The 'Perodua' brand may be unfamiliar to some Singaporeans, especially if you don't travel up North a lot. Perodua is actually Malaysia's largest automobile manufacturer, with a focus on small, economical hatchback cars. Established in 1992, the brand launched its first ever car in 1994, the Perodua Kancil. Today, an estimated 35.5 percent of cars plying Malaysian roads carry a Perodua badge.
Like Proton, Perodua is a fairly common household name in Malaysia. Now, the brand is here with something completely different and new - it's first ever sedan.
Perodua Bezza - A new age of Malaysian sedans
Launched in Malaysia on 21st July 2016, the Perodua Bezza is built as a complement to its best-selling Axia hatchback model. Based on the same platform, the new Bezza will be offered in Singapore with a 1.3-litre four-cylinder Dual VVT-i engine in Premium X trim.
Like the Axia, the Bezza has also been developed with a focus on superior fuel economy. Primed for fuel efficiency, Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) engine is built to be compact and lightweight, so that it reduces fuel consumption as well as levels of vibration and noise.
Paired to either a four-speed automatic gearbox or a five-speed manual transmission (both of which will be available here), the Bezza's fuel economy is rated at 21km/L with the automatic transmission and 21.7km/L with the manual box.
On offer is 94bhp and 121Nm of torque from the engine - while it may sound slightly underwhelming on paper, do remember that the car only weighs in at a touch over 900kg, so there isn't a whole lot of weight to be hauled around (the car has a power to weight ratio of 103bhp/tonne). The car also boasts a minimum turning radius of 4.5m, which is excellent as compared to other compact sedans such as the Mitsubishi Attrage (4.8 metre minimum turning radius) and the Toyota Vios (5.1 metre minimum turning radius).
Beyond compact
The Bezza is also the first Perodua model to be designed in-house, meaning that it isn't directly based on any Daihatsu model (the brand's Japanese partner).
While Daihatsu (now globally wholly owned by Toyota) provided technical support on the car's development, the design responsibilities were completely undertaken by Perodua.
With cars like the Attrage and Vios plentiful on our roads, the Bezza's exterior styling shouldn't be unfamiliar. It has the same compact sedan dimensions, narrow and tall, as well as a perked up backside.
Within this compact body, you also get exceptional space and excellent usability, thanks to its flexible cabin arrangements. The rear seat backs split fold 60:40, and the front passenger seat back can be tilted back fully to accommodate longer items.
And with a generous 508 litres of boot space which fits up to six travel bags, the Bezza will certainly meet the hauling requirements for most families. In comparison, the Attrage offers 450 litres of boot space, while the Vios offers 506 litres.
A taste of something different
Admittedly, the Perodua brand has yet to really make a sizable mark in our local market. Of course, this can be attributed to several different factors, including COE prices and taxes severely driving up the prices of such 'affordable' city cars, as well as the difference in buyer demographics.
And yet, Perocom Auto Pte Ltd, the sole Perodua distributor in Singapore, is hoping that the new Bezza will help the brand make further inroads here in Singapore. It offers drivers looking for an affordable, economical, practical and easy-to-use car another alternative. After all, the name 'Bezza' is derived from the Malay word beza, which means 'different'. Additionally, the letters 'zz' in 'Bezza' represents the number 22, as it was launched in Perodua's 22nd year in business. This new car is certainly something different, both for the brand, as well as its customers.
To find out more about the Perodua Bezza, you can contact Perocom Auto Pte Ltd at 6880 8101. The Perodua showroom is located at 18 Ubi Road 4 #01-01 Ubi Car Mall Singapore (408616). The new Bezza is set to be launched on 4th February 2017, so stay tuned for more details. If you want to know about how the car performs on the road, look out for the upcoming road test that we shall be conducting.
