Proton gets epic

Just one year of punishing recession and suddenly everyone, who until now had been largely off pursuing their own directions, styles, and focusses, are toeing the same line, spouting the same rhetoric, and generally not being very creative at all.

It may make very good financial sense to do so, but we do have to wonder, where has all that much-vaunted passion gone? No-one seems to do anything for this ephemeral reason anymore, because passion projects become vanity affairs, sometimes they don’t even (shock, horror!) make any money in the progress. No, today, we only work on what is going to sell, apparently.

Which brings us to the new Proton Saga. That’s what this car is, precisely, in it’s purest form. It’s an effort to grab sales in the low-cost volume segment, which mainstream manufacturers seem to think is the only segment left in which punters are buying anything. Sure enough, people are under some financial pressure and are therefore being forced to downsize. My only comment about this sad scenario is… the Recession can’t last forever. And once it goes away and enthusiasts start buying-up again, there’s going to be a brutal rationalisation of the cheap-as-chips brigade, and more scrambling to develop something all-new for the new market focus.

Anyway, to the car. It looks just about every inch a Ford Ikon, except for the badges of course. It features a 1.3-litre version of the four-cylinder Campro engine found in the Gen 2 and other Proton offerings, sporting 70kW and 120Nm. Not the biggest numbers you’ve ever seen no doubt, but enough considering this is a sub-R120K saloon packed with niceties.

Apart from safety equipment, where the Saga is distinctly lacking with no ABS and only one airbag for the driver, this vehicle is basically fully-loaded despite the everyman price tag. Power-steering is standard as is a CD-playing audio system, electric windows for the front passengers only,electric mirror adjustment, remote central locking, aircon and even that great pub-bragging technology Park Distance Control (PDC) – even if it is in it’s most elementary form!

Fortunately once you’ve climbed aboard and made yourself comfortable thanks to the height-adjustable seats and steering wheel, you don’t have to experience the bland exterior any longer. Admittedly, despite interior space being one of the main marketing selling points, there isn’t generous room available, but it can be driven by a 7-footer, which is more than can be said for the Satria Neo for instance. For Malaysian nationals I’m sure it’s the equivalent of having an entire football field’s worth of space, but the average South African isn’t going to find it to be any more than sufficient.

Once on the move, you quickly realise that the brakes quite literally don’t need ABS, as the 13” vented discs up front and dinky 7” drums at the rear are atroscious in operation, and require the thigh muscles of the Durban-July odds favourite to even operate, let alone lock up. The brakes on the Saga are frighteningly bad, although the Proton fleet manager did point out, and it’s entirely valid, that these cars had covered less than 1000kms and the pads could still be bedding-in. Either way there were definitely a few moments of furious knyping driving the Saga through Jo’Burg traffic.

The only gearbox option available to South African customers, a five-speed manual, is similarly shocking in operation. It’s vague, the shifts are rubbery, and the gate into fifth disconcertingly arcs back towards third as you slot it home.

Both materials and build quality certainly aren’t up to BMW standards, but are all right in the context of the Sagas price. The cabin is simply lathered in that grey, scratchy plastic that in and of itself speaks volumes for the manufacturing costs of the car.

Back in 2008, the company had such a rotten quality rep that fiercely patriotic Malaysian nationals were speaking publically about trading their Protons in for its Japanese equivalents, and thanks in part to basically direct orders from their major shareholders, the Malaysian government, the company has been focussing heavily on quality control. Which it claims has had commendable results. Our Saga for the day certainly felt fairly robust, although of course a half an afternoon is hardly the equivalent of a full ownership proposition.

And then, there’s the steering. It sounds absurd even to me to be bringing up the hallowed Lotus brand in connection to a budget family sedan, but somehow the genes really come shining through! Unlike similarly-priced cars from Asian manufacturers, the Proton’s steering is direct, without any slack or give, and even manages to communicate effectively with the driver through their palms and fingertips what the chassis is doing about the road surface of the moment.

Sure, it’s hardly telepathic, but it does manage to get you actually driving the thing, rather than simply commuting in it. You find yourself revving the motor way beyond the 6500rpm redline and past the 7000 mark, just so that you have enough speed to adopt massive body roll angles on the next bend – the suspension being made of mildly recycled porridge. The actual grip is modest, again in-line with a car in this price category, but the sensory feedback elements are definitely there.

Pearl Auto, SA importers of Proton and, not so coincidentally, Lotus, are bringing only this one spec level in, even though in the markets in which it already sells a stronger 1.6-litre motor, and an auto gearbox, are available for new Saga purchasers. Here it’s the 1.3 Campro and five-speed manual tranny or nothing. For the moment at least, more models are being considered.

While the motor does deliver a pretty peppy performance, it could do it without the ungodly whining noise, which seems to come and go randomly, and which goes a long way towards ruining a driving experience which is otherwise all right. That and the broken brakes don’t add up to a stellar recommendation.

The willing engine and engaging steering are helped by an impressively low weight for the class, the Saga coming in at around 1050kg. This helps it to move about respectably while still, apparently, being able to average 5.5 l/100km on the combined cycle.

For R119 995, it’s not a bad purchasing decision. It’s no four-wheeled joy no but for this kind of money, it’s ridiculously well equipped, offers even more money-saving fuel consumption, and does deliver better steering than most in the category are able to. It’s very much like a luxury-spec Renault Sandero at the end of the day. Not exactly a market segment which will fire your loins, but provided you work out your right leg for those brakes and drown out the whining enging with some volume on the stereo, it’s a purchase you won’t regret on the whole, even as someone who actually enjoys driving.

It is sad to see manufacturers abandoning their own unique characters for mass appeal though. And you do get the feeling the car should sort of be a little cheaper here, a little closer to R100K dead. The only thing that does elevate it slightly from the other urbanity it will inevitably be surrounded by, is the crisp and feelsome steering.

Then again in a market segment very distinctly lacking in passion, this one nugget of solid gold is actually enough to elevate it in our estimation – now we’re just interested in finding out how well the Saga hangs together as you clock up the miles.

Russell

Liked:

Surprisingly willing engine

Communicative, responsive steering.

Disliked

Beastly brakes with seemingly murderous intent.

Is-it-in? gearbox.

Loss of Proton individuality

Vital Specs

Engine : 1.3-litre 16V Campro petrol

Power : 70kW @ 6000rpm

Torque : 120Nm @ 4000rpm

0-100 km/h : 13 seconds

Top speed : 160 km/h

Price : R119 995

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