The Daihatsu Boon did not make its debut at the 2017
Tokyo Motor Show, but we snapped a gallery of it due to public interest.
The incredibly popular Perodua Myvi, which reached
the one million unit milestone a few months ago, is due to be replaced.
Perodua’s roomy five-door hatch has always been based on the Japanese market
Daihatsu Boon, and many are expecting the same with the third-generation Myvi.
Maybe not, because the Malaysian firm’s design capabilities
have been on an upward trend, culminating in the introduction of the Perodua
Bezza last year. Perodua’s first sedan, while built on Daihatsu bones, was an
in-house design that included the upper body as well as the cabin. There’s no
D-badged Bezza equivalent in existence. The “new Myvi” would probably follow
this trend.
The Boon is a
cute-looking, high-roofed B-segment hatchback with Mini-like eyes and plenty of
round elements. This is the higher end Cliq variant with a special colour
scheme – pearl white exterior with a black top-half (roof and all pillars) and
red accents on the beltline, lower body and wheel centre caps.
The red accents are replicated in the cabin, which
has plenty of storage spaces and is laid out in simple fashion. The front seats
are connected, and occupants can exit using whichever door that’s convenient
(parking slots are very tight in Japan) without having to climb over anything.
The layout is very Japanese and is unlikely to feature in the next Myvi.
The Boon is powered by a 1KR-FE “Topaz Neo” 1.0
litre three-cylinder engine with 69 PS and 92 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm. The
910 kg car is mated to a CVT automatic, and is capable of 28 km/l economy in
the Japanese JC08 cycle. Malaysians have higher requirements, so expect 1.3L
and 1.5L four-cylinder engine options, as with the current Myvi.
