Sirion Ruminous hints to MyVi based MPV?

Autoincar.com revealed that a MPV version of the Toyota Passo / Daihatsu Sirion will be introduced in Japan by December 2008, under the name Passo Sette / Daihatsu Sirion Ruminous.Of course this could also point some hints to the long awaited 2009 MPV from Perodua, Daihatsu's outpost in Malaysia. Perodua currently assembles a localised variant of the Passo / Sirion for the Malaysian market under the Perodua MyVi badge (different headlamps instrument cluster, dashboard and center console area). It also exports the same car under the Daihatsu Sirion badge to Astra Daihatsu Motor for the Indonesian market. Previously it was speculated the 2009 MPV would be based on the next generation Toyota Sienta, but as more information is revealed, it looks like the Passo Sette / Sirion Ruminous is a more likely candidate. Unless somebody from Perodua is able to tip us off, this is just speculation. Based on what little that I can gather, the project is known internally as MPC Space.Preliminary information (based on some hopeless Japanese translation) suggests only the Daihatsu version will be sold with a 7-seater configuration while the Toyota model will be a 5-seater (third row seats could still be optional) as budget 7-seater mini MPVs have very limited market potential in Japan's aging general population, with the lowest birth rate in the world. The Japanese do like boxy designs though.Specifications include a 1.5-liter powerplant (3SZ-VE) producing 80kW (109PS) power and 141Nm of torque mated to a 4-speed automatic. Engine output jumps from the standard K3-VE engine 1.3-liter Passo / Sirion / MyVi by 16Kw and 25Nm for power and torque respectively.

New Proton MPV 2009 car reviews and pics

Terato.com has posted a series of spyshots of the upcoming Proton MPV, due by March 2009. For more pics, go over to terato.com. Note the different wheels (alloys vs wheel caps) and tire sizes on the two cars. The black car should be a lower priced M-line or Base-line model.
There is another picture of the Proton MPV in undisguised form that is making rounds on the Internet. But Proton has some really ridiculous history of threatening legal actions against a distinguished local journalist who posted a spyshot of their new model. But that was decades ago, I am not sure if the same bunch of PR monkeys are still in Proton today. Anyway, the undisguised Proton MPV photo was posted by somebody else on an imageshack server, here. So don't bother coming after this blogger.As speculated earlier, the MPV is not exactly a clone of the Wish. Spyshots of development mules spotted with a Toyota Wish body are only used for powertrain and component validation purposes only. Proton does however draw inspirations from the product concept of many passenger car based MPVs. Unlike the Wish, Proton's MPV will not feature a sloping roofline which looks good but seriously compromises rear headroom space. Toyota's Wish is a 5+2 seater (which is suitable in developed markets with smaller nuclear family sizes) while Proton's MPV is a bona fide 7 seater (developing markets generally have larger family sizes). The Proton MPV should be based on Proton's modular GX platform (cannot be confirmed at this point of time) which has already spawned models like Waja (Impian in UK), Gen2 and Persona sedan. Any similarities with other car-based MPVs are due to engineering constraints of such type of vehicles and the common market needs. It's not a case of who copies who. By the way, info on 2009 Toyota Wish can be found hereWhen launched in March 2009, the Proton MPV will face-off with local favourites in the Midi MPV segment - Toyota's Avanza (best-selling non-national car in Malaysia) and Nissan's Grand Livina. Protected by the local government's protectionist policies, the Proton MPV will soon have the crown of Malaysia's best selling MPV almost handed to Proton on a silverplate. However, until and only the car achieves commercial success in Indonesia (ASEAN region's largest MPV market), it will be nothing more than another jaguh kampung (village champion) from Proton.

NEW Perodua MPV aka Passo Sette / Sirion Ruminous.

Early last month, we were tipped off on the Passo Sette / Sirion Ruminous rumour, that Daihatsu and Toyota will launch the jointly developed 7-seater MPV based on the Toyota Passo / Daihatsu Sirion hatch. More photos have since leaked out, including an interior shot of the instrument cluster.


The current Passo / Sirion is also manufactured by Malaysian car maker and Daihatsu's affiliated company Perodua. The Passo / Sirion was jointly developed by Toyota and its sister company Daihatsu. Malaysian Perodua engineers were also involved from the beginning of the project and thus it was designed to accomodate design changes to suit local tastes. With changes to the dashboard and instrument cluster, Perodua manufactures an ASEAN specs version of the vehicle for the Malaysian and Indonesian market under the badge Perodua Myvi (Malaysia) and Daihatsu Sirion (Indonesia)

With Indonesia being largest MPV market in the South East Asian region, and a growing demand for more sophisticated monocoque (unibody) frame car-based MPV particularly in Malaysia, it is only logical for Perodua to present a strong business case to locally assemble the Passo Sette / Sirion Ruminous. The next generation Avanza still far away (Toyota just launched a "micro-change" model update of the Avanza about 2 months ago). At the same time Nissan is enjoying strong demand for its B-platform based (Latio / Tiida / Versa / Sylphy) Grand Livina. Even Proton too will be launching an MPV based on its GX platform. The growing MPV market is ripe for Perodua's taking.

Of course, the image above refers to the Toyota badged Japanese domestic market version. Expect the ASEAN specs Perodua made version to have a slightly different interior.In an interview today with NST-Business Times, Perodua's MD Syed Hafiz revealed that Perodua will be launching an MPV by the fourth quarter of 2009. Meanwhile Proton is poised to launch its MPV by March 2009.

Passo Sette / Sirion Luminas - preview to Perodua's MPV(LATEST)

A follow up to an earlier entry here. Toyota and Daihatsu today jointly launched their new 7-seater MPV, based on the Toyota Passo / Daihatsu Sirion (Boon) hatchback.The new MPV will be jointly sold under the Toyota badge as Passo Sette and Daihatsu badge as Sirion Luminas. Previously most of the English speaking automotive blogs speculated that the Daihatsu version will be called Sirion Ruminous. Obviously we got it wrong due to some dodgy translation. One of the reason why online information should be taken with discretion.More importantly to Malaysian readers, this new MPV will be a "preview" to Perodua's new MPV which is set to launch around the Q4 2009. Perodua is Daihatsu's outpost in Malaysia in the same way Maruti is to Suzuki in India.Looking at the dimensions, the new MPV will be 430mm longer than the standard Passo / Sirion / Myvi (Perodua).Power will come from a 1.5-litre 3SZ-VE powerplant, which is  now already servicing Avanza / Xenia MPV and Bego / Rush / Terios and SUV. Only one transmission option will be available - a 4-speed automatic while Japan domestic models will have optional 4WD.While the press release does not clearly state a flat folding second and third row seats, it does suggest the feature, along with a 150mm sliding second row seat. In typical Japanese compact-MPV fashion, the front seats will feature bench seat setup. But it is unlikely that this feature will be adopted in overseas / export models due to local regulation compliance. Fuel economy is officially rated at 15.6km/l under the Japanese 10-15 test cycle, which I have to add is not a very realistic representation of actual fuel consumption in real world driving.More information can also be obtained at Nihoncar.com. The Japanese domestic market models feature a lot of fancy bells and whistles from their in-car entertainment and convenience features. Don't expect these to be included when Perodua localises the same model for the Indonesian and Malaysian market.

What surprises me is that the Daihatsu version is sold at a higher price than the Toyota version. Typically, Toyota badged equivalent models comes with a higher specs and a price premium. The Toyota Passo Sette starts from 1.49 million yen while Daihatsu Sirion Luminas starts from 1.535 million yen. The Toyota Passo which forms the basis for this MPV retails in Japan for around 1.3 million yen. Ignoring local tax structure which will be slapped on Perodua MPV, you can roughly estimate that Perodua's MPV will retail at around 15% to 20% higher than the current top of the line Myvi SE (RM53k). Expect a retail price of between RM60k to RM70k, which puts it within the firing range of Malaysia's best selling MPV - Toyota's Avanza which starts at RM62k. Currently the Toyota Avanza in Malaysia, sold by local distributor UMW Toyota is assembled under OEM contract by Daihatsu's outpost in Malaysia - Perodua. It is also worth noting that like Passo Sette / Sirion Luminas, the Avanza is another product jointly developed by Toyota and Daihatsu, and it is specifically developed for sale emerging developing markets. It is sold by Daihatsu as the Xenia in Indonesia. Perodua also assembles and exports the Indonesian market Daihatsu Sirion, under an agreement with the Indonesian Daihatsu distributor Astra Daihatsu Motor.With Perodua's new MPV, this would mean that Perodua will be assembling two MPV models at its Rawang plant, that will be competing with each other. It doesn't really make sense. Sales of the Avanza and Perodua MPV are bound to cannibalize each other as they both target the same entry level MPV buyers segment. It is left to be seen how will this OEM arrangement between UMW Toyota Motor and Perodua accomodate Perodua's new MPV. Platform sharing with cross-branding agreement is workable in saturated markets of Europe and Japan (i.e. PSA-Toyota's partnership in Czech republic, PSA-Mitsubishi's Outlander / C-Crosser / 4007). In the case of Xenia / Avanza in Indonesia, Indonesia is the largest MPV market in the region, thus the "pie" is big enough to be shared between Daihatsu and Toyota dealers, with the Xenia and Avanza targetting slightly different ends of the market. Malaysia however is still a predominantly passenger car market, with over 70% vehicles sold here are of sedan / hatchback body type.


For those who find the designs a bit tame, they may be interested to draw some bodykit styling ideas from Toyota's Modelista styling package, only available in Japan though. Currently Perodua already offers bodykits for its Myvi (Sirion) and Kenari (Move) models, there is no reason why they can't offer something similar if the demand is sufficient.