Just three years after introducing the Axia nameplate on the market, Perodua considered that a facelift would increase its smallest vehicle sales.
In 2014, the Axia was the cheapest car on the Malaysian market and remained the same even after the 2017 facelift. While it was a badge-engineering car based on the Toyota Ayla, it still managed to get a very low price not only for what it offered but generally speaking.

With the 2017 facelifted version, the Malaysian carmaker tried to look much different than the Toyota or Daihatsu models, with which it shared its platform and most of the body panels. At the front, there was a new hood with two profiled lines on it. The designers offered a new, angular-shape for the headlights. They installed two chromed, horizontal slats with raised endings on the grille while the bumper sported side-scoops where the carmaker placed the fog lights. In the rear, a roof-spoiler adorned the top of the raked-forward tailgate.

The Axia featured a key-less entry system with a rubber button mounted on the driver’s door handle. Inside, the dashboard featured an Android Auto-compatible infotainment system that filled the center stack’s top. For the driver, the carmaker installed a three-curves instrument cluster with the speedometer in the middle flanked by the tachometer on the left and an LCD on the right. The Axia offered room for four adults and 260 liters (9.2 cu-ft) of luggage.

Under the hood, Perodua installed a 1.0-liter inline-three engine developed by Daihatsu. It was paired as standard to a five-speed manual, while a four-speed automatic was on the options list.