Perodua's Surprise in KLIMS 2013 - Perodua Viva's Replacement Model?

 Perodua announced that there will be a surprise awaiting us in the upcoming KLIMS 2013, however the announcement ended there. Speculation includes a 2014 replacement model for the aging Perodua Viva which has been selling in Malaysia since 2007 or a mid-life facelift for the Alza. So, if the first hypothesis is true, then which model is the best suit as the replacement for Viva?

It should be either the Daihatsu Mira or Mira e:S. 

Daihatsu has been well known for its impressive ability to 'dig out' as much space as possible for the cabin within the smallest footprint for its models. Mira and Mira e:S are some of the examples. Although the wordings are in Japanese, we can understand what they mean by looking at the dimension lines and values. As comparison, Viva's cabin space is measured at 1845mm (length) x 1300mm (width) x 1250mm (height).

 Mira's (top) dashboard looks dull compared to Mira e:S (bottom). Hopefully Perodua will have a new dashboard design if Mira is used as the replacement model of Viva.

 Most important would be the pricing of the replacement model of Viva. Since the Proton Saga SV has been priced closely to the current Viva, Perodua has to set the price of the all-new Viva carefully. More standard equipment and safety features would attract more buyers, especially the young ones.

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5th-gen Daihatsu Move facelifted - With Collision Avoidance System !

The 2th-generation Daihatsu Move is the platform used for our very own Perodua Kenari, but since then, no replacement has been done for Kenari while Japan's Daihatsu has introduced the facelift version of its fifth generation Move. Categorized as a kei-car, Move's overall length and width are at the category's maximum of 3395mm and 1475mm respectively. Thus, car manufacturers with kei-car develop ways to increase the cabin space, and one of it is by increase the overall height of the car.

Thanks to better and more modern styling, the 5th-gen Move hides its height (1620mm) well, unlike our Kenari which look like a vertical matchbox. JDM Move comes with an option of Move Custom, with sportier bumper and alloy wheels design. Move is powered a 660cc engine which produces 52PS at 6800rpm and 60Nm of torque at 5200rpm. Fuel efficiency rated at 29km/l, which is very impressive. Move Custom has two engine options (if I didn't interpret its spec sheet wrongly, which is in Japanese language), first is the one found in Move and second is a turbocharged 660cc engine which churns out 64PS at 6400rpm and 92Nm at 4000rpm.

The highlight of the Move is the cabin. With limited width and length requirement, manufacturers used techniques such as making the door panels thinner, moving the dashboard further down the front end and lowering the floor height as methods to increase the cabin space. As a result, Move's cabin is 2130mm long, 1280mm tall and 1350mm wide. As a comparison, our 2th-gen Myvi's cabin length, height and width are 1850mm, 1265mm and 1380mm respectively. It's amazing to see smaller car can have a comparable cabin size isn't it?

Another highlight of the Move Facelift is the introduction of collision avoidance system - first in Kei-car category. Kei-cars in Japan are fitted with plenty of safety features regardless of their price and size. 6 airbags and stability programme are not a rare sight in a Kei-car. 

Hopefully this Move will be the replacement of Perodua Viva in the future!

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Daihatsu Mira e:S - Next Perodua Viva?

Daihatsu is well known for building mini-car (or kei car) which is small on the outside, big on the inside, durable and fuel efficient. Now, they took it to a whole new level. Inspired by the Daihatsu's three door e:S Concept, it unveiled its newest product lineup - the Mira e:S, which Daihatsu claimed that it can acheive 30km/l fuel economy!


The Mira e:S is powered by a 658cc powerplant, where it can produce 52bhp at 6,800rpm and 60Nm at 5,200rpm. Together with a CVT automatic transmission, the 730kg Mira e:S will surely have a smooth and nippy performance in the city.


Same theory is used here: long wheelbase and move the A-pillar to its front-most position to maximise the cabin space.


The interior bears a pretty nice dashboard design. Hope the digital speedometer will remain if this Mira e:S happens to become our next generation Perodua Viva! While the interior is not offending, some might find the exterior design a bit 'weird', so please redesign the exterior if Perodua wants to rebadge perform joint venture with Daihatsu!

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