The Toyota Yaris Cross has re-emerged last week with a five-star ASEAN NCAP rating, two years on from its debut in Indonesia. The model’s ASEAN NCAP test report states the model as coming to Malaysia, which brings the chance that Perodua’s version would emerge, too. Here’s what it could look like.
Although the ASEAN-market Yaris Cross had its debut in 2023, Malaysian manufacturer Perodua had been rumoured to be working on a B-segment crossover even before the Yaris Cross was revealed, and this was codenamed D66B. The Traz and Nexis names were registered with MyIPO as trademarks by Perodua, with the latter likely to be the model’s eventual name.
Here, visual rendering whiz Theophilus Chin offers his latest take on the Perodua Nexis, subsequent to the rendition in 2023 based the ASEAN-market B-segment crossover. This iteration adapts the front fascia from the 2023 rendition, though while the sides of the front bumper gets the LED DRLs from the current Myvi facelift, the latest version shows an adaptation of the fog lamp inserts from the Yaris Cross itself.
At the rear, Theo’s latest Nexis rendition trades the tail lamp assemblies of the Yaris Cross for a full-width assembly that appears to be taken from the 2023 rendition, along with the tailgate and rear bumper design as well. In terms of wheels, the latest Nexis rendition here uses those from the Yaris Cross. As for its interior, the Nexis cabin is imagined to be carried over from the Yaris Cross, save for a Perodua logo on the driver’s airbag housing.
In terms of key mechanical components, the Yaris Cross in Indonesia gets a 2NR-VE 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine producing 106 PS and 138 Nm, driving the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or a CVT. In Thailand, this model is hybrid-only, packing a 2NR-VEX 1.5 litre NA four-cylinder engine that makes 91 PS and 121 Nm, and combines with a 80 PS/141 Nm electric motor for a combined output of 111 PS.
News of developments on the Perodua D66B front went cold from around February last year when Kenanga Research stated that the B-segment SUV was to launch in April 2024. The national carmaker has since turned to its EV efforts, though with the emergence of the Yaris Cross in the aforementioned ASEAN NCAP test results – with Malaysia mentioned – the Perodua Nexis could surface soon. What do you think?
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