The Hamster tries out the Myvi

white_myvi_small.jpgRichard Hammond, or known as the Hamster should be a household name by now, thanks to him being part of BBC’s Top Gear team.

The Hamster recently took the Perodua Myvi out for a spin, and he seems to be impressed! This should be good news for Perodua, who plans to lift it’s export volume from 3,000 units currently to 10,000 units a year.

No jokes, this is a good-looking car. But if it looks familiar, that’s because this is a Daihatsu Sirion in all but name. You see it costs billions to develop a new car – you design them on computers then build lots of them to crash into walls. So Perodua let someone else do it and spent their money sticking a new badge on it.

But they kept a bit back to spend on styling. Which is why, even though it shares bits and pieces with the Sirion, the Myvi is better looking.

And his final verdict:

So under seven grand for a good-looking car, built in a factory shared with Toyota, which handles as well as a Yaris, does nearly 50mpg with a three-year warranty – yes please.

Click here for the full review.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 4:09 am

    Good news for Perodua, show promise of increase it volume for export market.

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  • szw (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:06 am

    still a tin can , hahaha !

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  • mlbl (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:07 am

    This is great news! The guys from Top Gear are really hard to please, but it would have been interesting to see the reactions from Jeremy instead because he's the worst critic of all. But anyhow, well done P2.

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  • mlbl (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:08 am

    Awesome

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  • freeze (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:26 am

    Just £300 cheaper that the Sirion? Why would anyone chose this over Sirion?

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  • freeze (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:29 am

    Just £300 cheaper that Sirion? Can it sell?

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  • DAN (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:32 am

    even is tin can, is still a good car rather then proton.

    even a proton o produa the share own some by jep but it still make n generate a profit more then proton that totally own by Malay that spoon feed by gov to contribute 48 % but still loosing com-pair to produa got nothing .

    but 1 thing proton o what is not a story ,is how all this can generate a income to malaysian n take care about us.

    what for sale your name but eat shit! n get nothing but only bur-then a countrymen!.

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  • whodz (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:32 am

    why? because it is £300 cheaperlah and basicly Sirion and Myvi is the same car.

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  • i'm run (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:43 am

    Isk.. poor Proton Savvy. Proton spend millions to develope the car, but got beaten by a company who spent their money on sticking a new badge on others car.

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  • nizam80 (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:55 am

    They will be sticking badges on other cars for as long as they can.. and call it their own national car…

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  • nizam80 (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:59 am

    They will keep sticking their badges to Daihatsu and Toyota cars for as long as they can…. and call it a Malaysian car..

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  • lance (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 6:41 am

    Hi all,

    RM49K for Perodua Myvi and RM90K for Toyota Yaris here in Malaysia.

    Myvi?

    Yes, please

    Congratulations Perodua – I believe their success in the UK market will be "felt" by us consumers here!

    regards,

    Lance

    2005 Toyota Avanza M/T (proudly assembled by Perodua)
    http://lance.fotopages.com/?entry=877393

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  • ... (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 6:53 am

    wah topgear kutuk perodua you'all marah, they praise perodua also you'all marah. The myvi is the first malaysian car that is liked by the topgear crews. Congrats! the Myvi is a practical and nice car. thats why i have 2 in my garage :)

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  • V8 (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 7:27 am

    i like myvi coz its name almost the same as mine. hehehe..so proud! :)

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 8:04 am

    how about the savvy and the neo?

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  • fookeatmin1989 (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 8:08 am

    Who needs a wholly built so called 'national car' like proton if it can't sell??

    Just like Perodua…rebadge……and it's still MADE IN MALAYSIA……can sell.So what????

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  • fookeatmin1989 (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 8:17 am

    "They will keep sticking their badges to Daihatsu and Toyota cars for as long as they can…. and call it a Malaysian car.."

    Made in Malaysia will do lah………………..Why bother if they make good car unlike Proton who make junks…*PUKE*

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  • ryan_foong80 (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 8:34 am

    for me i prefer boon or passo…or sirion coz… some of them modify their myvi to passo or boon or sirion….. 300.. hmm…

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  • stanleyshyeoh (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 9:12 am

    There's nothing to like about MyVi isn't it. Really, let's be honest. Its just a utilitarian tool to get me from point A to point B, particularly within the city using as less petrol as possible. Roomy, cheap to maintain and reliable hopefully. Some safety features maybe.

    Looks? Shapes like Myvi aren't exactly exciting.

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  • Celicazz (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 9:16 am

    is it worth for good crash protection? surely not with myvi…

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  • narrowband (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 9:19 am

    Yes Myvi rocks. Throw a stone onto a KL street and chances are it'll hit a Myvi.

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  • Celicazz (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 9:19 am

    they like the savvy, too…juz not the name 'savvy'…watch it during the 'cool wall' part….

    myvi? wait till james has his eyes on it…

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  • topgunthang (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 10:50 am

    drive it a while longer then compare to the daihatsu. see whether that initial saving holds up or not. but they've done a good job rebadging a good car. and thats where all the credit comes from.

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  • pw (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 2:31 pm

    Proton is no longer a Malaysian's national car . Toyota is now the top malaysian choice. look at the statistics.
    http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/9…

    Toyota market share 16% last year 15%

    Perodua market share 33% last year 25%

    Total 49% last year 40%

    Proton 24% ….. last year 29%

    judge for yourselves which car is the choice of Malaysian. Which is real national car ?

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  • pw (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 2:39 pm

    http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/9…

    look who is the malaysian 1st choice now. Toyota .

    Market Share

    Toyota 16% last year 15%

    Perodua 33% last year 25%

    Total 49% 40%

    proton 24% 29%

    So who is Malaysian national car now? T1:-D

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:14 pm

    "National Car", AP, Excise Duty, Import Duty, Sales Tax, "Crocs", etc all specially created by MITI/G and belong to Jaguh Kampong crapp NAP/P1 used as predatory weapons to suck until last drop of rakyats' blood to maintain its existence and enrich super heavy fat crocs …… ! "Poor and ugly" rakyat get manipulated up to maximum!

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  • motorhead (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:53 pm

    Hoyea.. p2.. hoyea toyota… yeah betulah pw, eventhough with 75% CKD ED, toyota still can be a top choice.. what if reduce only 25% to 50%??.. poton bole tapau la… poton tak boleh, msian tak boleh, but tax boleh.. welcome GST next year!!.. byebye BN next GE….

    ps: goin to get my brand new vios soon.. hehehe..

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  • narrowband (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 5:56 pm

    The 'National Car' status is not determined by its market share.

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  • topgunthang (Member) on Sep 09, 2006 at 9:45 pm

    for an extra rm2500 you can already upgrade to a toyota yaris. in open market countries. why bother with the daihatsu or myvi. unless you really needed that money at the time. the depreciation costs already offset the meagre savings once you turn on the ignition key to your new sirion or myvi.

    that is what the hamster forgot to mention.

    but then again, he doesnt need to bother himself with cheap cars.

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  • oranglulu (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 12:01 am

    P1 mean PROTON,P2 means perodua,patriotic means buy savvy,practical means buy myvi,Piss off means P1,all got to do with the letter P.

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  • ingolstadt (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 3:11 am

    Bravos to Perodua!

    Not for Myvi's achievement as a car, engineering wise; but more to Perodua as a Malay company, strategy wise. For me, it's a very difficult decision to pick the Yaris over Myvi, even if i have an extra RM100k in my left pocket. CASH. The Myvi is everything a Yaris is, both utilizes cheap plastics (yes, Vios too, Proton? those are recycled mamak tabletops); both are ergonomically sound and spacious. I dont see the point for throwing another RM50k for the Yaris.

    Proton? Just notice one thing today, at the Mutiara Damansara Proton Showroom, if you stand in front of Tesco, you get to see the 'Thundercat' logo, and right underneath it, there's this word = "PLATINUM" ….. LoL~~

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  • xXx (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 3:45 am

    good ol' Hamster!

    Can't agree more with him. 300 quid more for a Sirion? I dont think so.

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  • transformer (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 4:31 am

    300 lesser…. ????

    maybe it c/w a lot of extra goodies that doesn't offered in Sirion!

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  • transformer (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 4:42 am

    auto industry had been hit by recent sluggish sales….

    Peroduo still sells…. in large volume, i say…

    consumer already lost faith in auto…

    new car price drops, their old car too…

    everybody is waiting for the next NAP!

    hope this would be what consumer are waiting for…

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  • xXx (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 5:05 am

    yeah the 300 quid saved can be used to buy teeth whitening products eh, mate?

    Yeah Perodua!

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  • oranglulu (Member) on Sep 10, 2006 at 8:04 am

    PERODUA present sales sucess: MYVI ,next! KEMBARA 2?,i am waiting!

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  • cyborgx (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 3:34 am

    eh, some ppl claim that Perodua rebadge Sirion to Myvi and so that is not National Car. How about Proton rebadging wira (mitsu lancer) perdana (eterna), satria (cyborg), etc. Thats not badging too? come on.. dont pretend to be stupid.

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  • asimo (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 4:13 am

    eh, some ppl claim that Perodua rebadge Sirion to Myvi and so that is not National Car. How about Proton rebadging wira (mitsu lancer) perdana (eterna), satria (cyborg), etc. Thats not badging too? come on.. dont pretend to be stupid.

    __________________________________________________________________________

    maybe the first malaysian car is gen2,100% malaysian…right?waja 70 % malaysian 30% mitshu,correct me if im wrong….

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  • cyborgx (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 5:03 am

    Thanks for your comment, asimo.

    My point is to all proton supporters, dont talk sh-t about Perodua on rebadging because Proton rebadge Mitsu models too.

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  • jzkzlz (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 5:23 am

    Yeah, proton already rebadge lancer, eterna until now, over a decade already.. IMO, i not concerning neither rebadge nor 100% national car..we rakyat really need is a Reasonable Price & Good Quality Car… Is it true??

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  • jzkzlz (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 5:34 am

    Yeah, proton already rebadge the lancer, eterna over a decade already, until now..

    IMO, i not concerning either is a rebadge or genuine national car.

    wat we rakyat all need is Reasonable Price & Good Quality car.. Is it true??

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 6:42 am

    Totally agreed with jzkzlz, there is no point 100% Made in Malaysia if it is highly price but low quality product.

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  • SoMeOnE (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 9:52 am

    well…from wat k know…the drivetrain and gearboexes of the gen2's come from misubishi although tuned substantially by proton…so does the campro;s cylinder heads…the basic underpinings of the car is still borrowed despite 20 years in the business…this is realy sad…

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  • suriya (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 10:15 am

    I hate myvi,my myvi 1.3ezi is 2 weeks old, the day i took from the salesman,

    1)alignment wasnt done

    2)had abs sign flickering

    3)stering was straight as well as the steering whole socket tilting to the right

    4)car floor was flooded water enters from down due to rain

    5)after rain there will be vapour in both front headlamps

    6)all doors doesnt shut properly

    7)car is underpower

    8)petrol consumption is super high 50 bucks i get the most is 250km speed

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  • Francis KethoN (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 12:33 pm

    Sorry to hear that, suriya

    Maybe you are the unlucky one that happened you got the unlucky unit.

    I do not actually own a Myvi but i have tried it before, the auto model is working nice, not sure whether it is under power or not cuz im a "slow" driver…HAHA..

    It is a common-sense that everyone knows auto transmission never have the power greater than the manual one and the FC always greater than the manual, so..do you get the picture? Unless you get an auto car with DSG feature, that gonna sound another way round.

    Well.. suriya, Since you got the car,why not figure some way to solve the problem but not complaining it, Im sure its under warranty right? Seek Perodua for consultation otherwise DIY (im sure you'll be proud of yourself that you manage to solve the problem by yourown)

    Cheers…

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  • monkeyking (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 7:05 pm

    Congratulation for MyVi.

    Wasn't daihatsu = Perodua meh???

    can't see any daihatsu car (not lorry) on malaysia road leh???

    So sorry for suriya, it's look like you got the most problem one.

    But don't worry, you still got the 3 year warranty. :P

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  • blunt (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 7:24 pm

    yupp..sorry to hear that Suriya..actually you're not alone, this is common grouses from myvi owner that i heard when i servicing my Kembara at P2 service centre. this is not an isolated case..this became common in P2 car nowadays.

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  • Khairy bin Tengku Ma (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 8:47 pm

    Vios is better than MyVi in terms of fuel consumption. I am sure. Forget MyVi the milo tin. Get a Vios.

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  • Illuminate (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 9:39 pm

    I hate myvi,my myvi 1.3ezi is 2 weeks old, the day i took from the salesman,

    1)alignment wasnt done

    2)had abs sign flickering

    3)stering was straight as well as the steering whole socket tilting to the right

    4)car floor was flooded water enters from down due to rain

    5)after rain there will be vapour in both front headlamps

    6)all doors doesnt shut properly

    7)car is underpower

    8)petrol consumption is super high 50 bucks i get the most is 250km speed

    —————————————————————

    Wow that is shocking. I was the first few batch owners so I think I didn't face this problem, but however my Myvi had an aircond problem where the aircond is very loud but it didn't affect the cooling so I didn't bother to service it although it's under warranty. But I'd like to say that my car is a nice one, guess I was lucky. All doors functioned like new, until now. And the car had no other faults beside the only one.

    Well the ICE was sucky, but I can't complain. I'll get a Sony Xplod if I got the money.. Lol.. But no plans for that either =)

    I'm glad I got a Myvi instead of a Savvy, no offense intended but I prefered the Savvy last time, dad picked Myvi though. Feeling very lucky indeed now =)

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  • rexis (Member) on Sep 11, 2006 at 11:15 pm

    Wonder how Hamster pronounced "Perodua"? :p

    Good for perodua.

    —————————————————————

    6)all doors doesnt shut properly

    What do you mean by that? Please note that due to air pressure inside the car and the good seals at the door side, the last door to be closed need to slam a bit to get it shut properly.

    8)petrol consumption is super high 50 bucks i get the most is 250km speed

    How you drive? My 13-year old 3-speed auto 1.5L wira can do better then this figure. Otherwise you should really get your car engine checked.

    —————————————————————

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  • Khairy bin Tengku Ma (Member) on Sep 12, 2006 at 12:20 am

    Vios average fuel consumption = 14 -15 km/l. This is proven.

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  • Deodorant (Member) on Sep 12, 2006 at 9:40 pm

    Hammond pronounces it kinda like PRROOOOODU-AH … something like that, haha.

    I doubt the Myvi will make it to Top Gear proper, though. And even if it does, I'm 99% sure Clarkson will still rip into it anyway. "There are no good korean or malaysian cars," is like a personal motto of his.

    Really though, I couldn't care less. I hear a lot of patriotism by "supporting" P1/P2, but seriously, to be absolutely honest, would you buy P1/P2/Naza if Malaysia was a level playing field? It's a big "no way in hell" for me, but if you can honestly say 'yes,' then you are a TRUE patriot.

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  • Khairy bin Tengku Ma (Member) on Sep 13, 2006 at 4:40 pm

    Car industry in Malaysia is set to doom. Nothing can be done to remedy the situation unless the G chips in. Abolish NAP. Shame to our G, more ppl go to heaven as a result of driving P1. Fatal road accidents, majority P1 owners. I hate proton!!! No more proton for the rest of my life. We are just a small nation, dun expect we can be a top global car maker. We can make cars, cars of the Japanese deserted models, you call it rebadge! I dun have national pride driving proton. I am just driving an outcast of the Japanese breed. Proton is japanese outcast!!! The untouchable!!!!

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  • Akazamabamaboo (Member) on Sep 13, 2006 at 10:43 pm

    Rebadge? I thought the MyVi was joint-developed by both Daihatsu and Perodua? :P Anyway, a positive comment from Hammond about Perodua is not a bad thing, is it? :)

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  • Francis KethoN (Member) on Sep 14, 2006 at 2:05 am

    Khairy bin Tengku Mahaleel said,

    September 11, 2006 @ 4:20 pm

    Vios average fuel consumption = 14 -15 km/l. This is proven.

    Proved by? and what?

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  • intermilan (Member) on Sep 14, 2006 at 6:18 pm

    savvy not bad lah…

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  • Khairy bin Tengku Ma (Member) on Sep 15, 2006 at 6:27 pm

    Vios FC is better than MyVi Ezi. That's proven. I've got both of this cars. I thought MyVi would have performed better. To my shock, 1.3 liter engine is underpowered. Vios is running 1.5 liter engine (1NZ-FE), this engine won the "International Engine of the Year 2004" award. Best known for its FC and balanced power. Please check at "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_NZ_engine". Thank you.

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  • trev (Member) on Sep 16, 2006 at 4:30 am

    Many of you are wrong! Perodua WAS involved in production of Sirion/Boon/Myvi

    the amount was not as many as Toyota/Daihatsu engineers but they did participate!

    Time is right for Proton to seriously think about what to do next…

    Now, Perodua is the real Malaysia Boleh case.

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  • normalcardriver (Member) on Nov 26, 2006 at 6:53 am

    apa ni Perodua was involved in production of Sirion/Boon?What a laugh..Can you believe japanese company like toyota want to hear Perodua Engineer to comment on their product ha ha.Anyway how you know.?.unless you are one of the engineer….that always bow when the japanese are around

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  • zass (Member) on Nov 28, 2006 at 10:44 pm

    I have read the news too apparently PERODUA has 40 of it enginneers in Japan before they enrolled MYVI production. I am not sure whether they involved diretly with actual designing ( I seriously doub it ) or not but from the news they actually have put together ideas on the accesories you know bumper, grill etc. It seem that they have some role in coming " Kancil Replacement Model next year " too. Well …….. again to what extend.

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