Proton Savvy Road Test

Proton Savvy

The power unit produces 75bhp at 5500rpm and 105Nm of torque at 4250rpm. It takes 13.9 seconds to get from standstill to 62mph with the manual gearbox and almost 2 seconds longer for the AMT. Top speed is 98.7mph and even though the Savvy is a town car it is perfectly content at motorway speeds. The engine does get quite noisy but doesn’t sound strained.

If you think that the Savvy with its 1.2 engine might be a little boring and only destined to be driven by little old ladies, you’d be wrong. It could be the Lotus influence that makes this car think it’s a ‘hot-hatch, when pushed through country lanes. Obviously it doesn’t have the power of a GTi but the fact that there’s a driver’s footrest is a bit of a clue.

I was also impressed by the stability through fast bends, due in part to the ‘wheel-in-every-corner layout, firm suspension and a good taut chassis. Just in case the fun gets out of hand, both Savvy's are fitted with 4-wheel ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and front airbags.

In some small cars, it is easy to feel vulnerable amongst motorway traffic. The Savvy, however, refuses to be intimidated much to the surprise of some other road-users. Of course, it depends on driving style but the Savvy is equally capable of pootling about or raising a few eyebrows. Another big plus is all-round visibility. I find a lot of new cars have thick, heavy B-pillars that obstruct over-shoulder checks but that isn’t the case with the Proton.

A small engine generally means good fuel consumption figures. Those for the Savvy are posted as 36.7mpg for the urban cycle, 61.4 for the extra-urban resulting in a combined figure of 49.6mpg and the chromed exhaust emits 134g/km CO2.

There is no doubt that the Savvy is a budget car and whilst it isn’t luxurious it has almost everything you need to get from A to B in comfort and a bit of style.

Proton Savvy