Produa 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,

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.

How big is the Alza on the inside?

When I saw the specs list it looked promising as the Alza has got a wheelbase of 2,750mm which is even longer than the Exora’s. But it really depends on how you package the vehicle together so a longer wheelbase may not translate to a longer interior space. Perodua has provided some data on the Alza’s interior dimensions.

What about the Alza’s Fuel Consumption?

Its premature to talk about fuel consumption at this point of time considering we drove only a few km around Shangrila Putrajaya. Logically I don’t expect the Alza to perform great in terms of fuel efficiency if you have a full load but it’s probably still going to be cheaper than if you take two cars.

Perodua claims 12.7 km per liters with the automatic transmission model and 15.5 km per liters with the manual transmission model. This is based on their own internal “Perodua mixed mode test”, so these numbers will be different from the Passo Sette’s which are based on Japan 10-15 mode.

The Alza’s multi-info display meter integrated in the center dashboard has the ability to show you your average fuel consumption in liters per 100km, and your remaining range based on the fuel remaining in your fuel tank in terms of km.

I will be requesting for a test drive unit later in order to do some day to day driving with only one or two people in the car and measure the overall fuel consumption. I’ll also be trying to measure the fuel consumption on a full load on a short trip somewhere. I believe with these two figures you can get a better picture of the kind of fuel money you’ll be forking out if you own an Alza.

The Perodua Alza drives decently (you honestly can’t say the Alza handles like a boat or the usual stuff that gets said about the Myvi) and offers a lot of space inside, as long as you don’t actually use it as an MPV. At the kind of prices Perodua is asking for, it could become an alternative to sedans from Proton or the Korean manufacturers, or for those who have the spare cash and want something newer than the Myvi, with a bigger bootspace. Just buy the Premium version to make sure you get all the necessary safety equipment. But if you are looking for an alternative to the Exora or any other MPV, you’ll have to think twice if you need it to fit 7 adults.