Pushing the limit
The Proton 1-Tank Adventure kicked off its first round recently on an adventure around Malaysia and to find out just how far can you go with one tank of fuel.
ONE of the frequent activities of the Malaysian motoring media is undertaking outstation drives. In most cases, whenever there is an imminent launch of a new model or an update of the current model, a “drive” event will be held so that the media can discover its new features, handling capabilities, the level of comfortness and fuel efficiency among other things.
Recently, Proton held a drive event which was more of an adventure/challenge than “trying out a new car.”
Media members are of course eagerly awaiting the arrival of the upcoming Proton SUV to try out. However, one tends to easily overlook the stable of existing cars from Proton when one is on the lookout for something new over the horizon.
It’s line-up of cars such as the Saga, Persona and Iriz remain the popular choice of Malaysians and these three models were the vehicles used for this drive.
The Proton 1-Tank Adventure however is much more than an efficiency drive as Proton has undertaken a nationwide roadtrip and broken it into five regions: Central, East Coast, East Malaysia, Southern and Northern.
They have also invited, besides members of the media, celebrities, social media influencers, Proton club members and the public to take part.
There were 12 members of the media who participated and were paired two to a car. The cars consisted of a pair of Saga, Iriz and Persona.
I ended up spending the next two days in a Proton Saga 1.3 Premium CVT variant which is the top-of-the-range specced Saga.
This sedan comes equipped with a host of safety features compared to the other variants such as reverse camera, electronic stability control (ESC), traction control and hill hold assist. It also comes with 15in wheels, 2 DIN head unit with four speakers, and steering switches for the audio.
The 1.3L engine produces 94hp at 5,750rpm and 120Nm of torque at 4,000rpm, mated to a continuosly variable transmission (CVT).
The Premium CVT Saga is priced at RM41,847.59 which makes it the most affordable high specced sedan in the country.
The first Proton 1-Tank Adventure began in the Central region and the drive consisted of a trip starting from Proton headquarters in Shah Alam, Selangor, to Ipoh, Perak and back within two days.
The route was not as straightforwad as it sounds though because the route had been mapped out for us to visit various places of interest along the way and enjoy the local cuisine as well.
The route took us to Bukit Malawati in Kuala Selangor (the first destination and check point) followed by the Leaning Tower in Teluk Intan, Perak and on to Bukit Gantang rest area in Taiping before making
our way back to Ipoh.
We were informed that our daily journey would cover over 300km. The length of the trip was not so much of a concern for myself and my co-driver but driving efficiently meant taking it slower than the approved speed limit.
In order to be efficient with fuel, one has to be gentle with the throttle, get the car up to speed and pay attention to the rpm meter to make sure the needle is below 2,000rpm. I managed to keep it around 1,800rpm which resulted in travelling at an average of 70kph.
My co-driver was even more frugal and kept the speed at 60kph.
We kept the same pace the next day which involved Kellie’s Castle in Batu Gajah then all the way to MAEPS, Serdang where we stopped for lunch and to test the handling of the cars in a slalom course.
We sighed with relief at this point as we had achieved our target of travelling 640km with a single tank of fuel. After that we refilled the car with petrol and headed to the Proton Dealer Setia Gemilang in Sg Buloh for the de-briefing.
I learnt that the most difficult thing about the drive was having the patience to maintain the abovementioned speed although there were times when I did pick up the pace and went to about 80kph.
We later learnt that everyone made it back with a single tank. We had averaged around 5.0L/100km. We were happy with the results but more importantly, the Saga proved to be a very comfortable and quiet car for long, outstation drives which I think played a huge part of being able to be drive at such speeds and achieve the 1-Tank challenge.