Perodua Alza – Hits & misses

Perodua is a household name in Malaysia, and their Alza compact MPV is almost just as famous. It’s no news that Perodua is one of the two local auto giants in the country, and it aims to offer Malaysians some of the most affordable, safe, and decently built new cars in the market. The Alza was first introduced in 2009 and represented the marque’s first attempt at building a B-segment MPV. Nearly a decade on, it’s one of the automaker’s highest-selling cars in the region, with over 350,000 units sold till date. In 2018, the Perodua Alza received its most recent facelift. The update brought in some cosmetic revisions, better technology, and an improved interior. However, the Alza is still not a perfect car, and hence, here are some of its major hits and misses.

Perodua Alza Hits

Price

This, right here, is by and far one of the biggest hits of the Perodua Alza. Pricing is an essential factor when most people choose to buy a new car. It’s even more significant if you’re an automaker that serves average Joes - something which high-end car manufacturers have the liberty to ignore. Thankfully, the Perodua Alza is priced rather aggressively - much to the satisfaction and benefit of potential buyers. The base trim of the Alza (1.5 S) costs just RM 51,490 with the manual transmission and RM 54,290 with the automatic. Meanwhile, the mid-option trim (1.5 SE) costs RM 56,890, and the range-topping AV starts at RM 62,690. To put that into perspective, the base variant of the Toyota Avanza will set you back by at least RM 80,888.

Practical interior

An MPV is supposed to be great at hauling around people and their belongings without throwing a hissy fit. While larger MPVs are brilliant at this, the compact Perodua Alza does an admirable job, too. While it may lack the sheer volume and space of MPVs a segment or so higher, it more than makes up for that by being one of the most practical cars around. There are loads of cubbies and storage spaces for keeping your knick-knacks, while there’s no dearth of flexibility either. Depending on your mission, the Alza’s seats can be split, folded, moved, and tumbled. This means it can be carrying seven people one day, and the next minute, it could have just one person in the back and act as a makeshift limo. The driver’s also in luck as all the essential controls are easy to reach and ergonomically placed.

Decent ride, easy to drive

Despite its budget nature, the Perodua Alza’s suspension has been well-tuned for our roads and driving conditions. It’s soft enough to tackle unkept pavement and the occasional pothole or two. The light steering wheel along with excellent all-around visibility also makes driving the Alza around town and parking it a trouble-free affair.

Perodua Alza Misses

Design

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Perodua Alza is its unimaginative and boxy design. This might make it practical and is definitely a function-over-form kind of vehicle, but boy does it look boring! Perodua has tried to make it seem more interesting by making the front fascia look good, though things quickly fall off the cliff as you walk around the rest of the car. The interior of the Alza isn’t any better, either. It’s mostly just acres and acres of grey trim, and while the controls might be easy to use, none invokes any sense of style or fun. The centre stack could have been better designed, as it looks unimaginative and the centre-dash mounted instrument cluster setup is just plain annoying.

Quality

Almost everything inside this cabin feels like it has been built to a price, which is true. There are just way too many scratchy, unpleasant plastic bits inside this cabin - even for a car as affordable as the Alza. While the leather surfaces and seats feel good, the quality of the infotainment head unit is simply not satisfactory. Its display isn’t very legible in really sunny situations, plus the glossy finish surrounding the screen itself reflects a lot of outside light. The instrument cluster as well can be tricky to read while you’re driving as it’s not appropriately angled towards the driver. On top of that, you’d need a pair of binoculars to read anything that’s presented on the tiny digital display that’s placed inside of it.

Lack of features

Even the top variant of the Alza misses out on features such as automatic climate control, cruise control, and electronic stability control - the lack of which hurts its ASEAN NCAP rating, scoring just 4-stars. Meanwhile, the roof-mounted rear display isn’t too good, either.