The all-new 2022 Perodua Alza has truly won the hearts of Malaysians with its incredible value, with over 51,000 bookings collected in just two months. Although, with only roughly 8,000 units of those delivered so far, a majority of its customers have still yet to get a hands-on experience with the car – at least not for long.
Many of a car’s quirks (and annoyances) will only show up after an extended period, when the car is used according to your lifestyle habits. And since Perodua was kind enough to loan us the all-new Alza for a whole week, we figured we’d share a few things we noticed during our time with it, to hopefully help you make a more informed buying decision!
Like – Confident ride and handling
Now built on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) platform, the all-new Perodua Alza actually drives surprisingly well, and is pretty much unlike any other Perodua models of yore. It shares a similar ride characteristic as the Ativa, which means it can feel slightly firmer, especially for those who have previously owned a Perodua model.
However, the all-new 2022 Perodua Alza improves upon the Ativa with better body control, particularly when going through speed humps where the car “sits down” in a mature and elegant manner, almost like a luxury European car three times its price. The fact that it’s also relatively quiet even at highway speeds is just the cherry on top.
Like – Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Connectivity
Screens are the new “in” thing these days, and it seems like carmakers are trying to one-up each other by offering larger and larger infotainment displays than their competition – but big screens are practically useless if you still have to use your phone for Google Maps or Waze. Yes, we’re looking at you, Proton.
In a first for Perodua, the all-new 2022 Alza now offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity straight from the factory, the former available as a software update to be installed at your next service appointment for existing owners. It’s still a wired connection, mind you, but the mere addition of the feature makes the Alza significantly easier to live with day-to-day. And for music fans, you’d be pleased to know that the speakers are surprisingly decent-sounding too.
RELATED: Apple CarPlay now available on 2022 Perodua Alza – Updates provided at Perodua SC
Like – Centre armrest for second-row seats
The 2022 Perodua Alza can carry seven passengers, but for those with a smaller family, the smaller centre seats in the second row can actually be folded down to act as an armrest, making it a lot more comfortable to sit in, especially for longer journeys.
And as an added bonus, because it’s using the entire seat back as an armrest rather than just a small cutout, the extra aperture in the middle also make the third-row seats feel quite a bit more airy.
Dislike – Lack of cubby spaces on the centre console
We’re not sure if it’s to maintain the “clean” modern appearance of the interior or an oversight during the design process, but the centre console does feel like a step backwards in terms of functionality as there are zero cubby spaces to be found.
Granted, you can keep some smaller items in the storage “pot” beside the steering wheel and the small pockets below the centre console. But in daily use, we found them to be barely sufficient, and there’s also no space to keep your mobile phones, especially when they’re connected by wire to the infotainment display.
To make matters worse, the entire surface of the centre console is also finished in a gloss-black material, which means they’ll be caked with fingerprints and scratches over time.
Dislike – Small touch buttons on infotainment display
While we do really like the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity feature on the new nine-inch infotainment display, the control buttons are unfortunately touch sensitive, and are made incredibly small with barely any spacing between.
That means it’s nearly impossible to tap on the buttons without taking your eyes off the road while driving. And with the frankly embarrassing road surface conditions here in Malaysia, good luck trying to not mis-click when you’re adjusting the volume on the move.
RELATED: Touchscreen/touch-sensitive controls for air-con: Looks modern but how effective are they?
Dislike – Overly-eager throttle response
The throttle response on the all-new Perodua Alza 2022 is tuned to almost “leap” off the line at any throttle input, which could make the car feel a lot more powerful than it actually is. However, on the flip side, it also makes it incredibly difficult to drive the Alza smoothly in stop-go traffic.
To be fair, this issue isn’t specific to the Alza, or even to Perodua models; several Toyota models we’ve tested throughout the years also exhibit the same behaviour. But still, it does get annoying quickly with the frequent traffic jams we encounter on a daily basis, and it becomes especially apparent when it’s on a family-focused MPV like the Alza.
These are just some of the things that stood out to us during our week with the all-new 2022 Perodua Alza. For a more detailed walkthrough, do check out GC Mah’s full review here.
Do you agree with our points, or are we just being nitpicky? Let us know in the comments section below!
