It so happened i test drove with a saga flx 1.6L cvt owner.
We both test drove after one another, and his comment was definitely less power compared to his 1.6L. He can overtake easily at karak with lots of confident with his 1.6L.
He also noticed the new saga cvt+ lag is a little laggier than his first gen cvt. Its just at the beginning after u accelerate from a complete stop. To make description easy, its like first time driving a manual, where u didnt release enough clutch, and then u try release a little more and the car jump forward a little and start moving, while the rpm back to where it supposed to be.

Cvt lag dont really appear during drive. But the power delivery is slow but real smooth. Very suitable for smooth cruising, not spiritual driving. I supposed this is for fuel saving purposes.

He also told me u can speed up, but instead of the cvt suit your driving style, u should actually suit its gearing manner. It means u have to play with the rpm here and there and your gas paddle to ensure u have the power u want. Cvt owner will understand this, he said. Its all about cvt. Drive it long and u will understand, he adviced me.

Dangerous to overtake? Well i did once, while a 2016 persona was on its way on the last lane and i cut into his lane before he could pass me. It was at 100kmh. Not really dangerous but not adviced to because the persona saw my signal from a distance and hessitate whether to let me cut in or not. Anyway, he managed to brake on time, so, yeah.
Mid range torque is ok. Acceleration from 20kmh to 80kmh is acceptable. But after that, its up to your cvt skill.
I will advise for u to be familiar with it before trying to do some stunt

For spouse? Hmmm.. depends on what are the available option. But so far, the competition only limits to bezza and attrage as an A segment car, if i didnt left out any other.
Attrage's acceleration is a little better with its mivec engine but there is a price to pay. Of course, its much spacious too.
Bezza is using 4speed auto. Floor the paddle and u will get instant rev upwards. But bezza is on a different story compared to a normal auto gearbox. When u floor the paddle, the rev goes up, so do the engine roar louder, but the power delivery is still similar like saga. Its like fart loud, but no smell
Those who dont used to cvt will prefer bezza for its auto transmission.

Keep attrage aside for its price, we will be left saga and bezza. Easy. Saga for safety and size, bezza for fuel consumption and tech.
Both have its weakness. Doesnt mean bezza using toyota's engine, it will be hassle free. Ive seen many cases and problems of bezza like the radio isnt functioning at 1st week itself. Ive also seen the gear prob where the engine shut down after dis-engagaging from Reverse gear. Some even have nonsense popping out from meter dash.
Saga's prob isnt identifiable yet because there isnt any new owner yet. We shall see. And stop the power window dilemma for once because proton is offering lifetime warranty for that. 10yrs in precise.

Well, if put both into concern, i will choose saga because i believe in proton's safety. Accident occurs unpredictably. Merc or proton dont give us the option to choose when and where for the accident to happen. To me, safety comes first before everything. Travelling to other location includes reaching the destination with 2 arms and 2 legs.
And asean ancap dont really covers alot of part as per euro ancap. I dont think there is side collision test or rollover test. Correct me if im wrong.

Maybe your spouse should try and suit him/herself to the cvt because i believe many current cvt owner drives an automatic previously.

Peace!