Most Affordable Sedan: Proton Launches Saga in Pakistan

The all-new Proton Saga sedan has finally arrived to compete in the B-segment sedan market of Pakistan. The launch, like those of other new vehicles in Pakistan, took place via a Facebook video stream on the 4th of April, 2020.

The event was hosted by a famous television personality Mansha Pasha, who ushered the viewers through each stage of the launch, spoke about the automaker, and created the hype for the Proton Saga.

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The high commissioner of Malaysia, Ikram Muhammad Ibrahim, CEO of Proton Pakistan Hilal Khan Afridi, Director Marketing Division Ibad Jamal, and the brand ambassador for the company, Shahid Afridi, also stepped forth to speak a little bit about the car, the company, and the price of the Proton Saga.

As is already known, Proton Saga is a subcompact sedan that is set to take on Toyota Yaris, Honda City, and Changan Alsvin in the Pakistani car market. Al-haj Proton seems quite emphatic about the fact that the Saga is the cheapest sedan available in Pakistan.

In the launch stream, the Proton Saga was revealed to have the following features:

Design

Although the Proton Saga is by no means an ugly car, its design certainly nothing to write home about either. The design of both the interior and the exterior look at least a generation old, even when compared to the Honda City and the Suzuki Swift which are actually a decade old each.

Apart from the front grille and cosmetic aspects like the decorative vents on the rear bumper, the alloy rims, a modern front bumper with DRLs, and a decklid spoiler, the car is fairly plain looking.

The interior looks older still, and although Saga’s competition is known to have a few quality control issues, their interior designs are more modern and attractive. Plus, the interior seems to be made almost completely out of cheap, hard, and shiny plastic, which – albeit durable – does not do the Saga any favors in terms of its face value.

The Standard manual, auto, and Ace variants of the car will be offered in five paint choices, namely:

• Snow White
• Armour Silver
• Jet Grey
• Rosewood Maroon
• Ruby Red

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Performance

The Saga will be offered in three main variants — Standard Manual, Standard Auto, and Ace Auto. All the variants will be offered with only one engine option — a 1299 cc, naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder petrol engine that makes 94 hp and 120 Nm of torque. The engine will be paired with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission, depending on the variant.

There will also be a ‘limited edition’ R3 variant, which is a special trim-level inspired by Proton’s ‘R3’ motorsports division that will feature additional styling cues and a slightly larger 1332 cc engine that is offered as a standard in Malaysia. The engine makes the same power but slightly more low-end torque than the Pakistani 1299cc engine. The R3 variants will also be offered with a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox option.

The car’s suspension setup consists of MacPherson struts in the front and a Torsion Bar Coil-Spring suspension at the back, allowing for a soft and smooth ride. It also has ventilated disc brakes with an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) technology in the front and conventional drum brakes in the back.

Features

In terms of safety and convenience features, the Proton Saga could be a fairly strong contender among the local B-Segment vehicles. Following is the complete list of features that you can get in the Saga Sedan (subject to the variant):

• Immobilizer System
• Adjustable Steering with Infotainment Controls
• Remote Trunk Opener
• Dual front airbags
• ISO Fix Child Seat Anchors
• 7-inch Smart Infotainment System
• Fog lamps
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
• Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
• Brake Assist (BA)
• DRLs (Ace Trim Only)
• Stability control (Ace Trim Only)
• Traction control (Ace Trim Only)
• Hill-start Assist (Ace Trim Only)
• Front parking sensors (Ace Trim Only)
• Reverse camera (Ace Trim Only)
• 15 Inch Alloy Wheels (Ace Trim Only)

Price

The possible price speculations for the Saga sedan had been keeping everything on the edge of their seats for a long time. But Proton has finally put our anxiousness to rest by revealing the prices of all variants of the Saga sedan, which are as follows:

• Standard Manual: Rs. 1,975,000
• Standard Auto: Rs. 2,125,000
• Ace Auto: Rs. 2,225,000
• R3 Manual: Rs. 2,175,000
• R3 Auto: Rs. 2,425,000

Although not ideal, the price of the Proton Saga has been kept near that of several hatchbacks in Pakistan, namely, KIA Picanto, Suzuki Swift, and Suzuki Cultus, which would allow it to be a good contender, not only against the subcompact sedans, but the hatchbacks as well.