• Priced from RM 62,500 to RM 75,500
• First Perodua with Android Auto
• ACC with stop-and-go, alongside tons more active safety

You wait ages for a car to break the internet and then two come along at once – well, within a few days of each other, but you get the point. This time last week we welcomed the 2022 Honda HR-V (full lowdown here), but the focus shifts to the 2022 Perodua Alza today, with the model having just been launched in Malaysia.

In this piece, we'll explore our first impressions driving it at Perodua's test track a couple of weeks prior to its debut.

Exterior: Easily likeable

The Alza name has been with us for 13 years now – all contained within one generation – so the all-new model presents a leap not unlike when someone first added durian to cendol.

In longer words, it's about how the base recipe of a complete, affordable MPV for most (which explains the 399,816 units sold in 13 years) becomes so much better with a dash of modernity.

Also read: Designed for women? How the Toyota Passo Sette turned from flop into the Perodua Alza?

And like any good cendol, looks play a big part. Thankfully the Alza is no slop; we proffer that it has the best front fascia between its Toyota Veloz/Avanza/Daihatsu Xenia siblings, what not with its cascading grille and tasteful drips of chrome.

The team that came up with the optional Gear Up bodykit deserves commendations too; subtle is certainly the way to go for a car of this stature. We'd wager more people will pony up for this, compared to those who bought the Ativa's toothy grin or the Myvi's masked look.

Also read: 2022 Perodua Myvi with Gear Up accessories looks like a permanently angry Pikachu

Some of you may have your apprehensions, but it’s one of the cars that pops better in-person than in photos. The wheels – particularly the AV’s dual-tone’s 16-inch rollers – fit almost flush to the body, lending it a nicely proportioned, balanced silhouette.

And if you're still on the fence about which among the five colours available you should choose...get Vintage Brown or Garnet Red, the two colours you see here. If anything, do your part in bringing back exciting, different colours to our roads again.

Interior: Nails the basics, and more

Nailing the basics is what the Alza does well, so if you’re concerned about the ergonomics of stepping into one, we say leave them at the door.

No, literally leave them by the wide-opening doors. Combine that with a comparitively lower ride height (1,670 mm) means neither your grandma nor your kid will complain about it being too hard to climb in or step out of.

Also read: 4 new MPVs/7 seaters launching in Malaysia in 2022, from all new Perodua Alza to Proton X90

Extending that are the one-touch tumble seats for the third-row bosses, and we don’t mean the little bosses of yours. We mean adults, of which a pair can sit in the third-row comfortably.

Proper comfort too. A flat floor means foot comfort is not compromised, and roof-mounted air-cond vents for the rear passengers effectively addresses one of the biggest complaints of the last-gen car.

Also read: From concept to production: Here’s how the DN Multisix evolved into the Avanza

A 115 mm longer, 35 mm wider cabin over the previous car lends to a very spacious cabin, tangibly better than the car it supercedes.

There's about two tennis balls worth of head- and legroom for those sitting in the second row. You can always eke a little more second row space by sliding the seats backwards.

On row two there now is a centre arm rest as well.

Speaking of seats, the Multi Seats (à la Honda's Ultra Seats) that debuted on the facelifted Myvi finds its way into the Alza too, but with a wider breadth of functions. You're now able to fold and slide the seats to shuttle up to 7 passengers, or transport items of varying sizes.

Of transporting items, you now get a bigger boot too. With the third row in place there's 137 litres (up from 83 litres in the old Alza), fold that down and you'll have 498 litres of space to play with (150 litres more than its predecessor).

Also read: Modern-day Rusa revival? Here's why Perodua needs to make the old Alza into a panel van

You’ll be reminded it’s a Perodua in how the rest of the interior feels. Hard plastics are the landscape, but in the AV variant, things look a little bit better with the burgundy inserts breaking up the sea of black.

Spot-the-other-Perodua is a game you can play in the cabin too, as there's quite a lot of shared parts. You have the air-cond controls, gear lever, and digital instrument cluster nicked from the Ativa, while the lower variants' analogue cluster is shared with the Myvi.

Also read: Is bigger always better? Is the Perodua Ativa superior against the 2022 Perodua Myvi Facelift?

All's forgiven however as the Alza becomes the first Perodua (and by extension, the first national car) to gain Android Auto support on the AV's 9-inch infotainment touchscreen. Yay for ease of use!

No more fiddling about on wonky phone mirroring apps! Well, unless you go for the X and H variants that is, in which they're exactly the same as you'd get in the Ativa.

Quick tests on the headunit shows that the headunit is smooth and relatively fast to respond, and output from the 360-degree camera is brilliant too – absolutely a winner in our books, considering, well, how many cars in this price range gives you such a feature?

Driving: DNGA makes for a solid car

Again, we drove this on Perodua's smoothly-paved test track, but we've had enough time behind the wheel to form some reasonably firm impressions. Real-world tests and hard numbers (NVH, fuel consumption) will follow once we have a press unit.

There's plenty to like about how the new Alza drives, and for most of that you’ve got the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) platform to thank. It's only the second Perodua to get the DNGA platform – the first was the Ativa – and everything good about that returns here.

Also read: Perodua D55L's DNGA platform - is it better and more comfortable than Proton?

Of course, comfort is owed to the good front seats too, which feels a lot like a modern Toyota, meaning it's well-suited for a role as a comfortable, long-distance cruiser.

Ride quality is of a much higher standard than the car it replaces, with a calm, composed nature. It being an MPV means there will still be some degree of body roll, but it's well-contained enough that we didn't get the unsettling, tin kosong feel as we swept the test track's banked left-hander at triple digit speeds.

Ah, triple digit speeds. Perhaps you've seen social media comments on the car being 'underpowered' (funny how they'd 'know' before driving it) and whether or not it'll comfortably hit 110 km/h. To that, we say, don't worry so much.

Also read: How to run in your brand-new car? Here is what we’re doing with our new Ativa

Yes, the Alza uses the same 2NR-VE, 1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated mill as the Aruz and Myvi, but tuned to be a claimed 40 percent more fuel efficient, and at the same time, making a sliver more power: 106 PS and 138 Nm.

In the Aruz and Myvi, the same engine produces 103 PS and 137 Nm.

Though the power increase is negligible, we have to say the engine feels very creamy and responsive, and there should be sufficient punch for 7 people on board, in the way it gets up to speed without much ungainly protests from the engine.

However if you do need sharper throttle response climbing up Genting, there's a drive mode selector for you to switch on Power mode.

Perodua says the Alza returns 5.2 litres/100 km on the NEDC test cycle, which roughly translates to 826 km on a single tank.

Smoothness and efficiency are the Alza's game, and the D-CVT – shared with the Myvi and Ativa – adds to the experience.

It's slightly different from a conventional CVT per se as this features a combination of steel chain and planetary gear set, the latter used to complement the steel belt to reduce a typical CVT’s rubberband response whilst giving it a more direct feel and less power loss.

Also read: Perodua Ativa's (D55L) CVT to be better than Proton's. What's the D in D-CVT?

In terms of the overall experience, the D-CVT offers better smoothness than the 4-speed torque-converter auto that came before it. Plus, you have manual mode to play with too.

Safety: Most complete in its class

There's something new in almost every paragraph of this article, and capping that is the advanced driving aids (ADAS) the D27A Alza bundles. Buyers will get Perodua Smart Drive Assist (PSDA), complete with these features:

ACC with stop-and-go functionality is a first for a Perodua, making it the only car in the sub-RM 100k price range to have such capabilities. From what we've tested, the camera-based ACC is sharp and smooth.

Also read: Travelling inter-state soon? Don’t use your car’s ACC without understanding these

Facilitating that is the electronic parking brake (EPB) with auto hold, also making its debut on Perodua. Very simple to use, and absolutely necessary to have.

On the passive safety front, stability control (VSC), anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution (ABS/EBD), and six airbags are standard across all variants.

Adding a bit more confidence to AV buyers are rear disc brakes, something not available on the last-gen car.

Conclusion: None more complete at this price range

Overall, the Alza, just like the Ativa before it, is a quantum leap in the right direction for Perodua. Yes, prices have gone comparitively gone up but what hasn't anyway?

No longer are fancy-schmancy three-letter acronyms accessible only to those with upwards of RM 100k to spend; buyers on the lower-end of the price scale can now enjoy a car that's decidely not at all cut-rate.

Also read: Review: 2021 Perodua Ativa AV – The new Malaysian highway king

Obviously not everyone in the market right now will make this their next car. That's completely understandable. But for those who are looking for an MPV that does a lot of things and does them well, the 2022 Perodua Alza fits just like a chill cendol on a hot day.

Durian on top, of course.