Is the Daihatsu Sirion any different than the Perodua Myvi?

Daihatsu Sirion vs Perodua Myvi

In case you were wondering, the Perodua car brand is owned by Toyota and Toyota owns Daihatsu. Sounds complicated? Well, it's simple, Perodua is the second national car brand in Malaysia and when they started the business they needed a technology, engineering and platform partner and it was Daihatsu Motors Japan that shook hands with them as the Malaysian government requirement for a national car was to be compact simple city cars with low running costs. A car for the mass lower income group.

So, Daihatsu Motors stopped selling their Charade compact car in Malaysia and Perodua was born. Since the start of business, the Perodua range has increased to include other Daihatsu models, like the Sirion which was the birth of the Perodua Myvi (the most popular Perodua model ever).

Now, years later, Toyota Motor has taken an active role with Daihatsu to make Perodua popular in ASEAN nations. This ‘branding’ has not been so popular as in markets like Indonesia and Thailand, as buyers still want the ‘Japanese’ name plate and not a Malaysian ‘nameplate’.

This is why the current Perodua Myvi is sold in Indonesia as the Daihatsu Sirion. With a full design and technology team in Perodua’s headquarters in Rawang, Malaysia, the Daihatsu team over the past decade has ensured a Japanese quality compact car leaves the factory every day for Malaysian and also Indonesian customers.

With this latest Perodua Myvi, which was launched on the 18th of May 2021, Perodua offers two engine variants, a 1.3L and a 1.5L engine. Working with a dual mode CVT that replaces the older 4-speed gearbox. 

Safety features are on par with cars costing almost twice as much and this further increases the appeal of this new Myvi. 

This version of the Myvi (third generation) was first introduced in Indonesia in February 2018 as the Daihatsu Sirion. There was no ‘Japanese’ version for export from Daihatsu Motors. The Indonesian buyers got the same car as the Malaysians, but with some small differences like colour choices, alloy wheel design and the cabin entertainment head-unit. 

If you visit the Daihatsu Sirion official website in Indonesia you will see the ‘Myvi’ being promoted  in two variants, the X CVT and the R CVT with 5 official colours, updated safety features and just one engine option, the 1,329cc DOHC Dual VVT-i. There is no 1.5L version however there is a 5-speed manual version for Indonesia. The 5-speed manual version has been discontinued in Malaysia as the demand was less than 1 percent of total sale volume. 

Also read: 2023 Perodua Alza is just around the corner