Here’s something a little interesting – the new Geely Emgrand is set to get a whole lot more upmarket. Just four years after it revealed the budget-friendly fourth-generation model, Geely showed the first photos of the all-new fifth generation, which promises to be bigger and more powerful than the last one.
If the design looks familiar to you, that’s because the new Emgrand is all but identical to the Geely Galaxy Starshine 6, replete with a waterfall grille that is very reminiscent of Mercedes-AMG models. The sweeping six-window glasshouse, discrete door handles and sleek rear have also been carried over.
But while the Starshine 6 is a plug-in hybrid, the Emgrand is, as before, a pure petrol model, being sold under the main Geely brand. That means that while its sibling uses the updated EM-i powertrain as the larger Galaxy A7, this car is reportedly motivated by a 1.5 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, according to Autohome.
This means the new Emgrand uses the same BHE15TD engine as the facelifted Proton X50, likely producing an identical 181 PS and 290 Nm of torque and mated to a seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission. This is a far cry from the outgoing Chinese-market Emgrand, which utilises either the 120 PS/150 Nm naturally-aspirated BHE15D (mated to a CVT) or a 1.8 litre methanol-capable four-pot hybrid.
Beyond the powertrain, the new Emgrand is differentiated from the Galaxy Starshine 6 through a rectangular grille, a Volvo-style X-shaped front bumper design, split (instead of full-width) taillights and dual (fake, unfortunately) trapezoidal tailpipes. A filing with China’s ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT) shows that the car measures 4,815 mm long (nine millimetres longer than the Starshine 6), 1,885 mm wide and 1,480 mm tall, with a 2,755 mm wheelbase.
That makes it 177 mm longer, 65 mm wider and 20 mm taller than the previous Emgrand, as well as having a 105 mm longer wheelbase – bumping up the new car by an entire size class. This, along with an expected upgrade from torsion beam rear suspension to a multilink setup, should address export-market concerns of the old car not being a true C-segment Honda Civic rival.
Inside, the new Emgrand continues to share plenty with the Starshine 6, including a dashboard with pill-shaped air vents and a wide centre console with the now de rigueur dual smartphone holders and a 50-watt Qi wireless charger. There’s also the same digital instrument display and a 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen running on the latest Flyme Auto operating system.
There are a few changes, however, including a three-spoke flat-bottomed steering wheel to replace the Galaxy line’s two-spoke oblong unit (the one shared with the Proton eMas 7) and a centre console-mounted crystalline gear selector. This has also necessitated the repositioning of the dual cupholders fore and aft, as well as the ditching of the multifunction control knob for – joy of joys! – a row of physical switches underneath the touchscreen that appear to control the air conditioning.
The new Geely Emgrand is of interest to us because the fourth-generation model forms the basis of the Proton S70. We are anticipating an update for the sedan that will receive the BHE15TD engine, so there is a chance we could see this full makeover in Malaysia as soon as next year – although given the national carmaker’s past form, we are expecting the four-pot to be added to the current S70 instead.
However, Proton did tease a sedan eMas model last year, which could potentially be a twin of the Starshine 6. Spawning a petrol version of that – and building both on the same line in Tanjong Malim – may enable Proton to offset the cost of replacing the S70 early. Are you excited about the prospect of a proper C-segment S70 with four cylinders? Sound off in the comments after the jump.
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Our current S70 is a meh, if compared to this new Emgrand