Intro:
I know it’s quite late to review about the saga FL (executive (manual)) because, the FLX version of Saga had been launced for about 1 month ago. Nevertheless to make things very interesting, I have just brought in the new 2011 Perodua Myvi (ezi) to battle with the Saga FL.
Exterior:
Design wise both car have the appealing design, but it doesn’t mean that it never has flaws. For instance here is the FL front face, its maybe looks striking in the first place, but it can become awkward if looks in certain angle. As for the Myvi, the rear design take times to be accepted. And also the new Myvi looks slimmer than its predecessor. The striking looks of the Myvi is aided downward scoop that accentuates the new halogen-based projector headlamps the car wears.
Both car comes with spoiler as standard (lip spoiler for the saga). And both cars comes with 14 inch alloy wheels but with different specification tyres. The 14 inch FL wrapped with the wider 185/60 R14 (Goodyear tyres) compared to Myvi 175/65 R14 (Continental ComfortContact CC5).
Interior:
With the wheelbase are 2465mm for the FL and 2440mm for the Myvi , it should be that the FL will have more legroom compared to the Myvi, but it doesn’t seem so. After I test out both cars , it seems that the Myvi have better legroom and more roomier than the FL. The dual tone color theme(black and beige in the Myvi) helps the airy feel inside the cabin, compared to dual tone interior color of the FL (Black and grey) which is not helping for the airy feel.
The dash board design in the FL is the simplest. The buttons are located at the right place and easy to reach. The air conditioning controls are very simple (with step) and intuitively designed and it means that when you twist the dial, you feel feedback from the dials, from one setting to others. Unlike persona/Gen2 which using stepless controls, you cannot feel direct the progression of the air conditioning and the controls are quite confusing.The only stepless dial is the one to control whether the air conditioning system recirculates the air or takes in fresh air from outside. The front seat of the FL are quite slim compared to the Myvi.
As for the new Myvi, the dashboard looks very modern and refreshing. The optitron meter are well welcome because it give a fascinating effect. The meter are clear and high tech. The fit and finish of the interior are quite ahead compared to the FL and it feels solid, except for the board behind the backseat which you can take it off for loading larger item, it gives a bad sound when you travelling on the poor road surface. The air conditioning controls gives good feedback when you twisted it, and cleverly designed (but the FL's air conditioner are more powerful than the myvi). And the gearlever are easy to reach, and it only applies to the automatic version only.
The FL's heart is the 1332cc campro DOHC IAFM engine which churns out 94hp and 120Nm of torque. Meanwhile the new Myvi was equipped with 1298 K3-VE engine which churns out 90hp and 117Nm of torque.
The FL engine maybe looks more powerful than the Myvi, but considering it is heavier than the Myvi(the FL kerb weight 1030kg compared to Myvi only 970kg) the acceleration was quite sluggish. The torque dip from the campro engine also contribute to this sluggishness. The engine feel lively when the rpm passing the 3800 band. But in normal driving (in city driving) it feel quite sluggish, and you need to open the throttle more to get the right amount of power. The close-ratio gearbox sourced from the Aichi Kikai does gives a little performance but it doesn’t gives superior fuel economy and refinement in the highway cruising. To shift the gear smoothly, you need to do a little throttle blip to match the engine speed to the gearbox. I’m not to say that the FL is the bad car, but it is suited for engaging drive or for those who like to rev their car to the redline. It is because the engine become more powerful after passing 3800rpm and onwards. As for the suspension, it is the soft tuned but it can handles corners well and very comfortable. Also the steering wheel are quite heavy compared to Mvyi , but it gives good feedback and very stable even at high speed.In simple words I can say that the FL is suited for those who like the spirited driving rather than who want to drive it leisurely.
Myvi in the other hand, are different character from the FL. It is easy to maneuver considering it for lightweight steering feel and 4.3 min turning radius. The engine are easy to live with because its gives you an adequate amount of power and most of the torque arriving at earlier rpm’s. But the EPS system doesn’t gives any feedback about the road condition or what the front wheels are doing. The new suspension setup are little stiffer than its predecessor , and it gives confident when tackling corners but it can be little choppy ride on poor road sufaces . The automatic transmission are smooth enough for sub 53k car, the only letdown is that it missing the OD button like the previous one. As for the braking system, although Myvi was equipped with ABS (FL don't have it), but the brake pedal doesn’t offer confidence feeling when pressed hard, unlike the FL, the brake does really gives a good feedback when pressed hard. The Myvi are actually really suitable in city driving or for those who like to drive it leisurely. And a little bit disappointment is that the Myvi steering wheel doesn’t come with audio control button even in the high spec one.
Here is some interesting videos that I would like to share with the viewers:
Update:
The FLX version have been launch about a months ago, and it is equipped with new CVT system for the automatic sourced from PUNCH (Belgium company), and the manual version are sourced from GETRAG. The CVT system provide smooth acceleration and gives more fuel economy and also equipped with a button which give six speed artificial feeling like the conventional auto transmission. The manual in the other hand also tuned to give better fuel economy and cruising refinement. The FLX version also was equipped with ABS system.
Conclusion:
In this battle it looks like the New Myvi win the battle, but it is close winning when comparing the prices of the both cars. The new Perodua Myvi is priced at RM 50400, and the FL is priced at RM 40600. Both cars have their own strong points, as for those who have a small family and want to have a little fun car to drive, the saga FL is the right choice for you because the sedan shape will comes in handy when travelling for balik kampung trip. For those who are searching an easy car to drive,compact and yet stylish , the myvi is the right choice for you. Lastly , I would like to thanks to black and korok’s (not their real names) for lending me the car for this review.
Also I providing links of the manufacturers:
