Proton Saga: Malaysia’s first car

The Proton Saga is a line of subcompact and city cars that Proton introduced in 1985. It was the first Malaysian car and remains the company’s longest-running and best-selling nameplate, with more than 2.2 million sold between 1985 and 2026. In Malay, saga is the hard red seed of the Saga tree.

Proton Saga at a glance

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Proton Saga.

History of the Proton Saga

The Saga saloon was launched on 9 July 1985, the result of a joint venture between HICOM and Mitsubishi Motors, and was based on the second-generation Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore. It started with the 1.3-litre 4G13 Orion II engine; a 1.5-litre 4G15 saloon followed in January 1987. The Saga Magma of mid-1987 brought mechanical and cosmetic upgrades, and a hatchback, the Saga Aeroback, arrived in October 1987. The car reached Britain on 16 March 1989, where the saloons were renamed Proton 1.3 and 1.5 and the hatchback carried Aeroback badging. Under the slogan ‘Japanese Technology, Malaysian Style’ Proton set a record for the fastest-selling new make ever to enter the United Kingdom, passing its twelve-month sales target in six months. The Saga Megavalve of August 1990 added a 12-valve engine, a new grille, trim and rims, rear seat belts and a third brake light; in Britain from January 1991 it was called the Proton 12-Valve.

Iswara and LMST (1992–2008)

The Saga Iswara was launched on 15 August 1992, also sold as the Proton Mpi or Proton Iswara in Britain, and named after the Helen butterfly of Sarawak. It kept the platform but received major exterior and interior changes, came as a saloon or hatchback with the 12-valve 1.3- and 1.5-litre Mitsubishi Orion engines, and its saloon became Malaysia’s favourite taxi. Exports to Europe continued until 1996. An Iswara Aeroback Special Edition followed in 2001, and in 2003 the Saga LMST hatchback brought a modernised interior and a heavily modified exterior with a carburetted 1.3-litre 4G13 tuned to 83 PS, a five-speed manual only and no airbags or ABS. A cosmetic update came in 2006, and on 15 September 2006 Proton sent the LMST, Wira, GEN•2 and Impian to Pakistan. The final facelift, the LMST 50th Merdeka Anniversary Edition of 4 March 2007, was sold at RM26,999 instead of RM33,240.

Later generations

The second generation was unveiled on 18 January 2008 on a stretched Savvy platform and developed in-house by Proton. The third generation followed on 28 September 2016 on the Saga FLX platform with the Iriz’s 1.3-litre VVT engine. On 27 November 2025 Proton launched an updated Saga on the Advanced Modular Architecture platform with a 1.5-litre i-GT engine.

Design and features

• National first: the first car built by Malaysia, in 1985.
• Long life: more than 2.2 million cars across four decades.
• Mitsubishi roots: Lancer Fiore platform and Orion engines.
• Taxi favourite: the Iswara saloon was Malaysia’s preferred taxi.
• Budget engineering: the LMST had neither airbags nor ABS.

Proton Saga versions

• Saga 1.3 and 1.5 (1985–1990): saloon and Aeroback hatchback.
• Saga Magma (1987) and Megavalve (1990): upgrades, the latter with a 12-valve engine.
• Saga Iswara (1992): restyled saloon and hatchback, sold in Britain as the Mpi.
• Iswara Aeroback Special Edition (2001): silver, manual, 1.3-litre only.
• Saga LMST (2003–2008): sporty hatchback with a manual gearbox.
• Later generations: 2008, 2016 and the 2025 AMA car.

The Saga’s platform family also produced the Proton Wira and Proton Satria. More models are in the Proton collection.

Video: 2011 Proton Saga FL Executive Start-Up, Full Vehicle Tour, and Quick Drive

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Proton Saga, English Wikipedia: generations, models, production