Ahead of the launch on February 11, Proton has opened order books for the 2026 Proton S70 at all 3S and 4S centers nationwide from today. The updated sedan is also making a special appearance in showrooms across the country this weekend of February 7 and 8, and during one of these we reviewed the Flagship and Flagship X examples, essentially offering a full visual preview of the S70 MC1.
The rework of the S70 brings minor changes to the exterior and interior. On the outside, the changes are essentially lifted from the 2025 Geely Emgrand, as previously reported. The car gets new LED headlights, but the flashy start-up process is gone, and the turn signals are now incandescent, which were previously integrated into the eyebrow-style LED daytime running lights. The turn signals take the place of the old high beam near the inner edge, so the high beam is now integrated into the main projector unit.
Other new parts include 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels for the flagship, and these are almost identical to the previous example, but with a more blade-like design for the spokes. As for the tires, both the Flagship and the X are equipped with GitiComfort F22 tires. These replace the previous Kumho Ecowing ES31, which took over from the Goodyear Assurance Triplemax 2s that were axed when the Goodyear plant in Shah Alam closed in 2024.
As evidenced by previous studio shots of the car, there’s a new body kit, and here it’s seen on the Flagship Oh, and there are red accents too, although this is only for the black and white versions of the car, so it doesn’t appear on the blue display.
The big news lies with the powertrain: the S70 is now equipped with a 1.5-liter BHE15-EFZ i-GT turbo four-cylinder engine with direct injection, which replaces the GEP3 three-cylinder. This equips all four available variants for the car, namely the base 1.5TD Executive, mid 1.5TD Premium, high 1.5TD Flagship and top of the range 1.5TD Flagship X.
With 181 hp at 5,500 rpm and 290 Nm of torque between 2,000 and 3,500 rpm, the new engine offers a significant jump of 31 hp/64 Nm over the old port-injection mill. The seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission has been retained, but the new engine allows the 2026 car to complete the 0-100 km/h run in 7.5 seconds, which is 1.5 seconds faster than before.
Proton says this performance improvement does not come at the expense of fuel consumption, which is estimated at 5.7 liters per 100 km (17.5 km per liter). The company says operating costs will fall thanks to the switch to a toothed timing chain, and recalibration work on the transmission will ensure smoother shifting on the new car.
Inside, the interior remains unchanged from the current S70, with only the headliner changing to black on the Flagship
Standard equipment on the Executive includes cloth seats, an 8.0-inch infotainment head unit, five USB ports, rear parking sensors and 16-inch alloy wheels. The Premium adds automatic LED headlights, a rear light bar, leatherette seats and a leatherette-wrapped steering wheel, automatic climate control, front parking sensors and a reversing camera.
Move to the flagship and that’s where the 17-inch rolls come in. The 10.25-inch TFT instrument display and 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen from before remain unchanged, but there’s now wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The variant also adds a wireless mobile charger, 360-degree HD camera with 3D display, a six-way power driver’s seat and safety window film from the Premium. As for the Flagship
In terms of safety, the S70 comes standard with six airbags and features like lane change assist, door opening warning, rear collision warning and rear cross-traffic alert. That’s for the Executive and Premium. As before, only the flagship (and the
No prices are available yet, but they will – along with the full specification – come later this week when the car is launched. For reference, the current S70 costs RM73,800 for the Executive, RM79,800 for the Premium, RM89,800 for the Flagship and RM94,800 for the Flagship
GALLERY: 2026 Proton S70 MC1, flagship X
GALLERY: 2026 Proton S70 MC1, flagship
ADVERTISEMENT: Drive the Proton model of your dreams. Leave your details and Proton PJ will contact you.
Do you want to sell your car? Sell it with Auto.
#Proton #S70 #facelift #1.5T #iGT #4cylinder #AACP #variants #flagship #flagship #paultan.org