ICE-Pops: Long Term Review – Perodua Ativa AV

A Little Backstory

For many, your first car is always a sensible one. It makes sense given most of us are starting out from scratch and not wanting to be severely in debt buying a “ehem” Honda. My wife and I wanted something affordable, reliable, and completely opposite of what an enthusiast like me would typically desire. Get a Myvi you say? Well, my wife may be petite, but she doesn’t appreciate being compared to one nor does she want her car to be.

Manifesting an 86.

So that got me thinking. We began exploring the usual suspects: the Saga, Persona, Iriz, and of course, the Myvi. I tried steering us away from the Ativa since it was pricier than the others, but that all changed when my wife spotted a grey Ativa. Yes, we sat in a red test drive unit, but it didn’t impress her earlier.

As we were leaving Perodua Kajang, she stopped, pointed to a brand-new car parked outside, and asked, “What car is this?” I replied, “It’s the Ativa, the red one we just looked at.” She blinked, confused, and said, “Really? Why does this one look so much nicer?” I shrugged, but deep down, I knew. Out of everything we’d seen, this was the only car that caught her eye.

A few days later, we booked it. I didn’t even bother test-driving it, I knew it wouldn’t impress me. The Ativa drives poorly, and I’d just have to bite the bullet. We were a little unlucky as we missed out on the government’s tax-free incentive that had recently ended. Oh well.

Ativa in grey. Collection day!

“Fast” forward three odd months, and the car arrived. This was rather quick as Myvis were on a six-month waiting list and I believe Bezza was a year. It was peak automotive industry parts shortage, so we were relieved to get ours.

Regret?

Me, being me, had very low expectations with the car. Naturally so, as I had spent the last 5 years daily driving a Proton Persona, manual and mid spec, meaning no ABS whatsoever. It was fun, under-powered, fun, VERY-PLANTED, FUN and manual. Did I mention FUN? Imagine going from a “Lotus Ride and Handling” to a Perodua SUV. My wife, however, loved the Ativa immediately, and over time, it grew on me too.

Road presence!

Some Quirks and Some Features

So, what do I like about the Perodua Ativa and what are the quirks (and features, ha!)? For starters, I think it looks good. I think the car has a decent design even when compared to the Toyota Raize or Daihatsu Rocky. The car has some presence when on the road, thanks to its wide looking body panels and the slightly wider tyres help. Don’t let that fool you however, those body panels are one step above “tin can”. All hallow and an almost non-existent sound deadening. I would appreciate if Perodua improves on making the body panels a tad thicker and better paint finish on their more expensive models. Afterall, I feel Proton does it.

In Singapore, you could spot the Toyota Raize.

The headlights and fog-lamps are great when driving at night, the automatic leveling helps and occasionally the automatic high beams work well too. I once drove from Tuas (after getting stuck on the bridge for 6 hours) at 2 am towards Desaru via the Senai-Desaru Highway. The automatic high beams were a life saver. The highway isn’t well lit and it kind of makes you feel like you’re driving out in the middle of nowhere.

The Ativa has blindspot monitoring.

The standard Bridgestone Turanza T005A tyres for the AV (and also H variants), aren’t that noisy and does suit the car well. It also helps that these “SUV” tyres does help soak up our poor Malaysian roads, especially if you live and drive in places like Perak.

Me on the way to pick the doggo up.

Fantastic

The inside is decent, expect only the finest quality plastic (read sarcasm), from the dash to door cards. At that time in 2022, I believe only the Proton Preve had a soft touch interior a car that’s already discontinued and priced about the same as an Ativa. Today, the options are limited as well, but the Proton S70 does come to mind. A journey with 5 adults would be more than possible with the Ativa. In fact, we have done trips like moving from Klang Valley to Singapore and carry all our “barang” across. 4 adults and a tonne of stuff. The boot space can be deceiving, but sometimes instead of looking up ahead, its best to just look up. So much real estate vertically. I also prefer the grey as from the inside of the car, it appears as if the door panels are hidden (as it is black).

Doggo approves.


It’s also surprisingly versatile. The Ativa also did really well in transporting my bicycle here and there. It was easy because you just had to remove the tyre and you could fit it easily once the rear seats are folded. The Ativa is perfect for ferrying our dog too.

The road lines in this stretch was pretty bad, causing the error as well.

It has all the modern features like automatic lights, a slew of safety features such as automatic breaking, blind-spot monitoring, a reverse camera and even adaptive cruise control. In my 3 years of driving it, I did have a particular spot along my route where the emergency breaking would kick in. This is due to the curve seen in the map above, the system thinks we are approaching a car head on, which causes that emergency breaking to kick in, not a huge deal, but one I need to keep in mind of.

Two Negatives Makes a Positive, Right?

Now, for the quirks and annoyances. The head unit is terrible, no garbage!. It’s sad that the Ativa didn’t get the Alza’s better system. If you want decent audio or screen quality, you’ll have to go aftermarket. Early on, there were dashboard rattles, they’ve disappeared now, but maybe I’ve just tuned them out. Another issue is the rear drum brakes. They squeak every time I release the pedal, and the service center’s “fix” is just cleaning them.

BMW service centers may have a barista, Perodua serves nasi lemak. Perodua > BMW!

Another quirk are the cupholders. The design is both great and bad at the same time. Great because it is hidden and easy to clean. Bad because for the drivers side, it is right above a slew of switches. Meaning if you have a cold drink, water might seep to the switches. There are some out there that created a 3D printed part acting like a visor that helps. But to me, it is still a minor design flaw.

Turbocharged Cars are Fun, Period!

I talked a lot about what it is like living with the car, but never about the performance of the car. Well no one buys a Perodua for its “amazing” performance, but rather for its amazing “efficiency”. The 1.0L, 3-cylinder turbocharged engine (yes, you get a tiny T badge on the back too!) enables you to brag to your peers that you drive a turbocharged car. The car is peppy. It can accelerate quickly and is able to be driven on the highway with no issues whatsoever. You even get a PWR button if you need a bit more power to overtake or have some fun. The D-CVT isn’t all that bad and you will quickly forget you’re driving a CVT too. The car can handle your Genting trips without breaking a sweat. Trust me! If you are used to driving a Proton Saga or Persona, you will feel a noticeable difference in power when it comes to driving the Ativa. The handling is bad. Yep, that’s it.

How about efficiency? Many say it guzzles fuel. Let me put that to rest. It is crazy how fuel efficient it is. I presume those that say it is of high fuel consumption, either is a heavy footer, did not check their tyres or uses the PWR button often. I personally average around 14.0 to 15.0 km/l based on the on board meter. With RM 65 fuel (RON 95) gets me between 450 to 500 km of mixed use. My routes are often around Kajang, Bangi, Putrajaya with the KL city centre trips every now and then. Purely highway driving will net you a greater fuel efficiency. Its an efficient car, period! Oh and maintenance is cheap. How cheap? Perodua outlines it here.

Red arrows are some areas that can be improved.

Perodua Ativa Facelift 2025

What would make the Ativa an ideal car in 2025? An updated headunit with wireless Android Auto and CarPlay support (with OCA laminated screen) and better speakers is a great start. Also matching LED lighting all around instead of white on some and orange on others screams cheap. The climate control switches look good, but you can tell, it wasn’t design for the Ativa. The rounded edge and the sudden angle just doesn’t feel right too. I think the Ativa is still a solid value, but minor updates like these would make it an ideal buy over more premium cars like the Vios or S70. A 360 camera system would be cool to have. Also, I was never a fan of their Gear-Up bodykits. Stock looks better.

It is an all rounder and Perodua has a gem, just improve it a little.

The car does everything it is supposed to do as a car, and does it well. Not excellent mind you. Well!. It is purely a car to get you from point A to B, and it does that well. Owners will say that the car can last you 20 years no problem one!. I am one of them. I’ve had no issues as of 50k km mileage and hope to continue to add more miles without much hassle.

Bhisma Nambiar

Being a fan is one thing, but being an enthusiast is obsessing over every detail. With a lifelong passion for all things automotive and technology, Bhisma dives deep into the intricacies of car culture, performance, and innovation. When he's not behind the wheel, you’ll find him lurking around the tech scene. Whether it’s the thrill of a turbocharged engine or an EV, Bhisma’s obsession with cars electrifies his writing and keeps him at the forefront of the industry.

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