After 5 Months: Con't Review of Saga FLX

After almost 5 months of driving my new toy, Proton Saga FLX 1.3 (Executive), clocking around 7000km now, I have learnt a few new things about the car.

1. Fuel Consumption

I have (still) not yet driven a full highway drive, so can't comment on that. But on city drive, it is actually not bad at all. I have averaged 13.9km/L (7.19L/100km if you like), and recently have been consistently achieving 14+km/L, and they are mostly driven on city road. And I do occasionally push the car around and having some fun, though mostly keeping the rpm at less than 3000. Of course, you will still need to drive smartly, read the flow of traffic, and don't do stupid and unnecessary braking.

Also, I have found that I have slightly better fuel economy using Shell 95 (if compared with BHP 95)! And I thought most review on Shell 95 are not so favourable! Not scientifically accurate, but this Fuelly data is still a compiled regular usage data. Other brand of fuel will be tried soon.

I do wish the fuel tank is slightly larger though. 45 litre of capacity would be good, as I would prefer to only have to refuel after about 400km, unlike the current Saga where I would start hunting for petrol station after about 340km.

Verdict: Not bad at all. Not the best. But for a car this price, you can't really complaint. Also depends on your right foot, traffic, and your brain.

2. Alarm System

The buttons on the key is just too small! And often, I actually accidentally trigger the panic button when the remote is in the pocket! Not very user friendly indeed.

Another annoying thing about the alarm is that it automatically arm the system if you did not do anything after you disarm the alarm. And not an option to disable it. Not really a problem, but if your door sensor is problematic like mine, where the left front door sensor is on and off not functioning, you can actually accidentally lock yourself out of the car! 

Verdict: Basic alarm, with a badly designed remote.

3. Auto Central Lock

An important feature missing in the Saga: No auto central lock when the car starts moving/brake pedal is depressed. Translation: You need to manually lock the car EVERYTIME! Its an important feature, considering the rampant crime rate in the street in Malaysia. 

Verdict: Missing feature!

4. Ride and Handling

As previously stated, ride is on the smooth and comfortable side, but is also very stable at high speed (at least until 140km/h). The padded seat is very good in providing lateral support when doing hard cornering.

Overtaking car has never been that fun with CVT. You will breeze pass through the car easily with the rev-happy CAMPRO. But you will need to calculate exactly (about 1 second ahead) when you want to do some serious overtaking. Suddenly increasing the throttle will only built up the engine speed initially. After the engine speed reached the necessary speed, only will you feel the rush as the clutch closes and the gear move appropriately. Planning ahead is the keyword..

Engine braking is still very high, which is not good for FC. It may actually contributed to the braking performance of Saga (and maybe Preve as well, which claimed to have very good stock brake). 

Also, be careful when driving and stopping at slope, as it is totally different from normal torque converter automatic gearbox. The car will slide back even if engaged in D. If you stopped on the slope, use handbrake, and slightly press the throttle before you release the handbrake to built the engine speed (and torque) and let the clutch closes so that you will actually move forward!

But the good thing is the engine and CVT noise is getting lower (or it may be my ear drum is getting less sensitive?) as the run-in continue. The rear brake noise, a very common problem with this generation of Saga, has been fixed as it is under warranty. I do however feels that the brake is not as powerful as before.

Verdict: Nice setting for a small family car. Need to get used to the dry-clutch-CVT to actually enjoy it. AND beware of slope!

5. Maintenance Cost

Only 2 services so far, with the next one being 10,000km service. Around RM110 for semi-synthetic Petronas-brand 10W-40 engine oil and around RM15 for oil filter. Next one is going to be more expensive, and I probably will want to switch to fully synthetic!

Verdict: Will know as soon as it is out of warranty.

Summary:

Saga is still the cheapest B-segment sedan (of course, with the inclusion of hellish excise duty) with minimal feature but good comfort, cheap to run, and moderately safe (3-star ANCAP rating) car. As car is just a depreciating asset, putting money in one expensive car is not for everybody, especially with the price of house here being crazily high. It might be more worth it to put your money into getting a home first, before you consider getting a high end car. Well, if you have the moolah, no problem in getting a better car. Just my 2 kupang. Unless the government's policy change, Saga is still the better choice of the day.

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1. Saga SV? Not really worth it. Although it did come with 2 front airbag, it is lacking in ABS. ABS is a seriously important gadget nowadays, especially in Malaysia as torrential rain is very common in this tropical country of Malaysia. In the dry, ABS may not be that important (and may actually increase the braking distance), but in the wet and low grip surface, ABS provide significantly important control back to the driver. Safety should not be compromised even at the lower end range of a car. Proton should repent!

2. And when the promise of cheaper car was made, we expect lower price of the same model with same specification, not cheaper price of a same model with lower specification. And safety should never be compromised in that sense as well.