Now, the Perodua Myvi is without doubt Malaysia's Best Seller, having sold 850,000 units in ten years, and expected 1 million sold in 2017. It then gained the title "The MALAYSIAN ICON"
But, though sales figure tells the whole story, let's not forget the ORIGINAL MALAYSIAN ICON whose origins started way back in 1985. Yep, it's the Proton Saga, Proton's first car in collaboration with Mitsubishi, launched by our then-Prime Minister and current Chairman of Proton Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Many years later, these cars still exists on the road to this day. Mint or beaten-up, it's still on the road, because these things is so damn reliable, simple and cheap to repair.
This particular car is a post-2000 Proton Saga Iswara 1.3 with a Manual gearbox. In fact, it's the first car that I've driven that is a manual. But otherwise, I've driven more than 9 cars, which 8 of them are auto. Well that's a different story. So what does this Proton Iswara feels like to drive?
Well, it's pretty good, actually. The Iswara is easy to handle. The clutch is long, the shift-throw is well.....
Ok lah... But thing is, it didn't take me a while to realise how easy it is to drive. The steering gearing is long, which means you need to turn the wheel quite a lot to manoeuvre around the parking lot. Thankfully, this particular car is fitted with a power steering system, which make things lighter, but still not too light, not too heavy. Just nice.
Under the bonnet, this car features a Mitsubishi Orion 4G13 engine with a carburetor instead of the Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) system. It's not powerful, with 83hp and 109N.m on tap. But the fact that the Iswara weighs less than a tonne means that the 1.3 unit doesn't struggle to move, making it reasonably nippy. Under-powered would be the last word one could associate, but if you need more oomph, there's a 1.5 version of the same engine. However,even the 1.3 already had an impressive low-end pick-up. In stock, for daily use, it's faultless.
The ride is comfortable. Contributing to the fact is the seats that, although not so supportive, they are very comfortable. The suspension soaks up bumps very well, even if you didn't brake before the speed-humps and those 5mm-thick yellow lines. However, because of the soft suspension system, the car does roll about as you corner hard, or (your dad) perform handbrake turns. However comfortable the ride is, it is far from being refined. It judders when you switch on the air-conditioner. The wind, gearbox and engine noise is seriously intrusive and rain is now leaking into the car. But, it gave this car it's character. It is a charm, to me at least, because I've been missing out on Malaysia's greatest motoring experience.
To sum up, this car is not the fastest, but it isn't exactly underpowered. This car is not the most refined, but it's the charm of this car. This car is not the most exciting, but it does have a comfortable ride. What this car is, it's a simple, back-to-basics, reliable compact family saloon for the Malaysians. It is not the best car in the world, but it is a very good car and still going strong to this day.
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