Owner Review: Still an Apple in My Eyes- My Perodua Alza

** This article is the personal experience of a 2014 Perodua Alza owner and does not necessarily reflect the views of WapCar

Facebook: Alex Kew

About My Car

Here is my Perodua Alza SE automatic transmission purchased at the end of 2014. It was priced at RM59,400 including insurance, and I entitled for RM2,000 discount for year-end stock.

I chose the unique colour for my car - Mystical Purple, it is like black colour in low light condition but dark purple under sunlight. The reason being black-painted garnish at the tailgate is not matching other non-black metallic colours and black-coloured Alza is just too common.

Second car in my life but the first car bought by myself

The previous one is a 2005 Perodua Kancil 660cc. It was with me for 5 years before I sold it off, bought by my grandfather.

Everything has a lifespan, issues started to come out from my Kancil and after 4 years of ownership, the cost to fix the issues was getting higher. That is why I start to consider a new car and Perodua Axia was the first car came into my mind in terms of affordability.

Brave decision made

After a short test drive in Perodua showroom, I placed booking for Axia G spec on the spot. However due to the long waiting period, I cancelled my booking and changed to Alza after 1 month. It was a YOLO decision, because I can only afford an Axia at that time, but I was attracted by the Alza's size and practically, not to mention it was the cheapest 7 seater available in Malaysia, and most importantly, approved by my wife.

2 weeks after my car on the road, I got salary increment from my company, so the affordability issue solved immediately.

I got my car from Perodua HQ directly

I am an anxious person, I kept chasing my salesperson to get me the car. Finally, I managed to get my car in 1 week time and my salesperson fetched me to Perodua HQ to get the car directly.

You know how excited is it? All the procedures between salesperson and HQ personnel done in front of me and we unpacked the seat covers and install car plate under the sun (while others done them in showroom). Lastly, I drove the car all the way from Perodua HQ to my home at Subang Jaya, at the same time experiencing new car smell and the smoothness of automatic transmission (my Kancil is a manual unit).

It will never go wrong

Throughout 5 years of ownership, I am still amazed by its large cabin space and the practicality, despite the dimension on paper is smaller compared to other MPVs, the second row space is still almost the largest in the segment, and third row seat can easily fit 2 adults without squeezing their head and legs.

I am now a father of 2, this car comes with ISOFIX mount that allows me to install child seats easily.

Immediately after warranty period ended, I spoiled myself by changing the head unit to a touchscreen one, installation all done by myself and fitted with a reverse camera, the total cost is less than RM100.
 

Fuel consumption is good for an MPV, 1 tank of fuel allows me to travel in city about 350-400km, easily achieve more than 400km if I make interstate travel.

I have clocked close to 130k kilometer now, so far for wear and tear parts, only brake kit and tires have been changed, others are still working well. Based on the knowledge I learnt from my Kancil, it is safer to always service my car in authorized service center on time, do not save money by skipping the mandatory service items recommended by Perodua, this is to ensure my car always runs in tip-top condition.

In overall, here is the good and bad about my Alza:

• Good: Practical, large cabin space, stiff handling, moderate fuel consumption
• Bad: Low NVH level, poor throttle response

To solve the shortcomings, I installed grounding cables to get better fuel consumption and throttle response, and plan to install soundproofing to enhance NVH level anytime soon.

I never talk about the performance of this car, because to me performance is out of the story here, this car meant for carrying people around and comfort oriented.

In Conclusion

This is the car that can never go wrong, simple, less electronics and adequate safety features.

If you ask me what should be the upgrade for this car? No, this car is more than enough to ferry 7 people, unless my family grows to football team size, then I only will consider 11-seaters.

Total Score: 4/5

Performance: 3/5                             

Ride Comfort: 3.5/5

Quality & Feature: 3/5                             

Fuel Economy: 4/5

Space: 5/5                                            

Price & Cost: 5/5