The increasingly scarce number of cars that offer manual transmission in our market means that the opportunity to review stick shifters are accordingly rare for us motoring journalists in Malaysia. Not including cars I’ve tried on test tracks, the number of manual test cars I’ve received during my time here in Autoworld are countable by my fingers. So, given the choice, I rarely hesitate to pick the the three-pedaled option.
When Perodua recently offered us a test car of the all-new Myvi, I once again picked the manual as you would expect, but not for the usual reasons. This time, my selection was purely on the grounds that I have already driven the automatic model both during a pre-launch event and a subsequent media drive to Johor Bahru. It would have been silly to feature another review of the auto again.
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| Our test car attracted a lot of attention, but was it for the car or for the stickers? |
At this point, if you are sensing some apprehension on my part towards the manual Myvi, you are absolutely right. I’m usually very partial towards manual vehicles, but Perodua cars are the notable exceptions where I recommend picking automatic without reservations. My previous experiences with manual transmissions from Perodua turned out to be less than pleasant, with rubbery gear changes and poorly weighted pedals being dominant memories.
The burning question as I collected our Myvi Premium (SXi) test car was whether Perodua made the gearchange any better. Well, here’s the simple answer – no. It’s better than the original Myvi, but not by a margin that will dissuade me from picking the auto. Quite simply, if I am taking the trouble of operating the clutch pedal through traffic jams, I would want to be rewarded with snappy and precise gear changes. So, with regards to the Myvi’s transmission choices, our previous recommendation stands – get the auto.
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| Clutch pedal had an inch of free play. |
What about trim level selection then? Well, our previous recommendation remains too – go for the mid-range Premium spec, which is offered at RM47,400 with insurance as per our manual test car here in metallic paint, or RM50,400 for the auto under the same terms. This spec level gives you most of the stuff you need at an acceptable price premium over the Standard model, whilst being significantly cheaper than the Elegance.
Our earlier two test drive reports were based impressions garnered on a short spin round the block and then a one-day drive to JB. Having the car over the weekend this time allowed us to examine how the Myvi fares as a day-to-day driver, which we believe would be of greater interest anyway to the thousands upon thousands of buyers who have flocked or who will flock to buy the car. Sitting on a carried over platform, the new Myvi builds on strengths of the original version, the formula being compact on the outside and spacious in the inside.
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| Just about enough space for your weekly groceries. |
Interior ergonomics are pretty sound, with controls being well laid out, easy to reach and painless to operate, though the dashboard’s carbon fibre finish may not be to everyone’s liking. Wide opening doors and high hip points allow extremely convenient ingress and egress for all passengers. Those of you who ferry old folks on a regular basis will particularly appreciate this trait. I know my grandfather does.
The only real blemish to the well-sorted layout would be positioning of power window switches immediately after the door grab handles, which means you can’t really operate them while your hands are still rested on the door panel. There are no shortages of cup holders and storage spaces to keep your phones and keys, but dedicated coin holders and a proper centre console storage box are notably missing.
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| Centre console storage area is adequate, but an armrest-box would have been useful. |
Despite slightly reduced interior dimensions, the new Myvi still accommodates five people comfortably, all of which benefit from protection by three-point seat-belts. Being a hatchback, the Myvi is naturally offered with split-folding rear seats to extend luggage space. Split-folding seats are always useful to have, but problems come when you want to provide the middle rear passenger with a three-point seat belt at the same time. Anchorage becomes an issue.
Perodua’s solution, which mirrors what we observed in the Honda Jazz, is to anchor the belt to the roof and have two buckles on the seat base. It is a noble effort to be sure, but some fine tuning might still be possible as we observed the belt ‘cutting’ into the necks of more petite passengers – not funny in an actual collision. That issue aside, however, safety is pretty well taken care of in the Myvi – ISOFIX, driver seat belt pre-tensioner, and dual airbags are standard fitment in all variants, although the Standard models make do without ABS & EBD.
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| Folds down to form a flat luggage floor. |
Being in a price sensitive segment, it is imperative that Perodua select the right goodies to arm the Myvi with without making it too costly. Indeed, Perodua chose its gear wisely, as the Myvi is commendably equipped with Bluetooth handsfree, USB connectivity, trip computer, immobiliser, projector headlights, and blinkers on the electric side mirrors. The Bluetooth system in our Premium test car was a rudimentary one, but it got the job done and gave clear conversations once we managed to pair a phone to it.
As before, the Myvi continues the path of its predecessor in offering Malaysians an affordable and pleasant mode of transport. There are some rough edges for sure, but when you factor in considerations of maintenance and resale value, the Myvi becomes a very compelling purchase. It is one of those cars that you can afford to buy without second thoughts – it will be cheap to maintain, and if it doesn’t meet your needs, you’ll have no problems in finding a buyer to take it off your hands at a decent price. But the word of advice here is – get the auto.
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