With Proton soon debuting its first model developed
in partnership with Geely our attention to other
fruits that will undoubtedly come from the pair’s labour. Looking at the
current lineup, a replacement for the Saga might be next up – sure, the budget
sedan was only launched in 2016, but it’s based on a platform that has been
around in one form or another since 2005.
Theophilus Chin has
rendered his idea of what a next-generation Saga will look like, and as you can
see, his vision of the car has turned from a small, cheap sedan into a more
sophisticated B-segment offering, more in line with what the Persona is like
now. It certainly looks larger and appears to have a design that prioritises
interior space, similar to the current Honda City and Toyota Vios.
Although it isn’t actually based on a current Geely
model, it does borrow styling cues from the larger Emgrand GL, such as the
sweptback headlights, pronounced front fender bulge, slim wraparound tail
lights and dual exhaust exits. We know that future Proton models will be
influenced by Geely’s designs, although they will retain a little bit of
Malaysian flavour, and the car’s “winged grille” is a reminder of Proton’s
past.
What about the bits underneath? Well, Geely has
already dropped hints that Proton will utilise the Chinese carmaker’s B-segment
Modular Architecture (BMA), saying that it will be used by Geely’s foreign
brands and that it will be built in Southeast Asia. It is designed to
accommodate all the latest active safety technologies, future Level 2 and Level
3 autonomous driving and Geely’s latest petrol engines.
These include a 1.0 and 1.5 litre turbocharged and
direct-injected three-cylinder engines as well as a 1.4 litre turbo four-pot,
plus mild hybrid, parallel hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies.
