You have seen the facelifted Proton Saga from our Thai Auto Expo 2010 coverage earlier this month, and now it’s the Malaysian market’s turn to get the car. Unveiled by Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal moments ago, it is officially called the Saga FL.

From the boss’ speech, and the new features, we know that Proton is trying to get the younger crowd to consider the Saga as their first car, urban middle class folks that would otherwise buy a Myvi.

The Blue Rock colour you see here is one of the two new colors (the other is Cafe Latte, a light brown hue), and is the same colour as the Thai show car. There are now two trim lines – Standard and Executive – down from the previous three. Manual (5-speed) and automatic (4-speed) choices are available for both trims, which mean that there are four possible configurations.

Powered by the same 1,332 cc Campro engine with 94 hp and 120 Nm, the Saga FL gets Proton’s new face, which will be sign of things to come. As detailed before, the new exterior consists of new lamps front and rear, new grille, new bumpers on both ends and new design rims. Standard variants ride on 175/70 R13 wheels while Executive FLs use 185/60 R14 rubber.

Most of the new features that the FL gets over the old car is for the Executive. They are dual airbags, steering audio buttons and USB/AUX ports for the Clarion MP3 stereo. New goodies available on both trims are side mirrors with LED signal lamps, rear power windows, rear LED tail lamps. The rest of the Executive-only equipment includes driver’s seat height adjuster, powered wing mirrors, fog lamps and slim rear spoiler.

The new Proton Saga facelift is now available in four different variants – the Standard M/T and A/T as well as the higher spec Executive M/T and A/T, which is one grade level less than the pre-facelift Saga, which was available in N-Line, B-Line and M-Line. Effectively, this means very basic N-Line with the cheapest price tag and the black bumper is not represented in the new line-up.

All models have the front and rear power windows, MP3 function for the audio player, and the side mirrors with LED turn indicators.

What the Executive model adds over the Standard model are the USB and AUX input, the dual front SRS airbags (Standard model doesn’t have any airbags), steering wheel audio switches, driver seat height adjustment, electric door mirrors, fog lamps, rear spoiler, a multipurpose container and side protector moulding. Wheels are alloys wrapped with 180/60R14 on the Executive, and steel wheels wrapped with 175/70R13 on the Standard.

The engine and gearbox remains the same as the pre-facelift Proton Saga for now, however Proton has indicated that they will be rolling out an update to the Campro engine family sometime next year, and this update could include the new Proton Saga. The update will include improvements to the normally aspirated Campro engines as well as add a new turbocharged variant for models like the Proton Exora.

The Saga is available in Solid White, Tranquility Black, Genetic Silver, and two new flours – Cafe Latte and Blue Rock. Our live galleries after the jump are mostly of the two new colours so you’ll know what they look like.

Of course, the most important part are the new prices. Prices have gone up by about RM1,000 to RM1,300 across the board, which is not too bad a jump considering there’s an extra passenger airbag in the airbag-equipped models. In the price comparison, we’ll compare the Standard with the B-Line and the Executive with the M-Line.

Story by Anthony Lim, Danny Tan, Harvinder Sidhu and Paul Tan.

GALLERY: Proton Saga FL at the Thai Motor Expo 2010

Spec sheet – click to enlarge

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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At the launch of the facelifted Proton Saga at the 2010 Thailand Motor Expo yesterday, Proton also showed off an R3 kitted variant on the stands. We have no information on this sporty Saga and presume that it’s a styling concept, although there’s nothing too outlandish here to rule out a production version. Show enough interest and perhaps Proton might listen!

It’s in black with a distinctive single yellow racing stripe aligned to the left side of the car. This is matched by side stripes with the words ‘R3 Concept’ and a chequered flag pattern. The bronze R3 six-spoke alloys are in matching colour with the lower half of the aggressive front bumper (with side vents and big air intakes that just long an intercooler!) and the diffuser style rear bumper. There’s a rear spoiler and the exhaust also has a burnt tip look.

I got ushered off the stage before managing to take pics of the cabin (the car was locked anyway), but there are Recaro buckets and a small diameter sports steering wheel.

Enjoy the shiny gallery after the jump!

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This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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UPDATE: The Proton Saga FL has been launched in Malaysia! Click for details and pricing.

We’re here at the Thai Motor Expo 2010 for some pre-KLIMS motorshow action, where Proton has unveiled the 2011 Proton Saga facelift!

Here’s an initial list of changes from what we’re able to tell so far:

The entire front end has pretty much changed from the head lamps, grille, bumper, and even the engine hood sheet metal design. The new engine hood now creases in a way that makes the left and right sides of the hood higher. There’s also a very faint spine in the middle of the hood, where in the pre-facelift Saga it was flat.

The headlamps now appear to use three bulbs instead of the previous two bulb config – we think this means there’s a dedicated bulb for high beam now. The signal lamps have been moved towards the inside of the lamps.

The wing mirrors now have turn signal indicators.

The rear end also has significant changes. The tail lamps are new and have LED lighting. There’s a small spoiler on the boot lid, and because of the spoiler design the Saga badge has to be relocated slightly to the left.

The bumper now has a black insert for the diffuser-like design feature, and it’s now wider with reflector lenses and shaped to show off the exhaust muffler and tail pipe, as opposed to the pre-FL Saga which had its rear end designed to hide the exhaust tail pipe.

The 1-DIN Clarion radio looks the same to us (except for the MP3/WMA logos which indicate support for those files), but there are new USB and AUX-in ports which are not integrated into the radio but are instead positioned to the lower right of the radio. This takes up some of the cubby hole space below the radio.

The steering wheel now has audio control buttons, similiar in style to the Satria Neo’s.

The fabric pattern on the door cards and the seats are now of a different design (old one is on the left). The baseline model in Thailand has a yet another different fabric pattern, and the one we are showing above in comparison to the old fabric is the high spec fabric pattern.

There are now rear power window button controls. As for which of the Malaysian car specs will feature rear power windows and which won’t, we’ll have to wait for the Malaysian launch.

There’s a new alloy wheel design, but the tyre size is the same as before – 185/60R14.

There’s now the option for a front passenger airbag which takes up the ’tissue box’ holder compartment in the pre-facelift Saga.

These are the only changes we are able to see so far, and we have to note that some of these updates like the USB/AUX function, the extra airbag and the rear power windows could only be for the higher spec models. Four colours are available in Thailand – Solid White, Tranquility Black, Genetic Silver and the new colour you see here which is Blue Rock.

There could be other changes on the mechanical side of things though, which we will probably only be able to find out when we speak to Proton’s engineers in Malaysia. The Thai spec sheet (which you will be able to see after the jump) quotes 70kW and 120Nm, which is the same as the pre-facelift Saga.

Enjoy a high-res product and live image gallery as well as a video after the jump.

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This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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We’re reporting to you live from the Thailand International Motor Expo 2010 in Bangkok. There will some cars of interest to us that will come your way later, but the biggest news without doubt will be the world debut of the facelifted Proton Saga.

For now, we know that the refreshed Saga has some major changes in the sheetmetal and added features in and out. We don’t have any information on if there’s any technical changes in the engine bay at this moment.

We are also looking forward to see the progress on Honda’s New Small Concept, whether it’s a close to production “concept” or the full production model. The facelifted Honda Accord is also slated for its Thai launch here.

We will be back shortly with information, images and a video from the Saga launch, which will happen around lunch time, so make sure your browser is locked on to this website!

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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Here are artist renderings of what the upcoming Proton Saga Facelift could look like, created by Theophilus Chin based on our previous sightings of the car (once in a parking lot and another time on the move).

I highly doubt that a price-sensitive model like the Saga would come with the projector headlamps that Theophilus has given the renderings above though (nothing wrong with a little wishful thinking eh?), but the rest of the details were done based on the spyshots, such as the new shape for the headlamps and the front grille, as well as the reflectors on the rear bumper.

If you want a recap of how the taped up Saga facelift test units look like, you can refer to our two previous posts or check them out after the jump where we’ve embedded them for reference purposes.

We expect the 2011 model year Proton Saga facelift to be officially unveiled at the KL International Motor Show 2010 at the end of the year, as Proton has previously indicated that it will be unveiling a facelift model there.

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This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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This second set of Proton Saga facelift photo sent in by reader Bazli are one of the clearest yet, as it was snapped while the car was parked at a highway rest stop yesterday, while our previous shots of the car featured it on the move on a highway near Bukit Jelutong.

The shape of the front end slightly be made out behind the thick disguise. The grille of course gets the same signature Proton family grille that’s found on the Persona, the Exora and even the new Proton Inspira.

From this angle shot we can note a few more changes. I like how the new rear bumper now has integrated reflectors in them, it’ll definitely enhance the look of the bumper. The pre-facelift bumper was bare, although it had a little diffuser-look design at the bottom. You can also notice the new design for the alloy wheels as well as the new design for the tail lamps, which in the Bukit Jelutong photos we observed were powered by LEDs.

No clear photos of the interior so we can’t really see if anything is different but I do hope that the highline model gets dual airbags as standard – it’s already been offered on the 25th Anniversary Edition. Notice the little LED turn signal peeking from the side of the wing mirror.

Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery of Bazli’s snapshots.

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Proton gave us the second generation Proton Saga back in early 2008 and it was easily the most anticipated car ever during that period of time, as everyone expected it to be the most affordable Proton sedan one could buy, given the Saga’s positioning.

Following a 5 year lifecycle, we should be able to expect the third generation Saga in late 2012 or early 2013 but before that it’s time for a mid-life facelift sometime this year or next year, which will hopefully revise the model line-up to include a model with dual airbags like available on the 25th anniversary special edition.

In any case, it’s about time that we see taped up facelifted Proton Sagas running around, like this one here snapped by reader Victor while exiting the Bukit Jelutong toll entering the NKVE. At the front we can see that Proton has given it the family grille with the horizontal bar that’s found on the Persona and the Exora.

The rear end also looks different. The Saga that’s currently available has tail lamps that position the signal lamp on top, so the upper most part of the tail lamp is clear. Fortunately in one of these photos we can see the car braking so it shows that the brake lights have been moved to the area where the signal lamp previously occupied.

Look after the jump for the full gallery of Saga facelift spyshots.

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Like the 25th Anniversary Edition Exora, the Proton Saga 25th Anniversary Edition is also limited to 25 units and comes at a premium price of RM 54,500, considerably higher than the both the top of the line Saga SE’s RM44,548.00 price tag. As a reference, a Saga M-Line is priced at RM41,548.00.

But the premium of close to RM10,000 brings you something else other than your usual 25th Anniversary ‘look’ which is the nice brown Nappa leather, bodykit (looks the same as the SE’s), alloy wheels unique to the Saga 25th Anniversary Edition, grey instrument faces (Saga is black face and Saga SE is white face) and the ‘tiger’ stripes running the length of the shoulderline.

If you look at the photo of the interior above you’ll see that the hole on the passenger side of the dashboard that was previously a storage area has been ‘filled up’ by a passenger SRS airbag. The car also has power windows on all four windows.

In this sense the specs seem quite similar to the Australian market Proton S16. I’m hoping that with a future facelift or specs update we’ll be able to get dual SRS airbags in regular Proton Saga models as well. I also hope that ABS brakes are in the works as this is even missing on the Australian S16!

Click here for the full specifications list, and check out our live photo gallery of the limited edition Saga after the jump.

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The contest is broken down into 2 categories – Old Saga and New Saga. The Old Saga category includes the 85-91 Saga, 92-08 Iswara and the 03-08 Saga. And of course for the New Saga category, all new Saga of all specs can join.

Basically what you have to do is snap an original and creative photo of yourself or your family with any Proton Saga and submit the entry online at the Saga Snap & Win microsite, or via snail mail (address can be found below). You also have to submit a creative caption to describe how the Saga have eased their life in less than 140 words.

VIDEO: Proton Saga History

There is no purchase required and you don’t even have to own a Proton Saga to join. You can use your neighbour’s, friend’s or family’s Proton Saga. Each person is allowed to submit a maximum of 5 entries but of course you can only win once. I’m probably going to try to join using Danny’s old Proton Saga

The criteria to win is 70% judging and 30% public voting. The judging will be based on relevance, originality and creativity among other judging criteria. The following are the prizes:

Click to enlarge – an example entry?

Winners will also be invited to the Proton 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner. The judging panel will shortlist 50 entries for public voting, which accounts for 30%. There is also a reward for public voters who consistently voted for the grand prize, 1st runner up prize and 2nd runner up prize. Each individual can vote once a day for their preferred finalist. There’s three prizes to be won – RM2,500, RM2,000 and RM1,000 for the voter category.

Head on over to the Proton Saga Snap & Win Microsite to find out more about the contest and how to join. For those who want to send in their entries via snail mail, you can send it to Proton Saga Snap & Win Contest, PG-15A, Ground Floor, Jaya 33, No.3 Jalan Semangat, Section 13, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Remember to send your 140 word caption, your full name, your IC number, your contact number and your email address.

Basic editing of the photos are allowed such as color correction, sharpening and etc but no heavy Theophilus Chin style photoshops are allowed

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

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Remember the Satria Neo Unleashed with hitz.fm event last year? Proton and hitz.fm actually organized an event where avid autocrossers can try their hand at the Satria Neo. You drive through a straight line and obstacle course, and whoever clocks the fastest time wins a prize!

This year the challenge is back in Danga Bay Johor, and the event is even bigger this time. There’s not only a challenge for the Satria Neo but for the Proton Saga as well! Here’s the full lowdown on the activities happening this Saturday the 6th of March 2010 beginning from 4pm to 1030pm:

• Saga Ride & Handling Challenge – 25 participants
• Satria Neo Ride & Handling Challenge – 25 participants
• Test-drive activity (Satria Neo, Saga, and Gen2)
• PROTON Mini Technologies Display by R&D
• LOTUS Showcase (performance cars)
• Sales Activity (Satria Neo Saga, Gen2)
• Parts and Services display (genuine parts)
• Merchandize booth
• Demo performance by LOTUS
• Satria Neo, Saga, Gen2 Club gathering & car showcase
• Games and quizzes by Hitz.FM’s DJ and announcers
• Closing act by Artistes (Pesawat & One Buck Short)

As you can see above, the Ride & Handling challenge is open only to 50 participants – 25 for the Satria Neo CPS and 25 for the Saga. Participants need to have a valid driving license and need to fulfill the rules and regulations, terms and conditions, and signed indemnity form of the event. Interested person can register at the counter when the announcers announce the time for registration (4.00pm – 4.30pm). All participants will go through safety and course briefing handle by professional track safety instructors. Participant will be guided / supervised by professional instructor during the laps to explain about the cars and to ensure the safety of the participant/ public during the laps.

The first place winner of either category will win RM500 and a Sony Ericsson F305. The second place prizes are RM300 and a Canon 480 digital camera. The third place winners will get RM200 and a RM500 Padini Voucher.

As for the test drive activity, Proton has set up a special course for you to be able to try out the car’s handling instead of a regular showroom test drive where you probably just drive around the showroom area. So if you’re in the market for a Proton sometime soon you may want to test drive the car at this course as well as a regular showroom drive so you can try how the car performs in both worlds – both under hard driving conditions and in a neighborhood.

If you book your car on the day itself there’s a low downpayment scheme and other promotions available. I don’t know what they are right now so you’ll have to pay a visit to the event to find out! Also, Proton Parts Center will be having sessions to educate the public on how to differentiate the original parts with non-genuine parts, and the causes and effect of using non-genuine parts.

A professional driver from Lotus will be showcasing the driving demo using their cars to highlight the capability of the cars’ handling. As you know Lotus cars are gokarts on steroids – usually people reserve that term for MINIs but these Lotus cars are the real thing. There will be opportunities for a taxi ride with the cars together with the driver.

Satria Neo, Saga and Gen2 club members will be there to display their cars at the event.A contest will be held to award the most outstanding car for each category. The criteria of the selection of the winner are exterior condition, paint job, decals, stickers, rims, interior cleanliness & practicality, and modification changes. Of course you’ll probably expect some really fast “Campro Turbo DIY” cars there or even some with MIVEC or GSR swaps, but engine bay will not be evaluated as Proton are not promoting any changes made to the engine. Judges will be appointed from Proton managements, the artistes and professional drivers.

Other than that, the public can also participate in any games activities on that day such as a be mini futsal challenge, team activities, and others. These games will be conducted by Hitz.fm announcers Natalie and Jin and they will also be having quizzes. The closing performance will be a performance by One Buck Short and Pesawat, which will start after the demo performance by Lotus mentioned earlier.

So this is something for you to check out this Saturday if you live in the south. RELA will be in charge on that day to handle traffic and parking. Just remember to bring a bottle of mineral water as I’ve been informed that Danga Bay did not give permission for the sale of F&B during the event so you’ll have to bring your own.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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The Saga is the latest model to join Proton Australia’s line-up, selling Down Under as the Proton S16. As its name suggests, the S16 is powered by the 110 bhp 1.6-litre Campro IAFM engine paired to a five-speed manual ‘box.

Its drive away retail price of $11,990 makes it the lowest priced new car in Australia. Before launch, Proton billed the S16 as the cheapest sedan in the market, but latest currency exchange rates have given the S16 an even stronger selling point.

The auto version will debut shortly while July 2010 will see the introduction a GXR variant that adds dual airbags, ABS, alloys, reverse sensors and fog lamps to the kit list.

It’s clearly a very good deal, but since the Saga’s looks aren’t exactly what you’d call pretty, Proton Australia has signed on Miss Universe Australia 2009 Rachael Finch for some “look at me” appeal. She will be featured in all S16 ads in Australia. A clearer view of the lovely Miss Finch is available after the jump!

Click for enlarged image

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Proton will be launching a 1.6 litre IAFM variant of the Saga in Australia soon (November 2009 ETA) and has put up a teaser website for it at newsedan.com.au. It won’t be called the Saga in Australia though – a new name will be picked. Prices will begin at under AU$13,000, or under RM37,895 for the 1.6 litre manual, but an automatic option as well as a smaller engine (likely the 1.3) will be available from February 2010 onwards.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

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Proton previewed an all-electric version of the Proton Saga sedan in University Putra Malaysia, Serdang during the “Proton Exora – The Making” seminar organized by SAE International earlier this week. The “Proton” name would definitely make sense on this particular car!

You might expect this plug-in electric vehicle to have been co-developed with Detroit Electric which have a deal to produce electric cars based on the Proton GEN2 and the Proton Persona for certain overseas markets under the Detroit Electric brand. But on the contrary, what you see above is an in-house project done with the help of unnamed suppliers and partners.

This means that unlike the Detroit Electric e46 (based on the Proton Gen 2) and the Detroit Electric e63 (based on the Proton Persona), the electric Saga (officially called the Proton Saga EV Green Propulsion Concept for now) is probably being considered for the local market, although the auto maker is very tight-lipped about possible launch dates. It could take years.

The emissions-free Proton Saga EV on display features a 125kW (168hp) brushless DC electric motor, mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. It has a 20kWh Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack (12 separate batteries stored in the trunk). Because of the batteries, truckspace is pretty much non-existent but this is quite normal with concept electric cars based on a chassis that was originally designed to take a regular combustion engine and fuel tank. A production car would ideally have neater integration of the batteries.

According to Proton, the Saga EV can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.1 seconds, up to a top speed of 161 km/h, with a driving range of 109 kilometers over a full charge. Both the Detroit Electric e46 and e63 will feature a 150kW Axial Magnetic Flux motor instead.

There is more! The “green-mobil” also features re-generative braking and an electric power steering, apart from a built-in Batter Management System (BCMU), a plug-in charger (with a household power outlet), air conditioning as well as an In-Vehicle display screen that displays various information pertaining to the electric vehicle functions. Sources also revealed that Proton has plans to built an electric Exora MPV, and, is currently working on some hybrid vehicles as well, for research and development.

Since Proton took the trouble to produce a fully functioning Saga EV Concept, I am sure it is a matter of time till we actually see Proton-built electric cars on the road, but it doesn’t end at just producing such emissions-free vehicles. There has to an infrastructure ready to accommodate charging in the outdoors, which is something that will involve the government, apart from the private sector.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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We now have more details on the new Proton Saga SE, which is positioned as a premium variant of one of Proton’s cheapest cars right now. The Saga SE continues using the 1.3 litre Campro IAFM engine that’s found in the rest of the Saga range except for the taxi model, so what exactly does “SE” mean? Here are the full details:

• Only two colours – brilliant red or solid white with a black finish roof top.
• New front, rear (with faux diffuser design) and side skirts.
• A new front grille with black finish.
• Leather seats, door trim and steering wheel
• Pearl white instrument cluster
• Dark chrome air-conditioning vents
• CD player with MP3 support

As previously mentioned, the Saga SE manual is priced at RM43,000 while the automatic transmission model is priced at RM45,500. It is available for booking now for RM500, but the cars will only be in the showrooms from the 15th of August 2009 onwards.

Look after the jump for more photos of the Saga SE.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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From the info I am getting now, the Saga SE uses a 1.3 litre Campro IAFM engine as before (the sole 1.6 litre model continues in taxi spec), but comes with aesthetic and equipment changes, while the Proton Exora 1.6 M/T like its namesake comes with a manual transmission. The Proton team is having trouble sending full specs and press release over because they are in an area without internet access now but at least we have the prices:

• Proton Saga SE Manual – RM43,000
• Proton Saga SE Auto – RM45,500
• Proton Exora M/T Solid – RM64,548.00
• Proton Exora M/T Metallic – RM64,998.00

More details and photos of the new car to come later.

UPDATE: Look after the jump for an event photo gallery of the Saga SE.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

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The Proton Saga 1.6 litre B-Line with manual transmission is now available for public booking on Proton Edar’s website. The B-Line M/T listed at RM39,000 is the sole 1.6 litre model on sale, and is only available in Chilli Red. That’s about roughly a RM3k premium over the 1.3 litre B-Line M/T.

No specs for the B-Line 1.6L M/T have been made known on the site but based on various ads placed on online classifieds: it has power windows for the front, air conditioning, an alarm system and a CD player so it should satisfy the bare requirements of creature comforts, but with no safety features as there is no airbag.

The car comes with steel wheels so if you want to spend some money you can quickly junk them and put something else on to match the more powerful engine.

Interestingly the cheapest and most affordable N-Line which was priced at RM31.5k seems to be completely gone from Proton Edar’s website now.

It is not unusual for car manufacturers to launch a car model with the very baseline model priced without profit or even at a loss to draw customers to showrooms, and then later get the sales staff to try to sell them the more profitable trim levels. This baseline model will then be phased out later.

Also, is it just me or have the prices changed since launch?

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

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India’s DNA Money reports that the Proton Saga and the Proton Persona have been spotted on test on the Greater Noida Expressway in India. These may be Proton’s initial model range in the Indian market which is good as niche cars like the 3-door Satria Neo do not make sense at the moment. Interestingly the same report also considers Proton vehicles “high-end” but with quality and finishing issues. When contacted by DNA Money, officials from Proton and rumoured partner Argentum declined to comment.

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There are currently long waiting lists for the Proton Saga, but there might be a way you could get delivery of your car in 2 weeks via a new lucky draw scheme by Proton. No, you don’t get a free Saga, but what you might win in the lucky draw is a chance to skip the long queue that currently takes months and get your Proton Saga delivered in approximately 2 weeks.

The lucky draw will be held weekly and will be carried out in the presence of an internal auditor. Every week, ten lucky customers will be picked, and will be able to get their cars delivered within 2 weeks of the draw. Winners must meet all the buying criteria – the settlement of the full down payment and receipt of the Letter of Undertaking (LOU) from the finance company.

BTW, any Proton Saga owners here? How is your ownership experience so far?

Related Posts:
Proton Saga – 23,000 bookings, 5 month wait!

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VIDEO: Proton Saga TVC: “Cabin Space”

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VIDEO: Proton Saga TVC: “Acceleration”

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Bookings for the new Proton Saga “mark II” has reached a total of over 23,000 and the waiting period for delivery is now between 5 to 6 months. This is another sales success for Proton, right after the Proton Persona, which just goes to show that if the right car is produced for the right market and at the right price (something which Proton enjoys in our market), cars will fly off the shelves.

Of this 23,000, over 9,000 units were from EON outlets, and EON’s recent EON Karnival 2008 in Shah Alam saw over 300 potential customers getting to test drive the new Proton Saga to get a first hand touch and feel of the new Proton sedan.

Right car, right market, right price – the only thing that remains to be seen now is whether it has the right build quality.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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The Proton Saga is still quite a hot conversation topic right now, as it is the latest and most affordable brand new 3-box sedan on the market to date. Here is Theophilus Chin’s artist’s impression of a kitted up Proton Saga – it looks very similiar to the Proton Saga RED Concept actually but it was actually done before the RED Concept was unveiled.

The Saga “GTi” Concept as Theophilus wishes to call it has a revised front grille that features a blackened area and a chrome top, a revised front bumper with an air intake beneath the grille with a chrome spoiler lip, different fog lamp housings, an Audi-like aluminium side mirror with lower half in matte black, and a blackened B-pillar. The headlamps have smaller turn indicators and the wheels are bigger.

You will find after the jump more photos of the Proton Saga that I snapped at the press preview held before the launch. Enjoy!


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© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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VIDEO: Proton Saga Dr. Kenny Advertisement

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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I guess now we know where that Proton Saga sighted with the number plate came from, it’s the same car in this video!

VIDEO: Proton Saga Alleycats Advertisement

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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UPDATE: Watch another video in this series of TV commercials promoting the new Proton Saga, this time featuring David Arumugam of The Alleycats.

VIDEO: Proton Saga Angkasawan Advertisement

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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Here are some photos of the Proton Saga “RED” Concept by Proton Design, which will let some of you soon to be new Proton Saga owners know what modifications could be possible with the car’s aesthetics. Having a special kitted up version of each new model launch has been a tradition now, and I hope this continues.

The Proton Saga “RED” Concept features a nice metallic red paintwork, a black roof, nice light grey grill surrounds, and large wheels, complete with a minimal tyre to fender gap. The interior gets a two-tone black and grey design, with red door trim, red seats and a grey-red trimmed steering wheel.

Check out more photos after the jump.


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© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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This is probably the most anticipated car in the history that I have had this blog running, the car that will mark the retirement of the old Proton Saga and mark the beginning of a new saga in the history of Proton. It is what both we and Proton call “the People’s Car”.

It is the car that signifies Proton is going back to the basics and fulfilling its responsibility as the national car manufacturer to actually produce national cars that the majority of the people actually need – a cheap, economical run-about car with a sedan bodystyle.

That car is the new second generation 2008 Proton Saga, known to us for the past few months as the Proton BLM.

As most of you should know by now, the new Proton Saga was engineered from the Proton Savvy’s platform, by a team that was led by Proton engineers together with external consultants, including LG CNS. It was developed in a record period of 17 months from the design freeze stage to the SOP stage. It was designed to be a simple, affordable and practical entry level sedan. You could call it the people’s car if you wish, something the original Volkswagen Beetle was a long time ago.

Proton decided to do away with any attempts at making this car “different”, from the beginning it was decided that its design was to be smart and simple. The front features a hexagonal mesh front grille, swept-back headlamps, and prominent lower air intakes on the bumper, while the rear of the car features wraparound crystal cluster lights and a concave boot lid. From the side you can see prominent wheel arches, which give the car a sportier look.

Thankfully, there are no design quirkiness to be seen, and the car lacks the typical hatch turned sedan awkward look that the Suzuki Swift Sedan and the Nissan Latio have.

For a small sedan like the Saga, what many will be looking at is how much interior space it has. So let’s have a look at how the new Proton fares in that area.

The new Proton Saga is bigger than its predecessor in pretty much every way possible. You’ll probably be able to guess what cars Competitor M and Competitor V are. Numbers are good, but they remain just figures on a piece of paper until you actually try getting into the car.

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Here we have regular PAULTAN.ORG contributor Shannon Teoh in the rear seat of the car. You can see clearly the legroom and headroom available to the rear passenger – surprisingly good! The only concern would be the width of the car, it is narrower but acceptable given that this is a small B-segment sedan.

Either 2 adults or 3 children will sit comfortably in the rear bench, and there are seatbelts for 3 people, so if the government enforces the rear seatbelt rule anytime soon, the Proton Saga will be ready for it.

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Interior conveniences include two cupholders in the front, one cupholder in the rear, an open storage compartment where the passenger airbag would be expected to be, a glove compartment, two rear bottle holders, door pockets on each door, seatback pockets, a 1-DIN storage area below the 1-DIN CD player, and finally a little compartment just below the steering wheel column.

The Proton Saga has a standard car power outlet socket positioned at a 90 degree horizontal angle just below the air conditioning controls. This might cause a problem with some of the longer devices that you might want to insert into the socket, like mobile phone chargers and etc, as it might get into the way of the gear lever. If you have drinks in the front cupholders, these might obstruct the power outlet as well.

The air conditioning controls themselves (click image on the left to enlarge) are very simple and intuitively designed. This is an improvement over the Proton Persona’s air conditioning controls where the temperature dial was somewhat confusing. Previously readers who have seen the dials have said they look like they were recycled from the old Mitsubishi-generation Protons, but these are new stepped dials. I’m not sure what the proper term is, but it means that when you twist the dial, you feel feedback from the dials, they “click” from setting to setting, while the old dials in the Saga/Iswara/Satria/Wira were stepless, you just twisted them around and they don’t give any feedback as to whether you’ve actually achieved anything or not.

The only stepless dial is the one where you control whether the air conditioning system recirculates the air or takes in fresh air from outside. This has been made into a dial instead of a button of sorts because the control actually requires the action of you twisting the knob to close the external air intake vent – basically its a manual system.

The air conditioning vents integrate angle and open/close functions in a single action, much like the ones on the Satria Neo. The dashboard plastics do not fall into the soft touch category, but Proton has added texture so that they do not look or feel cheap, and I appreciate that thought. I do not really have a problem with the plastics. The stepped dials and switches do not have a cheap feel to them, and all of them provide feedback as to whether you’ve actually pressed them, which is an improvement over the Persona’s feedbackless dashboard buttons.

The switches, knobs and dials are all placed in intuitive positions. My only issue with the interior is not something major. It’s just that Proton does not seem to have a standard Human Interface Design template for their interiors. A little button with a dot on it activates the central locking system in the Proton Persona, but the same button in the Saga is used to deactivate the alarm system! The same design, but different meanings in different cars. This will have to change in the next generation of cars.

Audio is provided by a single CD Clarion head unit, and either 2 speakers for the N-Line and B-Line, or 4 speakers for the M-Line. The silver head unit lights up with red backlighting, matching the rest of the car.

I wish Proton has specified to Clarion that the volume knob be on the right side of the head unit instead of on the left, as this is a right hand drive market. If you notice, the Clarion 2-DIN head unit used in the Mitsubishi-generation Protons and the Waja had the volume knob on the right. Nevertheless, the audio output through the speakers was rather decent, but being a 1-DIN unit there will be many who will swap everything out for their own custom ICE setup.

I am not completely sure, but I reckon that if you take out the 1-DIN storage compartment module from below the 1-DIN head unit, you’ll probably be able to install a 2-DIN unit.

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The picture above shows how the front passenger area of the Proton Saga would typically be looking like. The passenger’s legs are in the photo to let you judge the interior width of the car better. The driving position for both the manual and automatic versions were decent without issues.

For the manual version, the clutch pedal was adequately spaced away from the brake and accelerator pedals, unlike some previous Protons. The automatic shifter uses the P-R-N-D-3-2-L shift pattern – no shiftronic-like features here.

The manual shifter is really something I’ve never seen before! The shift lever is so tall and the shift throw is rather long. The high position of the shift knob shortens the distance your hand has to travel from steering wheel to shifter, so many it was intentional. The lever’s free play both in neutral and in gear was also quite noticable, and it all reminded me of a pickup truck’s manual shift lever, although the lever did not vibrate like how a pick up truck’s normally would. Shifts felt rubbery and disconnected, not very fun but nevertheless it gets the job done.

Clutch engagement and disengagement for the manual transmission happens quite far into the clutch release. It should be quite safe if you accidentally shift without pressing the clutch pedal to the very deepest, as somewhere past mid point the clutch would have already fully disengaged.

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On to the new Proton Saga’s best kept secret. The new 1.3 litre Campro IAFM engine. Let’s get to the low down on whats changed since the last iteration of the Campro 1.3 found in the Proton Satria Neo. Firstly, the manual gearbox that comes with this engine is now sourced from Aichi Kikai instead of Mitsubishi, which Proton engineers say allows them greater flexibility in specifying gear ratios, something that Mitsubishi did not provide.

Next, the engine has an Integrated Air Fuel Module which integrates a variable length intake manifold system. I will not go into lengths explaining what a variable length intake manifold system is since I have already done that before (click here to read).

The electrical system has also been updated. Ignition now uses coil-on-plug ignition, which eliminates spark plug cables from the ignition system. This eliminates some power losses caused by spark plug cables. The starter is now of a smaller physical size, but has a bigger capacity. If you listen to how this Campro IAFM 1.3 engine starts compared to the Campro 1.3 in the Satria Neo, you can hear the difference. Think of how the Perdana V6 sounds like when it starts.

The Campro IAFM engine keeps the Campro 1.3′s 94 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 120Nm of torque at 4,000rpm figures, with changes only to the way the power and torque is delivered instead of any change in the peak power and torque. Proton’s dyno tests of the new Campro IAFM engine reveals power ratings of up to 98 horsepower is achievable, but Proton prefers to publish the power figures in brochures at 94 horses for some reason, perhaps for consistency sake as not all engines may be able to achieve the 98 horses figure.

As you can see from the scanned dyno chart comparison above, the original Campro 1.3 was making slightly more than its 120Nm rated torque at peaks, but there are some serious dips in torque in the low to mid rev ranges. The new Campro 1.3 with the IAFM module has a very different torque curve. Its peak torque is lower, but still achieves the 120Nm target. There is also more torque between 2,800rpm and 4,000rpm.

I am happy to report that with my brief Proton Saga review test drive around Cyberjaya there is no annoying torque dip with the new Campro engine now, but nevertheless it still did not feel particularly torquey at low to medium revs. One would expect a VIM system to provide stronger than usual low end torque, but I guess in this case the VIM only manages to fix the Campro’s naturally bad torque curve.

Throttle response still leaves a little to be wanting – the engine is slightly slow to come on and slow to taper off when responding to throttle movements – nothing dangerous but it can be noticed. The laggy throttle response is why you sometimes have a little throttle blip when you shift gears on the Campro, whats happening is the throttle still continues to be open when you’ve lifted your foot off the accelerator pedal and disengaged the clutch, so the result is a little blip.

Proton quotes expected fuel economy for the manual model to be 6 litres per 100km, and 6.3 litres per 100km for the automatic model, at a constant speed of 90km/h.

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Ride and handling is not the typical feel you would expect from a Proton. While the Persona has very decent handling for a 4 door family sedan, the ride comfort for this new second generation Proton Saga is good, but unfortunately the body roll angle is rather significant! However, the roll rate is at an acceptable rate so the roll is not overly uncomfortable during normal driving. Go abit aggressive and the rear passengers can be thrown about. What makes it worse is the lack of any rear assist grips to hold on to, even though it looks like there are mounting points for the grips!

The seats are your average baseline sedan seats – only the Nissan Latio excels in this area with their oversized seats. We did not drive very far so at the moment we can’t really tell if they are comfortable during long journeys or not. The rear bench does not do the whole split-fold-down thing, so this will be a concern for those who want to carry long things often, that require the sedan’s boot length to be extended to within the cabin.

The rear windows do not go down fully. I discovered this when I got into the back seat of the Saga so I could stick my head and camera out and take moving shots of the car while we were on our test laps around Putrajaya. The window only came down about two thirds of the way – there was no way I could stuff my head out that.

The new Proton Saga uses a MacPherson strut suspension at the front, and a torsion beam suspension at the rear. These suspension bits were based off the Savvy but tweaked to suit the new car. The front has a lower spring rate, while the rear has a higher spring rate to compensate for the heavier boot. There is a front stabilier bar directly connected to the damper body instead of the lower control arm.

Tyres are 13 inch steel wheels wrapped with 175/70R13 tyres for the N-Line and B-Line models, and 14 inch alloys wrapped with 185/60R14 tyres for the M-Line model. Brakes are 13 inch ventilated discs at the front, and 7 inch drums at the rear. The M-Line has a single driver’s airbag, but none of the line-up has ABS brakes. The boot is a decent 413 litres and comes with a full sized steel spare tyre.

Fitting its purpose as a family car, the new Saga comes with child lock functions for the rear doors. All models also have central locking, but the N-Line does not have an alarm or remote activation of the central locking.

Click to enlarge and view specifications list for each model

I think the new Proton Saga is a great little family car, with an amazingly adequate interior space that can fit 4 people comfortably, or 5 people if you must. There are a little issues here and there that make me unhappy, for example the central locking knobs are very hard knobs with a small diameter. The small diameter hurts your finger when you press it down to lock the door.

But I can live with all of this, and most people would not even notice the small little details I’ve pointed out in this article.

The car drives well and handles like a Savvy with a softer suspension, the Campro’s annoying torque dip is gone, the interior is decent with good legroom and headroom, and a 1.3 litre engine should prove to be fuel economical. People, this is your car!

The only thing that worries me is that Proton’s assembly line still seems to be a hit or miss affair, I have a friend with a perfect Proton Satria Neo, while some others find that they’ve mistakenly purchased moving aquariums with failing power windows. I hope Proton will continue to improve on their QC efforts.

The aftermarket industry should quickly look into designing sportier springs, anti-roll bars, and a short shifter for this car, as I believe these will really be in demand for those who wish for a more engaging drive from their economical buy.

Proton Saga N-Line Manual – RM31,500
Proton Saga B-Line Manual – RM34,998
Proton Saga B-Line Auto – RM37,998
Proton Saga M-Line Manual – RM37,498
Proton Saga M-Line Auto – RM39,998

It is available in 7 colours – Metallic Black, Granite Grey, Solid White, Genetic Silver, Chili Red, Mountain Blue, and Zircon Green.

Please post any questions in the comments if you want to know more about the car. I will try my best to answer with whatever I remember of the car from the short media test drive we had on Monday.

Please enjoy the following additional photos:

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Manual transmission meter panel – Click to enlarge

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Chili Red

Chili Red

Metallic Black

B-Line Genetic Silver, with N-Line Solid White in background

Mountain Blue

N-Line Solid White

Zircon Green

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© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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Can Proton produce something that is baseline yet still looks stylish? Something that when you look at it, you may think that the owner could have afforded something else but decided to buy the BLM instead because of its value of money. Basically not something that you are forced to buy because of price alone. If Proton manages to achieve this with the Proton BLM, it will have a huge one up over cars like the Renault Logan.

You’ll find out when you come back to this blog at 5:30PM on the 18th of January 2008 (tomorrow) to find out the full scoop on the new Proton Saga replacement, including a short test drive report.

In the meanwhile, read the previous posts on the BLM linked below:

Related Posts:

• Proton BLM: New Proton Saga Teaser Video
• Bookings now open for the new Proton BLM
• New Saga Replacement Proton BLM sighted with minimal disguise on the road
• Proton and the Indian automotive industry
• Black and white Proton BLM spyshot
• New Proton BLM spyshot – this time in turquoise!
• Another rear shot of the Proton BLM
• Is this the new Proton BLM?
• Clearer Proton BLM side profile spyshots
• Proton BLM Artist’s Impression by Maru
• Proton BLM step by step build up teaser
• Updated Proton BLM stage by stage teaser
• 2nd Proton BLM stage by stage teaser demo

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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Proton had their second stage-by-stage build up teaser for the new Proton Saga replacement, codenamed the Proton BLM last night at Cineleisure Mutiara Damansara. I actually got there late and it was all over, so here are the photos I snapped of the end result of the 2nd night of the build-up activity.

We have already seen a new teaser chassis with a complete roof frame instead of the roofless chassis on the first night, so this 2nd “stage” of teaser might not be very new to us. Proton has added one of the car’s four doors and front fenders and the rest of the roof to the demo car. On the last night of the build up which is on the 17th, we will most probably see the car get front and rear bumpers, the rest of its doors and interior trim.

More photos after the jump, with a total of 8 in this post.


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Related Proton BLM Buildup Teaser Posts:

• Proton BLM pre-launch teaser campaign
• Proton BLM stage-by-stage build-up teaser – (6th January 2008)
• Updated Proton BLM stage-by-stage build-up teaser – (10th January 2008)

Related Proton BLM Posts:

• Proton BLM: New Proton Saga Teaser Video
• Bookings now open for the new Proton BLM
• New Saga Replacement Proton BLM sighted with minimal disguise on the road
• Proton and the Indian automotive industry
• Black and white Proton BLM spyshot
• New Proton BLM spyshot – this time in turquoise!
• Another rear shot of the Proton BLM
• Is this the new Proton BLM?
• Clearer Proton BLM side profile spyshots
• Proton BLM Artist’s Impression by Maru

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:57:33 +0000.

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