So Proton took us on a comparison drive with the S70 and Vios, here is my take
National automaker Proton has just taken us on a quick day trip from its Centre of Excellence (CoE) to Kuala Pilah and back in the top spec Proton S70 Flagship X and the top spec Toyota Vios G. Having driven both cars on the trip to do a quick comparison, my take is very simple, these 2 cars really shouldn’t be compared to each other in the first place, but I will anyway.
A Quick Disclaimer
Okay, so before I go on, I need to clarify that despite both the Proton S70 and Toyota Vios being priced almost the same, they are two very different cars and quite frankly, should not be compared to each other at all. After all, the Vios is a B-segment sedan while the S70 is touted as a C-segment car by the national carmaker.
Jekyll And Hyde
Moreover, While the Proton S70 has a huge emphasis on power, new features and tech (and the local brand’s exceptional ride and handling), the Toyota Vios seems more focused on reliability, simplicity and comfort. Having said that, let’s compare the two popular sedans and see which one will suit you better.
So now that we have established that both cars serve very different functions and focus heavily on very different aspects, let me quickly explain what my opinions are on this comparison. The Proton S70 is a C-segment sedan that Proton is proud of because it has the price tag of a B-segment sedan and the Toyota Vios is a B-segment sedan that knows its target audience.
What do I mean by this? Well, as much as it pains me to say this (mainly because my first time driving the Proton S70 was literally life changing and I loved it so so much), the Proton S70 genuinely feels like it has an identity crisis while the Toyota Vios seems very sure of itself and in no way confused.
In more simple terms, everything in the Toyota Vios gels very well with each other and all the features and components complement each other in a cohesive way. For example, the simple and intuitive steering wheel controls and buttons on the dashboard that are all so natural to use that one needn’t think about what they are pressing at any time.
Meanwhile, the Proton S70 put such a huge emphasis on technology that the majority of its functions become convoluted for no reason and in some cases even downright confusing. For example, the steering wheel mode and engine mode can be set independently yet a first time Proton driver wouldn’t be able to figure out how to do that without guidance.
Moreover, there were two other media friends in the car with me when we drove the Proton S70 and we all ended up asking each other “how do you do …” more times than I care to count and the majority of the time, none of us knew the answer so we just ended up ignoring the problem all together. This wasn’t an issue in the Vios.
The Toyota Vios was very simple and intuitive to drive so none of us had too much trouble trying to use the functions and features in it. The only problem here is that, compared to the Proton S70, there weren’t many functions and features in the Toyota Vios to begin with. This leads me perfectly to the next comparison.
Red Pill Or Blue
Pick the red pill and forever be stuck with the boring simplicity of familiarity where everything is easy and predictable but never have the ability to truly free yourself from the shackles of the left lane or pick the blue pill and enjoy true freedom of acceleration but forever be stuck with the loud voices in your head and never fully understand what you can do and how to do it.
A tad dramatic? Sure, not lore accurate to the Matrix movies? Well I’m “colourblind,” so deal with it. My article, my analogies. Anyway, the Proton S70 is a great car but it doesn’t do simple things very well. For example, I never realised how much wind and tyre noise leaked into the cabin until I drove the Vios right after and the silence was deafeningly loud.
While I admit the Proton S70 does so many more complicated things right, like squeezing out so much power from a tiny 3 cylinder engine, it kind of skipped over the bare minimum basic stuff which made the whole car feel so uncoordinated like it was trying to do too many things at once and then only got half of each task right as a result of stretching itself too thin.
On the other hand, the Toyota Vios despite being faster on paper than the Proton S70 looked like a golf cart on the highway which, by extension, made the S70 feel more like a Ferrari than a family car because its acceleration left much to be desired. In fact, the S70s routinely left the Vios’ in the dust through the day.
So where does this leave us? Well, if you, like me, have a heavy right foot and despise not being able to overtake any car in front of you at the drop of a hat, then you’d definitely prefer the Proton S70. However, if your prefer comfort and just want something that feels more coordinated and put together, the Vios is for you.
Interior And Comfort
The Proton S70 definitely has the more modern interior of the two cars. The design, layout and overall usage of space (including having far more USB ports compared to the Vios) all mean that those seeking an aesthetic interior would love the S70, but then again, is looking good really worth the headache of the complicated settings buried in the infotainment screen?
Well, the Toyota Vios does not have this problem, if you don’t mind the lack of colours and features in the digital driver display, the lack of USB (specifically Type C) ports and the dated design, then the sheer simplicity and intuitive layout of the Vios is definitely your cup of tea. Sadly, this means a boring interior that won’t arouse any excitement while driving.
What’s more, given that the Proton S70 is actually larger than the Toyota Vios, it has much more space inside and this was glaringly noticeable as soon as we got in the cars. While we were all comfortably stretched out in the Proton S70, we were all bumping into each other with each movement in the Vios.
However, it has to be noted that the seats on the Proton S70 were much harder than those in the Toyota Vios. Now, to me, this is not an issue, but one of our media friends noted that for slightly older drivers, this makes a world of difference and if comfort is indeed your end goal here and not technology, the Vios is far more practical.
Practicality
Speaking of practicality, the Proton S70 also has an advantage over the Toyota Vios here because it has rear seats that can fold down and a spare tyre in the boot. Of course, Toyota lets you have the option to add a spare tyre now but that is extra money added to the cost while Proton already offers this in the S70 for free.
Despite all this, the Toyota Vios is no slouch in the space department as it has a very usable boot but simply cannot carry very long items as well as the Proton S70 can. Still, the seats being much softer will make a major difference on longer trips so the larger S70 can haul more than the Vios. This is not surprising though since the S70 is a segment higher so it has to be able to do this.
Performance
Okay, I promise I won’t let my biases show after this segment but the Proton S70 simply smoked the Toyota Vios in this department. It is, once again, no surprise though given it has a turbocharged engine while the Vios has to deal with a naturally aspirated (NA) engine but to me, the acceleration advantage the S70 has was a big factor to me.
Again, if one does not care much to speed all the time, then the reliability and consistency of the Toyota Vios is a no brainer and definitely takes precedence over the power the Proton S70 offers. Plus, with Malaysian traffic, the Proton S70 can try as much as it likes, but the fact is, it is going nowhere as traffic will keep it in place anyway.
Going back to what I said earlier about identity crises, in sport mode the Proton S70 tends to struggle with putting down all its power and I end up with a bit of wheel spin before actually moving. I remember running into this problem in Penang as well while we were on the S70 media drive there some months ago.
Proton built a fantastic car with the S70 as it has the power and handling one would expect but for some reason, maybe the tyres are wrong for the car or perhaps the gearbox is unsure of itself, the car simply cannot consistently put down ll its power which means it has to stay in comfort or eco mode permanently and that is simply no fun.
The Toyota Vios, on the other hand, is perfectly comfortable in its own proverbial skin. It doesn’t struggle to be more sportscar like than it needs to be and is content just being a safe, reliable family car that has enough power for our roads without actually overdoing the delivery and encourages the driver to just leisurely cruise along instead.
So is this really such a bad thing? No, I don’t think so at least. While Proton certainly has a long way to go in refining the S70, this is an older car we are dealing with and I am certain Proton will revise and improve every aspect of the S70 as time goes by. The Vios is far more refined, yes, but it is also more predictable and thus, gets boring after a while.
Why Though?
So I will wrap up my thoughts with this. Why does Proton keep telling everyone the Proton S70 is a C-segment car but constantly compares it to B-segment cars? Surely everyone could understand why this may be unfair right? Well, Proton keeps reminding us that the S70 is a C-segment car with a B-segment price, but does this make any sense?
I honestly could touch on many more aspects of both cars and compare them but I think that is fundamentally wrong. The Proton S70 is newer than the Toyota Vios yet the latter already came to our market equipped with Android Auto anc Apple CarPlay while the former has only just begun rolling out CarPlay and that too, not even for the S70.
So while irregularities like this stick out and remain a talking point for most Malaysians, I think that comparing a C-segment sedan to a B-segment one is a bit of a low blow. One is very clearly meant to be better than the other and even then, there are some things that were just better in the Toyota Vios compared to the S70, so what is that about?
The Verdict
I am a journalist. I studied journalism in university and I was taught by some very great people about the ethics involved in Journalism. That is why, as soon as I found out what was happening at this comparison drive, I immediately felt uneasy. Why? Once again, I don’t think these 2 cars should be compared to each other in the first place.
Both are great cars in their own right but the Proton S70 and Toyota Vios simply do not focus on the same things and as such, trying to compare the two will only result in a one sided argument for one over the other. At the end of the day, If Proton keeps insisting that the S70 is a C-segment car, shouldn’t it be compared to other C-segment cars?
Well, some media friends did ask this exact question but we were met with the “but B-segment price” argument which does not address the real issue here. The real issue is that because the Proton S70 is so much cheaper than other C-segment offerings, it immediately looks like a bargain but if one can afford the more expensive options, they offer more than the S70 can.
Let me be clear, I am not saying the Proton S70 cannot compete with other C-segment offerings here in Malaysia, simply that because it is priced so low in comparison, it is forced to compete in a lower segment which just means it is always punching far below its weight class, so to speak. In the end, this makes comparisons like this hard to do.
My final thoughts are simple, both the Proton S70 and Toyota Vios are great, but for VERY different reasons, so if you are in the market for a sedan and your budget is something below RM100,000, simply decide if you prefer having more raw power, or the sensibility of simplicity and choose one of these two or any of the countless other options there are.
In conclusion, I can’t say if the Proton S70 is better than the Toyota Vios in a head to head battle since both cars have very different approaches to how they “car,” but I personally prefer the S70 simply because I value raw power in a car. You may not agree if you value comfort and that is perfectly valid so just decide for yourself which car suits you better.
Proton S70 Flagship X
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre 3 Cylinder, 12 Valve, DOHC
Capacity: 1477cc
Gearbox: 7-Speed DCT
Max power: 150PS @ 5,500rpm
Max torque: 226Nm
0-100 km/h: 9 seconds
Price: RM94,800 (Flagship X spec)
Toyota Vios G
Engine: 1.5-litre 4 Cylinder, 16 Valve, DOHC with Dual-VVTi
Capacity: 1496cc
Gearbox: 7-Speed DCT
Max power: 106PS @ 6,000rpm
Max torque: 138Nm
Top Speed: 180km/h
0-100 km/h: 8.1 seconds
Price: RM95,900 (G spec)
