01 May 08
Perodua Kelisa
The worst one: Perodua Kelisa
Price: £4,812
The Perodua Kelisa is the cheapest car you can buy in Britain today - it's also the worst.
It's phenomenally low on-the-road price of £4,812 comes at a cost to your everyday wellbeing. Based on ancient and long-forgotten Daihatsu Cuore mechanicals, the Kelisa is hopelessly out-of-date.
Safety equipment is woefully limited. There's no ABS, for example, leaving buyers nothing more than a brake servo to help them in a nasty situation.
Even the fine 64.2mpg the Kelisa averages is hijacked: it fails to register under 120g/km of CO2 threshold meaning it attracts an £8 congestion charge and slips into VED band C, not B, meaning road tax is £35 but £120 per year.
We suggest waiting until next year for Perodua UK to import the more up-to-date Perodua Viva that's based on the latest Daihatsu Charade. If they get the maths right, the Viva might not only be the cheapest, but the best too.
