Perodua Ativa Long-term review & Tear Down

“How is the 2021 Perodua Ativa fuel consumption” is a question we get very often since we collected our very own Ativa in March 2021. While we have published the Ativa’s fuel consumption on our WapCar Ratings, test results are more reliable with more data collected. Hence after 6 months, 9,075 km and 29 refuels later, here is the fuel consumption of the Perodua Ativa as tested in the real world. But before we get on with the numbers, here are some ground rules: Car is filled with RON95 only, reg

Our 2021 Perodua Ativa has been relatively carefree for the past 6 months of ownership. No leaks nor fault codes except for the persistent rattling noise that has plagued us since week 1 of ownership. The first visit to the service centre (April 2) traced the rattling sound to excessive free play in the driver side rear drum brakes. It was a matter of tightening the bolts and the sound was gone. Temporarily. A month later (May 23), the rattling noise was back. At this point, it was clear to us a

It’s been 6 months since we’ve collected our 2021 Perodua Ativa and according to the Ativa’s service interval, we are due for an oil change. Our Ativa is back at Perodua Sg. Penchala for a minor service which includes an oil change, and general inspection. When booking for our appointment, the service centre notified us that they now have a permanent fix for our brake drum rattling issue. This repair is also scheduled for this visit. We have clocked slightly over 8,500 km on the odometer but Per

It’s not every day you see a dormant runway on Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), no thanks to a global pandemic. Our friends over at AutoBuzz.my, GC Mah (Adrian's ex-boss) managed to secure one of the runways for their ongoing Drag Series on YouTube. When they gave us a call to feature our Perodua Ativa in one of the races, I jumped onto the request. After all, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hoon around on KLIA’s runway tarmac. In episode 4 of Drag Series, they pitched the

Back in March, we bought a brand-new 2021 Perodua Ativa. After three months and roughly 6,000 km on the odometer, here’s a brief run-down of what we think of our Ativa. Here’s what my fellow colleague, Adrian, has to say about the Ativa. Right off the bat, Adrian noted that he likes the Ativa’s build quality, the ride and handling, the responsive powertrain, and its ADAS suite. But all’s not perfect, as Adrian pointed out that braking performance could’ve been better. The Ativa’s fuel consumptio

Back when the Perodua Ativa was still referred to as the D55L, some of us were already contemplating whether to wait for it or to just buy the good old Perodua Myvi. Even now, some of us are still deciding between the two cars since both are attractively priced compact cars for the family. Both cars are similarly sized with the Ativa having a taller ride height and bigger wheels. Learning that my brother-in-law just purchased a brand-new Perodua Myvi, we decided to put both cars next to each oth

Another Hari Raya has passed with all of us having to adhere to the MCO. Although an opportunity to show off Cik Tiva to friends & family has been missed, we still decided to get her fixed up before the end of Ramadan. And what is it that we wanted to fix? The rattling sound that has reappeared in the rear right corner. So, we’ve informed Perodua again about this issue, and they were quick to arrange an appointment for us. And just like before, Perodua had sent their experts from Perodua HQ to f

With the third round of MCO announced, we’ll have to postpone our plans for a long-distance drive with our Perodua Ativa. Almost everyone in the WapCar team has driven Cik Tiva, and she has served us well up to this point. As much as we acknowledge the Ativa to be Perodua’s best car to date, there are still some things about it that we do not like and could use some improvement. What are they? Well, we've got them all listed here for you. 1. It’s not that fuel efficient So, we’ve driven the Ativ

There are only two 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged cars to choose from in Malaysia right now – The Perodua Ativa and the Nissan Almera. Unfortunately, the 1.0-litre turbo engine for the Honda City never made it here. Sharing an almost similar engine and both utilising CVT, the Ativa and Almera have pretty much the same powertrain. However, they aren’t exactly equal – one rides better than the other, uses less fuel, and doesn’t vibrate as much. But which one is the better of the two? Well, to f

It has been 5 weeks with our Perodua Ativa and it has clocked over 3,000 km on the odometer. Cik Tiva has proven to be a practical car for the WapCar team, and there is not much for us to complain about. Unfortunately, we have some unpleasant news. Remember that rattling sound that we had before? Well, it is back to haunt us, and we are not enjoying it. If you've been following our updates on Cik Tiva, you would know that we’ve had this problem fixed earlier this month (April). The Perodua servi

As we drive our Ativa for more than two weeks, the excitement of owning a brand-new car has worn out. We’ve started to see more Ativas on the road too, and Cik Tiva doesn’t attract as much attention as she used to in the first few days. Worn out excitement aside, there are some little plus points that we find worth highlighting, in case the thought of buying an Ativa ever crossed your mind. The subject matter of its decent powertrain and suspension have been discussed multiple times, so now, let

It has been about two weeks of ownership with our Perodua Ativa. How have things been? Well, the rattling sound we mentioned previously had gotten really annoying. Every time we drove over abrupt irregularities on the right side, the sound became more and more apparent. We needed to take the Ativa to Sepang on Tuesday to check out some Malaysian-made electric car, so we held off going to the service centre until Wednesday. About two weeks of driving with that sound, we finally checked in at the

It turns out doing 1,000 km in one week wasn’t so hard after all. Having done a good mix of city and slight highway driving, we’ve successfully run-in the Perodua Ativa last week and we have sent it in for a 1,000 km inspection last Friday. So, we booked our appointment at Perodua Service Sungai Penchala for 10 am. Everything went according to schedule and Cik Tiva was hoisted as soon as we finished talking with the service consultant. What does the 1,000 km inspection entail? Not much actually.