First Look! All-new 2023 Perodua Axia breaks cover - estimated from RM38k: DNGA, D-CVT!

After many, many months of speculations, rumours and guesses, today was the day that the 2023 Perodua Axia officially broke cover.

Albeit with half of its body covered in camouflage, we pretty much know everything there is to know about the next-gen Axia, including its launch date, which is on February 14.

As we've mentioned before, Perodua has given the plucky little hatchback an estimated price tag of somewhere between RM38k to RM49k, and the price on launch day should stay within the estimated pricing.There will be four different variants made available - G, X, SE, and the range-topping AV.

Our man on the ground managed to get up close and personal with the new Axia AV, the highest variant available for the Perodua Axia.

Just like all other variants, the Perodua Axia AV comes with a 1.0-litre EEV engine, which is a carryover powerplant from the outgoing model. What's new underneath the hood however is the D-CVT gearbox, which should improve the Axia's acceleration, fuel efficiency and noise levels. 

If the Perodua Myvi, which also adopted the D-CVT gearbox, received a 20% better 0-100km/h acceleration because of the transmission - then we can expect a faster Perodua Axia too this time around. The transmission debuted in the Perodua Ativa and now makes its way into the Axia.

For those who are unfamiliar with the carryover engine, the 1.0-litre 1KR-VE three-cylinder naturally aspirated powerplant puts out 67hp and 91Nm of torque. For those expecting the Axia to come with a turbo, this should squash the rumours once and for all. 

The top-level Axia, the AV comes fully loaded with six airbags as well as the much-expected Perodua Smart Drive Assist, which comes with:

• ABS with EBD & BA
• Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
• Hill-start Assist (HSA)
• Traction Control (TRC)
• Collision warning
• AEB
• Lane Keep Assist
• Auto high beam
• rear cross traffic alert
• blind spot monitoring

On the exterior front, the Axia AV gets LED headlights and daytime running lights (DRL), and this should be the same too for the SE variant (LED lights for X, SE, and AV while the DRLs are only available on the SE and AV variants, halogens for the base G).

Perhaps the most significant improvement when it comes to the interior for the range-topping Axia AV is the semi-leather semi-bucket seats, 7-inch TFT multi-info display and 9-inch display audio.

More details will be revealed on launch date, with many hoping that the other variants too will come with Perodua's Smart Drive Assists, which should equip the cars with features such as blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist. For now at least, we can confirm which colours will be available for the Perodua Axia, which includes 

• Granite Grey
• Lava Red
• Glittering Silver
• Ivory White 
• And the latest addition to the team, Coral Blue