Building Cars People First

Standing at 1.3 litres of engine capacity, the 'Perodua Myvi' remains the top choice when it comes to buying a car. Especially at entry level, most 'Malaysians' seem to lean towards this particular model. I, myself drive one. And I am about to tell you what it feels like driving one, after 3 months.

I think that it the price of RM40,000 (give and take) for a small car like this is a little overpriced. But, the plus points of the 'Myvi' is its spacious compartments inside. The interior can even cater to a giant 6 footer, I believe. Your head will never have to bump against the roof anymore.

Driving experience when on the 'Myvi' is like driving a 'Mini Cooper' (I have never driven one yet). Power steering makes it effective at turning, with its small dimension. Talking about car size, it is relatively very easy to park. Personally, I do not need to change gears from reverse to drive more than twice. That, I think is the biggest advantage a 1.3 litres capacity car can provide; the small size advantage (yet decent engine performance).

You will need to refuel every 350-400km for RM60 (give and take for 'RON95' petrol). Always diligently applying overdrive only when necessary, inflating tyre pressures to 220kPa, letting the 'Myvi' "roll" most of the time on road; these are some of the practices that make up the statistic for the RM60 fuel price tag. For the overdrive part, the car is driven from 0-60kph(overdrive off). Higher than that speed, I always turn the overdrive on. Long distances can make your 'Myvi' save a lot. Driving a great distance like 200km nonstop on a highway only takes up half of your fuel tank.

Acceleration for the 'Myvi' is rather "poor". As it runs on automatic transmission, that might explain. But, in most cases, I find that switching to 'OD off' helps a ton. Then again, I do not rely on this for overtaking cars. Automatic cars are rather more suited for comfortable and highway and traffic jams driving. Note that I had been driving the 1.3 litres engine capacity cars with manual transmission, where acceleration is the major strength.

Overall, for its price, comfort, maneuverability and capacity, it is worth taking a test drive on the 'Myvi'. It has its own reasons for one of the top national cars here in Malaysia. Although I will never understand its motto at the back that says "Building Cars People First". Good luck.

Myvi prices

Prices start at around £5,200 for the first of the 56 plated Myvi 1.3 SXi models. The 1.3 WZi automatic is a rarer thing but well worth seeking out if you spend a lot of your time in city traffic. This starts at around £6,000, again on the 56 plate. Insurance for the Myvi is very inexpensive with both models rated at Group 6. Because of the limited used stock, you may well have to either wait or travel to get hold of a specific Myvi if you're insistent on trim, colour, mileage and condition.

(Estimated prices, based on a Myvi EZi) An air filter is around £16 and a fuel filter retails at round £11. An oil filter is £7 and spark plugs are about £7. A timing belt is around £38, whilst front brake pads are around £45 a pair. A distributor cap retails at around £45.

Perodua Myvi Road Test

Turn the key and the surprises keep coming. The ride is excellent. The way the suspension soaks up minor imperfections coupled with the nicely oiled feel of the steering system gives theMyvi an expensive feel. I'd go as far as to stick my neck out and say it rides more serenely than an Audi A4. The 1.3-litre engine features Dynamic Variable Valve Timing which helps to maximise both low end torque and top end power while keeping combustion as efficient as possible.

Double overhead cams and electronic fuel injection also help to give the Perodua a little pep although it's unlikely you'd plump for the Myvi if you're looking for the sharpest steer in this sector. We'd still recommend you keep saving for a Ford Ka in that instance but the Myvi is nevertheless a decent handler.The City Course at the Millbrook proving ground we used for our test aims to replicate the typical driving environment you'd find in any urban area.

It's littered with tight turns to show how the car jinks in and out of traffic and around obstacles, there are many stop and reverse features and nowhere can you attain much more than 30mph, even with the heaviest right boot. In other words it's a very good test of the real thing. There are even surfaces that mirror typically pot-hole speckled city streets and also a fearsome array of sleeping policemen to punish the suspension with. In lieu of testing it in the urban sprawl and crawl, this is the next best thing and the Myvi coped with the tests admirably.

There was a slight clanging from the rear suspension when subjected to rather brutal treatment over the biggest speed hump, but this sort of driving tends to be reserved for motoring writers, joyriders and paramedics, none of whom would represent the Myvi's target clientele. The gearbox doesn't appreciate being rushed into reverse gear but aside from that, the report card is favourable.

The steering rack is adequately quick, front end grip is up to snuff and engine refinement is very good. All round visibility and access to the rear seats is also excellent.

Summary of Perodua Myvi (Part 1)

The Perodua Myvi is, on the quiet, one of the smarter used car buys around. It's based on theDaihatsu Sirion, a car that has attracted some seriously good reviews. Strip away the Daihatsubrand equity and you're left with a car with the same talents but which has no real public awareness and which can be picked up for a fraction of the price of an equivalent Sirion. If you're looking for a modern city car and don't want to get taken to the cleaners by the big car manufacturers, here's an alternative.

Perodua Rewrites The Book Of Revealations
Think Perodua and you'll probably think of rather crude, outdated cars that are cheap to buy but come with a sting in the tail in the form of fierce depreciation. That used to be the case but the Malaysian company appears to be turning things around, the Myvi being the first of their wares to approach European standards of design and modernity. With most used car buyers not cottoning onto this fact, this makes it a smart pick second time round.

History of the Myvi
The Myvi hit showroom floors in July 2006 and was greeted by almost total apathy. Part of the problem was that Perodua's importers don't have the biggest promotional budget, though most magazines that tested the vehicle found it surprisingly agreeable. Like all Peroduas, the Myvi is a rehashed Daihatsu design, in this case the Sirion. This in itself is no bad thing as the Sirion is a smart piece of kit. Go for one with aPerodua rather than Daihatsu badge and you get to shave a big chunk off the asking price. Sales were nevertheless slow. A quick scan on a popular car sales website showed 9 Myvis for sale across the UK. By contrast there were 4,368 Ford Kas.

Perodua Myvi : Prelude

The new Perodua Myvi EZi is available in automatic transmission for an additional £700 at £7,299. The stylish new Perodua Myvi EZi holds prime position in the three model line up from Perodua and is among one of Britain’s best value super-minis.

The new Perodua Myvi EZi offers motorists a relatively inexpensive car that specification.

It is equipped with air conditioning, four electric windows, electric mirrors, central locking, fully integrated radio/CD player and power steering. The car has dual airbags and ABS/EBD as standard safety features.

The new Perodua Myvi EZi has a number of external features like body coloured bumpers, door handles and mirrors along with integral indicators plus a choice of free metallic and high gloss paint finishes.

Inside, the Myvi is spacious with excellent legroom and can seat five adults comfortably as well as leaving enough space for luggage.

The car’s fuel consumption is 54.3 mpg over the extra urban cycle and has low running costs.

The most recent addition to the range is the Myvi SE which aims to provide customers with even better value for money.

As well as the standard high specification, the Myvi SE features an electric sunroof, reverse park control, remote central locking and privacy glass for just an additional £800 on top of normal prices.

This means that the Myvi EZi SE is available for only £8,099 and represents a significant customer saving of nearly £300 in comparison to purchasing the options individually.

The new Perodua Myvi EZi also offers a variety of fitted options for those wishing to personalise their super-mini.

Myvi state the highest ranking in quality study

PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd's (Perodua) Myvi model was ranked highest in the compact car segment in the 2009 Malaysia Initial Quality Study conducted by J.D. Power Asia-Pacific.

This is the third year in a row that Perodua Myvi was ranked highest.

The Myvi is the best selling car since July 2005, selling over 378,000 units since it was launched. Last year, the Myvi sold some 91,000 units.

The study was conducted between March and July last year, which saw 2,874 respondents via street sample of suitable candidates.