out there in terms of performance compared to a 1.5L NA eMas 7 PHEV without electric assistance; likewise, there are EVs with far greater range, and you can find one such car in the same showroom, and it’s cheaper too!
Concept wise, the eMas 7 PHEV is for those who want a car that straddles both worlds (Hafriz calls it a dua alam car), giving you what’s good from each side of the divide, with a back up. Charge it up at home every day and you’ll have a serene EV daily that’s efficient in traffic jams and the urban crawl. But when the need arises, you can use that same car to balik kampung or go for an outstation event without the need for research and a charging plan.
Speaking of charging, do it in the comfort of your own home whenever possible. Not only is home AC charging much more cost-efficient, you’ll also avoid the jeling and kecam from EV owners who say that they need the public DC chargers (especially those on the highways) more than you do – right or wrong, you don’t want to be that guy in their WhatsApp/Facebook groups.
So, what do you think of the Proton eMas 7 PHEV and this new breed of Chinese plug-in hybrids with batteries that don’t fall to 0%? I often think in football terms, and this reminds me of a utility player, as opposed to a specialist. Personally, I’d rather have one good attacking midfielder and a world-class defensive midfielder behind him, rather than a guy who can do both, but not as well. Then again, not every squad has the budget and room for two top operators – in that case, the eMas 7 PHEV would serve your team very well.
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not for me..double the headache
is it harmful if we rarely use the ICE engine , and do we still need to service once every year?
Putting aside ICE, EV or PHEV drive train, the e.mas 7 PHEV is a much better car with bigger space and better features than X70 and e.mas 7 BEV.
true. the design i also far better than the plain-old eMas7, which looked too kosong in front.
Agreed, actually the initial China version is better but global version maybe due to cut cost or other local concern than design changed
Leg room is better than E7 BEV but BEV has more compartments
if you buy a PHEV and don’t actively charge it, you’re just dragging the additional weight of the electrical system around, reducing your efficiency. You might as well buy an ICE vehicle.
you can use the ICE engine to charge the batteries, while the car is parked. so its still better than a full EV.
Hi NK, that’s not really the case, just a misconception. It just drives like HEV or self charging Hybrid by regen braking and generator engine. Still way more efficient than any ICE SUV say 20km/L+ . The atkinson cycle engine with 46.5% thermal efficiency dont get involved in propulsion for city drive, only highway speeds, mainly as a generator.
Car maintains minimum SOC 20% to protect the system the car is smart. You can even set intelligent self charge when driving or forced self charge when idle waiting for someone (hurts efficiency). Can set hold charge from 20% to 85% range.
3 driving modes, pure (EV) Hybrid & Power. Just drive wirh Hybrid mode it will charge as you drive. Cheers
the point here is if you dont plug it in , you might as well buy a conventional ICE car which weighs less. minus the electric bits an equivalent ICE car might be 300kgs lighter.
this phev does not allow 0% battery. you drive around it will charge anyway
Really makes you wonder why the European manufacturers don’t do this… Kesian the 330e, 530e, C350e, GLC350e, etc.
European manufacturers too lazy and arrogant
How long petrol can keep in emas7 PHEV fuel tank until the petrol start degradation?
2-3 months
depend on your usage, if frequent long distance travel will be very useful to avoid range anxiety or searching for charging station
I think the soon those new EREEV from Geely should solve the doubts
Oh…the engine itself cannot charge the battery? Like normal hybrid.
The problem with balik kampung beyond the EV range is, using a 1.5 NA to move this big car,. Say twice a month, boleh ke?
phev is for poor who cannot afford a few separate cars for separate functions. full stop.
Most people can’t afford/justify a different car (plus parking spaces) for different functions – not only the poor
If you have an EV and your wife has ICE, that’s great, but an individual buying both is crazily extravagant!
You’re not accurate. The Phev should be acting like a common HEV and it’ll still charge the batteries without plugging in. So you’re confused that the battery will be 0% without plugging in
Nice article, but it leaves me with a couple of questions:
(1) How well can the engine charge the battery, beyond maintaining the 20% minimum, if I never plug it in? If I drive from KL to Penang using petrol, will that charge it enough so I can drive around Georgetown on battery?
(2) What are the benefits of this hybrid compared to a pure ICE car? Does it give much more power (acceleration) than a pure ICE car, by combining ICE and battery? Can it save me much money?
the engine can certainly keep the battery charge up under normal cases the only time it will struggle is at high speeds say you want to cruise above 140km for an hour, the engine might struggle to keep recharging the battery .
im using J7 PHEV since 8 months ago
(1) d engine can charge batt up till 80% max only. if u want more, need to plug it in. when driving KL – Penang, yes u can maintain d batt at 80% provided u set the mode to Forced Charging. after arriving at Penang, u may switch to EV mode
(2) yes, d acceleration is faster than J7 ICE & i can kill the conti killer using Eco Mode