...is actually our Perodua Myvi. To those that aren't aware of this fact, The car is either brought in as a whole from Perodua's plant in Rawang, Malaysia or partly assembled in Indonesia by Daihatsu from parts brought in from Malaysia. It is basically our 1.3liter Perodua Myvi with a Daihatsu badge stuck on it. There is no other difference from the Myvi we have over here. All you have to do is go to daihatsu.astra.co.id and you will be able to see the difference. Or lack of it.

But anyway, this isn't the issue which actually makes me a little cheated. It is the fact that Daihatsu actually offers a 16 inch wheel option for the Sirion over there in Indonesia. The 1.3liter Daihatsu Sirion can be had with large alloy wheels whilst the people in the country that actually made it gets stuck with measly 14 inch wheels. This is even though we also get an uprated 1.5liter version too. I mean the Myvi can really move with the 1.5liter engine and it is still coupled with smallish 165/65/14 tyres.

Some of us actually think that the Myvi is now overpowered for some Malaysian road users especially since it comes with skinny tyres. I personally believe that the 1.5liter Myvi should come with the same tyre option as the Perodua Alza - the 185/55/15 tyre and wheel combo instead of the skinny 14 inch setup. If you actually did a lot of travelling, one will see 1.3liter MyviS doing over 150km/h and if this is possible for the 1.3liter, the 1.5liter Myvis are going to go faster. Much faster.

Now the obvious answer Perodua will give those that question why they aren't indulging their customers and giving them the option of larger wheels I think they'll just say that 14inch wheels are adequate and that Malaysian customers usually like to buy their own wheels. Yes they do but there are those that like to buy things all complete too.

If Daihatsu can give such an option in a poorer country like Indonesia why can't Perodua (or Daihatsu) give such an option to people here especially when we tend to buy them by the thousands? Indonesians aren't buying the Sirion in large numbers as I did not see many on the road. In fact, I only saw one (I will get to that somewhere below). It is because of this I believe that Malaysians are being taken for a ride (errr...literally).

Don't believe me? I have a scan of the Autocar Indonesia that I managed to purchase when I was over at Jakarta recently. It actually featured the Daihatsu Sirion test drive by Indonesian journalists over in Malaysia. They started out in Putrajaya and ended up at AFamosa in Malacca. One of the cars in the magazine featured the large 16inch wheels (the white one in the scan above).

Why can't Perodua give such an option to Malaysians? A large engine sometimes deserves larger wheels to compensate. It also gives customers more choice. Doesn't it?

I also have a photo of the earlier Indonesian Daihatsu Sirion aka Myvi that actually came with a manufacturer bodykit and the 16inch wheels. This was actually the only Sirion I managed to catch a glimpse of during the whole time I was in Jakarta/Bandung (a good 6 days FYI). Favourite small cars seem to be the Suzuki Swift, Nissan Juke and the Mazda 2.

Typical Toyota/Daihatsu. In a way that is. The reason being that this all new Perodua Myvi is actually a million times better looking than the Toyota Passo version of it that was launched circa 2010 in Japan. That car (pic below) ended up looking ultra feminine and basically caters to the Japanese 'Ah Soh' customers (or those not familiar with the term - older auntie type people). These sort of customers buy the Passo simply as a means of transport. To the market and back. To the weekly bingo game and back. To the Hair Saloon and back.


The exterior is so dull that it makes the previous generation Myvi look as sporty as a Supra. Okay, I am just pulling you leg here. But the Myvi is so much sportier looking. Period. If you compare the rear lights of the new Myvi to the Passo you'll love the Myvi's rear end better (see pics right below). The interior has a steering column gear shifter that reminds me of a van (or MPV, which is still a van). That dashboard looks as dull as watching news on RTM1 compared to the one in the new Myvi which could be CNN by comparison. And the seats are total benches. Not that the Myvi seats are good, but the Toyota looks at home in a park instead of inside a car that's being driven to the park.


This new Perodua has a gear shifter that is located like in the Alza MPV or if your imagination is warped enough, like the breadvan EP3 Honda Civic Type-R. But unfortunately only in automatic transmission form. The manual shifter still occupies the usual floor mounted slot. The manual shifter also feels as terrible as the earlier car. Too notchy and the shape seems worse. Go for an aftermarket one if you get the manual. The one in the manual Myvi needs to be destroyed immediately after purchase. At least the gearstick is of a proper height and within reach.



The interior also feels good. The materials used feel a little better to the touch and quite pleasant. Doors seem thicker and  controls more tactile than the previous Myvi. The rotary knobs for the air-conditioning feels better than the earlier model and in fact, the dashboard is so much better than the suitable for 95 year old Aunty Mildred Toyota Passo. Somehow Perodua does things sportier. With the exception for the seats. Well, actually the Passo is actually worse but you get what I mean. The new car has either a higher mounted seat or a lower mounted steering. Not very sporty if you ask me. Not that the Myvi is a sports car mind you. Oh yes, the seats are still as flat as a table. The Leather seats in the high specced and current top of the line Myvi Exclusive (pic below) is as slippery as the previous model too. Slightly more aggressive side bolstering would be good. Please Perodua, give the Myvi better seats.



Everything else is slightly different but almost the same. Perodua is doing a Toyota thingy here. Slight changes don't alienate or cause major heartache to previous Myvi buyers. Like the old Vios and the new Vios, squint and they both look the same. It still uses the very skinny 14 inch 175/65 tires and still has that huge gap between the tires and the wheelarch especially the Myvi Exclusive...sorry....Elegance with the bodykit. More on that later.



As for performance, it sips slightly less petrol and accelerates faster. This is mainly to an electric power steering instead of the hydraulic setup of old. Note the lack of a power steering fluid bottle to the left of the engine bay. As the same 1.3liter engine and normal 4 speed automatic gearbox (now without an overdrive button but with a shift lock button) still occupies the engine bay with no sign of a CVT gearbox (good news in a way as CVTs somehow feel like a rubber band transmission) I suppose the electric power steering allows the engine to gain back what it had lost from the ancillaries (alternator, aircond compressor & power steering pump). The 2011 Myvi in automatic form is more than a second faster on paper due to this. I have to add that this could be also down to better suspension geometry. Oh yes, some people argue that an electric assisted steering setup robs steering feel. Hello, the original Myvi HAS NO steering feel whatsoever. Hydraulic setup or not. So I actually wouldn't bother too much about this. Just think of it as an improvement in the economy part of the car.



Oh yes, the price. No more Myvi SE (there will be an SE which I will describe below), but a MYVI Elegance  (pic above) at RM4,000 more than before. RM57,000+ for a fully loaded up Myvi. I somehow think Perodua is ambitiously mad in this case. You do get a body kit (which is not as aggressive as the earlier SE models), same 14inch alloys, brighter and better looking optitron meters, touchscreen audio system (Woooooo) with GPS (Ooooooh) and factory fitted tinting (Aaaahhh!). Ahhh as they're basically charging an arm and a leg for these two items as the rest is basically the same. Oh, folding side mirrors. That'll impress some people. And one mroe thing to add, this new Myvi Elegance seems to be a tad too much space between the wheelarch showing. The earlier Myvi SE didn't look this tall. It needs lowering and bigger wheels.





The base model is priced like the old model at around RM44,000+. It gets airbags for the driver and passenger. And for Perodua to give this they omit the alloy wheels. You get hub caps instead. You also get the worse faux carbon fiber trimming ever in the interior of the base model and the mid-range version too. Why can't manufacturers understand that carbon fiber is tacky even in grey/black and they use creamish coloured trim. It screams of tackiness and cheapness. Much like Azwan Ali instead of say, Aznil Nawawi. I rather have the dull black interior of the previous Myvi sometimes.




But at least the steering wheel looks more solid than the previous model WITH the exception of the plastic bits at the '3' and '9' o'clock areas. All three models have this cheap plastic tacked on near where our thumbs would rest. I suppose this is where volume controls will sit on the upcomming 1.5liter full specced and new SE variant that will be the head Myvi. That model will have an even more aggressive bodykit, that larger engine and better interior stuff like the steering wheel mounted controls mentioned above. Somewhat like the spy photo taken below.


So the new Myvi is pretty good I suppose. Decent transport for people. But I hate the use of the 'Lagi Best' slogan. It promotes Manglish or street bahasa Melayu. Of course it is a general phrase that I do use occasionally, but when it is plastered nationwide, it becomes questionable.