Essential Motoring 101

Drove up to Awana Genting today for a test drive on the all-new SUV from Perodua, the Nautica 4WD.

On first impression, it is a re-badged Toyota Rush with little design tweaks, here and there. But, heck, they may be similar, but not the same.

How naughty can it be?

The Nautica is powered by a 1.5l Dynamic Variable Valve Timing (DVVT) DOHC electronic fuel injection engine and runs on full-time 4 wheel drive mode.

The 1495cc engine is mated with automatic transmission that comes with an Overdrive feature for added power-on-demand - very useful for over-taking slow coaches. There is no option for manual gearbox for now.

I was really quite amazed with the very silent engine although the car is still ‘virgin’.

Cabin noise was almost unheard of throughout the drive, even on steep uphill climbs when the engine revved higher. Managed to pop-up the bonnet and to my surprise, there were no sound dampers (those black cloth-like materials) stuck under the cover.

 

 

Replacing the Kembara first introduced in 1998, the Nautica has a shorter wheel base than the Toyota Rush and it is poised to reduce body twisting and promotes better maneuverability.

 

How it started off..

From the initial drive experience, I realized the seats were a bit small but I was happy with the overall side support especially on bending roads. Ride comfort in the Nautica was very satisfactory even on bumpy roads as well.The Nautica is fully-imported from Japan with about 10% local content but I am not sure which part in particular.

During the press conference, Perodua revealed sales target of between 100-200 units per month. It’s a niche model thus the small number.

It’s a good car for the moms to carry their children around to school or shopping. Rear space was surprisingly quite generous. The advantage over the Toyota Rush is the 4WD mode.

If you have between RM90-95k to spare, and hate the boring sedans, the Nautica is worth your time and money, of course.

P/S: No pictures to share for now. Stay tune on May 10th for them. But if you cant wait, check out www.theideal4wd.com.my