Perodua Unveils Refreshed Axia

Since its introduction in September 2014, the Perodua Axia has been Malaysia’s most affordable car and Perodua’s most popular car. Recently, the second national carmaker has given the A-segment hatchback a mid-life update, on both its appearance and powertrain.

The facelifted Axia was officially unveiled at MYPerodua Nation carnival at AEON Shah Alam shopping mall last weekend although the new car has arrived in Perodua showrooms across the nation few days earlier. Bookings has also been opened since January 13.

What’s new?

As far as the facelift is concerned, the Axia – both Standard and SE/Advance - receive some alterations on their appearance. The Standard E and G variants now wear a redesigned front grille which gives them a bolder front fascia. A tiny-but-useful addition to the new Axia would be the tailgate handle, replacing the external keyhole on the previous car. However, the 14-inch wheels, the red tail lights, and bumper design remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, the sportier-looking and more expensive Axia SE and Advance models underwent a bigger design revision. The ‘Angry Birds’ look with huge grille is replaced with a twin chrome bar grille, restyled front bumper as well as new fog lights housing. The SE and Advance models are also fitted with chrome door handles with keyless entry function, new tailgate handle and adopt the ‘spiral design’ 14-inch wheels from the Bezza Advance. Items that are retained from the pre-facelift models are the side mirror LED signal, rear bumper design, and clear tail lights.

Changes on the interior are limited to new fabric seat designs for Standard and SE models, new grey stitching (red on the previous models), new Eco-Drive Mode light and a revised instrument cluster design on all variants. The SE and Advance variants are further equipped with a push start button. Infotainment wise, the Advance gains a new touchscreen system with Android-compatible ‘Smart Link’ screen mirroring.

Under the hood of the refreshed Axia is a new Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) engine that replaces the current KR engine. Output figures are up by 1 hp and 1 Nm to 67 hp and 91 Nm. The VVT-i unit was first available on the Bezza sedan. This means the new Axia’s fuel economy is rated at 22.5 km/L in Eco-Driving mode, a slight bump on the already-efficient figure of 21.6 km/L on the previous model. We believe that the fitment of the VVT-i engine on the new Axia is to standardize the production of Perodua’s engine manufacturing facility as the Axia and Bezza are built around the similar platform.

The new Axia is equipped with dual front airbags and ABS as standard (from the Standard G onwards), but no ESC even on the range-topping variant. Depends on the variant, the new car is retailed from RM24,900 all the way to RM42,900, with price increment of up to RM2,773. Buyers can have their Axia in four colors; Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Ebony Black and Midnight Blue while the SE and Advance can be further opted with two additional shades – Solid Sunflower Yellow and Metallic Lava Red. The Lemongrass Green and Cherry Blossom has been dropped.

Perodua announced that they have collected around 3,000 bookings for the new Axia since it is available for orders on January 13. The company aims to sell around 6,000 units of new Axia per month.