It’s official – Proton is hitting the ground running in 2026 with the launch of the new X70 on Thursday, January 8. Arriving just 17 months after the facelifted model, the latest iteration of the C-segment SUV will feature a brand-new engine, the national carmaker confirmed.
That engine is the 1.5 litre BHE15-EFZ turbocharged four-cylinder from last year’s facelifted X50, which Proton has given the Intelligent Green Technology (i-GT) badge to. It produces 181 PS at 5,500 rpm and 290 Nm of torque between 2,000 and 3,500 rpm – increases of 4 PS and 35 Nm over the old GEP3 three-cylinder, and a closer match to the original 184 PS/300 Nm 1.8 litre turbo four-pot mill.
All that will almost certainly be sent to the front wheels (the all-wheel-drive model was discontinued on the facelift) through the same seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission as before. Expect claims of reduced fuel consumption as well as lower maintenance costs, the latter thanks to a switch to a timing chain.
As with prior minor minor changes where the bulk of the upgrades were under the skin (think X70 MC and X50 RC), expect little in the way of design revisions, which will likely be limited to colour and trim changes. Hopefully, however, we will see driver assists such as autonomous emergency braking being expanded to the rest of the range (not just the Premium and Premium X variants) this time around.
The post 2026 Proton X70 MC3 launching Jan 8, 4pm – 181 PS/290 Nm 1.5L turbo i-GT 4-cyl from X50 FL confirmed appeared first on Paul Tan’s Automotive News.
