Just less than a year and a half after the introduction of the X70 “MC2”, its successor, the 2026 Proton X70 “MC3” has arrived, not with new looks, but new equipment under its hood, specifically a new engine. It’s now only offered in two variants — the Executive and Premium, rather than the four with the MC2 facelift.
But is the 2026 Proton X70 better, and how does it drive? Check out our first look video here:
Same same but different? 2026 Proton X70 quick specs
From the outside, the 2026 Proton X70 looks almost exactly the same as its predecessor, which was launched in 2024. You still get equipment like LED headlights, a power tailgate, and alloy wheel sizes of up to 19″.
However, the main change Proton has made to the 2026 X70 is the engine that’s powering it. Gone is the 3-cylinder mill, and in with the new 1.5L turbocharged 4-cylinder i-GT engine, which made its debut in the heavily facelifted 2025 X50.
Paired with a 7-speed wet dual clutch transmission (DCT), the new engine produces 178hp and 290Nm — 4hp and 45Nm more than the old 3-cylinder mill. Despite that, Proton says the 4-cylinder turbo i-GT mill is capable of delivering a fuel consumption figure of up to 6.9L/100KM, a 5.5% improvement over what the X70 MC2 was capable of providing.
The new engine is also promised to deliver significantly better NVH performance thanks to its toothed timing change. This is, besides the fact that it has four cylinders rather than three.
If you’ve seen the previous X70 MC2, the 2026 will look largely familiar too. Standard kits you get here include a 12.3″ infotainment display with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, a 7″ LCD instrument cluster, leather seats, a powered tailgate, and ambient lighting. Springing for the Premium variant gets you extras such as a Nappa leather-wrapped steering wheel, 72-colour ambient lighting, 2-way powered lumbar support, and a power-adjusted front passenger seat with a “Boss switch”.
Safety-wise, you get equipment such as a 260-degree camera system and six airbags across the two variants. However, only the Premium comes with a Level-2 ADAS suite, which consists of 13 features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with stop-and-go functionality, and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
2026 Proton X70 pricing
As mentioned above, the 2026 Proton X70 is offered in two variants only:
- 2026 Proton X70 1.5TD Executive: RM106,800
- 2026 Proton X70 1.5TD Premium: RM119,800
But if you’re among the first 1,500 customers to book the 2026 Proton x70 by 31 March 2025, you will be able to enjoy a RM7,000 rebate and enjoy free accessories worth RM700.
On top of that, the 2026 Proton X70 is offered with a 5-year warranty with unlimited mileage. Customers will also be provided with 6 times of free labour during servicing.
