One Perodua that has still stuck in the
minds of most Malaysians is the Perodua Kelisa. It first made its
debut in 2001 and was not meant to be a replacement for the long
running Perodua Kancil. Both these cars were based on different
generations of the Daihatsu Mira.
It was based on the Fifth Generation Daihatsu Mira
L700 Daihatsu Mira
The Kelisa was based on a fifth
generation Daihatsu Mira (L700 series) from 1998 to 2002 (pictured above). It is named
after the arowana fish native to Malaysia (ikan kelisa). It also looked better than the original L700 Mira as Perodua's styling had slightly more rounded edges, rounded headlights and looked cuter than the Mira.
The car was
launched in 2001 (pre-facelift pictured above) with a facelift in 2003 which featured different
looking front and rear bumpers and a larger grille (below). Production of the
car lasted till 2007.
The Kancil which was Perodua's first car, was
launched in 1994. It, was based on the third generation Mira (L200
series) which was produced from 1990 to 1994. By the time production
of the Kancil ended in 2009 (later than the Kelisa) it was ancient in
some ways.
You could say that both are rebadged
Mira cars that were produced to cater for different price points –
the Kancil being entry level, very basic transport and the Kelisa for
those that wanted that cheap and cheery looking car. Instead of just
being just cheap and downright deary.
The Kelisa range includes three models:
the entry level EX, the GXi and the automatic EZi (originally branded
as EX, GX and EZ.) The Kelisa has a three-cylinder 989 cc petrol
DOHC 12-valve engine with electronic fuel injection system which
gave you a top speed of almost 160kmh...almost, unless you're going
downhill. A smaller three-cylinder 847 cc petrol engine was also
available for a while with a manual transmission. The 850 wasn't very popular in the market.
It wasn't a sales success you thought
it was
At the recent Perodua Bezza launch, we
reminisced about the past with some Perodua people. One surprising
fact about the beloved Kelisa was that when it was being produced, it
did not sell in the numbers Perodua wanted. This could be one of the
reasons why Perodua kept the Kancil in production because it gave the
company the much needed sales volume. This was also the reason why
Perodua started with the limited edition models you see to this day.
Perodua released several limited or special editions of the Kelisa –
there were the two toned paint jobs for the exterior in blue or yellow
with a black roof with leather inside and the newer facelifted
version which was called the Kelisa Imago which had a metallic Pearl
jade colour with leather interior.
Only After Production was about the stop people embraced it with open arms
Daihatsu Mira Gino (1st gen)
It was only when production was winding
down that people started thinking “Hmmm....that Perodua Kelisa is a
nice looking car that looks like a Mini. It is fun to drive too....”.
And then when the 'Mini look' Kelisa
mods came out by our local car enthusiasts which took body parts from
the Daihatsu Mira Gino (pictured above) everybody thought the Kelisa was the one to
have. By that time, Perodua ended production and demand for the
little car was so strong that people who sold off their did not lose
much money. In fact, if you compare the 2007 Perodua Viva (the
replacement based on another, newer Mira) with a 2006 Kelisa, you may
find that the asking price of a Kelisa be on par or even higher than
the newer Viva.
Controversy by Jeremy Clarkson
photo: imcdb.org
James May of the Top Gear fame was
quite impressed with the Kelisa and did say that it was somewhat like
the original Mini – affordable and quite fun. However his Top Gear
compatriot, the ever vocal Jeremy Clarkson hated the car for what it
stood for, criticised it, took a sledgehammer and hammered the car before blowing it up with explosives in his 2005 DVD show 'Heaven and Hell'. It
was a hell-like car for him. "Its name was like a disease and
suggested it was built in jungles by people who wear leaves for
shoes."His comments drew criticism from the Malaysian
government, where it was brought up in the Malaysian Parliament.
A
government representative of which countered by stating that no
complaints had been received from any UK customers. Imagine that, so
much uproar over a car until the government somehow felt that they
should issue a statement because of an automotive journalist. I also
thought that at the time the Malaysian Parliament had nothing better
to do as they were so easily offended by a journalist well known for
this sort of remarks. In 2005 I did think that the government should
have debated harder on many other things instead of being offended.
Anyway........
My thoughts on the Kelisa
Of course this was not an iconic
original Mini. It was a Japanese remake of such a car, rebadged, and
then assembled in the heart of Malaysia – in Rawang (or close to
it). Personally, I thought that it drove decently well for something
so small and made to a budget. It actually drove even better than the
Viva which replaced it. The 3 cylinder engine inside it thrummed
happily as you egged it on. It cornered with some precision and was
fun to punt around on the roads in Malaysia. It was affordable fun to
a lot of us.
It wasn't original, but it did made a
lot of us remember the good ol' days when we had small fun cars. It
also looked good. There was some retro styling to it but it was all a
modern compact car. To date, Perodua has not come up with a retro
inspired Mini looking car and it is sorely missed. The new Perodua
entry level car, the Axia at least drives well even though it may not
have super cute looks to back it up (it looks modern and looks just
fine, but it is not one of those cars that just seem huggable or
something like that).
And so, the Perodua Kelisa is still
remembered by many. And many still want one to toy around with to
this day. Fun and affordable little cars don't fade away long after
their production ends.
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