SAGA > short for " Safety, Achievement, Greatness and Ability "
Proton is a national car company of Malaysia. In the past it has been producing re-badged Suzuki and even Honda models and before that some Mitsubishi models were sold with Proton badge. In fact Proton started their production with first car almost 36 years ago and it was based on Mitsubishi Lancer. Proton Holding company at one time was owner of the Lotus cars.
Currently Geely car company from China, who also own Sweden's Volvo has 49% shares in Proton. Proton has signed a joint venture with Al-Haj group for establishing an assembly line in Karachi for the CKD production of cars. The one of the first official release for sale will be a CBU X70, a small crossover/ SUV and SAGA sedan and it will be sold as an imported unit initially. You can read about X70 in detail here > https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/t/proton-x70-the-new-upcoming-suv-exclusive-discussion-thread/1376600
Beside the X70, the other model in the pipeline is the compact 4 door, 5 passenger sedan, the "SAGA". in this post we will go over what we know so far about it.
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Saga sedan was and is part of Malaysian culture and heritage and reason is the accomplishment Proton made in shape of Saga being the first locally produced vehicle and declared as the first national car. Saga aim was to be a budget car and it was hit because of its cheaper price comparing other cars like mostly from Japan. Every other house hold in Malaysia in some one way or another experienced the Saga, same like most of us have experienced Suzuki Mehran in our lifetime.
The first generation Saga came in 1985 and it was based on Mitsubishi Lancer platform. The same model remained till 2008 and during this lifetime it came with various variants. From 2008 till 2016 second generation remained for sale and it was designed by Proton in its entirety using Proton FLX platform. 2016 onward is the 3rd and the current generation Saga and it received a major face-lift last year in Malaysia.
How popular Saga is in Malaysia can be seen from the fact that, Proton sold 38,144 units in 2019. Just for a reference sake, when Mehran was alive , which was the most popular car in Pakistan sold around 36000+/- units on average per year. Malaysian population is 6 times less than Pakistan.
In Pakistan we will be experiencing the face-lifted Proton Saga, code name P2-13A. Lets go over it.
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Size and segment was, it can be called in B-segment although it would be the smaller comparing the other vehicles in this category. We can call it B-Segment "small " or maybe an A-segment vehicle. For reference, it is smaller in size than than PKDM Yaris sedan or the PKDM City. Proton Persona which is another model would be the right model head to head if we talk about dimensions.
Let me share some numbers so, that you can visualize it. SAGA/CITY/YARIS [ in mm] ; Length-4331/4390/4425
Width-1689/1695/1730
Height-1491/1480 /1475 Wheelbase-2465/2550/2550.
Trunk space IN liters -420/506/476
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In Malaysia, the SAGA comes with Proton own developed 1332 cc inline 4 cylinder 16 valve DOHC VVT engine. This is the only engine option. This engine is rated at around 94HP and has 120NM of torque. For Pakistani market the engine would be same but with slightly reduced displacement and that would be 1299cc.
Proton will be doing this to reduce the cost on import and to keep the taxes duties on the lower side. Obviously there will be slight hit on power with reduce size of engine. the Saga in Pakistan will produce around 89HP.
As of transmission there will be an option of a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic . Just for additional info, the pre face-lift model used to come with CVT which is replaced in the face-lift. This automatic transmission is Hyundai sourced and exact same is available in Kia Picanto. For SAGA it is programmed and tuned and a marked improvement have been reported comparing the previously used CVT. Fuel economy figures are 14 to 16km per liter on average.
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There will be hydraulic power steering as standard. McPherson strut front while Torsion beam on the rear as far as suspension. Disc brakes on front while drum on the rear. The steering wheel will have tilt adjustment. The SAGA will also comes with Eco Drive assist indicator. When the driver throttle input is with the maximum efficiency, a green light will glow in instrumental cluster and this will help driver to achieve maximum fuel economy. .
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Proton will offer three variants. Standard with manual transmission, Standard with Auto and Premium with Auto. The Standard with manual and Standard with auto will mostly share same features, the Premium which is only available as Auto will have some extra frills.
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Halogen headlights standard. Elongated LED daytime running light mounted on the front bumper will be available on premium version only. The standard wheel size will be 185/60/14 for Standard manual/ auto model and it will be the steel wheels with covers, the Premium variant will have 15" two tone Alloy wheels.
Fuel tank will have a 40 liters capacity . Sorry guys no accelerated perfection in shape of shark-fun-teena, you can enjoy the pole type radio antenna. The trunk will come with integrated lip spoiler as standard. Remote operated trunk is standard. The side view mirrors will come with turn signal/ indicator lights.
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Well , SAGA is a budget car and there is nothing too fancy here. Black tone interior and grayish headliner in standard. Simple design can be seen. Multi information display with analogue speed and rpm gauges. Power windows are standard and also the power side view mirror adjustment. Seats are fabric for all variants and will come in two different textures but will be of darker shade .
The driver seat will have seat height adjustment on all variants. LED interior dome lights and the vanity mirrors on sun visors. Manual heating/ cooling and ventilation system is standard. The rear seats are bench type and can be folder for extra cargo capacity.
As of infotainment , the Premium model comes with 7" touch screen centrally placed floating head-unit which has smart phone compatibility and mirroring function. The premium model also comes with steering wheel controls for the audio and connected phone. Bluetooth connectivity comes standard on all models.
The Standard manual and auto variants will get a simple standard audio head-unit, there will be no steering wheel control for it. Premium model will have total 4 door mounted speakers, the other versions will get only 2. 1 Data USB on base model while the other two will get 1 data and two charging USB ports and will be between the two front seats and for rear passengers.
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2 frontal airbags standard on all versions as well as ABS, EBD with Brake assist. Hill Hold assist will only be on premium version. Seat belts for all passengers while availability of ISOFIX points for child seat. Rear parking sensors will be standard on all version but the premium model will also get on front as additional. Backup camera obviously also the top variant which has a 7" LCD. Immobilizer and anti-theft alarm will be standard.
Unfortunately , the Stability control and traction control system will only appear on the premium model and this is the way it is also in Malaysia, and I wish Proton make it standard all across the lineup.
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The launch is expected sometime this year and Proton and Al-haj group were working on dealer selection and training . Proton is planning to open dealership all across the country and initially all metro cities. The launch is planned for fall of 2020 but because of COVID-19, there are delays all across the globe. I hope things get normal ASAP and all car companies go back to work normally. We can hope and wish, we can see SAGA by October/ November this year.
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The top most multi million dollar question we always have. The reduced displacement should give you some idea about the direction Proton is looking into. I predict and expect base price to be around 2.1 Million for the Standard manual while the Premium Auto will be around 2.4 Million. The price of the Standard Auto will sit in between. I believe that the Premium Saga will be at least 150,000 TO 200,000 cheaper than the base 1.3L Yaris GLI. I also think that top variant of Saga will also be close to the Suzuki Ciaz manual version as per current price [ 2.3 million ]
For budget car buyer , SAGA will be good addition especially keeping in mind that it will be a CBU unit at launch. The exterior and interior styling is subjective and to some it might not appeal that much. It will for sure add another option to chose from under 2.5 Million which is currently only have options in shape of hatchbacks.
The price of SAGA might lure customers away from Picanto and Cultus and 2 generation old Swift and the main reason would be "DIGGI WALI GARI" . But it all depends how well Proton and Al-Haj take this opportunity because even Picanto has tough time dealing the all time leader Suzuki in our market. Saga can and will fill the gap between the hatchbacks and City and Yaris sedan as far as pricing structure. Rest it's the test for Proton.
The sales and marketing strategy , after sale service, support, customer satisfaction and friendly and welcoming dealer network will only guide and help Proton to succeed.
Let's see if Success & Achievement comes with any Greatness and Ability of Proton.
Stay Tuned !
[f-w@Pakwheels.com ]