The existence of a 1.6-litre variant of the Proton Saga is no secret (unlike the time when there were strong denials of the existence of a Gen2 1.3) and if you look at the Saga taxis, you will see that they have a '1.6’ badge on their bootlid. While this means they have the more powerful Campro engine, they are also required to be modified to run on NGV, a condition of licensing for city taxis.
So far, Proton has been saying that they are not selling the 1.6 variant to the public and it is only for taxis. One reason could be that the price would be higher than what is acceptable for the model but for taxi operators, it is cheap because they get tax breaks with their taxi licence (the Nissan Sentra and Cefiro taxis are much cheaper than what you would pay if you registered it for private use).
However, our freelance photographer saw these two Sagas over the weekend and what caught his attention at first was their speed – they were going well above the speed limit for the North-South Highway near Seremban. Then he spotted the trade plate and TEST DRIVE sticker on the bumper and finally, the 1.6 badge.
For sure, this wasn’t a media test-drive since we didn’t know of any and when we checked with a few different people in Proton HQ, the answer was the same: 'no, there are no plans to sell to the public’ and 'we are not aware of any test-drive event in Seremban’.
So what were these two cars doing? Perhaps the R&D department is doing some validation testing for export models if there are no plans to sell this variant in Malaysia? According to MAA data, Proton has sold 151 units of Saga 1.6 in January and February this year and 79 units last year. It is believed that the plant produced around 800 units last year and so far, none this year.
Source: MotorTrader
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