Hometown Hero: Perodua Kelisa
Jeremy Clarkson hated it, the majority of Malaysians have already forgot about it, but there is still a place in this world for this hometown hero — the Perodua Kelisa.
Conceived as a car that was one better than the OG Perodua Kancil that kickstarted the Perodua brand, the Perodua Kelisa did quite well in terms of sales figures. There was a time when nearly every street corner had one of these tiny little cars inappropriately parked there. However, like the middle child in the family, the Perodua Kelisa soon faded into obscurity due to the arrival of Perodua’s superstar — the Perodua Myvi.
Sandwiched between the first car everyone drove, the Kancil, and the newer, more practical Malaysian favourite, the Myvi, the Perodua Kelisa died an unceremonious death, with not even a direct successor to its name, instead sharing its successor with the Kancil in the form of the Perodua Viva.
However, in my humble opinion, the Perodua Kelisa is one of the best cars that have ever graced Malaysian roads. And although it sounds like a bad joke, in the following few hundred words I shall (attempt to) prove that the Perodua Kelisa is indeed a bonafide hometown automotive hero that all Malaysians should be proud of.
As Reliable As A Wood Burning Stove
To prove that the Perodua Kelisa is a hometown hero, we first have to look at how it was brought unto the Malaysian motoring masses.
It’s no secret that *shock, horror* the Perodua Kelisa is essentially a Japanese kei car as under its Malaysian skin. It was basically a rebadged fifth generation Daihatsu Mira, which incidentally the third generation of the Daihatsu Mira became the Perodua Kancil, but we’ll gloss over that. Now before the pitchforks start flying saying how can our hometown hero be part-Japanese, the answer to that is no Malaysian car until very very recently was fully Malaysian, and even now some Malaysian cars are Chinese. Anyway the Japanese made good cars, so what’s the fuss. One of the main reasons why the Kelisa should indeed be considered a hometown hero is because its part-Japanese heritage, not despite of it as…
Japanese = reliable.
Being based on a Daihatsu, the Perodua Kelisa is as reliable as a wood burning stove. Incidentally, it is also as simple and as basic as one, but that adds to its reliability. Nothing could go wrong if there was nothing there in the first place. Its rare to hear of Kelisa breaking down. And when they do go wrong, parts are also cheap so maintenance isn’t going to cost you an arm and a leg.
A TARDIS Of A Car
Another contributing factor that makes the Perodua Kelisa one of the best cars to grace Malaysian roads is because of its frankly amazing packaging. I’m not talking about how it came in a nice plastic box, like a toy car, but instead how big the interior space was compared to its exterior dimensions.
Small on the outside, large on the inside.
Everyone hailed the Myvi as being a packaging marvel, especially the latest generation Myvi with its limo rivalling rear legroom, but frankly it doesn’t hold a candle to what was achieved in the Kelisa. As in the Myvi, you could fit 5 adults with ease in the Kelisa, even if they were tall lanky teens. There was also room for most of their stuff as the Kelisa did have a reasonable boot. The difference between the Myvi and the Kelisa is that the Kelisa was way way way smaller than the Myvi, so unlike the Myvi you could literally park it anywhere. And people did indeed park it everywhere, it wasn’t too long ago that every little nook or gap was filled by a parked Kelisa, especially around the vicinity of a market (both morning or night).
Granted it will never carry the same amount of people/stuff as the physically bigger Myvi, but it gets pretty darn close, and in everyday scenarios it won’t even be a problem. If you really want further proof on how the Kelisa is a TARDIS of a car, the Kelisa is able to fit 5 people and their luggage with ease. The Polo however, a car which has roughly the same dimensions and is of the same size segment — can’t.
Cheap As Chips.
Apart from its reliability and amazing interior dimensions, the reason why Perodua Kelisas were a common sight on Malaysian roads was because it was cheap. It was the cheapest car in the UK at that time retailing at £5995, and it was also one of the cheapest cars in Malaysia too.
The Perodua Kelisa did not have much features and it was indeed built down to a cost. It also wasn’t particularly safe with no notable safety features worth mentioning. But what the Kelisa did was it brought aspirational mobility to the masses. If you wanted just a cheap car, you would just buy the Kancil. The Kelisa however was a step up from the ever popular Kancil, and people can and did actually aspire to own a Kelisa for precisely that reason.
Being able to own a car that you aspire to and not just buy the only one you can afford is a really good feeling. It makes you feel like you achieved something in life instead of just scraping the bottom of the barrel. And hence concludes another reason why the Kelisa is indeed a hometown automotive hero.
Moving on to the final and most convincing point that the Kelisa is indeed a hometown automotive hero, and the best car to grace Malaysian roads: the Kelisa is a fun car to drive.
Forget Miata, Kelisa is always the answer.
Before you start wondering if I have indeed completely taken leave of my senses, I can explain. For one, I believe that the Perodua Kelisa is the true spiritual successor of the original Mini, and everyone knew that the original Mini was a hoot to drive. A wheel at each corner meant that the Kelisa retained its Mini-esque go-kart like handling. Also like the original Monte-Carlo-rally-winning Mini, the lack of any creature comforts in the spartan cabin just amplifies the fun you’re having because you fell so connected to the road. There is no electronic nanny to dampen the fun.
Speaking of dampening the fun, the three cylinder engine might be considered to be a hindrance to the fun factor of the Kelisa, but I argue the opposite. The lack of power is what enhances the fun factor of the Kelisa. The fun factor of the Perodua Kelisa hails from the ethos of slow car fast, which originated with the Mazda MX5/Miata. Being able to be right on the limit of any car is when a car is most fun to drive, and like the Miata the limit of the Kelisa is hilariously low. With its three cylinder engine thrumming away under the tiny bonnet, no matter how hard you push you’re still within the speed limit of any road.
You may not be breaking the law, but you are cracking a grin being right on the limit of this tiny kei car.
And that brings me on to another potentially controversial statement. That is the Kelisa makes the perfect tōge car.
Yes, unlike the tōge legends like the AE86, Nissan Silvias or even the humble Mazda Miata, the Kelisa is a front wheel drive econobox with absolutely no power whatsoever. Any other car will wipe the floor with the Kelisa on the mountain road, so why does it make a good tōge car? Well its because after the taillights of your mates in E46 M3s, Porsche 911s and other much better tōge cars have disappeared off into the distance, then you will fully enjoy being on the absolute edge in the tiny little Kelisa. Unlike those way up front in their fire-breathing supercars who dare not even come close to the limits of their car less they lose control in spectacular deadly fashion, you in the Kelisa could absolutely take it to the ragged edge and you’ll still be within your lane. Rev the balls off it and you’ll still be behind the truck you’ve been trying to overtake, but you’ll have a wider grin than anyone once you’ve eventually reached the meet up point. Bonus fun points if you have opted for the base trim manual.
So there, that is the argument for why the Perodua Kelisa should be hailed as a hometown automotive hero. Sure to most people who owned it, the Perodua Kelisa was basically a transportation tool. It wasn’t fast, safe, comfortable, loaded with modern tech or luxurious, but it was cheap, reliable, economical, fuel efficient and a perfectly fine tool for transporting Malaysians at that time. It wasn’t conceived to be achieve greatness in its life, just to be an average car for the average Joe. However, it was because of how well it did fulfilled its role as a tool in Malaysian life, and it was also a hoot of a car, the Perodua Kelisa rightfully deserves to be hailed as a hometown automotive hero.
And to those who were so moved by this article and want to buy one of these heroes on the used market, I suggest to make it quick. Irrespective of whether your intentions of owning one are for it to be a reliable fuel efficient runabout/market-car or a fully prepped tōge monster, the prices of Kelisas are actually annoyingly high for what it is. There are newer Vivas and Myvis that are selling for lower prices than even the cheapest Kelisa. Just goes to show that there are people in the know who just know how good these little cars are.
If you liked this article, consider checking out my other articles like my Polo Log, where I document living with the Kelisa’s German equivalent, or any other articles on this site. And if you really liked this article, consider sharing it with anyone and everyone, to enlighten them about how great the Perodua Kelisa really is.
Once again, thanks for reading!