MEGA REVIEW: Perodua Bezza EEV

In this blog entry, I'm doing a MEGA COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW On the New Perodua Bezza.  I had a look at the Bezza range at Perodua Sentral on 1st night itself from 10 to 11pm.  I haven't driven this Bezza yet, I will arrange for a test drive and update here later. 

 Perodua officially launches it's 1st EEV Sedan on 21 July 2016, the Bezza.  It's priced to sell from RM37,300 for its 1.0L standard G (Manual transmission) to RM50,800 for its 1.3L Advanced variant (Automatic Transmission).

 “We expect the Perodua Bezza to be one of our best volume sellers with a sales target of 7,600 per month this year,” Perodua President and CEO, Datuk (Dr) Aminar Rashid Salleh said.

He said that the Perodua Bezza was targeted for replacement car buyers, specifically newlyweds and young families, who need a larger boot space in line with the new stage in their lives.
“Based on the feedback from our customers, we learned that after reaching a certain stage in life, they needed a vehicle that could accommodate their travelling needs, we believe that the Perodua Bezza would meet those needs,” Aminar said.

 The sedan comes in 5 variants, the 1.0L Manual Transmission & Automatic Transmission; the 1.3L “Premium X” Manual & Automatic Transmission; and the 1.3L “Advanced Version” Automatic Transmission.  Photo below outlines the differences.  Please double click to enlarge.

The Perodua EEV sedan is a first of its kind for the compact car company as the car comes in a new 1.0 litre 1KR-VE engine with VVT-i and a 1.3 litre 1NR-VE engine with Dual VVT-i. The manual transmission has 5 speeds while the electronic automatic transmission (E-AT) has 4 speeds.

The Perodua Bezza 1.0 litre engine may reach up to 22.8km per litre for its manual transmission, while the automatic transmission can potentially travel 21.3 kilometres per litre with eco driving.
“This feature is part of the model’s fuel saving technology adapted to Malaysian weather - another first for Perodua and a first for a national carmaker,” Aminar said.

 
Meanwhile, the eco driving 1.3 litre’s manual transmission variant can potentially travel 21.7 kilometres per litre, while the automatic transmission can travel 22 kilometres per litre with ‘Eco Idle’ System which available in the Advance variant only. The full tank can potentially travel up to 792km driving.

The ‘Eco Idle’ system will automatically stops the engine when the car is idle and restarts upon release of the brake, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Drivers can deactivate this feature if they wish.

The base 1.0 Engine's from AXIA with but now with VVTI with 67hp and 91Nm torque

and New 1.3 Engine with Dual-VVTI (1st seen in Indonesian Avanza) with 94hp and 121Nm torque.

 

OTR Price with insurance as follows:

 

 

The “A” segment compact sedan is the first Perodua vehicle which upper body was fully designed by Malaysians which began in 2014.  “The Bezza took RM300 million to develop and has 95% local content,” Aminar said.

The Perodua Bezza is produced at its’ EEV-certified plant, the Perodua Global Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, which is a highly modern facility with over 75% automation rate (the same plant which produces the Perodua Axia).

“The sedan name takes inspiration from the word ‘Beza’ in Bahasa Malaysia, which means ‘different’. And that is exactly what Perodua’s first EEV sedan is – distinctly different,” Aminar said.
It breaks all conventions when it comes to what you expect from a compact sedan. The double ‘Z’ in the name, which somewhat resembles the number ‘22’, also subtly alludes to the fact that Perodua has been in the market for 22 years.

The ‘Beyond Compact’ tagline also communicates that the Perodua Bezza goes beyond drivers’ expectations of what a Malaysian sedan offers. The advanced technology, amazing usability and affordability, built upon Perodua’s trademark of quality, reliability, value and care.

Following Perodua’s signature design, the sedan is made with quality, comfort, spaciousness, reliability, affordability and looks in mind. The car is based on customer feedback and preference. The respondents were from both urban and rural areas nationwide.

“The result is that potential buyers were looking for a sedan which has global features but at the consumers’ price,” Aminar said.

“This sedan car has one of the biggest boot spaces in the market with 508 litres available in its class.”

“It is also versatile enough with the foldable rear seats configuration (60:40) which result to 8 +1 seating configurations to allow for maximum flexibility to address a variety of situations for the customer. It does not compromise the interior which has plenty of leg room for a compact sedan,” he said.

“The Perodua Bezza improvements to the exterior design also result in the best drag coefficient (CD) in Perodua history,” Aminar said.

Another first for Perodua is the push start/stop button and smart entry with smart key which available in the 1.3L variants only.

On the multimedia paraphilia, the Perodua Bezza 1.3L Advance variant is equipped with a multimedia-mobile link device where a user can access social media and entertainment features of their Android gadget when the vehicle is static.  Users can also interface navigation applications such as Waze and Google Maps through this “Smart Link” feature.

On top of these features, back passengers can also charge their devices at a USB port located at the rear centre console.

“We believe that convergence between mobile technology and the car is inevitable. With that in mind we want our customers to use this technology as safe as possible when travelling,” Aminar said.

The Perodua Bezza variants is packed with amazing features such as shark fin antenna, remote boot release, one-touch power window with jam protection, front & front corner sensors, reverse camera, reserve sensors and many more.

 The Bezza's also made of High Tensile Strength Steel.

Ie. Strong yet lightweight at 865kg for 1.0G to 930kg for 1.3 Advance.  It's very aerodynamic too at Cd.0.286 thanks to flat undercarriage and strategically located front and rear side "fins".

“With features available in luxury vehicles incorporated into the Perodua Bezza plus its attractive design, smooth ride, quality at affordable pricing, increasing our export footprint will become a reality.  Yes, the Bezza's Export ready,” Aminar said.

Without further ado, here are the Specifications:

The car comes in 6 different colours, which include Sugar Brown and Ocean Blue for 1.3L variants, which are new metallic colours for Perodua, as well as existing colours of Lava Red, Ebony Black, Glittering Silver and Solid Ivory White. Perodua uses eco-friendly water based paint which also provides a better finish.

My rating:
1.0G - 6/10
1.3 Premium-X: 8/10
1.3 Advance: 9/10.

I'll only Recommend 1.3 Advance due to it's Safety features like Traction Control, Idling stop...

Here's my Bezza Playlists which consists of:

1) Walk-around tour by Hafriz Shah courtesy of Paultan.org. (1st video)
2) Perodua Bezza Product video
3) ASEAN NCAP, Perodua Bezza
4) Carsifu's Perodua Bezza Highlights
5)  and many more videos.

Do spare approx 2 hours of your time to watch the entire playlist.

The Bezza comes with the following Gear Up Accessories.  Genuine Perodua Accessories with 6 months warranty:

Lastly, the Warranty: It comes with 5 years OR 150,000km warranty.  With the following peace of mind:

Without further ado, let's proceed to photo gallery as a picture's worth 1000 words:

 https://app.box.com/s/yg4mur0pu2ohovednseoilzgv8t5r1rg

If you want to buy this car, please call the following sales executives:
1) Jefferson Lim: 012-6852718.  Location: Klang Valley, Penang, Negri Sembilan
2) Jacklyn Tan: 012-6168801. Location Perodua Sentral. 
3) -
4 -
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10) Open to Readers to recommend. OR Nominate your sales Executives.

Before I sign off, I'd like to offer an opportunity for "INTERACTIVE REVIEW, Q and A, tips, and 24/7 Support" courtesy of Lowyat Forum. LYN Official Perodua Bezza Club V1.  The Game Changer: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4009828

That's all folks, thanks for having the time and patience to read this blog entry.

Source:

1) Youtube Playlist.
2)  http://www.perodua.com.my/press-release/
3) Brochure Scans.

Partially Jefferson Lim's original work.  Copy like a man Don't plagiarise. 

LONGTERMER 2: 8th year report: Honda Civic FD2 (Season 2, vol 2)

In this blog entry, I'm posting my Family's ride.  I called it Season 2 volume 2 because I haven't been updating it since March 31 2014.  This is the 8th year or 96th month we owned the Honda Civic FD2 2.0I-S. 

 The reason why it hasn't been updated for 16 months is because very little things to write about.  Apparently, this is a Very Reliable car.  My cousin was surprised to learned that the Engine mountings and Rear Double Wishbones Suspensions are still Factory Fitted.  His 3 years Old Preve CFE already changed 1 set Engine Mountings and 1 set absorbers.  We stopped servicing with Honda on the 5th year owning the Civic.  Anyway for your reference, maintenance cost of the Civic FD2 without Hidden wear and tear stuff like Rear Wheel bearing, Absorbers, Brake pads.

Only Major highlight's the Civic FC (Fuel Consumption) improving.  This is mainly because last 6 months my dad drove to Penang 3 times, Genting 3 times, Ipoh once.   Now averaging 11km/l.  OR 410km per 37litres fuel.

On the 11 May, I sent the Civic to Tiong Nam Motor for 2 front Airbags replacement.  The whole process took 3 hours only.  I reached there 8:30am.  Car ready by 12:10pm.

 I was told by the Service Adviser the passenger side dashboard dismantled to reach the airbag.  After changing the Airbags, the Popped up A-pillar cover still remained the same.  This issue Came with the Civic from Day 1, July 28 2008.

Thank God the side airbag's not affected.

On Mid-May, our Civic FD2 reached a milestone.  Mileage 133,333km.

More Interior shots:

Above: Note still Stock Standard 6-disc In-dash CD/MP3/WMA CD-Changer Head unit with Aux and Volume adjust according to Speed or Noise.  Eg. The higher the speed or engine noise, the higher the volume.  Also, Steering wheel Audio control.  Below: Like new Steering and gear knob.  Paddle shifters and Cruise Control.

 Above: 480 litres boot space.  Only Civic with 60:40 split fold rear seats.

 

 Above, the Unique yet expensive Wipers.

Exterior shots:

Above: Engine shot taken days before the "IVTEC DOHC" emblem dropped off.

On the Mid-June, my dad Changed 2 Dunlop SP Sport LM704.  It's Made in Thailand Tyres.  RM300 per piece including GST.  1 month later, 3rd week of July, my dad came back for another 2 tyres change.  This time Tayar shop said STOPPED bringing in these Dunlops. 

It so happened, my sister's buddy was a Used car dealer, she recommended a Tyre shop in Klang called GW Xtra Auto services.  The service's Excellent.  Tyre's Cheapest.  Goodyear Excellence 215/45R17 for RM480 including GST (RM240 each).  What a bargain.

We also feedback to the shop saying there's a "Whoo... Whoo..." sound while cruising.  After testing, the problem's caused by Rear Wheel bearings (both sides) defects.

Above: Still factory fitted rear double wishbones suspension and rear absorbers.   

Changed RM260 per side.  both sides RM520.00.  The touching part was the workers brave heavy rain to change the bearings.

 

 

 

 Above and below: Old tyres.  Yokohama Advan DB.

 Above: New Goodyear Excellence tyres.

 Fresh, week 19, 2016 tyre.

My opinion on this Honda Civic FD2 2.0S IVTEC:

The 8th generation Civic FD's the last Civic With Double wishbones suspension, only Civic with 60:40 split fold rear seat back and the Most stylish Civic inside out. This is the Best Civic.  Apparently, Malaysians agree with me as reflected by it's Strong Resale Value. First batch 2006 Civic FD are still selling at RM45,000 to RM52,000 depending on conditions. That's Mind boggling for a 10 years old Car.  An astounding 52% retained value in 8 years and 40% retained value in 10 years.   This is the reason why my dad's Keeping the Civic for another few years.

SHOULD YOU BUY A USED CIVIC FD?

Why not?

Honda Civic in General are Extremely tough cars.  The 1st 3-generations are victim to Rust only. Many Civic from the 4th generation EF onwards (1987 to 1991) are still running on Malaysian roads.  The 4th-Generation's where Rust-proofing extensively applied by Kah Motor.  There are Still many 5th and 6th generation on the road which are between 16 to 24 years old yet the EG (Dolphin) and EK (Taai Ngan Chai) still Desired by Ah Bengs.  Average lifespan of a Civic unless Total-loss or stolen are 20 years!!!  So say you bought a used 2008 model, on average the Civic FD can last you another 12-14 years.

Without further ado, let's proceed to Logbook.

Purchase price: RM126,000 (less NCB)

Current value: RM66,000.

- 8 years depreciation: 52% retained value

Interest rate: 2.35% (back in July 2008) for 6 years loan.

LAST INSTALLMENT: July 2014.  FINALLY!

Mileage last update: 100,888km (March 31, 2014)

Mileage May 2016: 133,333km

Mileage today: 135,800km.

Km used last 16 months:34912km

Mileage per month: 2182km  (16 month Average)

Average Mileage per month past 96 months: 1415km only.

FUEL CONSUMPTION (April 2014 to July 29 2016):

Best: 13.9km/L  80% highway/20% city, driven by my dad Petronas RON95. 

WORST: 9km/L (Shell RON95) 80% City/20% Highway driving driven by ME.

Average FC: 11.2km/l

ALL TIME:

Best: 15.35km/l (RM0.12/km) (90% highway driving) (20 August 2010)

Worst: 7.1km/l (80% City driving, 20% HARD DRIVING) (October 27, 2012)

PERFORMANCE:

0-100km/h: 9.2 seconds normal acceleration (8.9 seconds with paddle-shift)

Top speed: Max I driven is 190km/h but I know it can go up to 227km/h. Someone from Youtube tried it.

EXPENSES Last 12 months:

1) Roadtax And Insurance Renewal: RM1115 + 381.00 = RM1496

2) Changed Rear wheel bearings: RM520

3) Changed 4 215/45R17 tyres: 

- 2 Dunlop Sport LM704 - RM600 and

- 2 Goodyear Excellence: RM 470

4) 2 times Oil change Semi Synthetic.  Using Castrol Magnatec.  (Unknown, dad who serviced)

5) Silicon Wipers: RM80.

Before I go, here's my parting shot:

That's all folks, thanks for having the time and patience to read this blog entry.  An Original Jefferson Lim's production.  Copy like a man, don't plagiarize.