It’s been a while since the Toyota Yaris Cross was officially revealed in the Philippine market. Much like the Wigo, the Raize, and the all-new Ativ, the Yaris Cross is underpinned by the Daihatsu New Global Architecture platform, or DNGA.

Historically, the Daihatsu-badged products and Malaysia’s Perodua brand get first dibs at launching these DNGA models. But this time, though, the Yaris Cross that we know locally has been launched as the Perodua Traz in the Malaysian market.

At 4310 mm long, 1770 mm wide, 1615 mm tall, and having a 2620 mm wheelbase, the Traz’s dimensions are exactly the same as the Yaris Cross. Like the Raize and Wigo, which are known as the Ativa and Axia, respectively, Perodua did not just simply slap on a P badge and call it a day with the Traz.

Instead of a trapezoidal grille, the Traz is sporting a hexagonal-shaped unit, which gives it a unique face compared to its twin. It also gets a different design for its 17-inch wheels, but the rest of the body, the interior, except the badges, are carried over from the Yaris Cross.

However, the Perodua Traz does not have a hybrid powertrain on offer. Instead, the Malaysian automaker is only offering the B-SUV with the 1.5-liter 2NR-VE non-hybrid that makes 106 PS and 138 Nm of torque paired to a D-CVT. Over in Malaysia, Toyota is yet to offer the Yaris Cross. But once they do, the Toyota-branded one is likely to have dibs on the electrified powertrain.

Because it is simpler and features less stuff on the spec sheet than the Yaris Cross, the Perodua Traz retails for just RM 76,000 to 81,000 (PHP 1.09M TO PHP 1.16M), which is significantly cheaper than the SRPs of Yaris Cross units here in the country. Plus, Perodua is a homegrown Malaysian brand, just like Proton. Those are things we can only wish we had here.