Perodua Myvi 1.3 EZ (A) Review

But this is important. The Myvi is the sixth Perodua made in Malaysia over its 10-year lifespan. It demonstrates the second Malaysian national carmaker's effectiveness in teaming with international companies such as Daihatsu, in this case, in order to bring about a higher quality, affordable product to the local masses.

So it's all good then, this business of badge engineering. Proton started off this way and Perodua had the Daihatsu Mira manufactured under license for Malaysians as well (read: Kancil).

Slowly building confidence under mentorship by Japanese engineers, the engineers at Perodua were able to dole out a big facelift to the Kancil by the end of the 1990s, and public demand further boosted their confidence. But their desire to upgrade to a bigger car meant that Perodua lost out to in sales to its competitors.

Great timing then, that during the 2002-2005 period, Daihatsu restructured a major part of Perodua's manufacturing operations - a move which enabled Perodua to play a bigger part in planning its product line. This also meant that it would be actively involved in this new model's joint venture, playing a critical role with the input of information, much like what was the case with the Peugeot-Citroen-Toyota joint venture that created the 107, C1 and Aygo respectively.

That's how Perodua got a fair share of the Myvi, and in a big step forward from the past too. In typical early Proton fashion, Perodua would have only received the final design brief, of which allowed only minor cosmetic modifications to be made so their product would be remotely "more unique."

The other benefit of this joint venture in design and manufacture would be the inevitable application of stringent Japanese-like quality control measures. Perodua claims that out of 10 Myvis produced, only 2 are found to be defective, a much easier figure to stomach when compared to the last time they released those figures some years back.

That's not particularly fantastic when compared to cars actually produced on Japanese soil, but it is of course, a vast improvement for Malaysia. Moreover, Perodua has claimed to monitor and improve on the consistency of these levels.
Outside

A short front end, a long wheelbase and short rear overhangs - that's classic 21st century super compact hatch material. There's a nice, sculptured bonnet and big-eyed headlights that shroud the Perodua logo in distinguishing chrome, complimenting the vertical lines of the front grille.

LEDs are used in the rear brake and signal lamps, as well as the door mirrors. The door handles pivot sideways and outwards rather than up and out - a design cue mimicking more expensive models.

Our test model received 14 inch alloys and 175/65 rubbers, while the rear bumper has those classic two dimples indicating the presence of reverse sensors as standard.

Inside

Here, the Myvi has more space than typical Malaysian cars of its price range, such as the Proton Saga, Satria and Wira. We might go as far to say that it matches that of the Getz, Jazz and Toyota Yaris. This might have to do with the fact that its 2440 mm wheelbase spans three quarters the overall length of the car, and is efficiently utilized throughout.

Older folks would probably be quite happy with the Myvi as like most small cars in its class, the upright seating position helps when getting in and out of the car. It's the right height for them, but as young people, we felt awkwardly tall when seated inside the car.

The doors swung out really wide. The info-kit supplied revealed that they open up to an angle of 80 degrees with increments of three stepped stops, another first for a Malaysian car of its class.

Seats were plenty flexible in order to accommodate luggage. The 60:40 split folders extend the cargo area from 600 mm to 1320 mm, while the bottom seat cushions at the back extend out and down in order to allow the seats to further fold forward.

There's the option of a "long cushion" that creates a single, gapless space between the rear seats and the backs of the front seats, creating a kampong-like sitting environment for your kids and so on.

The centre console has audio and air-conditioning controls finished in rather cheap-looking silver plastics that could be improved. Another disappointment was the low-mounted gear console that portrays, again, a cheap-looking aura. But then again, this is the trimmed-down version, and one should keep his or her eyes open for the slightly more expensive, better optioned models as well.
Driving Impressions

No surprises here - universal MacPherson struts, lower L-arms, and stabilizer bar comes standard along with the equally standard torsion bar at the back. Combined with an ABS enabled disc/drum combination with ABS, it gave the car Sirion-like effectiveness through corners.

Not that it's all good though, because we previously observed that the Sirion wasn't really made for the bends, and this is an important consideration for aspiring boy-racers wanting a first car. With the standard fourteen inch alloys, body roll was more than what we bargained for, especially when everyone sat up straight and tall.

The variable valve-timed 1298 cc K3-VE engine isn't a stranger either. It powers cars like the Kembara DVVT, Toyota Avanza and the other 1.3-litre Daihatsu vehicles. With 87 bhp of power at 6000 rpm and 116 Nm of torque at 3200 rpm, it isn't exactly a slouch, but it needs to be worked hard beyond 3500 rpm just so you can keep pace with traffic.

We were quite impressed with the automatic transmission. It shifted smoothly, and sensed our desired shifting points with ease. There wasn't a light to inform us whether the overdrive button was turned on or off, but that's as far as our complaints go in this area.

Typical of many Japanese compact hatches and sedans, the throttle is very sensitive at liftoff, afterwhich it gets increasingly dull at higher revs. But the chain-driven engine was nowhere near as harsh and intrusive as a Vios in full swing.

Weighing over 900 kilograms, the Myvi gets to 100km/h in a stopwatched 12.7 seconds with the air-conditioning turned on and half a tank of petrol, so it isn't really that slow if you think about standing starts away from the lights.

A hardy package, or hardly packing?

At $49,000, the Myvi isn't exactly very cheap. The more luxuriously appointed Hyundai Getz 1.4-litre automatic can be had for $47,000 but lacks the rear seat space, straight-line performance and fuel economy of the Perodua's 15.6 km/l claimed fuel consumption. But the Getz is a more stable and refined car in all senses of the word, despite it not being as nimble as the Malaysian runaround.

Overall, we can see where the Myvi's qualities lie - it's efficient and effective, and for a Malaysian-assembled, Japanese-appointed vehicle, you can't go wrong with one of them. Again, it goes to show how far the Malaysians have progressed in terms of car-building.

But in Singapore's Japanese-centric, traditional buying crowd, we have a biting concern - is Perodua's marketing effort doing enough to educate the public about their product?