You would have heard by now that the 2022 Perodua Alza is open for booking. The announcement yesterday by Perodua came with the first official details of the all-new MPV, which is a seven-seater sister of the latest Toyota Avanza/Veloz and Daihatsu Xenia. The new Alza is a larger and more sophisticated car than its long-serving JDM-based predecessor.

P2’s flyer highlighted a couple of unique selling points, which include an electronic parking brake (EPB) with auto brake hold, 22 km/l fuel economy from an EEV-rated 1.5L Dual VVT-i and D-CVT powertrain combo, a chrome/gloss black front grille, a spacious seven-seater cabin, and a 360-degree panoramic view monitor. The latter and EPB are Perodua firsts, along with Drive Mode selection.

Drive Mode is available on the H and AV variants, and it allows drivers to choose from Eco, Normal and Power modes. This is purely powertrain mapping, and perhaps steering weight, as the MPV rides on passive suspension (of course!). Now we know that the Drive Mode button is placed on the steering wheel, where the Ativa’s PWR button is.

The steering itself and the positioning of the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Control switches is similar to the Ativa AV. Like the compact SUV, the top Alza AV is the only variant to get ACC and LKC for Level 2 autonomous driving, although the ASA safety suite is standard across the board. The AV also exclusively gets Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, a 360-degree panoramic view monitor and the EPB with auto brake hold.

There’s a mention of rear disc brakes in the press release – this could either be for the AV only (as part of the EPB package) or standard across the board, we’ll see.

This first (of many, I’m sure) teaser video by Perodua also shows us a glimpse of the new Alza’s cabin. Look closely and you’ll see red on the black door cards. The spec sheet mentions semi-leather two-tone seats for the AV, and we now know that red is the accent colour. Note that the red appears to be in a darker tone, like the Ativa and unlike the Myvi AV’s bright red. Appropriate, we say.

Click to enlarge spec sheet, price list

The main point of this teaser video is efficiency, and P2 touts the EEV-rated engine and D-CVT gearbox. This should be the same 2NR-VE 1.5 litre NA engine as the Myvi, which will also power the Toyota Veloz. There, the Dual VVT-i motor makes 102 hp at 6,000 rpm and 136 Nm of torque at 4,200 rpm. With Eco Idle auto start-stop and Eco mode, it’s good for a claimed 22 km/l in the MDC. That’s likely to stand for Malaysian Driving Cycle, a locally-developed protocol based on local conditions.

D-CVT stands for Dual-mode CVT, and it’s world’s first split-gear CVT system that combines belt drive with a gear drive. This is for improved fuel efficiency, acceleration feel and quietness. D-CVT made its Daihatsu JDM debut in 2019 and was first seen in the Ativa in Malaysia. Perodua later used it to replace the 4AT in the Myvi. We’ve detailed the D-CVT here, check it out.

The tentative RRP for the new Alza is RM62,000 for the X, RM68,000 for the H and RM75,000 for the AV. These prices are on-the-road, without insurance for Peninsular Malaysia. The actual prices will be revealed during the official launch, which is set to happen next month. Check out our full first details report and spec-by-spec comparo piece to learn more about the new Alza.