How Far Can You Go On One Tank?

If you’re a regular listener of the local English radio stations, you must have, at some point or other, listened to the advertisement that stars an Encik Rahman, asked to spell out in one breath how far can his Perodua Viva go in one tank. Encik Rahman then goes on like a locomotive naming “Jalan Raja Chulan, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Kuching ….” before running out of breath.

Well, Encik Rahman, I’ve got news for you. The exercise would have been a lot shorter with a Proton Waja, “KL, Singapore, and back.” On average, my Waja, a manual Campro MC3 version gives about 10 kilometres out of every litre of fuel burned. In its 60 litre tank, this translates to an extrapolated range of 600km per tank. Driving in urban traffic, this figure varies between 570km (9.5km/l) and, if I am good, 620km (10.3km/l) on the rare occasion.

On pure highway driving, I’ve managed to extract up to 14 km/l (extrapolates to 850km per tank), which, on last July, led me to attempt taking the car to our neighbours down south and back using only one tank of petrol. The journey to the island was driven by my brother with me as passenger and all his luggage in the car boot, while I brought the car home on my own.

We filled the tank up to the brim just before leaving, and in the island, the car was in the custody of my brother for a couple days before I headed home. On my way back up north, I even took a detour to Batu Pahat which added 60km to the trip meter by the time I got back to the PLUS highway. The fuel warning light came on while I was still in Malacca stretch, but I drove on until Kajang before refuelling with 827.2km reading on the tripmeter.

This little ’success’ led me to repeat the attempt with Penang, twice. Both attempts, which were actually part of motor treasure hunts which I participated, failed, as I eventually had to refuel either at Tapah or Simpang Pulai on the way back down south. The full load, multiple stopovers and the need to keep to time made an economy run almost impossible. Further diminishing my chances were the fact that the PLUS highway route up north has substantially more gradients and curves compared to the southern stretch.

For my previous car, a 3-speed Iswara 1.5 auto, this challenge would have been even more hopeless, even if I was driving alone. The car needed only one leg of the journey to empty its 45-litre tank, even while averaging below the national speed limit. A KL-Penang trip in that car would easily be a three tank affair - one tank to drive to Penang, one tank to drive around the island, one more to drive back to KL.

Further back into the past, a friend once drove five of us in a Waja 4G18 auto from KL to the island. I remember back then how we were fooled by the less than linear nature of the Waja’s fuel gauge into thinking we still had half a tank of fuel left despite not refuelling since arriving from KL three days earlier. We passed Juru, Gunung Semanggol, Sg Perak and Simpang Pulai rest stations without stopping, the light came on, and the fuel gauge was apparently racing to the ‘0′ mark. It was a nervy 40 kilometres of 90kph driving before we reached the petrol station at Tapah.

Last week, when I was invited to the Life in the Fast Lane event featuring Eddie Jordan in Penang, I saw an opportunity to attempt this ‘one tank’ challenge again. This time, the odds are better stacked in my favour. I was going alone, I was carrying clothes for only a day, I needed two rest stops at most, and there wasn’t going to be a lot of town driving taking place. I was simply going to drive straight to the hotel, and head back to KL straightaway the next morning.

The event was scheduled to start at 7pm, but thanks to my tight schedule, I only managed to depart KL city centre at 1pm. The heavy traffic of the city, and also a pre-departure fuel stop at Kepong meant that it was past 2pm when I finally got onto PLUS highway. This was bad news on two folds - precious minutes and kilometres could be lost just like that. The lost minutes would mean that I will have to floor it a little in order to make the function on time, and by not moving, I am burning fuel without extracting any kilometres out of it. On both counts, this would lead to certain penalties in my final fuel consumption (FC) figure. At that point, I could only hope it wouldn’t turn out to be costly.

............................................Filling up at Kepong.........................................

...........................Heavy traffic had affect on both time and economy.......................

As I was getting out of the city in a hurry, my first stop was made early in the journey, at Rawang for a quick lunch. Grabbed a couple of pastries from the bakery; not particularly good, but they were sufficient to keep my tummy filled. As I headed out of the the rest stop, I spotted what seems to be an abandoned stolen car. Anyone who has recently lost a grey Proton Wira Aeroback (registry JFR 4572), please head to the north-bound PLUS rest stop at Rawang.

.......................Lunch at Rawang rest stop. Pastry here not recommended.....................

................................Missing car - Proton Wira Aeroback JFR 4572.............................

On the highway, with the objective of keeping FC down, I maintained almost feather weight pressure on the accelerator. My Waja duly obliged, rarely breaching the 100kph mark as we took almost an hour just to cross into the borders of Perak. In fact, it felt as if as the car itself also intends to complete the entire trip in one tank. Usually, on the highways, after settling into 5th gear at 90-110kph, even under light throttle, the speedo would cheekily inch its way to the 130 mark and settle there. Then, as the highway stretches even longer, the Campro motor would slowly pull itself into its peak torque sweet spot of 4,000rpm and hold position.

...............The Waja was keen to settle at mundane speeds of 90-100kph… initially…...........

This time, it behaved differently. Even applying a light shove on the throttle, for overtaking, it just lazily spins a few revs more to get closer to the national speed limit. Being its owner for two years, I am quite certain that this car really has a mind of its own. I was approaching Ipoh when that thought crossed my mind, and at that moment, the car suddenly came to life. Without even the slightest provocation on the accelerator, came a sudden rush of torque from the engine. I happily rode the surge to a few notches above the national speed limit before reining it back.

But, at the end of the day, it was still most comfortable at the higher reaches of the speed limit

The Waja is a car not without flaws, even if we exclude the build quality problems which plagued earlier batches. While the quality issues are pretty much resolved with the Campro and CPS versions, other quirks remain. It would seem that Proton was too pre-occupied infusing it with Lotus-inspired handling, they neglected to give it the same driveability in tight spaces. Its ergonomics, turning circle, and all-round visibility, if I am to be kind, is far from being the best in the business.

Once on the highway however, the Waja settles into its element, with rock solid stability along the straights at any speed. Its weighty controls, which can be tiring in congested city driving, becomes confidence inspiring on the highways. High speed stability is definitely the Waja’s biggest trump card as far as I am concerned. Despite being nearly a decade old, this remains an excellent chassis design.

................................Going through the famous Jelapang tunnel.............................

The famous twisty stretch after the tunnel and Jelapang interchange called for some third and fourth gear action to help rein in the Waja’s understeering tendencies. While this added a few revs to the engine, it made keeping the car in line so much easier, especially useful when overtaking at a corner. The older 4G18 Wajas, with their stiffer spring settings, would be better acquitted to this stretch. For the MC3 version which I am driving, the emphasis has been shifted towards comfort, a theme continued in the CPS version, which migrated from 55-series to 60-series tyres.

After clearing the twisty bits, I gave myself and the car a brief respite at the Sg Perak rest area before hitting the road again. Picking up the pace, I reached the bridge just over an hour later at 5:30pm. My timing couldn’t be more excellent, departing KL at lunch hour and arriving at Penang in the evening, I found myself squaring up against rush hour traffic of two of the country’s most congested cities in one day. The function was scheduled to start at 7:00pm, so there was still plenty of time for me to make it to Batu Feringgi.

.......................................What about for manual cars?.......................................

........................Traffic on the Penang bridge threatens to hold up progress..................

As I crawled through the snarling traffic on the Penang bridge, it was time to evaluate my chances of making the return trip back to KL the next morning without refueling. To those of you not in the know, there’s a little quirk in the Waja’s fuel gauge - it’s not linear. The ‘full’ and ‘empty’ positions are correctly marked, but that’s it. I’ve worked out that the ‘3/4′ mark corresponds to half-tank. I also know, from experience, that the fuel warning light comes out when there is about 10 litres of petrol left in the tank - good for about 100km in mixed driving conditions.

With this, I need to make sure of two things the following day. One, the fuel gauge is still hovering at the ‘3/4′ mark when I reach Batu Feringgi. Two, the fuel warning light comes out well within a 100km radius of KL. These two indicators would be the markers of my potential success or failure. Coming back to the present, traffic on the bridge continued at a snail’s pace as I took almost an eternity to get onto the island. Like it was in KL, the jam in Penang was threatening to give me bad news on two folds.

...Traffic did ease up as I got closer to Batu Feringgi, but it still took one and a half hours....

The immediate concern was time - I eventually reached Shangri-La just on time at 7:00pm, despite having more than one and half hours to get from Butterworth to Batu Feringgi. Upon my arrival, I spotted a very familiar looking car at the parking lot. It was a Honda Accord, which I instantly recognised as one of the test cars Honda Malaysia lends out to the media. In fact, YS had already driven this very same car in the middle of 2008.

...............Watch out for this car in one of our local auto magazines next month..............

I had to head home immediately the next morning. A quick check of the fuel gauge: it’s hovering just below the ‘3/4′ mark. This is going to be close. I moved without delay. By 8:30pm, I had already checked out of the hotel and headed home. Traffic on the way out of the island was surprisingly clear, and I was back on the highway in no time. It was a pretty uneventful drive back, as I maintained light but steady pressure on the throttle. Only quick stops at Sungai Bakap and Simpang Pulai punctuated the journey as I was scheduled to be back in KL by 2pm.

A quick check of the fuel gauge before departing in the morning. There should be just about enough to get back.

.......................Smooth traffic out of island helped save time and petrol......................

..........................................Quick stop at Sg Bakap..........................................

.........................Now at Simpang Pulai, refuelling still not necessary.........................

As I approached Tapah, the fuel warning light has yet to come out. Good. That means that I have more than 100km worth of fuel left in the tank, which is as well, because the next petrol station is over 70 kays away at Ulu Bernam. You can’t afford to bypass this stop if your tank is running low. My fuel gauge well into the lower half, but still some distance away from being empty. There should be enough to get me comfortably into the confines of the Klang Valley, and certainly more than enough to reach Ulu Bernam.

The warning light eventually came on just shy of the Perak/Selangor border, with the tripmeter reading just over 640km mark. If I don’t drive like an idiot, the Federal Territory was definitely within touching distance. Completing this challenge was going to be a formality. With that knowledge, I drove on past the petrol station at Ulu Bernam, but the fuel gauge continued its almost visible downwards slide.

The digital tripmeter displayed the big seven-oh-oh, a rare occurence as far as this car is concerned. Satisfied that I was sufficiently deep inside the Klang Valley, I pulled over at the Sg Buloh flyover restaurant to refuel with the tripmeter reading 708.9km. The nozzle at the Esso station only let in 56.650 litres of fuel into my tank. The simple arithmetics say that on average, my fuel consumption was at 8 litres/100km, or 12.5km/l.


Final trip meter reading at Sg Buloh - 708.9km (Reflection on meter panels ruined many attempts at photographing meter face). Approximately 56.65 litres of petrol needed to bring a Waja from KL to Penang and back.

To be honest, I have recorded better consumption figures with this car on the highway, but this is definitely the best I have managed on the northern stretch of the PLUS highway. If you’re wondering, there was no need to drive at a snail’s pace or with the air-conditioning off. I was driving, especially on the return leg, with a pretty liberal interpretation of the national speed limit. All I did was to ensure a steady build-up of speed and then attempted to maintain the speed with a minimum of effort. There were even times where I explored the upper ranges of the engine’s rev range to pull away from tailgaters.

If you’re wondering why I bothered with this exercise, well, the reason is that simply because I can. It was simply the satisfaction of doing it, not to mention the good story telling material available when the topic moves into fuel consumption. Without quoting figures, ’driving from KL to Penang and back in one tank’ sounds quite impressive to many people. The other part of the truth, which I don’t really need to share in my storytelling, is that the second thing that Proton got right with the Waja after its ride and handling, was definitely the size of its fuel tank.

Photos Of The Tata Nano

More photos of the Tata Nano


Here are more photos of the new Tata 1 Lakh Car, the Tata Nano. The photos include some of the car’s interior, which is so basic that its seats do not have reclining functions, and the instrument panel lacks an RPM meter.

The red car in this post with the unpainted black bumper is the basic version, which does not include air conditioning. As you can see, its very basic with steel wheels and etc. The yellow car is the more “luxurious” version, if the word may be stretched this far. It includes alloy wheels, climate control and other features.

Tata Nano Delivery In July

Tata Nano Officially Goes On Sale, Delivery In July!


The Tata Nano is officially here and on sale! Bear in mind this is the Indian domestic market version and not the larger, more well-equipped version that was showcased as the Tata Nano Europa recently.

The Indian version of the Nano will go on sale from the 1st of April onwards at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships and other select authorised outlets, available in 3 variants - Standard, CX and LX, with a 24,000km or 18 month warranty. The cheapest one is priced at 1 lakh as promised, but only when it leaves the factory, after that it gets some other costs tagged on including shipping, taxes and registration.

The Tata Nano has its engine mounted at the back, a 624cc 2-cylinder aluminium multi-port fuel injection engine mated to a 4-speed transmission. The engine produces 35 PS at 5,250rpm and 48Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, with a top speed of 105km/h.

Not much power, but the car weighs only 600kg. It can negotiate a maximum of a 30% grade incline. Fuel efficiency is rated at 23.6 km/litre, certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) under mandated test conditions - this is said to be the most fuel efficient petrol car in India.


The Nano measures just 3,100mm long, with a width of 1,500mm and a height of 1,600mm. Tata claims despite it having the smallest exterior footprint of any car in India, it is 21% more spacious than the smallest car available today.

The Standard is very bare, with 3 colour options, single-tone seats and a fold-down rear bench. If you notice, it doesn’t even have side view mirrors. The CX adds 2 more colours, climate control, two-tone seats, a parcel shelf, boost-assisted brakes, and a fold-down rear seat with a nap rest.

The highest grade LX model adds complete fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body-coloured bumpers and etc, fog lamps, an electronic trip meter, a front console cup holder, a mobile charger point, and a rear spoiler.

There is limited capacity at the moment, as Tata’s Sanand plant is not ready yet in terms of capacity. The State Bank of India will be managing the Nano’s bookings. Application forms will be sold at Rs. 300 from 30,000 locations in 10,000 cities - Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, State Bank of India and its branches, its subsidiaries and associates, other preferred financiers, and outlets of Westside, Croma, ‘World of Titan’ and Tata Indicom exclusive stores.


After one obtains the form, he can either pay the entire booking amount themselves or seek financing of the booking amount. Financing is available from 15 financial institutions, where a Nano can be booked for Rs. 2999.

After 60 days of the closure of bookings, Tata will use a lottery system to allocate the first 100,000 cars to be delivered in phase 1 of the delivery process. Deliveries will start in July 2009.

If you do not get selected for the first phase of delivery, unlike here where your booking fee gets stuck for ages if your car takes a long time to get delivered, customers will be eligible to interest on their booking fees - 8.5% for retention period between one year to two year and 8.75% for a retention period of more than 2 years.


Tata has unveiled a more regularly-specced version of the Tata Nano that it intends to sell in more sophisticated markets such as Europe. It will be a car that has all the creature comforts that you’d expect, unlike the 1 lakh version that it intends to sell in India which will be stripped bare of even an air conditioning unit.

This high-spec version has been exhibited at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show and is called the Tata Nano Europa. While the Indian Nano rides on a wheelbase of 2,230mm, the Tata Nano Europe has a stretched 2,280mm wheelbase and measures 3,290mm long and 1,580mm wide (the Indian Nano is 3,100mm by 1,500mm). It’s actually shorter both in terms of length and wheelbase compared to the Kancil but is wider. Powering the Nano Europe is an inline-3 fuel injection engine mated to a 5-speed automatic and it will also come with a power steering system.






Other features that the Nano Europa will get include ABS, ESP stability control and airbags, which already places it above many small cars in terms of equipment, especially the presence of stability control. Of course with all of this extra features the price will be far from the original pricetag that gave the Nano its “1 lakh car” nickname, but I doubt the European customer will accept driving something as bare as the Indian Nano. Who knows, we could even end up having this Nano Europa sold in Malaysia by the new Tata franchisee, whoever they may be.

Tata of course has other aces up its sleeve for Europe, and it begins to make sense why they acquired Jaguar once you see what else they are exhibiting at Geneva, coming soon right after this story.

Perodua Viva First Looks

Known As ‘Viva’, This New Perodua Replaces The Kelisa So It Is Positioned Above The Kancil.


As a manufacturer of entry-level cars, it may be imagined that Perodua doesn’t really need to worry about developing new models. After all, they make the cheapest cars in the market and their customer base is constantly getting refreshed (not many people would want to own a Perodua forever) and many are people who are first-time buyers or those who just want a reliable set of ‘wheels’ for daily transportation. They probably don’t crave for the latest and greatest, one might imagine.

Yet customers in this segment – referred to as the ‘A segment’ in the industry – actually have expectations not that much different from those of upper segments who pay more for their cars. In fact, according to a senior Perodua executive, Malaysian A-segment customers are actually much more demanding than those in other countries like Japan or Europe where, because they buy cheap cars, they know that they should not expect much. “Our Malaysian customers are, in a sense, spoilt and they want features and even quality levels to be comparable to cars that are at higher levels and cost more!” he once told me.

Thus Perodua has faced a big challenge all along even though it makes the cheapest cars in Malaysia. It has had to offer quality which is better than similar models in other countries and because it is a Malaysian company, it is expected to also provide its products to Malaysians at a low price.

Because of its customers high expectations, Perodua has made sure that it not only keeps improving quality but also constantly refreshes and updates its products. Since being established, it has introduced six all-new models which cater to a broad range of customers. It’s no secret that the models have been adapted from models that are produced by Daihatsu Motor, Perodua’s partner. In some cases, the adaptation has been cosmetic although in the case of the Myvi, it was actually a collaborative effort in which Perodua was a partner in the original development of the model that is now shared with Daihatsu, Toyota and Subaru.

Tonight, Perodua launches its seventh all-new model which is intended to offer its customers new technology, better performance and comfort – at an affordable price. Known as ‘Viva’, this new Perodua replaces the Kelisa so it is positioned above the Kancil. Thus, contrary to rumours that the Viva is to be a replacement for the Kancil and Kelisa, it is only the Kelisa that is going to be retired… somewhat odd since it is younger than the Kancil which was Perodua’s very first model.

Viva 1000
Viva 660

“We debated the issue of retiring the Kancil for a long time and while it is indeed our oldest model – though it was updated some years ago – its price is still lower than that for the Viva. The price difference is a few thousand ringgit which, in this segment, does mean a lot to buyers. So our plan is to continue to make available the Kancil, which will still be our cheapest model, until such time that demand falls substantially,” said Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, MD of Perodua.

Rather surprisingly, according to Encik Hafiz, the volume of the A-segment (including other models like the Naza Sutera and Proton Savvy) has been falling in the past four years. It was 124,000 units in 2004 but last year, it was down to 84,000 units. Of course, Perodua has not been affected (and has, in fact, seen rapid growth in volumes during that period), thanks to the strong sales of its other models, especially the Myvi.

“The A and B segments are Perodua’s domain and we want to maintain strength and dominance in them so we’re introducing an all-new model for the A-segment to draw more customers. We believe the new Viva has what it takes with its ‘Practical-Spacious-Compact’ concept which will suit today’s Malaysian lifestyles,” he said.

As mentioned earlier, Perodua’s models are shared with Daihatsu and the Viva has been adapted from the Daihatsu Mira which, coincidentally, was also the basis for the original Kancil. It is not from the same model as the Kelisa, which was the Cuore. However, it is interesting to see how the Mira has evolved from the model in the early 1990s to the one today which was chosen for the Viva in terms of design, technology and even dimensions.

DESIGN
At first glance, the Viva seems like a ‘baby Myvi’ but it has its own character with a more flowing profile which suggests good aerodynamics. The height to width ratio is also well balanced with the wheelarches flared out slightly, giving a sporty undertone. On the 1000 cc versions, the sportiness is further enhanced with side skirting and there’s also a rear roof spoiler with the 1000 cc Viva Premium.

Since it replaces the Kelisa, the first comparison should be made with that model and in overall length, the Via is 95 mm longer but its width is narrower by 15 mm (although that actually makes no different to interior space as we will see later). It stands taller by over 100 mm and sits on a wheelbase of 2390 mm, 30 mm longer than the Kelisa’s.

INTERIOR
The area which Perodua highlights about the Viva is interior length which it claims to be superior to local rivals – and even the Myvi. According to Perodua-supplied data, the Viva’s interior length is 1845 mm which is 10 mm more than the Myvi, a bigger car. Of course, 10 mm isn’t meaningful so let’s compare to the Kelisa and Kancil, both of which are over 120 mm shorter in cabin length. Perodua also provided data for rival models (but didn’t identify them) and the closest is 55 mm shorter.

The couple distance is also another measure of spaciousness in a cabin and with the Kancil, one could say the occupants were rather close. No so with the Viva which has a front couple distance (width-wise)of 840 mm, 114 mm more than the Kancil. This comes from having an interior width of 1300 mm, which is 115 mm wider than the Kancil.

Large interior space is a highlight........................Doors open 90 degrees from the body

Perodua also claims the Viva is Best-in-Class when it comes to cabin volume (interior height x interior width x interior length) at 2.99 cubic metres. The Myvi, one class above, is 3.26 cubic metres while the closest rivals are 2.90 cubic metres. Both the Kancil and Kelisa have smaller volumes that the Viva.


Another impressive thing about the Viva’s cabin space is the luggage capacity – 449 litres when the rear seat is flat. It’s not as big as the Kenari (which has a high ceiling) or the Myvi but it is substantially more than the Kelisa and Kancil and its immediate rivals. Access to the boot space is easy as the opening is pretty large and yet the sill is just 600 mm off the road. A thoughtful provision is a net which can keep loose items in place although its position would be better across the 1010 mm opening than behind the backrests. If it is across the opening, then it can also serve as a barrier to prevent things from falling out when the door is raised.

Like the Myvi, the doors of the Viva open extra-wide to 90 degrees… even wider than the Myvi which is 80 degrees to the body. With an opening that wide – almost like the doors have been taken off – it is very easy to get in and out. As a precaution, the hinge has three stages so that it does not swing open fully inadvertently and hit a wall or another car. Incidentally, for most cars, the opening angle is between 60 and 70 degrees.

Besides boasting of generous cabin space, Perodua is also proud to say that they have put in a lot of effort to provide a car of higher quality with the Viva. It’s not just having better materials but also the thoughtfulness in the textures on surfaces and the interior colour scheme, all of which can make a difference to the ambience. Grey is the dominant colour but it is not a dull shade and blends well with the other trim in certain areas.

The centre section of the dashboard has a metallic finish which adds class and has a clean layout for the ventilation controls and audio system. Audio enthusiasts will be happy to note that Perodua has not integrated the audio head unit into the panel, unlike the Myvi. This means that it will be possible to replace the unit with an after-market set more easily if you don’t like what Perodua gives you. The 850 cc and 1000 cc Vivas come with a 1DIN radio/CD-player and 4 speakers while the 660 cc version has a cassette player only with the radio.



As for instrumentation, the well-shrouded panel has two large meters, speedometer on the left and tachometer on the right. Following current trends, there is no coolant temperature gauge and when the engine is cold, a blue light is on which goes off when the normal operating temperature is reached. If an overheating condition is imminent, a red light comes on to warn the driver. Presumably, the threshold for overheating is set with a sufficient tolerance and not when the radiator is about to blow!

A small LCD window between the two meters shows the fuel level and odometer/tripmeter. If the car has an automatic transmission, the gear position is also shown. On the 1000 cc version, a buzzer sounds when the headlamps are left on after the engine is switched off and the doors left open. This is certainly a good feature that will save the battery from going flat.

The features list for the Viva is good though many of the goodies are only found on the 1000 cc versions. These are items like a driver’s seat height adjuster, adjustable seatbelt upper anchor position, electrically-adjustable door mirrors (also in 850 cc version), retractable door mirrors, power windows and door locking (also in 850 cc version), vanity mirror (but only on the driver’s side), underseat tray and the steering wheel also has a more classy design. But all versions do come with features like cupholders, plenty of small storage spaces, a coin slot and even a utility box that is good for a toll tag or handphone.

POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS
Now to the powertrains and for the Viva, there are three 3-cylinder engine choices: 660 cc, 850 cc and 1000 cc. They are familiar engines but updated with modern technology such as DVVT (Dynamic Variable Valve Timing) and EFI, and they all have twin overhead camshafts. Having DVVT in the two smaller engines is something which gives Perodua the right to say ‘First in Class’.

Power and torque ratings for the engines are as follow:

EF-VE 660 (659 cc) – 37 kW/50.3 bhp at 7200 rpm, 58 Nm at4400 rpm
ED-VE 850 (847 cc) – 39 kW/53.0 bhp at 6000 rpm, 76 Nm at 4000 rpm
EJ-VE 1000 (989 cc) – 45 kW/61.2 bhp at 6000 rpm, 90 Nm at 3600 rpm
5-speed manual transaxles are available for all engines but the 4-speed automatic is only available with the 1000 cc engine.

The suspension is typical of small hatchbacks with MacPherson struts in front located by an L-shaped lower arm. The suspension geometry has been optimised for better steering response and ride comfort. The 1000 cc engine has power-assisted steering and also a front stabilizer. At the rear, it’s hardly surprising to see a torsion beam axle and trailing arms – so many small hatchbacks have them now!

SAFETY
In the area of safety, the Viva is well provided for although it is still a pity that they cannot offer airbags as standard on every version. Encik Hafiz said that it is still a matter of cost which is hard to absorb even though they have done their best to bring their production cost down. Thus they can only offer it on the Viva 1000 cc Premium at this time, and likewise with ABS (with EBD).

Perodua drew on Daihatsu’s long experience in making small cars safe. The bodyshell has many reinforcements to maintain its integrity during a crash and of note is the extra protection for the front occupants’ heads. Honeycomb pads which are Impact-absorbing are attached to the upper corner of roof just over the A-pillar. The driver is also protected from being injured by the steering wheel as it will collapse in the event of a front collision. All occupants get seatbelts in the Viva and the two at the rear sides have 3-point belts while the middle person has a 2-point belt.

MARKETING PLANS
The introduction of the Viva should certainly spur buying interest in the market and particularly for Perodua which is intent on maintaining its leadership position. While the Myvi was an amazing success from Day 1, the company is cautious about the prospects of the Viva which is partly why the Kancil still remains in production. It’s a pity that the Kelisa has to go but it would have been impractical to have two models in the same niche, which some other companies do and simply mess themselves up instead.

“We have nevertheless learnt lessons from the Myvi launch and we are now better prepared for the initial demand that we expect for the Viva. We have already assembled 2,000 units so we can deliver faster and we plan to produce between 7,000 and 8,000 units a month although we are projecting sales of 6,500 units a month,” revealed Encik Hafiz.

Elaborating further, he said that they expect 55% of the Vivas sold to be the 1000 cc version. In recent times, Perodua has seen a shift in its customers to first-time buyers but for the Myvi, it is expecting that such buyers will account for 30% of sales and 50% will be additional car buyers. A small percentage will come from those who are replacing their existing cars.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

Overall length: 3575 mm
Overall width: 1475 mm
Overall height: 1530 mm
Wheelbase: 2390 mm
Front track: 1320 ~ 1300 mm (depending on version)
Rear track: 1310 ~1290 mm (depending on version)
Weight: 755 ~ 800 kgs (depending on version)
Turning radius: 4.2 metres (660/850 cc), 4.4 metres (1000 cc)
Tyre sizes: 155/70x12 (660/850 cc), 155/65R13 (1000 cc Std), 165/55R14 (1000 cc Premium)
Spare tyre: Space-saver T105/90D12