2012 Proton Saga SE 1.6

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Alhamdulillah, after about two years contemplating and researching on the most suitable car to buy, wifey and I finally came to a decision and chose Proton Saga SE 1.6... 


Last year, we almost bought a Toyota Vios model J because we wanted a sedan from a foreign company... We tried to avoid buying local cars because we had a mindset that foreign cars were better in term of quality... We were thinking long term... However, we cancelled the purchase last minute as our financial standing didn't allow us the luxury to spend more than RM900 every month for a car... 

After that, we really took our time to research the most fitting car for us to buy... We calculated carefully our monthly spendings and lastly narrowed down the options to Proton Saga and Perodua Myvi... 

I was quite torn between those two... We needed a sedan because we had a baby and baby things were so many! Car seat, stroller, diapers, milk and flask, baby clothes... A Myvi wouldn't fit all of those things altogether! Driving long distance from Terengganu to Selangor with all of those things crowded in a car as compact as Myvi wouldn't be comfortable at all... But most people advised me to buy Myvi instead of Saga because Perodua cars were better in performance and maintenance... 

I looked online and most Saga owners complained about the poor sound proofing, brake sounds and sudden stop of engine while driving... 

Wifey was very supportive in helping me chose which car to buy... She favoured Saga because of its size and boot space but she also tried to look at Myvi's plus points... 

The thing that made me came to a final decision was the price comparison... At around RM50k, I could have either a minimum spec Myvi or the special edition, full spec Saga... Hmm... 

"Honey, lets buy Saga! Special edition!"

We made the purchase at Selangor, Cheras area, because people said the process of getting a car near or at Kuala Lumpur area was faster than in Terengganu... After around two weeks of waiting, we got to drive our brand new car home!

The car was around RM49k and there was RM1500 discount promotion for Chinese New Year... I paid RM500 and together with the discount, the downpayment was RM2000... I paid an extra RM250 to get the windows tinted... Actually the tint costed RM500 but the salesman gave me RM250 coupon... That makes the monthly payment, RM555...

The salesman was rather nice as he gave me a few freebies... If you want to buy Proton cars at Cheras area, just leave a comment or contact me if u have my number... I would gladly recommend u to him... Though I can't promise any discounts as it depends on the guy... You would have to negotiate with him...

Anyway, I already reached 6000km on the meter and overally, I'm very satisfied with this car...

It looks awesome... Kinda badass...There were a choice of white and red colours... We chose white because the red was not striking enough to our liking...  The interior is partly covered with leather... The rims are sporty, the skirting looks good, there's a small spoiler on the hood, there are fog lamps at the front... Awesome awesome awesome... 

In terms of performance, I've been driving long distance from Dungun to Cheras a few times already and they were pretty smooth... You know the hills between Tol Gombak and Karak? I could climb the hills at the speed of 120km/h with ease... I know I could go faster than that while climbing but I didn't have the guts... hehehe... I usually just drive 100 to 120km/h on the highways...

Fuel consumption? From Cheras to Dungun, which is usually a 5 hours or more drive, I normally spend only around RM50... That's very cheap, huh?

The sound proofing is just moderate though... Sometimes its hard to listen to the radio when on the road because of the sound but according to the people online, it could be improved by changing tyres... My baby Ubaid slept soundly for four hours straight during a trip to Cheras, so it's not bad at all...

As mentioned, I've driven my car more than 6000km now and thus, I've sent it to its second service... The cost per service so far is around RM130...

Again, I would like to say that I'm very satisfied with this car and felt a bit dumb for doubting its performance when I was still contemplating on what car to buy... I shall take care of this car because its our first property... I take it to the car wash every week to make sure it stays shiny... Any stain or dirt is pretty obvious on white paint... Hopefully it will serve us well to many years to come... Hopefully it'll be the first car Ubaid drives... Haha... That's pretty hopeful... but, seriously... I really hope so...

By the way, I named it Hayley because it's awesome... Wifey said it's a she because it's white... I was thinking of naming it Jon Snow at first... Owh well, Hayley rocks!


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1 comments

  1. thanx for the saga review...
    i've been pending buying car since last year...

    keep comparing myvi vs saga 1.6 vs vios....

    i also quite skeptical about our national car...

    it's good to hear good review for national car....

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