We’ve covered the Perodua Ativa rather extensively on this website, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now. It’s what we do here at paultan.org, more so with new national car launches. Regular readers would know we handled the Proton X50 launch just as thoroughly just a few months ago, as well as the Myvi in 2017.
Those looking for more details on the Ativa, this is the one you’ve been waiting for – our full review of Perodua’s new compact SUV. Just like my X50 review, it’s a long one, just under 55 minutes. But as per the title, it covers everything you’ll need or want to know about the Ativa, covering all that’s good as well as the bad.
It’s fair to say the Ativa has sparked a lot of intrigue among the general public. Is the tiny 1.0 litre turbo engine any good? Is it faster than a Myvi? Is the D-CVT any better than Proton’s CVT? Perodua claims 18.9 km/L, but what’s the real-world fuel consumption? How about the three-cylinder vibration and noise?
This video will cover all that and more, including comments on its build quality (is it a vast improvement over the Myvi?) and ASA 3.0 advanced driving assist features (is it really a Level 2 semi-autonomous car, and how does the adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist behave on Malaysian roads?).
In short, there’s no denying the Perodua Ativa is a great car, but that statement does come with a few caveats. As good as it is, it does have a few glaring flaws, and as big of an improvement it is over other Perodua models, it still falls short of other carmakers in quite a few aspects.
Like the X50, we also have a shorter version of this review below, which is easier to digest – meant for casual viewers, it still covers all the necessary details. If you’re seriously looking to buy the Ativa, however, I’d recommend you take the time to watch the full version above, as it details its pros and cons more extensively.
Do let me know what you think of the review in the comments section below. Thanks for watching, and stay safe, everyone.
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Absolute bargain for RM70k suv !
That’s why we Don’t Need Geely Anymore (DNGA) !!
X50 still the better car. Buy smarter
Both X50 and Ativa are good car
Takpayah fikir, takpayah pening. Beli je ativa
Betul tu bro.
X50 pening bila selamat 180kph eksiden
Ativa xyah pening bila 180kph eksiden, terus KO
Nak tengok bang Hafiz beli dulu…
to be fair, at their respective price range, both are better car compared to all other brands
Better car on paper, maybe. Smarter? no. More like for dumber. Lousy service, no spare parts and clueless service centre.
Lousy service? Find another centre.
No spare parts? Wait for spare parts.
Clueless service centre? See point 1.
All those are minor annoyance when you know you are likely to survive a crash up to 180kph. In ativa you are only guaranteed to survive up to 64kph.
180kph is what you claimed. Were you there? Must feel like a genius by turning embarrassing even into a plus point isn’t it?
Downplaying spare part issue won’t help. Otherwise why struggling trying to relaunch? because customer running away?
Are you dumb or something, do you think the car really crash at 180kmh ? The speed when crash is only around 70kmh, use brain, no car can hold the impact when crash on 180kmh. Do some research.
A genius is one that buys the right car and survives a bad crash, You can’t call yourself a genius if your dead wrong about literally being dead in the wrong car.
ioma rather be bodoh-sombong-mati than survive a crash. Typical mindset of p2 buyers.
We dont need Geely anymore,but protong needs Geely.Without geely,protong is already insolvent.,together with the crybaby vendor suppliers.
Just wonder if Activa crashes at 180km/hr, will the driver survive? Can someone simulates it…haaa
Go buy DEFTECH truck.
Ativa top speed is only 160km/h
I also haven’t see a Proton x50 crash at 180km/h…
https://paultan.org/2021/03/12/proton-to-investigate-viral-x50-total-loss-crash-by-sa-take-action-if-sops-breached-car-was-from-kl-to-jb/
Here you go
But it was not crashed at 180km/h, its in your dream..
But that car did crash unless your dream told us it didn’t crash.
Apa yg bargain? Kereta ini extremely low quality kena Parkinson tak dengar dia cakap very annoying steering vibrate seats vibrates pedal vibrates dashboard vibrates floor vibrates gear vibrates the loose handbrake vibrates.. Axis is a much better bargain vibration still ok just turbo it =))
The best shopping cart for women.
For a 60k reliable and good fc JDM SUV… Win.
on the topic of really needing 7 seaters.
IMO it would be far more better and far more comfortable for the occupants to go for the Perodua Alza rather than the Aruz. The ride in an Aruz is atrocious. You will be thrown about like a ragdoll going over bad malaysian roads. Thw downside is yes the Alza is too long in the tooth. Perodua really needs a new MPV based on the DGNA platform.
I agree, but with no electronic stability control I don’t consider the Alza a viable option at all.
The best ESC is the nut behind the wheel IMO.
Most spins on the highway is caused by people panicking and stomping on the brakes when they hit a puddle, when a lift of the throttle paddle and holding firmly on the steering will do.
Yes, but much better with ESC than without.
Shall get this suv earlier. Much regret
as above.. or a small tiny punny light
Wow, ESC.. sounds like what Proton has been harping whenever they got owned in an argument before this.
So why is Perodua equipping their cars with ESC now? Were Proton proven right all along?
Why the pain because P2 having ESC now? Because there’s nothing to brag about anymore? hahahahah
Why the butthurt bro? Just admit Proton was right and you were dead wrong. hahahahah
ESC is there to save 99.9% of bad drivers. It does not improve the car handling or ‘safety’ of the car. ESC will not help the car to be more stable, stop better or corner faster.
“ioma”: apparently, P1 having ESC way before P2 adding it in is already a bragging right. It doesn’t matter if P2 have them now, P1 have them first and P2 is late to the “safety” party, period. You said “there’s nothing to brag about” for P1 anymore is like saying once P2 added ESC, it’s theirs.. I mean did P2 patented ESC and claimed it? what a joke
Still better than 7 ppl squeeze in a Proton Persona/ Perodua Bezza AEB
Confirm absorber cannot tahan, vsc also no use
Don’t worry D27A will come later based on DNGA platform developed altogether for Veloz/Xenia.
For long distance, the back seat is the pain in the ass.
Not really, its more comfortable than HR-V
Although about the same level
1:05 – someone needs to observe the speed limit =D
Good
Bring it on
So major issues for me are that it is quite underpowered, has bad fit and finish, and has a terrible infotainment system with grammatical errors (grammatical errors is unacceptable IMO – reminds me of those Chinese knock off cars from the 2000s).
Good job Hafriz for being calling them out for the things being bad and not just fanboying around and going gaga. It certainly has a lot of good things going for it of course.
I like the car, but it’s not without its faults. Let’s see how the fanboys react to this
Atill another Ativa news?
Ends of Ativa
As always, a great and honest review. In my opinion, it all boils down to what one can accept, afford and like. I believe the Ativa will sell well despite it’s glaring flaws, given it’s price point. It’s not a bad SUV, but it’s definitely not great.
Thanks! Yeah it will sell well and it deserves to be a success. It’s good for what it is and at that price range.
If give honda sell this, confirm RM 129k,
More expensive then a kosong spec HR-V RS RM 119k and Honda S660 3cyl turbo 64hp Coupe RM118k (Japan).
Guys should Syukur
the hard plastics on dashboard…BRV and Vios dashboard are also hard plastics, no?
But Vios is still good car with better quality dashboard
Not all hard plastics are the same, though. The hard bits in the Vios and Almera, for example, have better fit and finish. BR-V, about the same as the Ativa here.
but i did not see you whine about the hard plastics on the BR-V.
As even the highest spec Ativa is nearly 10k cheaper than the cheapest BR-V, you should have said that all the hard plastics are to be expected in this price range, not whine about it and talk about soft touch plastics (which in the hot climate of ours, can start to degrade in a few years).
Also the engine noise in the cabin is not just because of the 3pot engine. Perodua is notorious in doing cost cutting kaizen with sound insulation and tar acoustic panels, and puts those as add on accessories instead.
I did mention as a whole, despite its shortcomings, the Ativa is well within expectations in this price range. In quite a few aspects, well exceeds them in fact.
Build quality, though, as mentioned it’s a surprise it’s not a big upgrade over the Myvi, and a fair few levels below the X50 (which has spoiled the market for quality materials in cars under RM100k here since I did the BR-V video a few years back).
How abt wind noise at high speed? Heard from other reviewer it is so much better than x50.
It is. But I think that’s more of a fault on the X50 (which should be recalled and fixed by Proton) rather than a strong point for the Ativa, which is about average in this respect.
This is rich. Reminiscent of a leader choose to destroy his own group than letting other people to take over the leadership.
Bro Hafiz. Did you find out what causes the wind noise already? Leak or what structural design?
Better build quality and power than a Renault Captur RM 110k and incoming Nissan Magnite the Almera Turbo SUV.
Better compare to Rival of it segment
Thanks Hafriz for the in super depth and fair review. I had been waiting for your expert review since I placed booking last week. Luckily all the flaws that you stated are still acceptable, considering all other + points and the price…no need to cancel booking.
Tons of coverage about the arguably most important car launch of the year, the Attiva.
But zero coverage of arguably the most important motorcycle launch of the year, the Y16?
Mohan is still sleeping or what?
I know this is a car-centric blog, but nothing?
It will be up soon. In the meantime, you may read our BM report, which has been up since yesterday: https://paultan.org/2021/03/18/yamaha-y16zr-dilancar-untuk-pasaran-malaysia-harga-rm10888-tiga-pilihan-warna-enjin-vva-155-cc/
Congratulations to Perodua Ativa and Proton X50
Both are better quality, better ride and handling, better value, and much more advanced than the
Honda HR-V RS RM 119k.
(LIKE) Perodua Ativa 3cyl Turbo AEB ACC, Proton X50 3cyl Turbo AEB ACC
(DISLIKE) Renault Captur, Honda HR-V RS, Mazda CX30, Mini Cooper Countryman
Proton X30 4005mm Length, 1760mm Width, 1575mm Height, 2480mm Wheelbase, 1215kg Curb Weight, 400L Boot Space, 6.1L/100km, 1.5L 4 cylinder, 102hp, 142Nm, AEB, ACC RM68,900 coming soon.
Strong vibration on steering wheel, brake/gas pedal and seat while idle….hemmmm…
Thank you Hafiz for pointing out the weak point for Ativa that in a way to prompt P2 to improve further…BTW, I hope all the improvement and rectification will be done to Bezza replacement model next year! (looking forward of it launching!)
still a buruk-dua perodua, not worth at all..
Front view look like a mini innova…..
It looks like a better looking Honda HR-V too
Which era did P2 built this fugly car. No DRL no ESC no this no that yet claims the car is cheaper than that Raize in Japan hahaha. Floating screen also don’t know from where spell as “Setting” wakakaka
Maybe I am too old.
I dislike having to push a button before anything happens.
I like opening the door putting my foot on the clutch and turning the ignition key.
I dislike wondering what I have forgotten because the bloody thing won’t unlock.
I dislike putting it in gear and wondering why it won’t go into gear. So what sequence of buttons and pedals pushed have I forgotten.
And I hate push button starters.
Oh and if they want to have a fancy gearbox.
Use a sequential gearbox. All motorbikes use them Instead of all that heavy dual clutch 10 badly spaced gears. All driven by a load of complicated electro hydraulic nonsense.
I am in the market for a Lads Niva if anyone has one for sale.
Stop comparing Ativa with X50 la. Price is 30k difference. Like some other said both are the best in their price range. Is like saying Honda Civic is a better car than City or CRV is better than HRV. Is plain stupid of course it is right? Perodua would have price Ativa 120k if it was all round better than X50. Y wouldn’t they?
You mean stop this?
https://paultan.org/2021/03/09/2021-perodua-ativa-vs-myvi-vs-proton-x50-size-and-price-compared-where-does-the-new-suv-stand/
And this?
https://paultan.org/2021/03/04/perodua-ativa-turbo-maintenance-costs-similar-to-myvi-and-aruz-50-less-than-proton-x50-over-100k-km/
And this?
https://paultan.org/2021/02/20/video-perodua-ativa-d55l-suv-versus-proton-x50/
And this?
https://paultan.org/2021/02/19/perodua-d55l-suv-vs-the-proton-x50-and-perodua-aruz-specs-comparison/
More expensive always better
But less better value
Perodua and Proton will always sells better car, better Value
Mahal for 1.0litre turbo price..body pun utk org sederhana..
I don’t understand this P1 vs P2 fanboyism.
Better? worse? All subjective. My only hope is BOTH the ativa and the X50 do well so that they spur each other on to give us Malaysian better cars. If we had a monopoly we’d still be driving 50hp carburetor cars without airbags.
Actually looking for a car likeX50, Avanza, Ativa, HRV, etc …. which one is less than 100k? Ì am not that good in parking but would like to try a high seat car with low maintenance.
Should I get a second hand car?
Hi, Hafriz!
I’m a long time fan and I always enjoy your reviews. I recently bought an Ativa but I have a couple of questions and nobody at Perodua is able to help me. I was wondering if you could use your contacts…
1. I can’t use the Smartlink feature for navigation because it only supports up to Android 10 and my phone is running Android 12 (my phone is more advanced than my car!). When will Perodua upgrade the Ativa’s software?
2. I absolutely HATE the auto start/stop feature. Why can’t I turn it on/off permanently like the auto headlights or the parking sensors? I have to remember to do it every time I get into the car. I’d like to meet the engineer who designed this in a dark alley somewhere…