This is the 2027 Proton S70 RS, and it’s a facelift of Proton’s segment-straddling sedan, reserved for the turbocharged engine. Another S70? In September, Proton rolled out 1.5L naturally-aspirated versions of the S70, badged Lite and Prime. Now, the turbocharged variants are called RS, and there are two trim levels – Premium and Sportline. Proton’s RS stands for Refined Sportiness, by the way.
So, the S70 range now reads Lite, Prime, Premium and Sportline – still four variants, but it’s now split into two NA and two turbo. This also means that if you want the turbo engine, you have these two RS variants to choose from – there were four previously, but the base Executive (its place in the range taken over by the NA variants) is no more, and there’s also no more Flagship X with a sunroof.
This adds another era to the S70’s timeline. The sedan was launched in November 2023 with a 1.5L three-cylinder turbo engine, and the three-pot remained in service till February this year, when Proton rolled out the MC1 with the 1.5L i-GT turbo-four. Then came the 1.5L NA variants in September and now this RS to visually separate the turbo from NA.
With that cleared up, let’s get into what’s new for the S70 RS.
Aggressive Sportline replaces Flagship
It’s not just looks that separates turbo from NA, but there’s no escaping that new mug, so let’s start there. The S70 RS gives us a new face for the first time since the model launched in 2023.
Central to the facelift is a huge bowl-shaped grille with chromed dash lines in it, which Proton calls the ‘Pulse Matrix’ grille. It’s supposed to be the latest take on the brand’s ‘Infinite Weave’ grille, and those lines are said to mimic the pattern of an ECG, Proton chief designer Azlan Othman says. Yes, that electrocardiogram heart test you find in hospitals. We see some Peugeot in the nose.
Kickstarting the pulse is the red ‘S’ badge on the top corner of the grille. This ‘spark that sets the beat’ is called the Spark S, and the red letter can also be found on the tail end of the Sportline’s side skirts. If you’ve seen it before, it’s the same S on the X50’s rear wing, used by Geely on its accessories.
Working in tandem with the big grille to make it an aggressive face is the bone-shaped lower bumper, which side cutouts feature a red pinstripe and vertical air curtains. If you like this face so much that you want to graft it onto your pre-facelift S70, you’ll have to fit in a new bonnet too – the RS comes with a new hood that’s sculpted on both sides. Needed to match the new grille’s shape, this is a Proton-exclusive part.
Also all-new are the RS’ 17-inch dark grey ‘Geostar’ wheels, which design – Azlan says – is inspired by Islamic geometry. However, this wheel is actually from the Geely parts catalogue, as confirmed by Proton. No change in size or the tyre pairing (GitiComfort F22, 205/50), but you’ll find red-painted brake calipers on the Sportline. Again, red is found as a ‘Velocity Line’ pinstripe on the side skirts, which terminate with an S.
The handsome rear of the S70 is carried over for this facelift, but the RS receives a new bumper (look for the sculpting on the sides near the rear wheel) that features a diffuser and quad tailpipes – two on each side.
Unlike on the X50, the four tips you see here aren’t real pipes (the actual pipes shoot out each side of the tabung and face downwards) but they look pretty convincing to these eyes. It must be the dark finish and the how the tips appear independent of the bodykit although they’re not.
It’s an insignificant stat, but at 4,600 mm long, the RS is two millimetres shorter than the NA and original S70 due to the new bumpers.
Finally, there’s a bootlid spoiler that looks familiar, but is actually new. This is finished in gloss black, as are the roof, door handles, side skirts, wing mirror caps, and lower bumper surrounds of the Sportline. We’ve yet to see the Premium, but are told that the above parts will be in body colour instead of gloss black. Also, the Premium will have its windows outlined in silver, unlike the Sportline.
The Premium will also lose the red brake calipers, side skirts and S logos, but both will have the RS emblem on the boot. It should look a fair bit calmer than the Sportline, which it needs to be as the only other option for those who want turbo performance without looking shouty.
So, what do you think of the S70 RS’ looks? Whether you’ve been nodding in agreement for the past five minutes or think this is too extroverted, Proton has been successful in moving away from the Geely Emgrand facelift‘s elegant looks and positioning (hero colour for the launch photos is champagne, with a tan brown interior), making a hard right turn towards sporty.
All-new cockpit, red-heavy Sportline
If the exterior changes are pretty comprehensive for a facelift, the all-new cockpit – supposedly a local design – truly separates the RS from the NA variants and original S70. At a glance, it’s the X50 facelift’s dashboard, but only the layout and screens (8.88-inch digital meter and 14.6-inch infotainment) are similar.
The screens really change the feel of the interior. The upsized main screen and the deletion of the binnacle for the instrument panel makes the RS look like a modern Chinese EV. The old layout, with its binnacle, slim main screen and traditional gear lever, still had a ‘regular car’ feel about it.
Yes, the gear lever is no more, replaced by a steering column-mounted shifter. This frees up space on the floating centre console (there’s a 10L cavity below), which has two angled phone slots (wireless charging on the driver’s side), cupholders and the new ‘Commander Dial’. Basically, the cluster consists of a rotary dial (similar to the eMas EVs) surrounded by physical buttons for the air con and hazard lights. It looks similar to the one in the Geely Emgrand L EM-i, but isn’t identical.
This means that unlike in the X50 FL, you can change the AC’s temperature and fan speed (auto and on/off too) without delving into the main screen, like in the old S70. Aside from changing volume, the dial also lets you switch driving modes and ambient light settings with a long press. Speaking of driving modes, there’s a new ‘Adaptive’ mode here, like on the X50 FL. The presence of physical AC controls is much-welcomed.
You would have noticed that this interior is ‘very red’. That traditionally sporty colour is found on the steering stitch and lower dashboard, flowing into the centre console and armrest. The front seats are outlined in red and all seatbelts and door armrests are in the racy hue too. A big contributor to the sporty feel is the black headlining – it was light grey in the old Flagship.
Like with the exterior, if this ‘Redline Cockpit’ is too over-the-top for you, the Premium comes with an all-black interior for a more executive feel. If you noticed that the rear seats don’t have the red highlights, the intention was to put focus on the cockpit. Nothing has changed for the passengers, other than the rear AC vents with a sleeker design.
Updated equipment levels
The S70 was already well-kitted for a sub-RM100k sedan, but the equipment list for the RS is now longer, taking on much of the kit we see in the X50 facelift. Aside from the above-mentioned screens and Adaptive drive mode, the sedan has been given walk-away auto door lock/unlock and the passenger door finally gets a keyless entry button. The buttons are in chrome though, which is rather jarring with Sportline’s gloss black door handles.
In the infotainment department, the S70 RS ships with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and music comes out from six speakers. The big 16:9 display with split screen function also displays a 540-degree surround-view parking camera and there’s built-in TikTok now, so you can view content on a screen that’s much larger than your phone’s. While stationary, of course.
Also, you can ‘Hi Proton’ in Bahasa Melayu now, but note that the car’s system language has to be in BM for you to sembang with it. Speaking of commands, the Proton Link 2.0 app now works with Huawei smartwatches and you can work the car’s horn/headlamps, boot, windows, locks, AC and engine start from your wearable.
Other notable items are auto wipers (new), a six-way powered driver’s seat and tyre pressure monitoring. All these are standard for both RS variants – the Sportline adds on all the red trim we’ve mentioned, 256-colour rhythmic ambient lights (on the dash strip in front of the passenger), centre console illumination, ‘S’ scuff plates for all doors, security + solar tint and a front dashcam.
Any omissions? Many would have missed this, but the switch to a column-mounted shifter means there’s no more manual mode for the DCT, and developing paddle shifters for the S70 doesn’t make financial sense for a feature that not many use, we’re told – fair enough. Also, no more sunroof for the top variant.
Premium gets ADAS for the first time
Protons in the Geely era are always well-equipped for the money, but they have a habit of reserving ADAS for flagship variants. That was the case with the S70, but you can now buy a Premium with driver assist features – ADAS is standard on the RS. Compared to the suite in the previous S70 Flagship, this one includes Front Departure Alert, something Perodua drivers would be familiar with.
Unchanged powertrain, but there’s Launch Control
Despite the Sportline’s racy aesthetics, there’s no enhanced performance or handling on the new S70 RS. But with things already looking very good on paper for a sedan priced in the B-segment, there’s really no need to.
The 1.5-litre i-GT turbocharged four-cylinder engine makes 181 PS and 290 Nm of torque from 2,000 and 3,500 rpm, as per the update to the entire S70 range in February. It was a big jump from the old three-pot’s 150 PS/226 Nm.
Also carried over is the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which channels drive to the front wheels for a 0-100 km/h time of 7.5 seconds. As mentioned above, with the switch to a column-mounted shifter, there’s no more manual mode for the DCT.
Shockingly, the S70 RS comes with a Launch Mode, although it’s not any faster than before. The Launch Mode comes with a tutorial on how to hurl the car forward, and some T&Cs – you can’t do it more than six times in one sitting, and there’s a 60-second cool down period before you can use it again. Also, there’s a usage limit of 200 times over the car’s lifetime, like a camera shutter count. Second-hand buyers, check this counter.
The RS’ aggressive looks also don’t come with sportier suspension tuning, or differences in wheel size and tyre choice. It could be just me, but the Sportline looks even taller riding than before and the wheel gap is substantial, although nowhere as tonggek as the Saga.
Proton assures that the S70 isn’t any taller than before and the suspension has been left untouched, so perhaps it’s the dark wheels and side skirts that are confusing these eyes. In any case, the Sportline doesn’t sit nearly as low as the car you see in Proton’s marketing materials, or indeed the Honda Civic and Mazda 3.
Deliveries start in 2027
The S70 RS is available in five colours – Quartz Black, Space Grey, Snow White, Marine Blue, and Armour Silver. Red has been dropped, but that might be a good thing as red is the Teksi Madani colour. The red highlights of the Sportline wouldn’t stand out much on a red car, too.
No hint of pricing were given at the media preview, so we’ll have to wait for the launch, which should happen before 2026 ends. Deliveries are set to happen only next year, according to dealers. As a recap, the RM73,800 S70 Executive has been phased out, and the MC1 Premium’s RRP was RM79,800 on-the-road before insurance. The Flagship used to go for RM89,800 and the sunroof-equipped Flagship X topped the range at RM94,800.
Will we see a price increase to go with the added kit and new looks? We’re expecting similar pricing, variant-to-variant, but the Premium might be costlier as it now has ADAS. If this follows Proton’s trend, the S70 RS will launch with rebates, but the discounts might be smaller than what we’re currently seeing (up to RM10k) for deliveries at the beginning of the year. RM80k to RM90k – what do you think?
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GALLERY: 2027 Proton S70 RS Sportline
GALLERY: 2027 Proton S70 RS Sportline, official images
