The Perodua Traz was launched a month ago but is two years late due to Daihatsu’s safety testing scandal involving ‘procedural irregularities’ that surfaced in late 2023. Everything is settled now, but the Traz is entering a market that has evolved: in 2026, Malaysians will get more car for their money compared to two years ago.
Yes, the Traz is still the cheapest true B-segment SUV in Malaysia at RM81,100 (for the range-topping H, base Both cars are turbocharged and have significantly more power.
For the practical types
But what critics and “car people” sometimes forget is that many people in the real world buy cars as a tool, looking for simplicity, practicality and reliability rather than luxury. There’s a reason why Toyota is the world’s best automaker, despite rarely pushing boundaries. P2 is openly looking for this audience and has even chosen ‘Engineered Simplicity’ as the USP/theme of the Traz.
The Traz is aimed at people upgrading from a Myvi/Axia or an older B-segment sedan – these people are looking for a family car that can do it all, and space could be more important than power when back home. They are used to NA power and maintenance costs and want reliability. And there is certainly nothing more reliable than the NR engine used in millions of Peroduas, Daihatsus and Toyotas in our region.
This post focuses on the Traz’s maintenance costs over 100,000 km, or five years/60 months. We used the Myvi as a basic reference point, as this is the P2’s target market (also the same engine), and the Ativa as the alternative SUV in Perodua’s own range. The Ativa is more refined and powerful, but also much smaller and therefore less practical as a family car. Of course we also have the Proton X50 here.
Perudua’s affordable baseball field
The Traz’s total maintenance cost over five years or 100,000km is RM3,534.87. There are three types of regular oil changes during this period: the ‘small’ will cost you RM256.24, and the ‘medium’ with cabin filter replacement will cost you RM340.41.
The ‘big’ ones further add air filter replacement and brake fluid maintenance for RM340.41. The last bill on the schedule is the 100,000km major service – this includes a CVT fluid change and new spark plugs for RM769.38. This brings the grand total to just over RM3.5k.
As expected, this is not significantly higher than what Myvi owners will pay in five years, which is RM3,368.70. Upgrading to a bigger car, a ‘Toyota SUV’ at that, for maintenance costs of less than RM200 extra over five years – that would be sweet music to the ears.
What’s perhaps more surprising is that the Ativa’s total 100,000km maintenance cost at RM3,539.30 is almost identical to that of the Traz. This is despite the Ativa’s more expensive 100,000km spark plug change (RM471.90 versus Traz’s RM263.60), as the items used in the 1.0-litre turbo engine are of a more advanced type to match the multi-spark ignition of the boosted engine (full diagram below). All three Peroduas are then in the same ballpark.
Proton X50 – you pay for what you get
What’s not in the ballpark is the Proton X50, which will set you back RM5,048.70 in maintenance costs over five years. That’s RM1,513.83 higher than the Traz’s bill, which isn’t exactly a small change for cars under RM100k. You get a lot more performance, though, so keep that in mind as we go through the list.
Additional items for the X50’s new 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that are not in the Traz menu include the fuel filter (RM83.80, every other service), dual clutch transmission oil change (RM346.92 at 80,000km, Traz has a CVT oil change but it only costs RM140.7) and engine coolant (RM135.45 at 60,000 km).
The ditto the N95 cabin filter. Aside from item prices, things are also replaced more frequently, such as the air filter, which is replaced once every two visits (Traz is once every four).
Perhaps the biggest difference is a new owner’s first visit to the service center. That happens during the first 1,000 km, and for Perodua it’s just a free inspection. The X50 owner’s first 1,000km visit is a full engine oil service that costs him RM228.
Also of note is that the X50’s RM5k total and RM1.5k difference over the Traz would have been even higher had Proton not placed the auxiliary belt replacement in a 110,000km service, thereby escaping this table. That item only appears once in the 10-year cycle and costs RM147.57.
Again, you get a lot more power and a more advanced engine with the Proton, and we suspect most X50 owners won’t mind paying the difference, but if maintenance costs are a factor for you, this is something to be aware of – know what you’re getting into.
Tyres, battery and FC
The Proton X50 is therefore more expensive to maintain than the three Peroduas here, but you already guessed that. What may be somewhat surprising is that the Ativa’s maintenance costs are actually comparable to the Traz, despite having a more advanced, downsized turbocharged engine that offers more power and speed.
However, we also have to take into account consumables such as battery and tires. Like the Traz, the top two variants of the Ativa ride on 17-inch tires (higher profile on Traz), but the high-performance factory-fitted Bridgestone Turanza T005A tires are more expensive to replace than the Toyo Proxes CR1 on the Traz. This is as you’ll want to retain the OE features, such as the Ativa’s decent roll refinement. Of course, one can always change tire brand/type depending on one’s budget.
On this subject, the top two variants of the
Unlike other Peroduas, the Traz doesn’t have an Eco Idle auto start-stop, meaning it can use the most basic 12V batteries – no need for the more expensive Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB) required by the Ativa and other P2s. NS40 can.
Finally, fuel consumption. Perodua records 21.3 km/l for the Traz in the Malaysian Driving Cycle (MDC), while the older quote of 18.9 km/l was for the Ativa in ECE mode. Daihatsu claims 18.6 km/l for the Rocky in the stricter WLTP cycle, so approximately for the 1.0T. The claimed FC of the Proton X50 is 6.1 liters per 100 km, which equates to 16.4 km/l. However, we should not compare all these figures because they are in different cycles.
Our Hafriz Shah has driven the Traz for a few hundred miles (full review coming very soon) and he reports that the Traz’s real FC isn’t much better than that of the Ativa and X50. If so, you may need to look more into the maintenance costs and purchase price for Traz versus X50 savings.
Now that we know the maintenance costs, what do you think of the Perodua Traz and its value proposition for simplicity and functionality?
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