{"id":32872,"date":"2023-04-17T03:32:13","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T19:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carsome.my\/news\/item\/discontinued-but-desirable-passenger-cars"},"modified":"2023-07-13T18:17:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T10:17:32","slug":"discontinued-but-desirable-passenger-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carsome.my\/news\/item\/discontinued-but-desirable-passenger-cars","title":{"rendered":"Discontinued But Still Popular Passenger Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as a disclaimer, there will be no Myvis in this list because\u2026let\u2019s face it, it\u2019s cheating. Anyways, some cars still find a niche in the used market even years after their discontinuation. These cars are generally sought after due to their low price, a wide range of aftermarket support, and reliability as budget passenger cars. Japanese and domestic branded vehicles tend to hold such demand compared to continental ones as they can <\/span>retain much more value<\/span><\/a> in the used market. Take a gander at these top five used passenger cars that are still high in demand!<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Honda Jazz<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"TheAfter 10 years of being one of Malaysia\u2019s favorite hatchbacks, Honda has bid <\/span>Sayonara<\/span><\/i><\/a> to this small-yet-mighty hatchback in favor of the Honda City hatchback. <\/span>The Jazz<\/span><\/a>, sold as the Honda Fit in Japan and the United States, is a small and nimble four-door hatchback thanks to its unibody design. For the uninitiated, a unibody car chassis is manufactured with the body and lower frame integrated together, forming a single part. This makes a rigid and safe design that is commonly found in <\/span>Sport Utility Vehicles<\/span><\/a> (SUVs). Have this design in a little hatchback, paired with a four-cylinder petrol or hybrid engine (there is a diesel variant in India) and you\u2019ll get yourself a powerful pocket rocket around the corners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AFurthermore, it has a spacious interior thanks to its Honda Ultra Seat feature that allows you to fold the seats in multiple configurations to allow more space for cargo of different shapes and sizes. In a sense, the Honda Jazz is still a popular car in Malaysia today due to it being a fancy, foreign-branded Myvi with the features of a luxury crossover. When it was first launched, the Jazz can be had for around RM72,000 but resale prices for a used Honda Jazz have been holding up well around RM50,000 and above.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Browse Here: <\/span>Honda Jazz for Sale<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

2. Proton Arena<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"TheThe Proton Arena has been discontinued since 2009 but used cars have a huge cult following domestically and internationally. Essentially, it is a Proton Wira chassis turned into a coupe utility truck called a ute. Ute is slang for utility or pickup trucks derived from Australia and South Africa. Till today, the Arena still stands as the only truck-based passenger car manufactured by the tiger-emblemed marque.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Geely<\/p>\n

The new Geely Laroi RD6 EV <\/span><\/i>Pickup truck<\/span><\/i><\/a>. A worthy successor to the Arena?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

However, driving the Arena isn\u2019t all sunshine and rainbows. Being a derivative of the Proton Wira, the caveat of this ute was that it had a severely underpowered, carburated, and naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine from Mitsubishi. The engine, designed for a passenger car, proved to be too underpowered to carry any heavy cargo. What\u2019s worse is that the Arena only scored a one-star rating in the <\/span>ANCAP crash test<\/span><\/a>. Domestic sales have been poor but conversely, it did quite well as a cheap workhorse in <\/span>countries that favor utes<\/span><\/a> like Australia, the UK, and South Africa, where the small pickup was dubbed the Proton Jumbuck.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TheThe Mitsubishi-sourced 4G15 engine proved to be too underpowered to haul cargo like a true pickup truck.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There is salvation found in the <\/span>Proton Arena<\/span><\/a> in Malaysia; it thrives in the aftermarket scene. More than a decade since its discontinuation, there is a small community trying to revive the ute subculture in Malaysia. To rectify the weak stock powertrain inside, owners love to swap in a much more powerful turbocharged Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution engine and an aftermarket bumper for looks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Common<\/p>\n

Common aftermarket modifications for the Arena. It can be usually found with a Lancer Evo 2-3 bumper and a 4G63T engine swap. Source: <\/span>Mekanika<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More: <\/span>Best Sleeper Cars You Can Own for a Bargain!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

3. Proton Satria\/Satria Neo\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"TheAlmost a decade after its discontinuation, the Satria siblings still remain one of the most popular sporty hatchbacks you can own. Just like all early <\/span>Proton<\/span><\/a> models, the first-generation Satria is essentially a <\/span>Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg<\/span><\/a> in DNA, but the Satria Neo, the younger sibling takes the cake.<\/span>
\n\"Mitsubishi<\/span>The first-generation Satria is based on the Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg, which is why you see plenty of owners converting their cars to resemble it.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It was built from theground up by Proton with handling tuned by Lotus Cars. If you don\u2019t know who Lotus is, they are a British sports car manufacturer with an ethos of building performance machines with pure handling over raw power in mind. You can see where this is going.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Proton used to own Lotus cars from 1997 to 2017 before they both were sold to Geely.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The end result was a car designed by and for car enthusiasts. Handling has been reported as nothing less than spectacularly well. The naturally aspirated Campro engine cranks out a commendable 125 PS and 150 Nm. It could make the century sprint in 10.5 seconds in 2009 which was quite the feat for Malaysia\u2019s automotive engineering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That reputation helped make it one of the most popular sporty cars in Malaysia. Nowadays, mint Proton Satrias and Satria Neos in their top-spec variants are highly revered and sought after by collectors to modify for the hills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Perodua Kembara<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"PeroduaOne could argue that the Perodua Kembara <\/span>walked<\/span><\/a> so the <\/span>Perodua Ativa<\/span><\/a> could run. While both are different in lineage, it did kickstart the demand for a bite-sized SUV in the domestic market. Unlike other 4WD cars of that time, the Kembara was a relatively affordable passenger car compared to the likes of the <\/span>Toyota Hilux<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Mitsubishi Triton<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota<\/p>\n

The Kembara would eventually evolve into the Toyota Vel- I mean the Perodua Aruz.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This little compact 4WD was quite the feat during its heyday. It’s a rebadged Daihatsu Terios underneath, thus making spare parts easy to source. The Perodua Kembara was a cheaper alternative for those who need a 4WD as a cheap workhorse. You can still see Kembaras being used at <\/span>farms<\/span><\/a>, in rural areas, or in the jungle, where they are still being put to good use. Used cars such as the Kembara in good condition still go around for less than RM30,000 these days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n