Perodua Kelisa (02-08) - Review

Review by David Ross on
The Perodua Kelisa gained fame as the cheapest new car on sale in the UK for some time. With a list price of less than £5,000 it offered affordable motoring along with rock bottom running costs. There's a reason it was so cheap though. The basic and sparse interior isn't the nicest place to spend time, it's noisy and unrefined, plus safety kit is limited - amazingly it was never available with ABS. It's surprisingly fun to drive though and while the performance is slow, it's good for nipping in out of town traffic. A tight turning circle means it's a doddle to park too. It may lack sophistication, but it's a good option for low-budget, no-nonsense motoring.
2.5 out of 5

Other Perodua reviews

4 out of 5

Running costs

Thanks to low prices and a frugal engine, the Kelisa is cheap to run. However, you may have to travel to get it serviced as there are few dealers around. Insurance is group 3 and although depreciation looks heavy as percentages, it's so cheap that even 50% depreciation is around £2500 - no worse than any other car.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Every 10,000 miles.

Warranty

Two years/24,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£100.00 - £170.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
    121
  • E
  • F
  • G
    153
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Kelisa is eco-friendly with CO2 emissions of 121g/km of CO2, but if this figure was below 120g/km, it would be considerably cheaper to tax. Most other small 1.0-litre cars emit less. Economy is good though with an average of 55mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2