So far so good, I've good experience riding on it. The only bad thing are gear shift jerk and suspension too soft.
I have to say it is god bargain 4 wheel so far. Very surprise it it very roomy inside despite look small as compare to others 4x4 wheels. Go try it!!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 31st March, 2006
Overpriced
The exhaust noise is quite obvious at low RPM. It's irritating as it sounds something like having a loose mounting screw. Got it checked, but found nothing wrong with it. I guess it's just the way it is.
Quality of dashboard is poor. It's the same quality with the 'Kancil'. I was expecting that the Special Edition to come with leather dashboard as well.
Door Mounting needs adjustments on the bracket as it is not properly aligned. My rear door latch sound like an old car opening up with the creaking sound. Glazing it with grease was a temporary solution as it goes back to normal condition later.
The door guard rubber (surrounding the door) is to soft and not tough as it's a 4X4. Mine's torn on the drivers side. I don't know what had happened.
Engine RPM is high on high speed driving. It's not economical. I had tested the mileage and it clocks almost the same with on either highway or town driving. How can this be happening?.
Engine mountings are good and stable with very minimum vibration even on the when roughly driven.
Air-conditioning is OK, but the compressor sound is quite loud, or is it just mine sound like that.
Air-cond vent cover.
I had just installed a Wurth soundshield on the engine compartment. Reduces quite a lot of engine noise. It should have came standard.
Engine performance is OK for a full-time 4X4 but why do they decide to have 1.3 cc engine planted into it. I think it would be great if the vehicle is running on a 1.5 DOCH engine. It will definitely have less stress.
Front lamp lights are good. Very good focus projection with above average width coverage.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 30th September, 2003
An AWD K-car
Hard stock seats.. change for better comfort.
Jerky gear shifting.. need to shift harder.
Stock off-road tires.. change to better tires for better safety, traction & comfort on-road.
5th gear, 85+km/hr@RPM3000.. hopefully higher 5th gear range for cruising comfort..
Body roll.. quite severe. Yet i have change to 225/50R17 wheel. Performance significantly improves.
A reliable mini, lifestyle & sporty yet a 4WD K-car!
Fuel consumption.. a 1.3cc engine yet it uses All Wheel Drive (AWD) system, so i'm not surprise it consume more.. It is 4WD!
Performance.. the AWD system robbing mid & high range power, but provide very responsive low range torque. From standstill, AWD will take the lead on most conventional 2WD for about 50km/hr. After that, due to more friction, the 2WD will gain faster momentum thus leading the way. Generally AWD system provides better handling, stability & safety.
Yet the car is agile & nimble at low range torque. Like to accelerate it from standstill as the power is so great! A mild potential off-roader. A car with almost anywhere, anytime capability.
It's a cute mini K-car yet it is tougher & powerful than it looks. Tough K-car!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th September, 2002
All you have said is correct. I do support all your comments.
A 100,000km update!
Nothing much have change except that I'm using back the standard wheels and suspension setting. A slightly larger size tyres are being use though - 215/70R15.
Being more on-road oriented, the tyres offer higher ground clearance & better road grip with arguable road comfort. However, the expense was clear... It affects acceleration, top speed & fuel consumption (even at highway). I have recorded better figure on all the three elements even with my 17' wheels setting.
So unless you are into off-roading, advisable to avoid larger tyre.
Ah, back to review...
Not really a comfortable highway cruiser, but in town, it always inspire confidence in term of manoeuvarabiliy. A little loud, but performance has always been adequate & seldom explored. Suspension can be a major setback when ride and handling is concern, but it was built in another consideration of encountering another element of terrain where normal vehicle would be less effective to operate.
Already clocked 280,000 kms on my 2000GX Kembara bought new.
Am a careful owner with strict 5000kms oil change till now, while adhering to the recommended maintenance schedule.
At 2200Kms, the front drive shaft's transfer gearbox was removed, and the short shaft output from main gearbox plugged. So it was running only rear wheel drive since then.
Drive is lighter and increased pickup. Still capable of doing 160kmh along highways, stable, using stock recommended tyres.
Top overhaul done at 180km on the clock and consumption still stays same. Owed it all to proper scheduled maintenance.
Are you still using your Kembara with the same setup?
Good Appearance
There is noting wrong with the car, the only thing is the fuel consumption is a bit higher than other car. But I think is normal because all 4x4 car is the same.
I like the car very much because it suit my style. (Sport and stylish)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 14th September, 2002
Bargain '4WD'
Overall, the car is OK. Since the car is only about 6 months old, I have yet to encounter any problems. I have modified the exhaust system and changed the air-filter to let the car breathe easier... slight improvement noticed.
Good built quality... much better than Proton. Comfortable too. Engine is underpowered. I do not understand how Perodua engineers could have put a 1.3 engine under the hood instead of a 1.6.
Transmission is jerky and ratios are set high, to keep the 'power' on tap. Any 'bolt-on' performance enhancers?
To all of you out there, this is NOT a full-time or permanent 4WD, so stop kidding yourselves.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 30th January, 2002
I bought Kembara EZ a month ago. I agree with you that this car need a more powered engine. Government staffs love a small car with 1400 cc, so that they could claim 0.60 cents per kiometer, compared to 1300 cc where they only could claim 0.55 cents per km. One more thing, I would love it if Perodua could modify the gear ratio, so that the gear will change faster and will reduce the fuel consumption.
28th Jun 2003, 08:21
Its me again.
Up to date, I've done some mod on my Kembara:
1. 17' wheels
2. Surbo
3. Pro-Tech Lowered spring
4. Hotbits Head extractor.
I am so eager suggesting present Kembara owners to change their extractor header setting from the stock 4-1 to 4-2-1. That's all & the car will produce more torque & power. I got this instinct that the stock header might be installed to cut the cost. Why putting a 4-1 header that suppose to provide racing performance which are meaningless to a 4WD instead of putting a 4-2-1 header to improve low-mid end performance for off-roading & practical driving?