I drove the new Proton S70 to Penang and fell in love with it, see why here
Let’s start off by listing the obvious, yes, there is still no support for Android Auto or Apple CarPlay on the Proton S70 for now, but if given more time, perhaps it will be added in via a hardware update. Personally, I don’t mind too much as the proprietary system is pretty intuitive and easy to use so the car shouldn’t hassle anyone.
Moreover, the tiny but mighty turbocharged 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine in the Proton S70 is truly something else. I was a bit worried at first that the car wouldn’t be able to accelerate quickly or go uphill or even maintain higher speeds but I was proven wrong almost instantly.
While I will not disclose the speeds at which the convoy to Penang was going, I can confidently say the Proton S70 should not struggle to reach speeds of close to 200km/h in any road conditions and it doesn’t shake or even feel like you’re going fast in this car even at speeds of over 100km/h, which I loved.
On top of that, Proton was kind enough to put me in a car in Marine Blue, my personal favourite colour and especially at night, the taillights were simply mesmerising to look at. Of course, this connected tail light cluster is specific to higher spec models so if you can afford it, do spring for the Flagship spec and above as the taillights are just beautiful to look at.
Okay, so all in all, no major complaints because the car does most things so well and that too at a very decent price point making its value for money proposition very hard to beat but it is not perfect. Then again no car is but I personally only have two specific issues with the new Proton S70.
I found the brakes to be a bit grabby but the lead engineer assured me that this is because the car accelerates rather quickly so it needs this stopping power. It takes some getting used to but ultimately is not a big deal. My second issue is that the in-car map is a bit laggy but that is a simple fix so it also is ultimately not a big deal.
There you have it, my impression of the new Proton S70 sedan after driving it from Subang to Penang. All in all, if it were my money and I had to pick a car for under RM100k, the Proton S70 wins by a landslide. There are, of course, many reasons for this but I can’t list them all down so just test drive the car and see for yourself.
Proton S70 1.5T Flagship X
Engine: Inline 3, DOHC Turbocharged Petrol
Capacity: 1,477cc
Gearbox: 7-Speed Wet DCT
Max power: 148hp @5,500rpm
Max Torque: 226Nm @1,750rpm
0 to 100km/h acceleration: About 9 seconds
Price: RM94,800
