Comparison Betewwn 2022 Proton Persona and Perodua Bezza

According to the report on Wapcar.my, The new Proton Persona 2022 facelift was launched about two weeks ago, and as we pointed out earlier, the B-segment sedan currently has higher maintenance costs than the upcoming 2019 model. This is mainly due to the more frequent cabin filter and radiator cooler changes and their respective labor costs, which means you’ll have to pay RM3,583.17 at the center for a 5-year service, or 100,000 km. 

In a previous article, we compared the maintenance costs of  Iriz, the Persona’s hatchback brother, with its direct rival, the Perodua Myvi. Keeping things in the national car brand, we’ll do the same for Persona, which we’re comparing to Perodua Bezza. 

Yes, we know that Persona does not compete with Bezza in the same space, as the former occupies the B segment, while the latter is in the A segment. Saga is definitely a more suitable candidate, but we’re doing this as a follow-up to our March 2019 article and already have a maintenance cost comparison for  Bezza and Saga,  you guys. can be viewed here. 

Before we begin, let’s have a brief overview of the specifications. The latest Persona soldiers with the 1.6-liter engine and the CVT, are torque-only for the entire range of variants, while the Bezza we’re reviewing is with the capable 1.3-liter engine. combined with a four-speed automatic transmission. 

Looking at the latest maintenance schedule from the Perodua website, we see that  Bezza is currently slightly more expensive to maintain than the data we compiled in March 2019. In 5 years,  you spend $3,163, RM50 for scheduled maintenance from RM3,095.39, with increments for certain parts or fluids. 

It is clear that the maintenance Bezza is cheaper than the Persona with the distance between the two being slightly less than the RM420 due to some service items; it’s the opposite of last time with RM49 supporting Proton. Look at the detailed chart, and like the Myvi, the Bezza uses a regular cabin filter that gets changed three times in five years,  less frequently than the five N95 cabin filters the Persona needs over the same period. 

Perodua sedan has also changed the radiator coolant twice compared to the three times needed for the Persona. In addition, the Persona needs to change the fuel filter every 30,000 km, but this is not required for the Bezza.

Less frequent service items and some cheaper parts contribute to Bezza’s lower overall maintenance costs, but some individual jobs cost more than the Persona. For example, the Bezza’s four-speed sedan requires two oil changes instead of one for the Persona CVT, while the engine uses more expensive fully synthetic engine oil and iridium spark plugs, both of which are more expensive within the range. 5 years. 

Although some Bezza maintenance items, such as the engine air filter, are changed less every 40,000 km, Perodua recommends replacing every 20,000 km as part of its opt-in program ProCare. At RM103.20 per filter, this is significantly more than the RM17.78 filter used by Persona. 

There are also other service items listed under Pro Care, including brake fluid changes, tire maintenance (alignment, leveling, and rotation), spark plug replacement, and major air conditioning service. If you choose to add all of them, the total maintenance costs for the new 5 years will be significantly higher than for Persona. 

As always, running costs are not limited to what is specified in the maintenance schedule, as there are other things such as fuel consumption and consumables that may vary depending on usage. If you drive more often, you’ll use more fuel and wear faster tires, and the latter will definitely be more expensive for the Persona, as its wheel size has been increased from 15 to 16 inches for Executive and Premium versions. variants, while it’s 15 inches on the Bezza with the 1.3-liter engine. 

In the end,  Bezza is cheaper to maintain for 5 years than Persona, but if you calculate the difference of around RM420 over that period, it’s a similar story to the comparison of Myvi and Iriz, where you pay around RM84 more per year for  Persona. If you want to see a similar comparison involving non-domestic auto brands, we have prepared a comparison involving the Nissan Almera Turbo and Honda City.

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