Perodua Aruz Open For Booking - Seems like Super Value at RM72,200 Onwards!

It's been an extremely busy end of 2018 and early 2019 for me folks! First, there was the usual year end holidays to get through. I ended up in Phuket, Thailand for some R&R (if you follow Motoring Malaysia on YouTube and on our Facebook page, you know we've been quite active with a couple of posts). Then there was the first week of school to get through. I have a 14 year old daughter to deal with and I need some time to get things settled. Of course, Perodua had to deal with trigger happy dealers who leaked details of the new Perodua Aruz 7 Seater SUV until they had to announce details on it mid-last week! 

[Update - link to the test drive article is here - no photographs though..as it still hasn't been officially launched]

Anyway, the long awaited Perodua SUV has been announced and is now open for booking. The Perodua Aruz is now open for booking with estimated prices of between RM72,200 and RM77,200 (on-the-road before insurance in Peninsular Malaysia). This is Perodua's fourth transformation model which will set standards for Perodua  in terms of quality, space, fuel efficiency and safety – with a 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating. It will also come with a 5 year / 150,000km warranty (whichever comes first) which is testament to Perodua's faith in this new vehicle.

“The Perodua Aruz is expected to complement our existing product line-up and based on our value proposition, we expect sales of this new model to average 2,500 units monthly or 31,200 units by end-2019,” said Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

The Perodua Aruz will be offered in two variants - the 1.5 X and 1.5 Advance, with five colours available – Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Electric Blue, Granite Grey and a new Amazon Green. It will be fitted with Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill Start Assist (HSA), ISOFIX and six airbags, all standard across the range. This is quite a lot of safety features as standard.

Furthermore, the Advance variant gets an upgraded version of the Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) active safety suite, called ASA 2.0. ASA 2.0 adds pedestrian detection (up to 50 km/h) to the safety suite and increases the operational speeds of Pre-Collision Warning to 100 km/h and Pre-Collision Braking to 80 km/h. The safety suite continues to incorporate Front Departure Alert and Pedal Misoperation Control 

Note the same ' Pedal Misoperation' description in its sister vehicle - the Toyota Rush which we tested earlier - read that here as it drives the same from what I gather after I tried out the Aruz together with some other media folks end of 2018 - told you I was busy - and this was the reason I was at the Perodua HQ taking a pic or two of the Perodua Nautica (Which was the previous Toyota Rush/Daihatsu Terios) you see in this earlier article..

The ASA 2.0 system is a driver assistance system that helps to reduce the risk of collisions and is by no means a substitute for safe driving. Always be alert and cautious behind the wheel. Do note that this is an entry level SUV and whilst it is equipped with such an advanced safety system, it isn't foolproof. It is still something made and designed to its price range. And it was designed in 2018 and not something from 2025.

The Perodua Aruz is fitted with an aluminium-block 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine with Dual VVT-i and an electronically-controlled automatic transmission (E-AT). It makes around 105ps and 136 Nm torque and provides adequate performance to push it along. Adequate is the word here folks. The drivetrain is fitted with Eco Idle to give a best-in-class rated fuel efficiency of 15.6km/l, allowing it to be government-certified as an Energy-Efficient Vehicle (EEV).

Exterior styling includes LED headlamps with follow-me-home function (auto lights on Advance variant). The SUV gets 17-inch two-tone alloys in 215/60 aspect ratio tyres. This makes it have a ground clearance of 220 mm. There are Perodua specific bumpers and grille to differentiate it from the Toyota Rush variant also. There are some slight differences folks. When its launched, you will be able to see it for yourselves.

Inside, Smart Entry with Push Start/Stop Button is also standard, while the Advance variant adds fog lamps and roof rails for extra style points. There is the Perodua-developed anti-snatch hook to deter handbag thieves and fold-away utility hooks on the backs of the front seats.

All variants get a Perodua specific touch-screen radio with reverse camera display, digital air-con with two memory settings, air vents for the rear passengers and a built-in toll card reader. There are slight differences in the dashboard centre area compared to the Toyota Rush variant. Oh, it is fitted with 11 cup holders instead of 13. The second row is split 60:40 while the third row is split 50:50. Both rows can slide, fold and tumble for various seating and loading configurations. There are USB charging ports in all three rows (It is 2019 you know).

Interior equipment exclusive to the Advance variant are leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with call-receive controls, plus an integrated driving video recorder. The Advance also gets HDMI, Smart Link, Bluetooth and navigation added to its touch-screen system. 

At RM77,200 estimated pricing, this is an incredibly good price. Compare this to the RM90k+ Toyota Rush variant and you can see that its quite amazing that there is such a vast difference in price.

I will put my first drive impressions and my opinion on the Perodua Aruz on another article. Stay tuned.

Click on the photos to enlarge