AFTER teasing the numerous Malaysian car enthusiasts for weeks, the country’s second national car company this week, officially rolled out its latest offering; the Perodua Aruz.

The launch of the SUV marks Perodua’s return to the segment, having previously sold the Perodua Nautica and Perodua Kembara.

Perodua Aruz is available in two variant, the 1.5X for RM72,900 and the top of the line model; 1.5 Advance (AV) which will retail at RM77,900 excluding the insurance.

Both the variants will feature the same engine option – the 2NR-VE 1.5– initially developed by Toyota which was subsequently modified by Daihatsu for Toyota Avanza.

The naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine puts out 76 kW at 6000 rpm with max torque of 136 Nm at 4,200rpm.

Installed with the Dual VVT-i and Eco Idle feature, the vehicle is considered an Energy Efficient Vehicle.

Perodua claims that the car is capable of giving up to 15.6 km per liter.

The latest Perodua Myvi and the Toyota Rush also features the same engine.

Both variants are rear wheel drives that come with standard with a four-speed gearbox, not unlike Toyota Rush and the Daihatsu Terios.

Design wise, the Perodua Aruz features a bold front grille that flaunts the Perodua badge at the third chrome bar – that also links to with LED daylights that are built in the car’s headlights.

The interior of the Aruz stars Perodua’s own dashboard designs with a silver trim piece that wraps around the center stack that made up of two air-cond vents Perodua’s own seven-inch infotainment system, and the air-cond controls.

In addition to that, both variants also come with;

• 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels
• Keyless entry and start
• Integrated SmartTAG
• Six airbags
• ABS with EBD and brake assist
• Vehicle Stability Control
• Hill start assist
• Hill descent control
• Isofix child seat anchors

Added options of the AV variant include;

• Auto on/off headlights function
• Front fog lamps
• Roof rails
• Leather upholstery and leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob
• piano black dashboard and door trim with chrome highlights,
• SmartLink function
• Integrated driving video recorder (DVR)

Meanwhile, the AV variant also features Perodua’s Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) 2.0 suite that bundles Pre-collision Warning, Pre-collision Braking, Front Departure Alert, Pedal Misoperation Control.

While the safety systems are similar to the Myvi’s, the safety suites on the Aruz is slightly more enhanced, whereby there is now pedestrian detection at speeds up to 50 km/h, and Pre-collision warnings are operational at up to 100 km/h, which lead the Aruz to be certified with a five-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating.

The Aruz is available at the moment in five colors;

• Granite Grey
• Electric Blue
• Glittering Silver
• Ivory White (solid)
• Amazon Green (new)

New models come with a five year or 150,000 km warranty.

While it may be a little too early to tell, judging by the initial reception by the market, and Perodua’s favorable reputation in the country, the Perodua Aruz is expected to be a big hit in Malaysia.

It will be interesting to see Aruz battles it out against Proton X70 for market share in the segment.