Perodua Myvi

While the cabin of the 2022 Perodua Myvi might not be the most enticing place with a futuristic design to be in, the overall layout is pretty decent for a car of this class. The Myvi comes with an all-black upholstery for the cabin, which is nicely characterized by the contrast satin gold inserts on panels like the centre console, door pads, transmission lever and right side of the driver’s cockpit. In addition to this, the car also gets contrast red-coloured inserts around the AC vents on both the centre console and corners of the dashboard.

Seats and upholstery

The seats of the Perodua Myvi are finished in a theme of black, with the driver seat having 6-way manual adjustability for which you can adjust its height as well. The seats miss out on the modern functionality of ventilation, though. The rear seats come with a 60:40 split-folding pattern, with the having integrated headrests. The all-new Myvi offers eight different possibilities of seating configurations, which can be arranged depending on the type of foldability of the seats.

Comfort and convenience

For its price, the 2022 Perodua Myvi is decently equipped with the bare essential comfort and convenience features. The car gets single-zone automatic climate control, the panel for which is placed in the lower half of the centre console including an array of buttons and a blue-coloured display screen. The steering wheel here is a tilt-adjustable unit, which comes bestowed with buttons for audio and Bluetooth functions. The car also gets a nice TFT MID screen within the instrument console, 12V power outlets and a push start-stop button.

Entertainment, information and communication

The facelifted Myvi features a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system sitting proudly on the upper half of the centre console, which is slightly inclined towards the driver's side. Compatible with a 4-speaker audio system, this 7-inch screen supports audio functions through radio, Bluetooth and USB, though it misses out on the modern essentials like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It, however, does get a new-generation voice command system. The functions of the infotainment system can be controlled through steering-mounted audio controls.

Storage

The cabin of the Perodua Myvi is decently practical with a few storage spaces like cup holders in the centre console, bottle holders in the door panels and a closed glove box on the co-passenger side of the dashboard.

This third-generation Perodua Myvi is completely designed by Perodua’s in-house design team and is not a badge-engineered version of the cars from Toyota and Daihatsu, something which gives it its own identity. The Myvi is available in five colour options of Electric Blue, Granite Grey, Lava Red, Glittering Silver and Ivory White.

The Perodua Myvi has a striking front fascia, which comprises a large grille with a thin strip of chrome running across its width. The wing-shaped sweptback headlamps flanking the upper edges of the front grille are full-LED units. Garnished with triangular chrome inserts on their outer lower edges, these headlamps support auto on-off, follow-me-home and leaving home functions. The corners of the front bumper come attached with vertical strips of daytime running LEDs, while at the bottom, the front bumper gets a silver skid plate and mild body cladding.

The side profile of the 2022 Perodua Myvi is characterized by a sharp crease running upwards from the front fender to the outer edge of the tail lamp. The chrome door handles and 15-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels in the top-spec variant do enhance the premium quotient of the car. At the back, the Myvi has a simplistic design with conventional-looking tail lamps and a rear bumper having vertical black plastic garnishes.

The Perodua Myvi measures 3895mm long, 1735mm wide and 1515mm tall, and has a wheelbase of 2,500mm and a ground clearance of 160mm. In terms of capacity, the Myvi gets a boot space of 277 litres and a fuel tank capacity of 36 litres, which are decent for a vehicle of this size. While the 1.5-litre variants run on 15-inch wheels with 185/55 R15 tyres, the other 1.3-litre variants in the lineup ride on smaller 175/65 R14 tyres.

Apart from being refined and smoother in their power deliveries, these engine options also impress with their fuel economy figures. While the 1.3-litre petrol engine delivers a fuel economy of 22.2 kmpl, the more powerful 1.5-litre petrol engine is minutely less-efficient with a claimed fuel economy of 21.1 kmpl. Both these engine options are blessed with Toyota’s famed VVT-i (variable valve timing) and ‘Eco Idle’ start-stop system, the latter of which helps the Myvi in achieving the exceptional fuel economy figures it claims for both the engine options on offer.

The third-generation Perodua Myvi has a very conventional mechanical setup for its chassis under its shell. The car gets a suspension combination of Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear, while the braking combination is of disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear.

The Myvi is a decent car to drive with a light steering setup, which makes it a breeze to drive in urban driving conditions. However, when the speeds rise, the steering might not have the precision in its inputs and doesn’t accordingly, something which might not be appreciated by one who loves to be behind the steering wheel most of the time.

For the urban driving conditions on the streets filled with traffic, the Myvi offers a relaxed driving experience, with a small turning radius of just 5.1 meters, which is good enough for a car that measures around 3.9 meters in length. There is a steering wheel power mode on offer for the 1.5-litre variants, which makes the steering responses slightly sportier. The brakes are fine too, if not too precise and sharp in their action.

The Perodua Myvi is offered as a petrol-only hatchback in Malaysia, with the lineup offering two types of petrol-powered engines. The lower G (without PSDA) and G variants are powered by a 1.3-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, while the other three variants – X, H and AV – offer a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine. Both these engine options are sourced from Toyota’s global family of powertrains.

The 1.3-litre petrol engine is capable of producing a maximum power output of 95 PS and a maximum torque output of 121 Nm. On the other hand, the bigger 1.5-litre petrol engine can put up a maximum power output of 104 PS and a peak torque output of 137 Nm. Both these engine options come paired to a CVT gearbox as standard across all the variants.

The Perodua Myvi is one of the most affordable cars in the Malaysian car market to offer a setoff autonomous driving assistance systems, which are available in all variants and are a part of the Perodua Smart Drive Assist (PSDA) package. The base-spec G variant can be had in an optional version, which misses out on these ADAS functions.

The list of autonomous driving assistance systems offered in 2022 Perodua Myvi is pre-collision warning, pre-collision braking, pedal misoperation control and front departure alert, all of which are parts of advanced safety assist. The PSDA package also has a set of driving assist features such as lane departure warning, lane departure prevention, adaptive cruise control, lane keep control and blind-spot monitoring. In addition, there is a parking assist package included in it, which has a reverse camera, front and rear parking sensors and an automatic high beam.

The other crucial safety features available in Perodua Myvi are front and side airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability control, traction control, emergency stop signal, hill start assist, auto-locking and unlocking of doors and ISOFIX mounts for child seats. The 2022 Myvi holds a 5-star ASEAN NCAP rating.

Warranty

All the variants of the Perodua Myvi are offered with standard basic warranty coverage of 3 years or 100,000 km (whichever comes earlier). In addition to this, Perodua is also offering a major parts coverage, which spans 5 years or 150,000 km (whichever comes first).

Perodua Myvi vs the competition

Following are the top three competitors of Perodua Myvi in the Malaysian car market”

Proton Iriz – Another prominent local carmaker from Malaysia, Proton also has a similar kind of offering in the premium hatchback space in the form of Iriz. Like the Myvi, the Proton Iriz is also on sale with two naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine options – a 1.3-litre 94 PS petrol and a 1.6-litre 107 PS petrol.

Honda Jazz – The Honda Jazz might be positioned slightly higher than the Perodua Myvi and is already on the verge of the end of its life cycle. But even today, the Jazz is one of the best and most premium hatchbacks money can buy. In Malaysia, the Honda Jazz is available solely with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated 120 PS petrol engine.

Toyota Yaris – Another car which is priced slightly higher than the market positioning of the Perodua Myvi is the very popular Toyota Yaris. The Yaris has become famed for its practicality, reliability and ease of driving. In Malaysia, the Toyota Yaris is on offer with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which produces 107 PS of maximum power.

Final words

Despite wearing the latest design language by Perodua, the Myvi lacks the premium appeal of its direct rivals and looks a bit dated, especially on the inside. However, at the price range in which it is being offered, the Perodua Myvi undercuts all of its rivals, which makes it a stellar value for money proposition.

Then there is a set of positive attributes, which make it an ideal option for those who are seeking value. Both the petrol engine options on offer in the 2022 Perodua Myvi offer class-leading fuel efficiency figures, while it is one of the most affordable cars to offer autonomous driving assistance systems, even in its lower variants. The car gets a decent amount of features and space, which makes it a valid choice for car buyers having small families.