We found a couple of Perodua Myvi for sale in Japan - How did the King get all the way there?
CY Foong · Jul 11, 2023 03:30 PM
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Though Malaysian cars have a strong technical partnership with Japanese carmakers, the only Malaysian car to be ever sold officially in Japan is the Proton Satria Neo. Besides, most early Perodua models were derived from Daihatsu cars that were sold in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The current crop of Perodua models aside from the Ativa have little to no connection to Japan and that includes the current third-generation Myvi. The Perodua Myvi is exported to a few countries overseas but it has only been called “King” here.
However, while scrolling through the Japanese online car classifieds to add a Subaru Vivio into the fantasy garage, we came across a pair of Perodua Myvi for sale in Japan. That’s right, there are at least 2 units of our automotive lordship over in Japan and they are both for sale at the same used car dealership in Osaka. We’ll get back to that location in a bit.
Both units are top-of-the-line 2018 AV variants. That meant it came with all the bells and whistles that made it the talk of the town for the next 5 years. The pre-facelift Myvi was the first Perodua to feature an ADAS suite in the form of Advanced Safety Assist (ASA).
The game-changing feature came with Pre-Collision Warning (PCW), Pre-Collision Braking (PCB), Front Departure Alert (FDA), and Pedal Misoperation Control. It earned a 5-star ASEAN NCAP rating under an older methodology.
The top-of-the-line Myvi is powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre 2NR-VE engine that makes 102 PS and 136 Nm. But those are all the facts you must’ve known given how popular and well-known the Myvi already is.
Spot that little slot below the AC buttons? It's basically the Japanese equivalent of Smart Tag
The same specs and features are found on both the used Myvis in Japan with the biggest exception being the infotainment head unit replaced by one that can receive Japanese television reception and navigation. Another addition to the JDM-ish Myvi is the ETC toll reader located in the middle.
Those are some low mileage for a 5-year-old Myvi
The red unit has around 6,000 km of mileage and is listed at JPY 1.7 million (~RM 56k) while the silver unit has clocked around 14,000 km of mileage with a price listed at JPY 1.6 million (~RM 53k). Bear in mind that when it was new back in 2018, the Myvi 1.5 AV is priced at RM 55,300 which meant the lower mileage model actually appreciated in value!
So, how did these pair of Myvis land all the way in Japan? Well, the location of the dealer might bring in a bit of a clue since Osaka is where Daihatsu is headquartered at. Perhaps these two units were brought over to Japan for internal evaluation by the D brand but this is just guesswork for now.
While the Myvi is a locally-designed model, some owners have slapped on a Daihatsu logo and rebadged them as the Sirion in an attempt to turn their Malaysian cars into JDMs (some without knowing that it’s more Indonesian than Japanese). What they should do instead is just get a square number plate and a Japanese inspection sticker to turn their Myvi into a マイヴィ(That’s Myvi in Japanese).
Traded advertising for a career that fits his passion for cars. Enjoys spotting cars during his free time and has a soft spot for Japanese Kei cars but drives a thirsty manual sedan.
