[Nabworld]

hi
since there arent many reviews on the FLX online , i decided to write up one !

i got my car exactly one week ago...white FLX Excutive With dual airbags and abs

ready stock...took abt 10days to get the car (WVUXXXX)

the very first impression is u dont actually feel thrs a tiny 1.3 litre inside....the great thing abt the cvt is that its always in the torque band so u almost never have to rev it to get going...normal city driving will get ur rpm up to 2500 rpm...and its got more than enough power for highways....

so ive clocked 250km...and i havent ventured more than 90km /hr since its stil 'bedding in'....

the cvt itself is very very smooth...u never actually feel the gears or the gearbox even....n bcos u dont have to rev it to get going....the engine remains quite....having said that....if u do rev the engine...it actually sounds abit like a diesel engine!

abit of a clatter....

regarding the cvt....thrs a very low whining coming from the gearbox...which is COMMON IN ALL CVT's....from inspira to sylphy...i guess its the way it operates

one final note regarding the cvt , in trafic situations ,or in constant 10km/h drive n stop...its very hard to drive it smoothly , its sort of jumps once u feather the throttle...so from outside ppl think ur a novice drivning a manual car stil learning how to clutch !
its not exactly iritating(yet) , bt its sting u need to be aware of as it can be dangerous...

engine wise its actually not bad at all , it has a low inertia n revs very cleanly , throtle response is very good , its abit noisy bt i blame the total lack of any sound proof material on the firewall in the engine bay...
put it this way , u never feel u need more power....everything the engine/cvt combo has is more than enough in 95% everyday situation

interior wise it surprisingly very spacious,,,from the outside the car is pretty narrow , bt it has alot of leg and head room(im 184cm)...
dashboard is clean..nothing complicated...the meter now is white color(as of persona elegance) rather than the standard amber...

aircond is too powerful even on 1st level...the blower is very strong despite the tiny aircond vent...

overall interior quality is good....no nasty sharp edges....no rattles and funny sounds(so far)
u do need abt careful as plasticks have that easy scratch surface...

regarding ride and handling....
the ride is not as soft as u wd think...u wd think that a city car wil have a softer ride since our kl/pj roads are getting so horrible day after day....

i wont call it stiff....bt not soft either, bt the great think is that it has a really good damping...bumps and road imprefections dont disturb the cabin at all....bt u do feel the suspension working overtime to dampen everything...
and bcos of that , u also feel the whole body feels more than rigid enough to cope with the bad horrible terrible miserable inner city roads !

handling wise , frankly i havent explored much of it yet , from what ive felt , the steering is quite direct , bt no feel ,
it does lean abit on corners bt u feel it has alot of grip from those 14' tyres....

boot size is big and deep , bts the opening is quite small....
rear legroom is redicuously HUGE...really good packageing interms of the interior

regarding braking , nothing special....responsive in initial press , bt u want more u have to press quite a long way...the pedal itself has alot of travel....but the braking itself is ok...

headlights are really HUGE , its very bright....and has an unusual wide angle...really good

the front end lokos quite nice and grand...bt the rear not so much...real lights are tiny..makes the whole rear looks awekward...

i got free service for 1000km/5000km/10000km/20,000km......3 years warenty with FREE eco tint

cvt oil replace every 40k.....

so all in all....i was actually very sceptic abt cvts before...i wanted to get the saga FL 1.6....bt i noticed most cars going to get cvts for their future updates so i didnt want to miss out...and frankly speaking , the cvt in this 1.3 is abt 60% why i wanted to get this as my 2nd car....its worth every sen....very efficient....ofcourse im hoping reliabilty wise it wd be as good...

and being resonable , i did not highlight those small tiny niggles like ALOT OF PEAPLE do , bcos for jus rm44,500 , im getting so much car for the money .........

last bt not least , im very itchy to upgrade to 15' rims bt worried i mite ruin the nice damped ride i have with the original 14' rims!
i do have alot on my mind to change or upgrade , sound proof , beter brake pads,k&n filter and so on...bt its stil new....let it live first !


hope this review enlightens u abit....cheers!

[Nabworld]

sorry abt the countless spelling errors , i should have checked before posting !

[Nabworld]

sorry abt the countless spelling errors , i should have checked before posting !

[mosh]

have you tried the "manual" simulation button ? how izzit ?

forgot what it calls.. my bad

[hcgui]

Great review there bro!!

I'm driving a 1st gen BLM with 4AT, March 2008. Performance wise, had abit of work done to suit my taste. not into power mod but driveability in town. ACG, LCP, Ir Plugs, VS+GC, and even switching to Mistu ATF help improve general driving tremendously. moving in slow traffic is just so much easier n smoother with ample more confidence!

For R&H, i've taken out spare tyre n replace with a tyre repair kit and even experimenting different tyre pressure tat suits me. Adding spring buffers, 3 UR bars and chassis foam also improves R&H as well as reducing NVH tremendously!! it corners so much flatter while improving ride at d same time! i'm tempted to move to 15' at 1st but now am quite happy on stock 14' esp on our not-so-perfect roads. some DIY soundproofing and ICE upgrade tops it up for me. haha.

enjoy ur ride bro!

[Nabworld]

ya tried that...SAT.....its pretty useless bcos on normal cvt mode its so good u forgot abt the button...if i want that automatic feeling i wdnt have bought the cvt ...!

but it actually works as wat it supose to do...normal driving condition , u reach abt 2k rpm n 'drops a gear'...resulting in 500rpm drop...thus that automatic gearbox feeling....

im not really into those mods u mentioned...im definatly not changing exterior looks...stock is best...bt other functional mods are welcome...but as i said...its stil new....so step by step....!

[mosh]

i like this rear skirting.

[jflcorp]

have you tried the "manual" simulation button ? how izzit ?

forgot what it calls.. my bad

It's called SAT and it does nothing but to trick you into thinking there's six gears when infact it there's no gear in a CVT.

So unless you have a primitive like mind, don't use the SAT. Simulated Automatic Transmission. It defeats the purpose of a CVT. If you can't drive without feeling the gears change(that's why they invented the stupid thing in the first place) then go look for a FL Auto. The button does nothing for performance by the way.

[ntc2000]

very nice review bro.... bravo

agree with u bout NVH, this gonna my 1st project to improve my sis saga fl NVH. Already bought the insulator and dynamat, only no time to DIY it... may be this christmas holiday, gonna start DIY it. 1st item to fix is the wheel arch, fender n bonnet.

if u knock fender/bonnet area, sound really like milo tin compare to you knock the door skin(executive version)....

after install this 2 things, gonna form the chasis ....

[ntc2000]

i like this rear skirting.

this look better, that day saw a ah beng air-master skirt saga fl... rear view really not nice... not suitable at all esp 2 chrome fake cosmetic square exhaust.

This 1 is copy beemer E39 M5 rear skirt design right? waja also got this kind of skirt