Proton S70 vs Honda City: The New Segment Leader?

LienJun 05, 2025, 12:00 PM

【PCauto】As the first sedan product born from Proton’s partnership with Geely, the Proton S70 carries a special mission. While the well-received SUV models like the X50 and X90 have successfully restored Proton’s profitability, they left a vacuum in the sedan market – a gap the S70 is precisely tasked to fill.

Specifically, the Proton S70 is positioned to compete head-to-head with the Honda City and Toyota Vios in Malaysia. With its larger dimensions, more powerful performance, richer features and more competitive pricing, Proton S70 aims to secure its sales position – ideally outperforming its two rivals.

Is Proton S70 a B-Segment or C-Segment Car?

“Should it be classified as B or C?” This question was repeatedly raised during the media preview for the Proton S70. However, the vehicle’s dimensions provide an objective answer:

The length of 4,602 mm places it between Honda City (4,589 mm) and Civic (4,681 mm).

With a width of 1,809 mm, it’s 7 mm wider than the Civic (1,802 mm).

Simply put, the Proton S70 is bigger than the City (or Vios) but closer to the Civic in size.

Its key competitiveness lies in price. The Flagship X variant, priced at RM94,800, strategically positions itself between the top-tier Honda City (RM99,900) and the Toyota Vios 1.5G AT (RM95,800)—while marketing itself as a C-segment contender.

Sales chief Rajeev clearly stated: “The S70 competes with the City and Vios, but we’re giving customers Civic-like dimensions at City-like price.”

Proton S70 currently offers four sub-model options:

Executive (RM73,800) – 6 airbags + 8″ infotainment + fabric seats

Premium (RM79,800) – Upgraded LED headlights + synthetic leather seats

Flagship (RM89,800) – ADAS + 12.3″ touchscreen + 360° camera

Flagship X (RM94,800) – Exclusive sunroof + Quartz Black paint

The Economics Under the Hood

Its 1.5L turbocharged three-cylinder engine, shared with the X50, features multi-point fuel injection (MFI) and delivers 150 PS and 226 Nm – theoretically positioning Proton S70 between B- and C-segment benchmarks. More importantly, the robust engine makes Proton S70 dominate B-segment rivals (Honda City: 121 PS/145 Nm; Toyota Vios: 106 PS/138 Nm). Additionally, this engine is now locally produced at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant, reducing per-unit costs by 18% compared to imported L15B engines.

The 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (DCT) has been fine-tuned for Malaysian conditions, lowering the risk of overheating in tropical climates from an initial 6% to just 0.3%.

26,000 Man-Hours of Redesign Effort

While it’s widely known that the S70 originates from Geely’s Emgrand, opening its doors reveals extensive localization efforts. Proton invested 26,000 man-hours to adapt the Geely Emgrand for right-hand-drive markets: 453 specialized components were redesigned, with 283 local suppliers involved. The first batch of trial production vehicles showed the Geely logo only at the sunroof corners. The dashboard covering now features an embossed Songket fabric pattern of Malaysia’s East Coast region. The center console buttons were adjusted to provide 1.8N of feedback pressure (optimized for frequent wet-hand operation), while the rear AC vents were lowered by 15mm to better accommodate passengers wearing headscarves.

Test Drive Experience: S70 Delivered Superior Power and Space

The “S-curve test” at Bukit Jalil Proving Ground revealed S70’s true character: when deliberately slowing down before entering a corner, the front MacPherson + rear torsion beam suspension filtered out 80% of the bumps. However, when taking corners at 70 km/h, body roll reached 4.8 degrees (compared to the City’s 3.5 degrees), exposing its comfort-oriented chassis tuning.

The power delivery proved more dramatic: in Comfort mode, turbo lag below 1,500 rpm caused about a 1-second throttle response delay. Compared to the Honda City, the difference became apparent when the traffic light turned green, as the City can jump ahead by half a car length. However, the S70’s additional 160kg curb weight did not hinder its performance—once the turbo fully engaged, its mid-range acceleration clearly outperformed those naturally aspirated rivals.

Switching to Sport mode and flooring the throttle triggered the “Wheel Slip Control” warning on the S70’s dashboard. After a brief front-wheel spin, the 226Nm torque launched the vehicle forward, achieving a tested 0-100 km/h time of 9.21 seconds (at 32℃ ambient temperature). The smoothness of the dual-clutch transmission surpasses that of most CVT systems in the same price range. While the suspension’s excellent bump absorption at high speeds deserves praise, its longer travel produced noticeable lean during aggressive cornering.

In terms of passenger experience, S70’s 2,627 mm wheelbase provided spacious room. Featuring a front-high-back-low frame (seat angle at 28°), paired with slimmer 10mm front seatbacks, it provides 178cm-tall passengers with two fist-widths of knee room.

The 500L trunk accommodated four upright 27-inch suitcases in testing, though no variants offer folding rear seats. Design Director Azlan Othman justified this: “90% of Malaysian users never utilize this feature—enhancing body rigidity was more practical.”

An Imperfect Yet Smart Choice

On the second day of the test drive, Kuala Lumpur’s heavy rain put the Flagship variant’s LKA lane-keeping system to work—it automatically corrected steering three times on slick roads, while the rain sensor tightened wiper intervals to 1.2 seconds. A closer inspection of the S70’s interior revealed impressive 0.3mm stitching tolerances on the faux-leather seats, though hard plastic door panels emitted faint creaks during spirited driving.

Such high-end configurations show an astonishing value for money. At the same price point, Toyota only offers Vios with fabric seats and a manual handbrake, while the S70 provides near C-segment refinement. Although, S70 isn’t a perfect vehicle—it’s a mobility solution meticulously tailored for consumers in Malaysia.

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