How much is the new Perodua Alza?

So anyway, here we are finally, the Perodua Alza. The smaller MPV also comes with a smaller price tag, though Proton has worked to introduce the Exora Basic as well. Perodua says the Alza project first started off as the D46T about 3 years ago. The Japanese version was unveiled on Christmas day last year.

It’s cheaper than the Exora though technically it isn’t the cheapest in the market. Changan-Berjaya sells their Chana Era CM8 “van” at prices starting from under RM40k.

Perodua Alza 1.5L Standard M/T Solid – RM55,490 Metallic – RM55,990 S. Metallic – RM56,190	Perodua Alza 1.5L Standard A/T Solid – RM58,490 Metallic – RM58,990 S. Metallic – RM59,190
Perodua Alza 1.5L Premium M/T Solid – RM60,490 Metallic – RM60,990 S. Metallic – RM61,190	Perodua Alza 1.5L Premium A/T Solid – RM63,490 Metallic – RM63,990 S. Metallic – RM64,190

 *S. Metallic – Pearl White

Datuk Syed Hafiz revealed that a sportier version with a bodykit, GPS navigation and a reverse camera will be introduced in March 2010, though I think showrooms are already taking bookings for this version now. This model will be premium and auto-only, and will go for RM69,990 which is RM6k on top of the Metallic Premium automatic.

Perodua Alza

Here it is – the new Perodua Alza! We’ve been following the development of this MPV ever since we first got news of its existence back in early 2008, where it was reported that Toyota and Daihatsu were going to build a new MPV and produce it in Indonesia. When the Daihatsu Luxio MPV came out we all got a shock – that more of a van so we waited patiently until Christmas last year when the Toyota Passo Sette was finally unveiled in Japan. Nearly a year later, the Perodua-badged model with a new front, rear and interior is here. Read the full details after the jump.

Alot of people that are casually (not urgent) in the market for an MPV will have probably been waiting for the D46T project to be launched for a long time now. After all, the majority of the country can only afford either a Proton or a Perodua, and you really have to wonder why it took them so long to serve this market niche when all of its competitors have been priced out of affordability.

The national MPVs should have come sooner so that consumers who have big families would not have needed to stuff their 5-seaters to the brim whenever they needed to balik kampung.

I have to say that with the Myvi, the Japanese Passo looked better, but with the Alza I feel our own Malaysian design team has trumped the Japanese guys. The Passo Sette had this slightly bulgy-eyed look while the Alza looks far more sleeker. I don’t see any reason why anyone would want to ‘convert’ their Alza back to a Passo Sette but then again design is a subjective personal thing.

As for the name Alza, it actually means ‘to rise’ in Spanish. Probably symbolises Perodua rising up the product segments once again – its cars are getting bigger and bigger.

The Perodua Alza’s headlamps also come with projector lenses for the main beam across the entire line-up. I’m not saying you should be doing this but for those that want to retrofit HID bulbs to the Alza, the projector lenses will result in a relatively cleaner and nicer looking light beam.

On the rear you get LED tail lamps and for the Premium version you also get a spoiler. There is a bee sting antenna located towards the rear of the roof but towards the left rear instead of being positioned smack in the middle. Perodua says this is so that the owner will be able to flip the antenna down when required easily as compared to if it was in the middle. There are a few colours to choose from but personally I’m digging the Classy Purple, which is a new colour.

Perodua Viva 850 EX very nice

New Perodua Viva 850 EXPerodua or Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd started operations way back in 1993 as the second national car manufacturer and distributor. Since its humble beginnings, it has grown over the years to be a major force in the local automotive industry. In 2006, Perodua for the first time ever took the No. 1 position in the local automobile industry. This is of no surprise on the back of their successful Perodua Myvi launch and consistent performance. With both Myvi and Viva remaining as the top 2 best selling models since June to September this year, Perodua managed to strengthen its position with market share of more than 34% up to September this year. There are many reasons for their success and among them, are their single minded focus on the ‘A’ segment and their highly established technical partner, Daihatsu. The production capacity of their plant in Rawang has been increased to 250,000 units per annum to cope with demand from both the local and export markets. In addition to being focused, Perodua had time and time again delivered to customers value for money with good after sales services.Perodua Viva the company’s 7th model, is a cleverly designed car introduced as the replacement model to the Kelisa. Launched in May this year, it has since become the 2nd best selling model, after Myvi.

Three months after its introduction, it was awarded the Best Car award in the supermini category by Autocar Asean 2007.In slightly more than 4 months, there are currently about 30,000 units of Viva on the road, making it the fastest growing model in term of sales volume. We at Fleet-asia.com certainly do not underestimate Viva despite its compact body size. Viva is an exceptionally practical car especially in the urban areas. It is suitable for all regardless of the nature of their jobs, even those in the sales line will like its compact size which makes handling and more importantly, parking a breeze. It is a friendly car even in term of its ownership cost. Viva is one of the most affordable cars in the market, with reasonable maintenance cost and economical fuel consumption, all of which are big consideration for any fleet owners. It is ideal for the busy sales promoters who run around town daily. In fact, many construction companies and even the ‘boys in blue’ use it as a convenient means of transportation besides the obvious driving schools and car rental companies; amongst others. The Viva is a fun car to drive and is loaded with many practical features. The Perodua Viva, in many ways is the answer to the basic transportation needs for people living in the suburbs.The exterior of the Viva is a major positive shift from that of the Kelisa and Kancil. It has resemblance to the very popular Myvi in many ways. Its design is in tune with the current market taste and preference. The very pronounced headlights combined with the dominant front bumper, gives it a sturdy presence. In the rear, the vertical mounted rear lights adds in more ways than one to the decent rear and helps it to be easily visible even in dark surroundings.

The slanted windshield and sloping hood gives the side profile its elegant look.The interior is simple yet practical. The dashboard that houses the T-shaped instrument panel blends with the overall greyish colour scheme which complements the interior trim. It comes with a 3-spoke steering wheel while the instrument cluster houses two dials which has bold lettering that offer good legibility even at night. Also available is the more advance digital odometer/trip meter and digital fuel indicator.Our test drive unit of the Viva was the 850 EX variant which is powered by the 850cc 3 cylinder 12 valves DOHC, DVVT engine. The power plant is rated 39kW at 6000rpm and the maximum torque of 76Nm at 4000rpm. While driving around town, we reached 100 km/h at 3500rpm and 110 km/h at 3900rpm which clearly shows its characteristics of being quite economical in the fuel consumption area.

The transmission is the five-speed manual that performed very well. The ride and comfort offered is definitely one of the better ones we experienced in a car in this category. An important observation is the reasonably high seating position especially the driver’s seat that provides good all round visibility and therefore better driving experience.More refinement is in place for occupants. Viva comes with comfortable fabric seats. The easily reached switches provide lots of convenience; wing mirrors are easily adjustable and all windows can be controlled by the switches on the driver’s door. In addition, cup holders are also available for the front and rear passengers. The ICE, is a radio/CD player with front and rear door speakers. The leg room provided is ample while the cargo space is 146 litres which can be easily expanded to 449 litres once the rear seats are folded.The colours available are Ivory White (solid), Glittering Silver, Passion Red and Tropical Green, Sapphire Blue and Ebony Black (metallic).

On-the-road price including insurance in Peninsular Malaysia is RM32,500 (solid) and RM32,900 (metallic).On top of the 3-year manufacturer’s warranty, Perodua Viva comes with another 3 years extended warranty. The free service is offered at the first 1,000km, 5,000km and 10,000km. Perodua also believes in giving the best to customers when they send their cars for servicing at authorized outlets.

The engine oil used is Semi-Synthetic Engine Oil – Perodua 5W-30.In terms of nationwide presence, to date, there are 154 Perodua service centres. The extensive service network ensures that fleet owners are able to maintain their cars with much convenience. In making service one of their key priorities, a special ‘1 Hour Superservis’ campaign was launched earlier this year which is another example of the company’s commitment to its customers.Perodua also has a list of 19 insurers in their panel to assist you in insuring your cars.Perodua also has a dedicated fleet sales department which offers specialist services including special price for fleet sales, priority allocation, after sales/spare parts support and they will also provide the necessary product knowledge training to ensure that the car is well-maintained.

Perodua to develop a 2-cyl direct injection turbo engine

Perodua is certainly ramping things up, by the looks of it – besides the Bezza concept car, the company presented a glimpse into its technology plans for the coming future at KLIMS, with an engine development road map working towards the eventual introduction of a Precious Metal-free Liquid-feed Fuel Cell-based vehicle.

The company says that for the immediate term things will be based along internal combustion engine lines, which of course it will be working on with its technical partner Daihatsu.

“As a compact car manufacturer, we choose this path as the internal combustion engine still has a lot of life in it and we believe that the reduction of our carbon emission by producing more efficient engines that will be more cost effective and will leave a smaller carbon footprint to the environment,” Perodua’s managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said.

“In order to provide compact cars that are affordable by the next generation, we are pursuing the ultimate of conventional technologies rather than hybrid technologies that tend to be too expensive for the average motorists,” he added.

With the first stage being mass-produced engines with DVVT, the second stage is where it gets interesting – the next generation eco-engine that it is planning will be a 660cc inline two-cylinder turbocharged engine with direct fuel injection, offering 63 hp at 4,500 rpm and 100 Nm of torque at 1,500 to 4,000 rpm, and P2 says that this one will offer a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency over a current similar displacement block. The engine is something that Daihatsu has announced before, so I suppose this confirms that it will eventually trickle down to Perodua usage.

It will also feature ultra high-volume exhaust gas recirculation as well as a new active ignition system, the latter having an ignition plug with high-frequency, plasma-assisted voltage to strengthen the first electric discharge. The company says that the new block will offer three major advantages – improved combustion, reduced power loss and a flat, high torque curve.

Further away in the distance, the final destination of this green engine roadmap is the Precious Metal-free Liquid-feed Fuel Cell, which the company says is the best alternative for the internal combustion engine as it does not use precious metals and produces zero carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, on the drivetrain front, the company also announced that production of its electronic automatic transmission (E-AT) system locally is targeted to start in the next couple of years. “While the technology is not something new, we will be the first in Malaysia to produce the E-AT system,” Aminar said. The E-AT transmission is currently incorporated in the Myvi and Alza. It’s basically the 4-speed gearbox.