An Australian's perspective

In the New Year I needed to replace my girlfriends 1997 Proton as it was costing too much to maintain. We both live in Australia most of the year and spend a few month in Malaysia. The brief was to find a reliable, well made and affordable car for us to use when we were in Malaysia and for my girlfriends 80 year old Mom to use when we were not. We looked at Perodua, Proton, Kia and Honda. The Honda was just too expensive, especially when compared to Australian prices. The Kia was nice but as the Picanto was the only one in our price range. It was too cramped. The Proton Saga was cheap but the build quality wasn't great and the drive was harsh. The Persona was nice and better quality with a more powerful engine and initially the front runner. We then visited Perodua. The build quality even on the small Axia was much higher. We did find that the 1.0 litre engine was a little under powered. Especially as their are some high hills near where we stay. The Bezza was a instant hit. The legroom was excellent for me and adjustable enough so that Mom felt comfortable driving. The control were well designed and easily reachable. The boot space is HUGE, you could run a market stall out of the back lol. The 1.3 litre engine was noticeably less powerful than the Persona but felt more refined and the automatic transmission much smoother. The other point was price: the Bezza was substantially cheaper than the Persona. We ended up buying the Bezza Premium X and everyone in the family is very happy with it. The build quality is excellent. To give an example, when the windows are up and three doors are shut. The last door takes a bit of effort to shut. This is the sign of excellent body panel fit and seals. Mom finds it very easy to go and do the shopping at the market in the morning and my girlfriend and I find it comfortable to go for long drives in the countryside. If I would change anything. I would add better quality speakers for the stereo and add a less restrictive air filter as the engine feels it could run better. This may just be because it is new. Maybe in a year it will feel different. Overall, very happy with the car and very impressed with the build quality of this local car.