All-new Perodua Alza or the Toyota Veloz to buy tomorrow

Which makes more sense to buy, the new Alza or Veloz twin? 

For the past two months, pictures and news of the arrival of a brand new Perodua Alza have been circulating on Malaysian social media and even before bookings were announced there was a Facebook fan page up and running with detailed information about the specifications and possible selling prices as it is a well-known fact that all Perodua models are direct siblings to Daihatsu and Toyota models that are popular in Indonesia.

Yes, the ASEAN compact car space is dominated by Daihatsu and ‘big brother’ Toyota who ‘lends’ a helping hand in drivetrain technology and design.

Just like the Perodua Aruz which was launched in January 2019, its direct sibling, the Toyota RUSH arrived earlier in late October 2018 at a higher asking price. The lower-priced Perodua Aruz came from the same factory and had almost identical specifications and features (just some small differences but a big price difference) however its launch price was very attractive at RM 68,526 to RM 73,226 whereas the Toyota Rush was priced from RM 88,314 to a high RM 91,885 giving a smaller demand over the Aruz.

Now with this all-new Perodua Alza which is a close sibling to the Toyota Veloz, we have just seen the release of the Toyota Veloz (without a big costly launch gambit) at a price from RM 95,000 with a few added features over the Perodua Alza which is open for booking at RM 62,000 to RM 75,000.

This time around, ‘big brother’ Toyota has done a very quiet release as the Alza launch is planned for July 2022, just weeks away.

With a RM 20,000 plus price difference, many are asking if it is worth the effort to visit a Toyota showroom for the Veloz or just make a booking for the new Alza and save the RM 20,000. 

Well, from the information shared, it seems that the RM20,000 savings are as follows.

• The Toyota Veloz will get Qi wireless charging just like the Toyota Corolla Cross.
• The Veloz will come with Apple CarPlay and the new Alza will not.
• The Veloz will ride on larger 17-inch wheels whereas the Alza will ride on 15 and 16-inch wheels.
• Inside the cabin, the Veloz will have a soft-touch dashboard and the Alza will just be hard plastic like the older Alza.
• The Veloz will also get ambient lights inside and the Alza will not.
• Of course, there will be some small changes on the exterior like the headlamps, real tail-lamps and also grille design.

So, like with the Toyota Rush sales numbers against the Perodua Aruz sales numbers, we are sure the all-new Alza will outsell its sibling 1000 to 1 as the current economic situation is not the best and there will be many current Alza owners waiting to trade in their tired Alza’s for this new larger and better equipped Alza that has increased in price by just RM 4,000 to RM 11,000 over 11 years. 

Also read: Buy the Toyota Corolla Cross or book the 2023 Honda HR-V?