I think what Proton meant is manual leveling... just that you can do it from within the car. Many cars in Malaysia don't even let you do that. In Europe I believe it is mandatory... haven't seen a car without manual leveling... unless it has automatic leveling.

interm of wheelbase and width,its almost the same,so,interior dimension almost the same,but new design of interior(old vs new persona) gives new persona feels bigger inside.

new b segment already equal to old c segment. downgrading segment doesnt mean compromise the space. eventhough the length is shorter,but when speaking of interior volume,basically looking at wheelbase and how cleaverly its being design.

like bezza,eventhough the wheelbase is far shorter,but by playing with seats and dash design,they can create big interior and spacious boot.

2.5 box design is actually favouritely being use when converting hatch to sedan,and also b segment car cuz it saves on cost cuz no rework on front end chasis structure,especially when things already good in crash rating. redesign new front end will cost more. so,better to spend more money on something else.

being a hatch based sedan which normally hatch has bulbous front,so not to make and awkward transition,rear end also will follow suit.

some prefer 3 box normal sedan design,like new saga. eventhough old saga is based in savvy,but due to campro engine cant fit in savvy front end,it has to redesign. so,it got a normal 3 box design. eventhough,new saga seems a bit bigger than new persona,but it certainly not.

well,having to come out 3 cars n 1 mpv in 1 year, proton need to be really carefull in spending some money in rnd cost.

eventhough i wish that they just come out with 1 new sedan,but they need to replace n rearrange the product position,plus bom cost is higher in persona,so cant replace saga with saga price.

even new saga will share some parts with prev proton which isnt that bad either.

i heard that in test unit saga,they use exora n preve steering,which i think the latter will make into production,same as exora head unit,which i dont think its a big problem.

the good thing is since more rnd money is spend on refinement,rather than fully in design,new saga also will get an improve on refinement.

quality is as it is in the segment they enter,but i just hope that they consistent in it. i believe the consistency in quality is the main problem previously. some are good,some are bad.

but of course,its not perfect products. but i do like the new direction, focus on what matter most.

eventhough its subjectives,but i think new saga dont look as cheap as it supposed to be as usual,proton.,inside and out. That is the thing that makes toyota a house hold name. Cheap,doesnt mean need to look cheap,n drive like a cheap car.

i hope they still continue to follow this new direction eventhough the market now isnt that encouraging and challenging.

Comparable to Premium Bezza, the Saga FLX got 4 stars Asean NCAP ratings, but the FLX does not come with ESC. Which is same as Bezza lower specs.

So should we assume that the new Saga with all variant will be equipped with ESC shall be rated 5 stars also.

BTW, why do i think the FLX dont deserve 4 stars rating?

with some improvement, the new Saga will be 4 Star.

https://www.autofreaks.com/news/2016-proton...colours-listed/

According to AF, Abs, Ebd and brake assist is standard throughout all models. Only Premium gets hill assist, TC and ESC. If this is true, then the Premium version is eligible for 5 stars while the rest get 4 stars.

I'm quite sure there will be some structure strengthening just like what P2 did with the facelift Myvi

there are some changes on the chasis,including seats,to make it better,but since my close source is pretty tight lips on that matter(i mean aseancap score),so i cant comment on which score did they managed to obtain. if no modification made,even with esc,new saga wont score 4 star aseancap,still 3 star.

but earlier,he mentioned all new persona n saga objectives in crash test is to perform as highest as possible.

let us wait for for official. But i do agree if 4 star rate,its not really good to proton,eventhough in our market,still high percentage dont care on ncap rating,but mostly look at fc in the brochure. Awareness is increase,but in slow rate.

But those catamaran like roof top,they mentioned to increase aerodynamic of the saga, help a bit in cruising fc. Hopefully its really as functional as it intended to be. eventhough many who actually driven n saw it mentioned they are really pleased with the new saga,but take it as pinch of salt. If your expectation is like current flx,then you might be amazed.

take a spin on new persona,new saga isnt that much differ interm of refinement,except material on persona is much better compare to saga.

is it worth to trade civic fb for this car?

The only Proton getting positive reviews is Proton MT models ie Iriz, Preve with Getrag MT. For AT, should choose only traditional AT or something like DSG.

   

- speaking of leg clearance, the foot well in the front is quite cramped. it would be amazing if they can score 5 star NCAP/ANCAP without deducting points from the crash dummy avoiding leg injury as the bottom dashboard portion and the steering is basically in contact with my knees all the time.

last time one mazda SA insisted and argued with me that their mazda 2 auto is dual clutch unit    

no need mod save money
i think i faintly read either yours/someone's post regarding that as well and made the comment. how to avoid injury if a serious accident happen and my knees are basically touching the dashboard/steering already all the time is what i thought?

even the very spacious inspira, my only injury was my foot as the flip was occurring somehow it scraped against the clutch pedal (as in my foot went underneath the clutch pedal, and that's even with my "crocs" that i had specifically for my car usage only and it is half covered!)

imagine what would happen in a much more cramped environment, i am foreseeing impending leg implants and crutches, assuming no amputation needed

well, the saving grace could very well be the HTSS/HFP whatever hardened/reinforced steel etc so the engine bay/compartment have absolutely zero chance in intruding the firewall and the roof will never collapse the dashboard downwards.
that certainly did not happen for my late inspira, so who knows if Proton exceeded the Mitsubishi RISE chassis.

- NVH is even improved from the Iriz! although my particular car (that has 400km driven despite being a test drive car LOL! looks like good demand/interest!)  has dashboard rattling when i bring the RPMs up to 6k (impressive, given its a CVT unit, and without engaging L gear as well!)
to emphasize how well it is, besides the engine roar that came up only past 4k rpm, the air cond fan blowing was the only noise i heard.

What's your rpm at for you to consider the engine to be loud? For me its beyond 4k as mentioned and under that it was fairly tame/softer as the rpm goes lower.

Its no Inspira quiet that's for sure,  however on contrast the mivec roar was actually louder than the Persona around /beyond 6k rpm (you can easily drag a manual to Rev cut anyways as shown on my track videos)

At the very least,  Iriz 1.3 CVT i tested was louder than the Persona,  not sure if there are changes /improvements done though it should be if it's really quieter and the chassis are the same.

i already mentioned earlier,if compare with other japs in engine noise,it just ok ok lar cuz japs engine by nature is already low noise even wirhout insulation,but if compare to iriz which used same engine n gearbox,its far improved. what is being written by auto journo is when they are comparing with its based product,iriz.

campro vvt + punch cvt is pretty loud,as if compare to campro + old 4at. so,for me,they did a commendable job compare to iriz. overall nvh compare to iriz is a notch higher.

on the response,as u mentioned,it bring back ur prev flx se response,if u noticed,flx se is more or less 100kg lighter than persona,to make the same power/torque output engine albeit diff mechanism plus same cvt unit(improved version as in iriz) to have same responsive feels in a heavier car,it isnt something that easy to do within the budget given for rnd cuz new engine is on progress. they also need to be carefull in calibrating cuz in already known not super efficient engine,make it too much responsive might hurt the fc as well.

all in all,a good effort atleast for me. i dont know whether mr ogawa san manage to further continue enhanced the quality,but he did managed to delay persona n saga which supposed to launch in april when he came in february cuz he felt it still not ready during that time as being inform by my rnd sources.

They already knew perodua will cut the sales since it will be launch earlier,n since p2 image is good,it will definitely take the sale away.

But atleast,relasing a polish product is better than non polish one. As i can see,persona launch has less nightmares compare to previous product cuz less thread on show room imperfections cars,most of the threads are critisizing on rims,even spare tyres.

no,i dont get you wrong,i did understand completely,thats why even before you test drive,already mentioned if agaisnt japs,it just ok ok lar on nvh.,but if prtn or iriz,u will notice the improvement(its not that they dont put much effort on engine noise,they do put more even than other competitors,but since campro and punch cvt are noisy in nature,what to do,put it even more insulation,will increase bom cost lor,but they did play here n there within the budget given for nvh by the management).

mr ogawa san,the ex nissan man,new head of products n qualities. ,being appointed in feb this year.

just my personal opinion,i think proton has apppinted a suitable man for the position this time around compared to dr karl. No disrespecting dr karl,it just that his area of expertise is more on up market products without too much limits in budget, but mr ogawa san,is more familiar with what is the market that proton is in.  just hopefully,lesser hanky panky :-).  but based on less instrussion as in iriz in rnd especially design(as u can see how much diff iriz from preve even suprima),so i think it shud be ok.

but dr karl did have improved prtn in technological wise.

i believe u still with fiesta rite, but of course,i still remembered your flx se cuz u r with ur flx se when i started to know you here. I hope it doesnt offend you in any way.

i hear that some has started to complaint on mr ogawa san,since he is a bit strict in approve anything. malaysian,what to do. just hope that top management will not interfere too much with his work.

yup,one of the reason why persona n saga delayed is due to him,but not on perdana. perdana is somebody else causing the delay(not related to technical at all).

- lastly, NOT surprising AT ALL, THERE IS NO FOOT REST FOR THE MANUAL HAHAHAHAHA
no seriously, even my (or rather my sis's) kancil 660 has it

Most of the time, the free service for engine oil is when you opt for mineral engine oil. If you choose semi or fully, you need to top up abit.  Not sure for this Persona free service offer.