The Perodua Ativa has been launched, and if you want to know more about it, please check out our comprehensive launch report and supporting posts. The national brand’s latest compact B-segment SUV is certainly a bold step for the company, with plenty of firsts.
A turbocharged engine, a D-CVT along with fancier active safety and driver assistance systems are just some of the technologies making their debut with the Ativa, but we’re not here to talk about any of that.
Instead, this post is focusing on maintenance, specifically how much it’ll cost you to run an Ativa over 100,000 km or five years. We presume many people think it’ll be more expensive to maintain the Ativa’s turbo engine, so we’ll find out if it’s true.
For some points of comparison, we’ve brought in the Aruz and Myvi as well, with both models likely being considered by customers in the market for a more premium Perodua car. Public interest also dictates that the Proton X50 must join the mix, so we threw it in as well.
Before we proceed, there’s the typical housekeeping that we have to do first. Number one, the Ativa does not directly compete against any of the other models mentioned due to different customer profiles. This is purely meant to show how much it would cost to maintain these cars, and if the newer tech makes a difference.
Secondly, all the figures are pulled from the official websites of Proton and Perodua at the time of writing. All good? Now, with that out of the way, let’s jump right into it.
Right off the bat, we can see that among the Perodua trio, the difference in terms of maintenance costs isn’t hugely significant. Over a five-year ownership period, the Ativa, Myvi and Aruz will cost you about RM3.1k to RM3.2k to keep running.
However, Perodua does suggest several Pro Care service items that are optional for the Myvi and Aruz, which it says is recommended to maintain your vehicle at optimum condition. In the case of the Myvi, adding all the Pro Care options across five years will add RM882 to the grand total, and it’s another RM738 for the Aruz.
It should be noted that the Ativa’s smaller 1KR-VET 1.0 litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine requires less engine oil (3.5 litres), while the Myvi and Aruz’ 2NR-VE 1.5 litre NA four-cylinder needs four litres. Interestingly, despite the Ativa needing one less spark plug, the cost for a full set change is more than double that of its other stablemates, due to the need for higher-spec spark plugs to ensure the 1KR-VET’s multi-spark system (plugs spark twice) works as it should.
A saving grace is the Ativa’s D-CVT requires less frequent lubricant changes – just once at 100,000 km/60 months – and its air filter is cheaper too, although cabin filter changes to happen more frequently.
Between the front-wheel drive Myvi and rear-wheel drive Aruz, they are pretty close in terms of maintenance costs, despite the latter requiring additional lubricant for its rear differential. No timing belt changes for any of the Perodua cars either, as they all use a timing chain.
As for the X50, it is certainly the costliest of the bunch, largely due to the more frequent air and fuel filter replacements – the latter is not needed for the Perodua models. It’s more premium N95 cabin filter is also more expensive, although you do get better filtration with it.
The X50’s larger-capacity 1.5 litre turbo three-pot also requires more lubricant (all the cars mentioned here use low-viscosity, fully synthetic 0W-20 engine oil) and its more advanced seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission also contribute to its maintenance cost. Additionally, there’s a timing and drive belt change at the 110,000-km mark, which costs RM458.05 with labour. Proton does offer free labour for the first three service intervals, one more than what Perodua offers.
As always, there’s more to overall running costs than just visiting the service centre, as you’ll also have to take into account annual insurance and road tax, which differs for SUVs and non-SUVs. For the Ativa, it’s RM20, but the Aruz and X50 road tax is RM120, while the Myvi (the only non-SUV model here) is RM90.
Adding to this is fuel consumption, which differs from person to person. Referring to official claimed fuel consumption figures, the Ativa is rated at 18.9 km/l, the Aruz at 15.6 km/l, the Myvi at 20.1 km/l, while the X50 is between 15.4-15.6 km/l. As mentioned earlier, actual mileage may vary based on driving styles, but the claimed figures give a good idea on which ones will use more or less fuel.
That’s not all, as there are consumables to add to the ownership cost, with things like brakes and tyres, the latter of which can differ greatly in price depending on wheel size. Consider the Ativa’s wheel size that starts at 16 inches, and goes all the way up to 17s on the top-spec variant, while the Myvi peaks at 15 inches and the Aruz has 17s throughout the range. The X50 starts with 17-inch units and go up to 18-inch sets on its top two variants.
In terms of actual pricing, the Ativa goes for between RM61,500-RM72,000, while the larger X50 is from RM79,200-RM103,300. As for the other two Perodua models, the Aruz is from RM68,526-RM73,226, and the Myvi tops out at RM52,697.
So, there you have it. The new Ativa, even with all its advanced technologies, closely matches its siblings in terms of maintenance cost, but is a lot less when compared to the X50. Again, the Proton SUV, Myvi and Aruz occupy different segments, so don’t compare them apples to apples. Thoughts?
The post Perodua Ativa turbo maintenance costs – similar to Myvi and Aruz, 50% less than Proton X50 over 100k km appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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