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Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor

Eric · Dec 31, 2020 09:00 AM

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 01

The third-generation Proton Saga was introduced back in 2016 and it received its mid-life update in August 2019.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 02

Perhaps the biggest improvement done to the Saga was the discontinuation of the Punch-sourced CVT-type automatic transmission, which has been replaced by a Hyundai-sourced four-speed torque converter automatic unit.

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Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 01

Previously a B-segment model, Proton has since redesignated the Saga as an A-segment sedan to compete against the Perodua Bezza – the Saga’s primary rival.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 02

The Proton Saga is priced between RM 32,800 (1.3 Standard MT) to RM 39,800 (1.3 Premium AT). These prices are inclusive of 10% SST.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 03

Here’s a quick overview of the 2020 Proton Saga’s pros and cons:

Pros:

  • 4-speed automatic transmission is a much-needed update
  • Infotainment is surprisingly decent
  • Ride and handling

Cons:

  • No ADAS
  • No keyless entry or engine push start button
  • Fuel efficiency isn’t that great

Pros - 4-speed automatic transmission is a much-needed update

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 04

The Punch-sourced CVT-type automatic was among the Achilles’ heel of the pre-facelift Proton Saga, as it was everything a CVT wasn’t supposed to be – jerky in traffic, noisy, and unrefined.

But that changed after Geely came onboard.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 05

Out went the jerky Punch-sourced CVT, replaced by a new a Hyundai-sourced 4-speed torque converter automatic transmission. The same automatic transmission is also found in some cheaper Geely models, such as the Vision X1 crossover.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 06

The Hyundai-sourced unit works smoothly and is much quieter than the Punch-sourced CVT. There’s no longer hesitation upon initial input of the throttle and behaves just like a conventional 4-speed automatic that most drives are accustomed to.

Pros – The infotainment system is surprisingly decent

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 07

Apart from new Hyundai-sourced torque converter automatic, the 2020 Proton Saga also benefits from the inclusion of a new 7-inch touchscreen head unit, replacing the pre-facelift model’s non-touchscreen head unit.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 08

Audio quality from the four-speaker system is surprisingly impressive with punchy bass and clear treble.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 09

The infotainment’s user interface (UI) may not be as fancy as the one found in the Proton X50, but is miles ahead of the system found in the Perodua Bezza. Graphics are sharp enough and navigating through the menus are smooth.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 10

Unlike its stablemates, the 2020 Saga does not get the “Hi Proton” voice command system. Nor does the system support internet connectivity or Android Auto/Apple CarPlay.

Pros – Improved ride and handling

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 11

Not like the pre-facelift Proton Saga was uncomfortable to begin with, but considering that the new Hyundai-sourced torque converter automatic is slightly heavier, Proton engineers have retuned the Saga’s dampers, giving it a slightly plusher ride comfort.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 12

Proton also recalibrated the hydraulic power steering in the Saga, giving it a lighter steering feel.

Cons – No ADAS

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 13

Despite all the improvements Proton has done to the Saga (new transmission, improved head unit, nicer interior), they did not include any form of ADAS features into its affordable people mover.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 14

But Perodua did just that when they introduced the 2020 Perodua Bezza back in January, fitting the range-topping Bezza 1.3 AV with Perodua’s ASA 2.0 AEB suite.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 15

The ASA 2.0 AEB suite doesn’t come cheap though – the range-topping Bezza 1.3 AV is almost RM 10,000 more than a top-spec Saga – a rather substantial amount for those shopping for cheap and affordable cars.

Cons – No keyless entry or push start button

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 16

The 2019 update for the Proton Saga also did not include keyless entry or push start button – it’s just a regular key fob.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 17

Never mind the fact that the upper two variants of the Perodua Bezza offer keyless entry and push start button, even the slightly cheaper Perodua Axia 1.0 Style and 1.0 SE (RM 37k) both offer this feature.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 18

Whether or not the keyless entry and push start button remains as a gimmick or a value-added feature, that’s up to you to decide.

Cons – Fuel efficiency isn’t that great

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 19

Proton claims that the new Hyundai-sourced automatic transmission is more fuel efficient than the CVT it replaces, but is that really the case?

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 20

After putting it through its paces, the Saga returned an average of 7.2-litre/100 km. While this figure may seem decent, we noticed that fuel consumption deteriorates quickly in stop-go traffic. Low-speed city driving will offset the low fuel consumption of highway cruising and return you poorer combined fuel consumption.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 21

The Perodua Bezza, on the other hand, managed to return an average of 6.34-litre/100 km under similar driving conditions. Note that the figure was achieved with the start-stop system disabled. If you leave it on, you should see even better figures.

Conclusion

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 22

Given its sub-RM 40k price tag, it is hard to argue against the Proton Saga’s value preposition. It offers a lot of features for not a lot of money, including superior ride and handling, a better transmission, as well as a surprisingly decent audio system.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 23

That said, a lot of the Saga’s shortcomings are inherited from the ageing platform and powertrain, like the lack of keyless entry and poor fuel consumption. Granted, these issues can be solved if Proton develops a new platform for the Saga, but that won’t be happening any time soon.

Pros and Cons: 2020 Proton Saga – Love the value, but fuel economy is poor 24

If you can overlook and live with the Saga’s shortcomings, then it makes for a rather decent point-A-to-point B car. Just don’t expect too much from it.

Eric

Editor

Started from the IT industry but somehow managed to find his way into the automotive industry. If he’s not gaming, he’s constantly tinkering with his daily/weekend car.

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