After opening order books for it last week, Proton officially launched the 2026 Proton S70 MC1 earlier this evening. The facelifted sedan will come in the same four variant forms as when it was introduced in November 2023, namely the Executive, Premium, Flagship and Flagship X.
Let’s get to the prices first. The four variants of the 2026 Proton MC1 are priced as follows (all on the road, without insurance):
- S70 1.5TD Executive – RM68,800
- S70 1.5TD Premium – RM74,800
- S70 1.5TD flagship – RM84,800
- S70 1.5TD flagship RM89,800
The above prices include an early booking discount of RM5,000 for the car. The actual price is identical to the pre-facelift price, which cost RM73,800 for the Executive, RM79,800 for the Premium, RM89,800 for the Flagship and RM94,800 for the Flagship
The 2026 Proton S70 MC1 comes with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and six free labor for maintenance. It also comes with a five-year in-car data package with 2GB of data per month.
Apart from one huge change, namely that of the engine, the rest of the 2026 S70’s rework is relatively minor, with minimal revisions to the exterior and interior. As previously reported, the changes beyond that have essentially been lifted from the Geely Emgrand 2025. This brings new LED headlights, but without the flashy start-up sequence of the past.
In addition, the turn signals are now incandescent bulbs, which were previously integrated into the eyebrow-style LED daytime running lights. Essentially, 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, the S70 MC1 now features GitiComfort F22 tires across the variant range. The Giti rubbers take over from the previous Kumho Ecowing ES31, which replaced the Goodyear Assurance Triplemax 2s that were dropped when the Goodyear plant in Shah Alam closed in 2024.
Elsewhere, the Flagship The red finish – which the company calls Storm Red – is actually quite dark and subtle, and nowhere as flashy as shown in the official AI photos.
The big news is of course 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. The unit, which features a part-time Miller cycle, DVVT and an electric water pump, will equip all four available variants for the car.
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, a significant improvement over the original S70’s 9.6 seconds.
You get the same three driving modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport) as before, without the adaptive mode like on the X50 facelift, but Proton says this performance boost doesn’t come at the expense of fuel economy. FC has even improved, with the new plant’s claimed consumption of 5.7 liters per 100 km (17.5 km per litre) representing an 8.1% improvement over before.
The company adds that operating costs will fall thanks to the switch to a toothed timing chain, and that 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 (with 205/55 tires), and the window switch is now illuminated.
Move up to the Premium and you get automatic LED headlights, a rear light bar, leatherette seats and a leatherette-wrapped steering wheel, as well as automatic climate control, front parking sensors and a reversing camera.
While the 8.0-inch screen means the Executive and Premium don’t have AACP, what’s perhaps more curious is that both still feature analogue gauges for the instrument display. This is a strange choice, considering the X50 facelift went all-digital, and even the Saga MC3 in its base form has that.
Move up to the flagship and that’s where the goodies come in, starting with a move to the 17-inch rollers, which are wrapped in 205/50 profile tires. The 10.25-inch TFT instrument display and 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen from before remain unchanged, but buyers of the variant (and the X, of course) can finally look forward to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The flagship 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. However, there are still no paddle shifters, despite the automaker labeling the car as a ‘sports sedan’.
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
In terms of exterior colours, the available choices for the S70 MC1 are Quartz Black, Snow White, Space Grey, Marine Blue, Armor Silver and Ruby Red, with the latter replacing the previous Passion Red. The Teal Bayou Green shade has been removed from the palette.
GALLERY: 2026 Proton S70 MC1 official images and price list
GALLERY: 2026 Proton S70 MC1, flagship X
GALLERY: 2026 Proton S70 MC1, flagship
GALLERY: 2026 Proton S70 MC1, Premium
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