Perodua is launching the Perodua VIVA replacement called the Perodua Axia soon. Tentative price lists on all variants are out and prices start atRM24,900 for a solid coloured Axia up to RM44,900 for a full specced Axia AV automatic.
My thoughts? Being typically a Daihatsu / Toyota motor corp company, improvements over the previous Viva shouldn't be that large a leap but as was reported a while ago at the recent 2013 KL Motor Show, Perodua has a new 3 cylinder engine and transmission for the car so there should be a little more added refinement with the obvious reduction of NVH from the new drivetrain as well as the usual improvements every new chassis has. Both are welcome as the Viva, being the cheapest new car you can buy these days oozes budget motoring from every nut and bolt located on the car.
Expect the official launch to be very, very soon. Even before a rumoured September 2014 launch. It should sell decently well.
UPDATE: I had test driven the Perodua Axia in August 2014. Click here to read about it.
Proton Persona
I don't know how true the photo above is but when I spoke to someone with close contact to guys working in Proton he said that there is indeed a new 2.0liter Proton in the works and that it isn't the Perdana. So this 'Proton Persona' may be it. The 2.0liter engine could be derived from the Petronas E01 engine that Proton recently bought from Petronas.
So where should this car slot in Proton's line-up? I suppose since it has a 2.0liter engine it should now be priced in the RM70,000-90,000 region replacing both the Preve and the Inspira. The current Persona would be dropped and the Preve could be sold replacing it as it is a newer car.
But this is just my opinion and the photo you see here may not even be correct. It has been floating around social media recently but until things are officially out, this is just a rumour.
Another bit of news is Proton's small global car. It would be the size of a Perodua Myvi so it isn't in competition with the Axia stated earlier. But that being said, a new Perodua launched prior to the launch of a new Proton does not auger well in my opinion. Sales could be lost as a result of this. Timing is a big issue again and I do hope Proton does things correctly with this small car. The last two - the Savvy and the Tiara were hopeless duds. Proton cannot afford another one. Really.
UPDATE: The 2016 all-new Proton Persona is a 1.6liter B Segment sedan. It does not look like this, which looks like a modified C segment Proton Preve done in the style of the new Perdana (sloping C-pillar with quarter window). I have driven the new Persona and it is actually quite good. Click here to read about the new Persona.
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