CarBrandLogos archive · Perodua · 2019

PeroduaAruz

A seven-seat SUV on a ladder frame, sold at family-hatchback money.

Photo: Wilzz99 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Perodua history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Perodua Aruz, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The Aruz, launched in 2019, was Perodua's move into the seven-seat SUV class that had come to dominate South East Asian family buying. It is a Malaysian-assembled version of the Daihatsu Terios line, a model family that has been in production since April 1997 and is sold in various markets as the Toyota Rush.

2002 Daihatsu Terios-Lucia 01 · Mytho88 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

What separates it from most small crossovers is the underlying engineering: this is a body-on-frame design with a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rather than a raised hatchback. That brings genuine ground clearance and load tolerance, which matters on rural Malaysian roads, at the cost of interior packaging efficiency.

2002 Daihatsu Terios-Lucia 02 · Mytho88 · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Perodua also used the Aruz to push driver assistance down the price ladder, fitting its low-speed collision avoidance system as standard. For buyers who needed three rows and did not want a used import, it filled an obvious gap.

1999-2000 Toyota Cami Q Aero Version · TTTNIS · Public domain

At a glance