So, is the Proton S70 a B- or C-segment sedan? We’ve laid out the facts and figures in our media preview report’s Great Debate section, but here’s what Proton has to say, officially.
At the media preview, Mohd Haizam, vehicle program executive for engineering and technical, named the S70’s primary competitors as the Honda City, Toyota Vios and Nissan Almera. The sedan has ‘secondary competitors’ too, and unsurprisingly, the models are the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
“In terms of capturing the market, I believe based on the performance of this car, we can somehow capture these two markets,” Mohd Haizam said, referring to B- and C-segment sedans. When asked why Proton did not bring the Civic and Corolla for comparison at the event, deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah said that the B-segment duo was presented as they served as a hint of the S70’s price, which will be revealed on November 28.
So there you have it, a car marketed as a C-segment sedan but priced to compete with B-segment ones. This is the same trick as the one used for the X70 – CR-V rival at HR-V pricing. Of course, the Proton-Geely models are smaller than the CR-V and Civic – they’re more of an in-between product – but salesmen will be able to use the “Civic rival at City price” good value pitch.
To recap, here are the facts and figures. The S70 is based on the Geely Emgrand, which sits on the BMA platform. That’s the B-segment X50’s platform; in fact, everyone thought that the SS11 would be called S50 till we saw spyshots of the S70 badge last month. The Emgrand has a 1.5 litre NA engine/CVT combo elsewhere – 1.5L CVT is of course the ASEAN B-segment default set by the Vios/City.
But Proton has plonked in a 1.5 litre turbo engine and dual-clutch gearbox in place of the 1.5L NA CVT. Think 1.5T, think Honda Civic, right? However, this is the 1.5-litre port-injected three-cylinder engine that powers the X50 Standard to Premium, and not the 177 PS/255 Nm 1.5L TGDi unit in the X50 Flagship and X70 MC. It makes 150 PS/226 Nm, which is 32 PS/14 Nm less than the Civic’s 1.5L VTEC Turbo unit.
Dimensions wise, the Emgrand is 4,638 mm long and 1,822 mm wide, with a 2,650 mm wheelbase. That’s 58 mm longer and 74 mm wider than a Honda City, and the S70’s wheelbase is 50 mm longer too. In fact, the S70 is longer and wider than the Preve and Inspira, Proton’s previous two C-segment sedans.
But cars have grown in size, and a Civic then (FB, when the Preve was launched) isn’t the same as a Civic now. On that note, today’s Civic FE is 40 mm longer than the S70, and the Honda’s 2,735 mm wheelbase is 85 mm longer. The Civic’s WB advantage over the S70 is more than the Proton’s advantage over the City. All of the Civic, Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 are also lower slung than the S70, giving them sportier proportions.
The S70 will come in four variants, but we’ll call it ‘3+’. Unlike the X50, there’s no Standard variant, and the sedan’s range starts from Executive. The mid-level spec is Premium and the top one is the Flagship. The Flagship X makes it four, but the only difference the ‘X’ brings is a sunroof and an exclusive Quartz Black paint option.
We’ve already detailed the Proton S70, gave you a through walk-around tour and shared our first impressions test drive notes – the only mystery left is the price. Expect a price range that covers the RM70+k to RM100k ground, which is currently Honda City/Toyota Vios territory. Full details here.
GALLERY: Proton S70 1.5T Flagship X
GALLERY: Proton S70 presentation
GALLERY: Proton S70 official images
The post Proton S70 targets Japanese B-seg sedans – Honda City, Toyota Vios, Nissan Almera; Civic secondary appeared first on Paul Tan’s Automotive News.
