PROTON Holdings Berhad’s distribution arm, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd (Proton Edar) organized the Saga Stretch Your Miles challenge to share with their customers on how they can stretch their Ringgit further on their already fuel-saving Proton Saga.
The challenge was part of a series of activities lined up for the Saga and a follow up to a similar challenge held within the central region late last year. For the Northern region challenge, 28 teams of Proton Saga owners took part in the challenge to drive from Juru to Kuala Kangsar via the highway and back to Juru via the trunk road with the least fuel consumption possible.
Proton Edar Chief Executive Officer Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim explained that “the objective of the challenge is to educate our customers that the way they drive affects the amount of fuel consumed by their cars. Careful maneuvering and good control of the pedals and gears are ways to ensure that your car consumes minimal fuel.”
The participants were given 4 hours to complete the route of about 196 km. Proton Edar also worked closely with the National Union of Journalists Malaysia who were present to closely monitor the challenge. While modifications to the car were not allowed, the participants were given the freedom to be creative in reducing their fuel consumption. Other than driving at 60 to 70 km per hour, the teams were also seen push-starting their cars and letting their cars rolled downhill on free gear. They also drove without the air-conditioners on and letting only little air in, to reduce friction while driving.
“Although the challenge was held in a controlled competition mode, the lessons learnt, especially in terms of handling the gears and control of acceleration, can actually be applied into daily driving. The Saga has an engine capacity of 1332cc, much higher if compared to other 1.3L cars that are usually fitted with 1269cc engine. When it comes to ride and handling, specifically when making turns, the driver of a Saga will have a much better control of the car, thanks to the excellent engineering of the car by Lotus. The Saga is definitely a car with a high value for money, and undoubtedly the most competitive in its class,” added Mohamad Shukor.
The challenge was divided into two categories, manual and automatic transmission. The champions for the manual transmission category, a husband and wife team of Megat Zahidi Megat Sulaiman and Siti Aminah Mat Esa from Tasik Gelugor, Penang, admitted that the attractive features of the Saga were the main reasons why they bought their Saga in December 2008.
“Apart from the spacious interior, the most noticeable difference in this car is its fuel saving features. I travel from Lumut to Taiping on a weekly basis and for a return trip, I only spend RM20 for petrol. Through this challenge, I have acquired more tips on how to save more on fuel.”
As champions, Megat Zahidi and Siti Aminah recorded fuel usage of 37.83 km per litre and won RM1,000 cash and RM500 worth of service voucher. Second runner up for the manual transmission category were Mohd Syahfuad bin Ghazali and partner who recorded 32.59 km per litre while third place was won by Azlan bin Hamid and Norshuhada binti Ismail with 26.38 km per litre. The second runner up and third place winners each won RM750 and RM500 cash and RM500 free service vouchers respectively.
For the automatic category, champions Mohd Arif bin Johari and Muhamad Nazri Abu Hassan managed to complete the challenge with fuel usage of 26.97 km per litre, and drove home with a RM1,000 cash prize. Second prize of RM750 cash went to Ahmad Saifuddin bin Abdullah and Norhayati binti Mohd Zaini who completed the challenge with 26.48 km per litre usage while third place went to sisters Nursyamira binti Sejali and Nurizati binti Sejali who drove the Saga at 16.15 km for every litre petrol used. All top three winners of the automatic transmission challenge also won themselves RM500 free service vouchers from PROTON.
After the challenge, the participants went through the Saga Ride and Handling Competition to test them on their knowledge and familiarity of what the Saga can do, in terms of the car’s actual ability. “This is when we let the participants experience the true performance of their Sagas, particularly in terms of ride and handling. They got to experience this when they drove through tough conditions of the track like sharp bends and slippery stretches. This is of course, engineered by the world renowned racing car manufacturer, Lotus, which is also our subsidiary,” explained Mohamad Shukor.
Participants had to drive through a purpose-built track with tricky corners and road conditions, and were judged on their speed to complete the track. Champion of the challenge was Law Soon Teng and Sung Hooi Fern who won RM1,000 cash, while Azman Azlan Michael & Mohd Sharifullah Wahab and Ahmad Khairuddin bin Muhammad Sani won second and third prizes of RM300 and RM200 respectively.
