Owner Review: The Saga of Malaysian's car ownership- My 2015 Proton Saga 1.3 FLX SV (M)

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Basic information about my car:

2015 Proton Saga 1.3 FLX SV (M)

Reasons why I bought this car(purpose):

My parents basically needed a new car since I was going to inherit my mom's old Wira so that's basically the decision to purchase a new car.

Car Selection Process

• I had a budget of RM 50,000
• Models that I have considered include: Perodua Myvi, Proton Iriz

Well, to be fair, I was not involved in the decision making process as I only knew my parents bought a new car when they told me to follow them to the showroom to collect it. But from what I can understand, my parents basically choose the Saga SV since it was going for only RM30K thanks to Merdeka month promotions and discount and since they are planning to change to another new car in the near future, they might as well go for something cheap that they can quickly pay off the bank.

User Experience

• I have already done 68,000km.
• My average fuel consumption is 7.5L/100km.

For starters, this is actually my Mom’s car so my experience and review is based on my years of experience as the family go to chauffeur for all of their driving needs besides their usual work commute. That one they have to drive their own lah. Sorry, please don’t cut my allowance if you’re reading this. Love you!

In Proton’s history, the Saga is always the budget friendly option to people looking for a cheap and fairly decent car. But when Proton decided to create an even cheaper version of what is already a cheap car. What could possibly go wrong? I’ll say that Proton managed to make what is already a cheap car into a cheaper one with some obvious cost-cutting measures they put in when compared to the next cheapest car in the market which is the Perodua Axia. Don’t let the SV badge fool you, which stands for (Super Value).

This car, even though it is the cheapest sedan in the market, is actually a fairly decent car without sacrificing some creature comforts unlike the Tata Nano or the really kosong-tin standard Axia.

Features and interior wise, there isn’t much to talk about besides the fact that there’s seats to seat 4 comfortably, 5 if you squeeze yourselves like sardines. There’s also a radio and A/C since we are in Malaysia otherwise we all become ikan bakar in our cars already. There’s also all-round power windows that hopefully won’t break since its Proton power windows we are talking about and most surprising of all, reverse sensors.

The base spec Axia didn’t even have a radio let alone reverse sensors so that was a nice feature to have although it stresses me out since the beeping it emits is almost exactly the same as the bomb sound effect in CS:GO.

Hard plastic is everywhere from the dashboard to the doors so you probably won’t want to ask a certain young environmental activist to take a ride on board the Saga SV. You get fabric seats which is fine for short journeys, but it can get a little uncomfortable during longer trips as I found out the hard way after being stuck in 12 hour balik kampong traffic. Gosh, I can't forget the numbness of my legs after stepping out of the car from that ordeal.

Not much going on in the centre console. There’s 2 aircon vents that look like they were taken straight out from an express bus, 3 big buttons which were for the alarm immobiliser, hazard lights and the rear defroster followed by the radio unit at the bottom. The controls for the aircon are very simple. 3 knobs only. Each for circulating air, fan speed and temperature adjustment.

No dedicated airflow selector sadly. The only way to control the airflow is through the aforementioned vents which are quite finicky to adjust which is just like in the express bus. Too little wind or no wind at all. Good luck twisting and closing the vents until you found your sweet spot. So all and all, it is a fairly basic interior. 

On the exterior design, I actually like the FLX’s design more than the current Saga’s except for the rear. The front gives a bold look thanks to the headlights design. As for the rear, well it’s better than the Bezza’s rear design by a mile but it’s still somewhat awkward to me. To me, the rear design doesn’t match with the front design. It feels empty compared to the front because of the small tail light design. Although they were small, these tail lights are actually LED units so even though they look small, they sure don’t look small when they’re lit up.

Besides the obvious parts where Proton decided to implement it cost cutting measures for the SV like the uncoloured door handles and side mirrors although they do have integrated signalling lights. No sports rims in the SV, they are steel 13 inches so don’t need to worry about kerb rash there, although I find the rim covers a bit annoying especially when I need to refill the tyres with air as the small opening makes unscrewing the air cap difficult.

But, after being with my family for 6 years, 2 of the rim covers has since gone missing somewhere on Malaysia roads, 1 is relaxing in front porch, so that makes tyre refilling much more easier and the rims won’t get so dirty easily since they are painted in this matte black finish compared to the rim covers that occasionally got caked in road grime and washing those isn’t exactly easy so this is a blessing in disguise is that. All and all, there is just 1 rim cover left that is attached to the rim now. So let's see how long it’ll last.

But the funniest cost cutting part is the trim piece where the rear badge sits on top of the number plate is also uncoloured. This gives the SV a moustache when you look from it at the rear. To be fair, Proton can make the bumpers uncoloured if they want to go fully SV but seriously, why would they leave that single trim piece uncoloured???

It’ll probably only cost Proton a mere few ringgit or probably a few cents to paint it but I guess the saying goes is that you’ll get what you pay for. But since they decided to give it LED tail lights as well, why can’t they paint that single strip of plastic as well? Beats me.

Moving to the performance part, it is actually fairly decent. My parents choose the manual variant probably because they heard about the scary rumours of the early Proton CVTs. No sporty quick shift feeling like you got in the Wira but it does its job well. However, the reverse gear won’t engage properly sometimes even though the car is already shifted to reverse. Brought the issue up to the service centre and apparently, the technicians say it’s a normal problem. So, when the reverse gear is not engage properly, just shift to neutral and shift it back to reverse with some force. Problem solved.

As for the engine, The 1.3 IAFM+ churns out 94 horses and 120 Nm of torque.  Adequate for A-B and outstation trips if you ask me. On highways, it’ll happily maintain the highway speed limit without a care in the world unlike the Axia’s 1.0L. I’ve been into multiple Axia’s for my ride sharing trips and let just say, the poor 1.0L is already starting to feel out of breath even just maintaining the highway speed limit. But boy oh boy the 1.3L engine in the SV chugs fuel like a NHRA dragster. It could be because of the small fuel tank at only 25 litres according to the spec sheet. But the maximum range I managed to achieve in city driving is only 250 KM+. As for highway driving, only about 320KM+ at most.

For context, KL to Ipoh using the highway used up 4 out of 6 bars worth of petrol. The fuel economy is around 7.5 to 8 KM/L average which is below average. In case you are wondering, my driving style is not like Aryton Senna or like Takumi Fujiwara. It’ll probably be worse if I am a heavy footer. Tyre air pressures are also always at Proton’s recommended figures so I really don’t know why the car drinks fuel as it has a 5.0 V8. For context, my 20 year old Wira can manage around 320+KM in city driving and 400 to almost 500KM in highway driving conditions. Thank god I’m not living in the UK now otherwise I probably need to stay overnight at petrol stations already.  

Handling wise, it’s certainly no sports car but it’s OK for the most part. But I don’t think the famous Proton ride and handling applies to the SV. Suspension is complemented by McPherson Struts in the front and a torsion beam setup at the rear. At the corners, this is certainly not a light nimble car weighing around 1300KG. Cornering is not the most confidence inspiring as the car tends to roll a bit. The same goes for ride quality as well. It feels soft and squishy over bumps and uneven roads but it works as intended.

Still, it is certainly inferior to a car equipped with all around independent suspension. However, at speeds exceeding 120KM/h, the rear of the car starts to buffet so keeping it under the speed limit solves the issue. Steering feels comparable, heavy and a little bit muted on communication with the road surface.

As for the practicality, it’s so-so. The rear seat's legroom is quite tight for me which is around 180cm. And there’s no 60/40 split folding rear seats because there’s some chassis support braces behind the rear seats so this is definitely not the car you use for your IKEA shopping. The trunk can only accommodate 2 full size luggage or 4 small luggage.

And this is probably me nitpicking but after being used to the wide trunk opening of a hatchback, putting tall items like boxes can be very annoying because of the tight trunk opening.

It is also worth mentioning tall items will prohibit the closure of the trunk since the trunk struts are obstructed by tall items and it will also crush them so tall items must be placed at the middle. As for the driver’s seat, well it provides a high driving position but because the seats provide barely any lumbar support, it can be quite uncomfortable on long trips. 

Pros and Cons

Pros of my car

For how much it costs, the Saga SV is certainly a decent car. It serves its purpose well by being a fairly reliable A-B transport if you can swallow the extremely cheap interior and quality. Well, the saying is that you get what you paid for so no complaints there. Though, it is better than the Axia in my opinion besides for its fuel economy.

Cons

Arguably the biggest drawback of the Saga SV for me is it's below average fuel economy. Around 7.5-8KM/L average. Although it is a good A to B car, it's certainly not the best for outstation trips. The small interior makes it uncomfortable for long distance trips especially for the driver's seat. 

Total Score: 5

Performance: 4

Quality & Features: 2

Space: 2

Ride comfort: 3

Fuel Economy: 1

Price & cost: 4

Summary:

Overall, the Saga SV does really serve its purpose by providing mobility for less money. It does have its drawbacks like it’s considerably small interior and trunk, the questionable fuel economy and an exterior that literally screams it's a poor victim of cost cutting. Well, if you can overlook these drawbacks, the SV for all it costs, is a decent car with adequate performance.

Lastly：

Ironically, the SV badge once came off while I was washing the car. Glue must be pretty expensive. So I just went and applied some superglue*, and just smack the badge back and it's still there today. And the clutch pump failed in the car's 5th year of usage which nearly stranded my mom. It costs around RM300 in all to replace it.  And finally, the original gauge cluster got replaced for free under warranty because the clock is always inaccurate.

*Yes, I know it will probably ruin the paint but that's basically the only way I can think of at that time.

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