It has been around 2 months since we collected the Perodua Ativa Hybrid and over the Hari Raya Haji weekend, I decided to make a trip down south to my hometown in Johor in our white hybrid SUV.

We are well acquainted with its turbocharged variant having bought one for our long-term review. We missed the red Ativa which we affectionately called Cik Tiva dearly and hopefully, it has found a new home with owners who would treat it with as much care as us.

But back to the present and the white Ativa Hybrid has gone through around 8,700 km when I collected it from my colleague Dinesh who was taking care of it prior to me. With one bar of fuel left, I decided to refuel it before heading off to Segamat which is around 200 km away.

Perodua's first hybrid

You can’t actually own the Perodua Ativa Hybrid even if you’re interested in getting one. All 300 units of the Ativa Hybrid (and they are all in Pearl White Metallic) are only available via leasing. The leasing program ties customers to a 5-year subscription service under Perodua’s EZ MOBi arm and it costs RM 500 a month.

Also read: Here's the explanation of why you can't buy the Perodua Ativa Hybrid

That said, there is a mileage cap of 100,000 km over 5 years and customers are required to pay RM 2,150 upfront if they want to experience the future of Perodua which will involve hybrids.

The first thing that you normally think about when it comes to a hybrid is how less frequently you'll spend time at the petrol pumps. Perodua claims the Ativa Hybrid can go up to 31.3 km/L (3.19 L/100 km) on the Malaysian Driving Cycle test which sounds impressive but in the real world, you might not be able to achieve anything close to that.

Also read: 2022 Perodua Ativa Hybrid in Malaysia: Leasing only, 40% better fuel consumption than regular car!

Still, the Ativa Hybrid is a fuel-sipper and having travelled to and from Johor over the weekend, the next time I fed the SUV with RON 95 was on my way back to KL 4 days later. After driving for around 560 km, the Ativa Hybrid achieved 4.72 L/100 km which isn’t the most efficient during our time with it so far but we’ll reveal the best average we’ve gotten in a full review.

By comparison, our turbocharged Ativa long-termer did an average of 6.9 L/100 km across different driving styles and drivers.

Also read: Video: We collect our new daily driver, the Perodua Ativa Hybrid! What do you want to know?

More Rocky than Cik Tiva

Throughout my time in the Ativa Hybrid, I find the JDM eccentricities to be pretty fascinating from the numerous Japanese labels around the interior and the parking guide mirrors on the passenger side mirror.

Also read: Don't hold your breath for a CKD Perodua Ativa Hybrid

This is the second Perodua model to be fully imported (CBU) from Japan after the poor-selling and largely overlooked Perodua Nautica and thus, it feels different than the made-in-Rawang petrol variants.

Also read: Perodua Nautica – Is the successor to the Kembara really a bad car?

The ride on the Ativa Hybrid is stiffer than the petrol variants while some features are omitted including the reverse camera, blind-spot monitors (BSM), and infotainment control buttons on the steering wheels. There is no “PWR” button either which is replaced by a button that switches between two drive modes – Standard and Eco.

During my time behind the wheel, the Ativa Hybrid is in Eco mode in city and town driving which I would turn off while on the highway. I noticed that the distance-to-empty range recorded on the trip computer changes when switching between both modes with the more efficient Eco mode showing a slightly higher range.

Efficient but not perfect

The Ativa Hybrid’s or should I say, Daihatsu e-Smart series hybrid powertrain works similarly to Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system in that the naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre WA-VEX 3-pot (82 PS/105 Nm) engine works as a generator that powers the 4.3 Ah lithium-ion battery. Driving the front wheels is a 106 PS/170 Nm electric motor.

Also read: Perodua Ativa Hybrid's 1.2L, 3-cyl engine receives award from Japan for high efficiency and low cost

Despite the fairly decent fuel economy, the e-Smart hybrid system feels less efficient, especially on the highway with the energy being delivered sometimes feeling inconsistent. In the city with numerous stop-start traffic situations, the power delivery is mostly balanced but as you’re cruising down the highway, there is a sense of the engine straining itself to constantly juice up the battery.

So, no "tekan-tekan preggy" like the turbocharged Ativa but on the other hand, it’s a hybrid and what the Ativa Hybrid definitely excels at is its fuel efficiency. With rumours that the fuel subsidies might be removed, rather than getting an EV, a hybrid seems to be a better alternative, especially for a lot of everyday Malaysians.

Also read: More than "tekan-tekan preggy", watch the Perodua Ativa's Japanese twin go rallying!

As mentioned earlier, the Ativa Hybrid is a lease-only model but Perodua could be launching its very first hybrid model in the near future. There are rumours that the DNGA-based Toyota Yaris Cross previews the upcoming Perodua D66B SUV and the hybrid Yaris Cross is gaining popularity among buyers in Indonesia.

Also read: Toyota Yaris Cross: 78% of buyers in Indonesia chose Hybrid over petrol variants