Rumors of this 2nd generation Myvi have been circulating since late last year. With the current Myvi walking away with some 15 awards in its 5 year plus tenure, Perodua management could have just let another facelift come into the market for 2011 and it would have made no difference in its No.1 sales position as Malaysia’s best selling car. Still they decided to give Malaysians an all new Myvi .
The Myvi after all is a product of reliability, functionality and more importantly a depreciation buster. Used values have moved very little even for a 5 year old unit and dealers are always happy to take in a used one as selling it back can be done in mere hours.
Compact-car specialist Perodua has given more features and safety standards to this new Myvi to cater to a growing market segment. It still bears the name Myvi and carries under the new stylish hood a 1.3-litre engine mated to a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual.
Look around the car and there is no use of previous Myvi panels and lights in this new product. However you might still presume that it shares the same friendly profile when given a quick look. Tall and wide, it is still very family-friendly as there is a remarkable amount of room inside, possibly the best in the class or it can be a style statement with its bulbous wheel-arches covering the ample wheel width. Just how much altered it is from the previous Myvi is shown by its considerably greater width, height and wheelbase. There is little overhang at the snub nose, and the tail is similarly abbreviated. Tall, vertical tail-lights frame a broad rear hatch with a slighter incline offering a sporty rear outlook.
The cabin gets a new dashboard and meter cluster that brings up the Myvi to current modern car standards and looks. For the automatic driven Myvi, the gear shifter sits higher on the dashboard like with the popular Alza.
With the 5-speed manual driven Myvi, the gear shifter is on the center floor like before. The main instrument cluster sits in an oval pod with brighter lighting and the speedometer dominates the center, the engine revolution meter to the left and the other important indicators to the right.
Seating is quite good for the driver with a seat height adjuster and the driving position is slightly elevated, which gives a good view of the road.
There is also an added storage drawer under the passenger seat which is a nice touch and cup holders on the doors too. Rear seat passengers have it quite good and are unlikely to complain if there are 3 adults in the rear.
ISOFIX points for child seats are now available in the rear. Fold the rear seats down and there is ample space for moving flat pack furniture and also taking in outdoor lifestyle activity. Standard features like keyless entry, central locking, power mirrors, air conditioning and a Bluetooth ready MP3 CD stereo with auxiliary jack for the MP3 player (on the premium model there is a 6-inch touch screen panel which is GPS ready) come ready.
Safety has not been forgotten with 2 front airbags, ABS, EBD (electronic brake distribution), BA (brake assist), a seatbelt reminder warning light and a collapsible steering shaft.
One of the many attributes of the previous Myvi was its fun drive and here with this new Myvi, the fun factor has been carried over with success. It nippy to drive with little roll on the open highway. Highway joints are passed with minimal effect and there is good stability as speed picks up. It rides smoothly over most bumps on our rough city tarmac and its tires grip as well as it needs to. The 1.3-litre engine gives quite a lively performance and you have to work it little harder to take it beyond legal limits and the engine does not strain or object when you try to do so. Even though this is a light car by the standards of today’s obese rivals it still feels planted and secure as you try and do a little controlled front wheel drift with it, proving its suspension setup has been done to cater for our under maintained city roads.
Best of all, during these maneuvers passengers are not thrown around, even though this Myvi can take on a wide lean in a quick corner. This new Myvi is also a very good city car with a small turning radius of just 4.7m and with the EPS (electric power steering) driving in some tight city roads is easy. Where it matters most, on city roads, this Myvi comes up trumps as the engine hood, door panels, roof and floor has insulation to reduce road noise. Buyers of this new manual driven Perodua Myvi will also enjoy better fuel efficiency as it has a longer range of 17.5km/litre compared with the current Myvi of 17.1km/litre, while the automatic transmission of the New Perodua Myvi has a range of 14.6km/litre against a range of 13.5km/litre for the current model.
After a test drive you will realize that this new Myvi will give its rivals a run for their money. It’s arguably the best city car we have driven, exhibiting good manners, excellent agility, a spritely engine, and very good outward vision on all sides. The New Perodua Myvi comes in 3 variants: Standard, Premium and Elegance in both automatic as well as manual transmissions. New colours for this Myvi are Mystical purple for all variants. Other colours include Ebony Black, Metallic Grey, Glittering Silver, Pearl White and Ivory White.
Specifications Perodua Myvi
Engine: Inline 4, 16-valve DOHC DVVT
Power : 67kW @ 6000rpm
Torque: 117Nm @ 4000rpm
Capacity: 1298cc
Transmission: 4-speed auto/5-speed manual
Price: MYVI Standard SX (MT) RM43,900
MYVI Standard EZ (AT) RM44,400
MYVI Premium SXi (MT) RM46,900
MYVI Premium EZi (AT) RM47,700
MYVI Elegance SXE (AT) RM53,900
MYVI Elegance EZE (AT) RM54,400
