Perodua Myvi (2006 – 2017) Review

Perodua Myvi (2006 – 2017) At A Glance

Good spec, roomy, low running costs, reliable Toyota engine and transmission and excellent value for money.

Very few franchised dealers in the UK.

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Perodua Myvi (2006 – 2017) handling and engines

• Engines range from 1.3 EZi Automatic to 1.3
• Readers report Real MPG to be between 40–49 mpg

The Perodua Myvi may not worry the leading contenders in the city car sector, such as the Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Up, but the Myvi still has traits that will appeal to buyers. Its 1.3-litre petrol engine has 85PS on offer, which peaks at 6000rpm.

However, there is plenty of power spread across the lower end of the rev spectrum to make sure the car picks up cleanly from a standing start or when working its way through the gears amid traffic.

It’s not the most refined engine in this class by any means, yet the Myvi is again not outflanked by newer rivals. Avoid using the far reaches of the rev band and the four-cylinder engine hums along in a contented fashion, while around town it is on a par with most in this sector for noise suppression.

Where the Myvi does fall short is in wind and road noise compared to the best in class. There is a quite a din generated by the large door mirrors, while road noise reverberates through the cabin far more than in a Twingo.

This is a shame as the Myvi makes a decent motorway car for one of this size and class. The tall sides are unaffected by crosswinds and, because the driver sits towards the middle of the wheelbase, the Perodua feels like a larger car on this type of journey.

Head back into town and the Myvi returns to feeling like the compact city machine it’s intended to be. Short front and rear overhangs where the bumpers hug their way around the wheels means the Myvi is a shoo-in for even the tightest parking space. A tight turning circle helps here too, while light power-assisted steering means twirling the wheel is easy for even the least muscular driver.

Perodua offers the Myvi with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearboxes. The five-speed manual is the one we’d recommend for most drivers as it has an easy, light action coupled to a clutch pedal that doesn’t require a bodybuilder’s thighs to work in stop-start traffic.

For those choosing the four-speed auto ’box, they will find it swaps gears smoothly and adds to the Myvi’s easygoing nature, but it does blunt performance from the manual’s 0-62mph time of 11.3 seconds back to the 13.0 second mark.

Few Myvi owners will worry too much about outright pace and nor will they looking for the last word in handling finesse. Even so, the Myvi again puts in a decent account of itself thanks to its lightweight that means body lean is kept to an acceptable angle of tilt in corners. This same body control also means the suspension does a competent job of brushing aside broken road surfaces, though larger potholes will send a shudder through the car due to its small wheels.

Perodua Myvi (2006 – 2017) interior

• Boot space is 225–630 litres

The tall-sided styling of the Myvi lends itself to providing better than average headroom in the Perodua. However, this is not the only advantage of the car’s elevated shape as it also means the occupants sit more upright.

It puts hips and knees at more of a right-angle than in many city cars where the driver and passengers are tilted more in their seating position. As a consequence, the Myvi affords better than the class norm rear seat space and can accommodate a pair of average-sized adults without any compromise on the part of those in the front seats.

In the driver’s pew, the tall sides of the Myvi combine with a reasonably large glass area to make vision excellent in most directions. The only disappointments here are the unsupportive driver’s seat during longer spells at the wheels and the over-shoulder view for the driver on the left-hand side, which can make lane changes or pulling out of more oblique junctions a little tiresome due to the thickness of the rear pillars. Even so, the Myvi’s compact size makes it simple to place and park, even without parking sensors.

The steering wheel adjusts for height and ahead of the driver is a simple dash layout with the major dials placed directly in front of the steering wheel, though the orange on black lettering is not quite as instantly readable as the more traditional white on black of most of the Perodua’s rivals’. A small rev counter sits on a pod-like mount to the left of the main binnacle.

Large buttons and rotary controls take up the centre console, which is easy to navigate even on first acquaintance with the Myvi. It’s not the most stylish dash to the eye, but Perodua does give the Myvi’s cabin a sense of solidity that might not be expected in a car of this class and cost.

Around the back is a boot that is up alongside the best in the sector for space and it’s easy to access thanks to the large rectangular tailgate opening. The boot floor sits almost flush with the load sill, so heavy shopping bags are not cumbersome to lift in and out.

However, the rear parcel shelf does not rise up as the tailgate is opened, which leaves it in the way of some larger items. Also, this can be an irritation when the parcel shelf remains poking up when you have closed the tailgate and just jumped into the driver’s seat only to have to get out and pop the shelf down.

The rear seat splits and tips 60/40 to add to the Myvi’s practical nature and there’s plenty of in-cabin storage for smaller items in the door pockets, glovebox and centre console cubby.

Three trim levels were originally offered with the Myvi, consisting of SXi, EZi with an automatic gearbox, and SE. Now, there is the SXi that comes with air conditioning, central locking, electric windows all round, CD stereo and driver and passengers airbags.

To this, customers can add either the Lux or Sport packs. The Lux brings 14-inch alloy wheels, remote central locking and some additional trim to spruce up the looks. For the Sport, Perodua adds multi-spoke alloy wheels, body kit with front and rear skirts, dummy quad exhaust pipes and carbon fibre-effect interior trim.

Perodua Myvi (2006 – 2017) models and specs

On sale until July 2019

On sale until October 2015

On sale until January 2015

On sale until June 2009