KUALA LUMPUR: PERODUA opened bookings for the Aruz, a three-row seven-seater Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), with a stated price of between RM72,200 and RM77,200 (on-the-road before insurance in Peninsular Malaysia).
The launch was decidedly low key compared to national car manufacturer Proton’s recent launch of their latest model, the X70 SUV, which was preceded by previews and press introductions. Earlier, a leaked brochure containing the specifications of Perodua’s SUV had made their rounds in social media here.
Two variants of the Perodua Aruz will be offered, namely the 1.5 X and 1.5 Advance, with five colours available – Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Electric Blue, Granite Grey and a new Amazon Green.
Both will be powered by an an aluminium-block 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine with Dual VVT-i built in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan mated to an electronically-controlled automatic transmission (E-AT).
The Aruz will come with a five-year/150,000 km warranty (whichever comes first).
“The Perodua Aruz is our fourth transformation model, setting new standards for us in quality, space, fuel efficiency and safety – the latter bolstered by a 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating.
“With these qualities and more, the Perodua Aruz is among the best-value SUVs in Malaysia,” Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said.
Zainal said he expected sales of this new model to average 2,500 units monthly or 31,200 units by end-2019.
With an elevated driving position with good all round visibility, good space and flexible seating layouts, the Perodua Aruz is targeted at families and those with active lifestyles.
On the exterior, the Aruz gets LED headlamps with follow-me-home function (auto lights on Advance variant), 17-inch two-tone alloys, while the Advance variant adds fog lamps and roof rails for extra style points.
Inside, the Aruz is equipped with Smart Entry with Push Start/Stop Button as standard.
All variants are equipped with touch-screen radio with reverse camera display, digital air-con with two memory settings, air vents for the rear passengers and a built-in toll card reader.
Seating is flexible in the Aruz, with the second row split 60:40 while the third row is split 50:50. Both rows can slide, fold and tumble, yielding a variety of seating and loading configurations. All three rows are equipped with charging ports.
The Advance variant gets leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with call-receive controls, plus an integrated driving video recorder. The top variant also gets HDMI, Smart Link, Bluetooth and navigation added to its touch-screen system.
The Perodua Aruz has a 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating and is equipped with Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill Start Assist (HSA), ISOFIX and six airbags, which are all standard across the range.
The Advance variant has upgraded version of the Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) active safety suite, called ASA 2.0.
With the ASA 2.0 safety suite, Perodua has added pedestrian detection (up to 50 km/h) to the safety suite and increases the operational speeds of Pre-Collision Warning to 100 km/h and Pre-Collision Braking to 80 km/h.
Also incorporated is Front Departure Alert and Pedal Misoperation Control.
The Aruz is also certified as an Energy-Efficient Vehicle (EEV), equipped with Eco Idle. Perodua says it has a best-in-class rated fuel efficiency of 15.6 km/l.