Below are the criteria:
- Something special and not commonly seen on the road
- At least 2 airbags with stability control
- Any body type will do (Sedan / hatch)
- Nice interior is a plus
- Ease of maintenance not a must
- Good reliability is a plus but not a must
- Preferably 2016 or newer
- Below 55k budget
- 99% city drive and commute alone

I have shortlisted 2 cars:
1. Peugeot 208 puretech 1.2 turbo 2018 or newer - I'm sure someone would mention about the reliability and maintenance costs. I'm fully aware of this and I have found a reliable & trusted workshop which is also near to my place. For under 50k I'm able to get a low mileage and less than 3 years old car which is a plus. The 6 speed auto and punchy little turbo engine is also quite interesting.
2. Mazda 2 hatch / sedan 1.5 2016 - Quite reliable overall, no turbo, no dual clutch and stuff. Nice interior too but overall pricier and cars are generally around 5 years old with > 50k mileage. However only comes with 2 airbags which is a minus.

The car will be used by a lady driver with almost non existent driving experience, hence a small car will be appreciated.

UPDATE 27 OCT 2021

After lots of deliberation, viewing used cars, visiting showrooms, pros cons analysis and stuff, we have placed a booking for the facelift myvi last week. No spec decided yet (Heard there's going to be1.3G, 1.5X, 1.5H, 1.5AV), but most probably going for something around 1.5H. Will wait till the specs are out.

Was promised by SA able to get car before 2021 ends. Keeping fingers crossed.

This post has been edited by budang: Oct 27 2021, 10:32 AM

K3 is quite big, will take picanto into consideration.

That will be the trade off. Owner doesn't want something so common like the myvi which is everywhere on the road, but is ready to pay for the maintenance.


Vento interior is too outdated unfortunately.


Peugeot can be had for under 48k. Still quite a big price gap from Yaris J spec..

Actually this made sense until when you start comparing the price of the mazda 2 2016 vs peugeot 208 2018, peugeot much newer but cheaper by quite a lot.

This is for sure. But owner trying to see if other car make sense. If no, myvi will be the fallback plan

Owner doesn't like the look of prius, too bad. And it's quite old.

Looks good, spec list is quite interesting too.

For some reason, I'm not able to find a used GT variant on used car market. Any drill?

Owner is currently more inclined towards pug mainly because of the design. 308 looks pretty interesting too, any advise you have?

Any advise on how to find a good pug, other than the typical service record check / modifications / abnormal noise & vibration / flood indicators? Ease of maintenance wasn't an issue as we live in the Klang Valley and I've come to know a few good french car workshop through FB group.

Anyway, I did a look up on 308 T9 (around year 2016), very impressive spec list and within budget, might consider it as well.


Will pm you, thanks.

Update:

After lots of deliberation, viewing used cars, visiting showrooms, pros cons analysis and stuff, we have placed a booking for the facelift myvi last week. No spec decided yet (Heard there's going to be1.3G, 1.5X, 1.5H, 1.5AV), but most probably going for something around 1.5H. Will wait till the specs are out.

Was promised by SA able to get car before 2021 ends. Keeping fingers crossed.

This post has been edited by budang: Oct 27 2021, 10:32 AM

I think it highly depends on who you booked your car from.

Authorized dealers usually have very long queue and lesser allocation.

I booked mine directly from their HQ at Glenmarie, directly under Perodua. I was told certain color of 1.5AV variant can get car as early as two weeks, as they have ready stock.

This post has been edited by budang: Oct 28 2021, 11:46 AM

Yup. That's why still keeping fingers crossed. Not ruling out the possibility of all sweet sales talk.