Md Fuad

The Perodua Kembara was launched in 1998, and as one of the cheapest 4WD SUVs in the market, it took the lion’s share of the SUV market - 60% by 1999. The Kembara’s successor - the Perodua Nautica 4WD was launched today and Perodua seems to be approaching it differently, bringing it as a premium product imported from Japan (a first for a Perodua) with only one variant priced at RM89,900 OTR with insurance. While the Kembara took 60%, Perodua only intends to take 5% of the current SUV market, with sales of about 150 to 200 units monthly.
The Perodua Nautica is essentially a Perodua-badged version of the short wheelbase Daihatsu Terios/Toyota Rush. The front bumper and grille is different, and these along with the rear bumper are made locally in Malaysia, while the rest of the car comes completely assembled from Japan. For lighting, you get foglamps and twin projector halogen headlamps (a step up from the highline Toyota Rush which has a single projector) while the rear brake lamp cluster use conventional bulbs.
The chassis is based on a derivative of the Toyota Avanza platform but has additional reinforcements to make it 30% stiffer than its derivative models. The suspension design consists of MacPherson struts at the front and a live axle at the rear.
The longitudinally mounted 1.5 liter DVVT engine is the 3SZ-VE producing 109hp at 6,000rpm and 141Nm of torque at 4,400rpm. This engine is also found in the Rush and Avanza 1.5. It is mated to a single overdrive 4-speed automatic, and a full-time 4WD system which has a centre differential lock which can be activated from a button on the dashboard. It locks so that the front and rear axles rotate at the same speed.