Proton reveals new S70 sedan
PROTON has debuted the new S70 in Malaysia, which is now the brand's flagship sedan.
The fourth Proton model after the X50, X70 and X90 SUVs to be spunoff of a product from Chinese parent company Geely, the S70 is essentially the new Geely Emgrand, too.
It is expected that the S70 will be added to Proton's South African line-up in early 2024, positioned above the Saga sedan already on sale locally.
The S70 rides on the Geely-developed B-segment Modular Architecture (BMA) platform also used by the X50, with an overall length of 4 638mm, height of 1 460mm and width of 1 822mm.
Its wheelbase stretching 2 650mm, the S70, which Proton says has undergone 1.2 million kilometres of testing to suit Malaysian conditions, has a claimed boot capacity of 500 litres and accordingly, four trim level options: Executive, Premium, Flagship and Flagship X.
The S70 has been lightly revised from the Emgrand aesthetically by means of the Proton logo on the grille and script on the boot lid in place of the Geely lettering.
Under the bonnet, a normally-aspirated 1.5 litre petrol engine is offered in Malaysia, but in China it's also available with a Volvo-sourced 1.5 T-GDI threecylinder petrol plant as found in the X50, X70 and X90.
The turbo-charged threecylinder petrol produces an unchanged 130kW/255Nm fed to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
Inside, the S70 differs from the Emgrand by way of the Skoda-esque Proton specific steering wheel, plus a new gear lever.
Confirmed specification items include 16- or 17inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, automatic climate control, a panoramic sunroof, leatherette seats, wireless smartphone charger, and a surround-view camera system.
On the tech side, two infotainment systems are provided; an eight-inch display on the Executive and Premium, and a 12.3-inch on the Flagship and Flagship X, neither with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto for now. Reserved for the latter pair though is a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
Autodealer will reveal more details as soon as Proton's South African importer confirms that the sedan will in fact be introduced to the local market and which version will be shipped.