3 Years ago:
Just started working for a year plus and with the old Honda City showing signs of aging, it was time to look for a new workhorse, one that could bring me to work back & forth reliably and also for leisure rides. With a budget of about RM 50,000, i set forth to search for a suitable car, keeping in mind to avoid second hand cars as their unexpected repair bills will hurt my wallet.
In 2011, with that budget in mind, one has a few choices which if taking into consideration only buying new cars, are just left with local brand cars. At that time, it was down to 3 choices:
1) Perodua Myvi 1.3
2) Proton Saga FLX 1.3
3) Proton Persona 1.6AT
I wanted to buy the highest spec and this puts the Proton Persona at RM 49,XXX the most expensive of the three, followed by the Perodua Myvi at RM 45,XXX and the Proton Saga the cheapest at RM 44,XXX. Looking closer, although the Myvi is widely perceived to be of better quality, it did not appeal so much to me after realizing the boot was small (208 litres only) and its handling was like steering a toy boat ( light steering with little feedback and below average cornering ability).
Further research on the other 2 Proton models lead me to discovering that the new Proton Saga had a new gearbox, a CVT transmission which claims to save fuel compared to its predecessor (engine & gearbox is very important) , adequate safety features like dual airbags, ABS & EBD and also, a bigger boot space of 413 litres.
Finally i made the choice to get the Proton Saga over the Persona because i could save almost RM 5,000 , it comes with new gearbox and consumes less fuel.
3 years later
The car has clocked 45,000 km mileage and this is slightly below the average usage of an ordinary commuter of 20,000 km per year. The car still run okay and the tires , Goodyear Dugaro's 14 " still have grip.
Issues faced during 3 years of ownership of Proton Saga FLX 1.3
1) CVT gear light flashing which normally indicates the gearbox is overheating and is recommended to turn off the engine and wait for several minutes before starting the engine again.
2) Car headlight bulb fused twice in a span of 3 years.
3) Vibration from dashboard during acceleration.
4) Back seat fabric torn.
5) Interior roof light takes a long time to light up when car doors are opened.
Tips for owners of Saga FLX 1.3
1) Best fuel in my experience seems to be BHPetrol followed by Petron then Petronas then lastly Shell. I usually pump Ron 95 but with the price gap of it with Ron 97 getting closer (as of end of November 2014, the price is RM 2.30 per litre for Ron 95 and RM 2.55 per litre for Ron 97 ), i would give it a try.
2) During service at Proton centre, you can save about RM 48 by not taking the X1R engine treatment being offered by the service advisor. Many Saga users claim it is not necessary , from https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3398555
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