Having hinted at the arrival of the reimagined Saga earlier this month, Proton has now officially detailed its first sedan and also smallest model that benefitted from a mid-life facelift in Malaysia last year.
Developed and produced without any assistance from Proton’s Chinese parent company Geely, the Saga, known internally as the MC2, has been on-sale since 2016 and for South Africa, almost follows the same trim level denominators with the exception being the sporty Premium S that remains forbidden fruit for the local market.
Measuring 4 335 mm in overall length with a wheelbase of 2 465 mm, height of 1 515 mm and width of 1 690 mm, the Saga has a claimed boot space of 420-litres with the rear seats up and on the mentioned trim level front, comes in two versions; Standard and Premium.
Spec
In the case of the former, specification items consist of an LCD instrument cluster display, electric windows, air-conditioning, an LCD audio system with two-speakers and a single USB port, electric mirrors, keyless entry, height adjustable driver’s seat, rear parking sensors, dual front airbags, ABS and EBD.
On models fitted with the five-speed manual gearbox, the 14-inch wheels are steel items with plastic covers, while versions fitted with the four-speed automatic gain alloys of the same size, a second USB port, Hill Descent Control, Hill Hold Assist and traction.
At the top of the range, the Saga Premium only comes with the self-shifter and besides swapping the halogen daytime running lights for LED diodes, additionally gains a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus:
- four-speaker sound system;
- 15-inch alloy wheels;
- front parking sensors;
- reverse camera
Up front, Proton has carried over the engine from the Malaysian-market Saga, a normally aspirated 1.3-litre petrol outputting 70kW/120Nm. No performance or fuel consumption figures were revealed.
In terms of colours, five have been allocated; Snow White, Armour Silver, Rosewood Maroon and surprisingly, Ruby Red, a colour reserved only for the Premium S.
Price
Standard across the Saga range is a five-year/150 000 km warranty with a service plan being optional.
As for pricing, the manual Saga 1.3 Standard retails from R199 900 and the automatic from R219 900. The self-shifting Premium meanwhile carries a sticker of R239 900.
