Perodua Kelisa

Remember all that fun you had when you were young? Cash may have been short, but you made the best of it and still had a great time. This seems to be the thinking behind the Perodua Kelisa, too.

Auto Express Car Reviews

March 2002

Rating:

Remember all that fun you had when you were young? Cash may have been short, but you made the best of it and still had a great time. This seems to be the thinking behind the Perodua Kelisa, too.

The new model proves you don't need a lot of power, performance, or even money to have a good time. It's the successor to the Nippa, which was launched in the UK in 1997 and mainly known for being the cheapest car on the British market. With 42bhp and not many frills, the Nippa wasn't particularly exciting or classy, but it was an interesting alternative for anybody who wanted a new car for not much money and could live with a few rough edges.

But the Kelisa has come on in leaps and bounds. It still offers bargain basement motoring, although it loses the cheapest model tag to Citroen's Saxo. However, you get a good bit more car for not much extra money compared to the Nippa and the French supermini.

There are three Kelisa models, all using a 989cc three-cylinder 12-valve twin-cam engine with variable valve timing and a lively 54bhp. The car is actually based on the current version of Daihatsu's Cuore, but benefits from a new chrome grille to hide its origins - crucially, though, it's