Satria GTi vs Satria Neo R3 – Kereta Hot Hatch Lagenda Keluaran Proton

Sebelum 49.9% pegangan saham Proton diambil alih oleh
Geely
, Proton terlebih dahulu membeli saham
Lotus
 pada tahun 1996. Lotus merupakan jenama kereta sport yang bertapak di Britain. Hal ini membolehkan Proton untuk mendapatkan pelbagai sumber berharga daripada Lotus untuk diserapkan ke dalam model-model lagenda mereka menjadi antara kereta yang terbaik dari segi prestasi pada waktu itu. Antaranya termasuklah handling tersohor Proton yang dibangga-banggakan sehingga hari ini.

Bila bercerita tentang model lagenda keluaran Proton, tak sah rasanya kalau model hot hatch seperti
Satria GTi
 dan
Satria Neo R3
 tidak disebut. Masihkah anda ingat pada kereta Proton Satria GTi? Model ini dihasilkan dari tahun 1998 – 2005. Sementara itu, Proton telah memperkenalkan Satria Neo R3 pada tahun 2011. Model ini merupakan model versi mampu milik berbanding Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing berwarna hijau yang hanya dihasilkan sebanyak 25 unit. Walau bagaimanapun, bilangan Satria Neo R3 ini juga terhad kerana hanya 150 unit sahaja dihasilkan.

Antara kedua-dua model lagenda Satria ini, yang mana satu pilihan anda? Jom lihat perbezaannya

Enjin dan Prestasi

Proton menggunakan enjin 4G93P 1.8 liter DOHC yang mampu menjana 140 PS/ 167 Nm serta digandingkan dengan kotak gear manual lima-kelajuan pada Satria GTi. Enjin tersebut merupakan enjin yang sama yang boleh dijumpai pada Mitsubishi Lancer GSR, namun tanpa turbo. Walau bagaimanapun, kereta ini telah dibawa ke England untuk menerima talaan sepenuhnya daripada jurutera Lotus untuk menjalani penambahbaikan pada sistem suspensi serta kawalan power steeringnya menjadikan Satria GTi jauh lebih menyerlah daripada adik beradiknya. Selain itu, model ini juga mampu memecut dari 0-60 km/j dengan 8.5 saat, menjadikannya antara kereta terlaju ciptaan Proton pada waktu itu.

Satria Neo R3 2011 pula dijana oleh enjin 1.6 liter sama seperti enjin CPS pada model standard yang mampu menghasilkan 147 PS serta 168 Nm tork. Namun oleh kerana
Neo R3
 ini menggunakan konfigurasi enjin yang sama seperti Neo Lotus Racing, ia menerima sentuhan semula dari R3 dengan pemadanan aci sesondol dan sistem ekzos istimewa bersama header yang diperbuat dari titanium, kotak angin untuk sistem kemasukan diperbuat dari gentian karbon serta talaan kotak komputer yang telah diolah, membolehkan kuasa asal 127 PS/ 150 Nm melonjak kepada 147 PS/ 168 Nm. Tiada suspensi Öhlins dan brek dari AP Racing pada versi ini, namun ia tetap menerima talaan pengendalian lebih unik dari Neo CPS biasa.

Model

Satria GTi

Satria Neo R3

Jenis Enjin

4G93P DOHC

CamPro CPS engine

Kapasiti

1.8 liter

1.6 liter

Kuasa Kuda

140 PS

147 PS

Tork

167 Nm

168 Nm

Transmisi

5-Kelajuan Manual

5-Kelajuan Manual

Exterior

*Kredit foto: H&L Classics

Oleh kerana Satria GTi menerima talaan pengendalian terus dari Lotus, kereta tersebut turut hadir bersama logo Lotus. Kit badan yang dikenakan pada Satria GTi ini juga agak seksi dengan menampilkan bampar hadapan dan belakang yang lebih agresif, overfender dengan rivet diserlahkan, spoiler bumbung lebih besar, dua tip ekzos berbentuk empat-segi, serta rim aloi 16-inci pelbagai jejari. Malah, reka bentuk Satria GTi ini masih kelihatan seksi dan menarik pada waktu ini meskipun kenderaan itu dihasilkan pada 23 tahun lalu.

Satria Neo R3 pula dibina menggunakan rupa asas Neo CPS dengan bampar hadapan dan belakang yang sama dan juga overfender yang kelihatan seakan-akan Satria GTi. Bahagian luaran jentera ini menerima sentuhan R3 seperti pada spoiler bawah bampar hadapan, spoiler bumbung belakang yang lebih bergaya serta rim 16-inci asli R3.

Interior

*Kredit foto: H&L Classics

Di bahagian dalaman, Satria GTi hadir dengan tempat duduk Recaro Enjoy seperti Wira
Tiang Gol
. Walau bagaimanapun, model ini tidak menerima stereng dan tombol gear daripada Momo. Sebaliknya jentera ini diberikan tombol dan set pedal aloi, serta stereng empat jejari.

Sementara itu, bahagian interior Neo R3 menerima kemasan dwi-tona pada bahagian tempat duduk, panel pintu, perumah tuil gear dan papan pemuka seperti warna luarannya, iaitu gabungan warna antara merah serta hitam. Kedudukan tempat duduknya diletakkan sedikit rendah bagi memberikan pengalaman sporty kepada pemandu. Stereng kereta ini pula menerima balutan kulit dengan kemasan benang merah dengan penanda tengah.

Dimensi

Model

Satria GTi

Satria Neo R3

Panjang (mm)

3,995

3,905

Lebar (mm)

1,710

1,710

Tinggi (mm)

1,365

1,410

Jarak Roda

2,440

2,440

Kesimpulan

Meskipun Satria GTi merupakan kereta lama, namun auranya masih berbisa. Buktinya, kereta ini masih menjadi buruan sang pencuri dan penyangak. Jika anda berminat untuk mendapatkan sebuah Satria GTi yang terpakai, jangan terkejut jika harga yang ditawarkan itu sedikit mahal. Ini kerana jentera ini masih mempunyai nilai pasaran yang tinggi ekoran penghasilannya yang terhad. Malah kereta ini juga dikatakan sesuai untuk dibawa ke litar perlumbaan, membuktikan bahawa prestasi kereta ini yang dibangunkan oleh Proton bersama Lotus berpuluh tahun dahulu masih lagi berbisa.

Namun
Satria Neo R3
 tidak kurang hebatnya. Walaupun tidak menerima penambahbaikan sepenuhnya seperti Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing, namun ia masih menggunakan enjin yang sama yang mampu menghasilkan output yang sama. Lebih menarik, ini merupakan model terakhir sentuhan R3 yang bukanlah sekadar kosmetik semata-mata. Proton mengeluarkan Satria Neo R3 baharu pada tahun 2013, namun ianya hanyalah Satria Neo CPS yang dikosmetikkan bersama aksesori R3 serta harga yang ditawarkan juga lebih murah.

Pada waktu ini, anda boleh mendapatkan Satria GTi terpakai bermula daripada lingkungan RM15,000 sehingga RM98,000 bergantung pada nilai yang ada pada model itu. kalau lagi banyak jajan, lagi tinggilah harga kereta itu. Sementara itu, Proton Satria Neo R3 2011 yang terpakai pula boleh didapati pada harga dalam lingkungan RM30,000. Yang mana satu menjadi pujaan anda? Gunakan
Carlist.m
y untuk memburu kereta baharu, terpakai mahupun recon kegemaran anda sekarang!

For more latest car news, reviews, car buying guides and videos visit us at Carlist.my
Auto News
.

Check out all the best new & used car deals in Malaysia at
Carlist.my.

Sell your car fast with the best offer? Visit us at
CarlistBid.my
.

Get the latest new car promotions at
New Car
 website now.


2018 F90 BMW M5 Officially Goes On Sale In Thailand For The First Time

BMW Thailand has officially started selling the F90 BMW M5. This is the first time BMW Thailand has introduced the M5 model on an official basis, and is the third “M” model to be introduced in Thailand, after the M2 and M4 models.
Bangkok Post reports
 that the M5 is priced at THB13.339 million, and will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Bangkok Motor Show.
The M5 is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 that produces 600 hp and 750 Nm of torque between 1,800 and 5,600 rpm.
The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic that sends power to all four wheels through the M xDrive all-wheel drive system. In keeping with the M5’s ‘tail-happy’ DNA, the xDrive system can also be configured to deliver power to just the rear wheels.
The BMW M5 is capable of accelerating from 0 – 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, 0 – 200 km/h in 11.1 seconds and has a top speed of 305 km/h when specified with the M Driver’s Package.
Its closest rival, the Mercedes-Benz E63 S 4Matic+, produces 612 hp and 850 Nm of torque from a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. Power is transferred to all four wheels through an AMG Speedshift MCT nine-speed automatic, which like the M5, can also isolate power to just the rear wheels. The Mercedes-Benz E63 S, however, is not officially sold in Thailand.


Here's All You Need To Know About The New Mazda CX-5 - New Turbo Variant, From RM137k To RM181k

After much anticipation, the updated 2019 Mazda CX-5 has been officially launched in Malaysia, featuring a new turbocharged variant, as well as other enhancements.

There will be five variants available:

CX-5 2.0G 2WD Mid – RM137,379

CX-5 2.0G 2WD High – RM154,379

CX-5 2.5G 2WD High – RM167,770

CX-5 2.2D 2WD High – RM172,532

CX-5 2.5G 4WD High Turbo – RM181,770

*Prices indicated are on the road without insurance

As mentioned above, the big news is the addition of the addition of the turbocharged 2.5-litre variant to the line-up which is the new range-topping model.

Here to replace the previous range-topping 2.2-litre AWD Diesel variant, the new CX-5 2.5L Turbo is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine which makes 228 hp and 420 Nm of maximum torque. Paired to the engine is a 6-speed SkyActiv-Drive automatic gearbox and Mazda’s i-Activ all-wheel drive system.

The 2.0G variants on the other hand, are powered by the same 2.0 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 162 hp and 213 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm, while the 2.2D diesel variant comes with a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine which kicks out 178 hp and 450 Nm of torque.

In terms of features, the entry-level 2.0G 2WD Mid variant gets:

LED headlights

17-inch tyres

Bulb DRLs

LED fog lights

LED rear combination taillights

Automatic wipers

One-touch power folding side mirrors with integrated turn signals

Black door pillar garnish

Dual exhausts

Rear parking sensors

Keyless ignition

Electronic parking brake

Fabric seats

Gun Metallic dashboard trim

4.6-inch TFT LCD instrument cluster display

Dual zone air conditioning

Rear air conditioning

Three 12-Volt power outlets

Front seats with manual adjustment

40/20/40 split-folding rear seats

Mazda Connect Infotainment system with Voice command

Android Auto

Apple CarPlay

Reverse Camera

The 2.0G 2WD High variant gets more features like:

Signature LED headlights

Signature LED rear combination taillights

LED DRLs

Keyless entry

Piano Black door pillar garnish

10-way powered driver's seat

6-way powered passenger's seat

Memory function for driver's seat

Leather seats

Front parking sensors

360 View Camera

Walk Away Lock

Adaptive front lighting system

Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)

Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)

Driver Attention Alert (DAA)

Smart City Brake Support with Pedestrian Detection (front only)

Powered tailgate

Moving up the ladder, the 2.5G 2WD High variant gets even more:

19-inch wheels

7-inch TFT Display at Center Meter

Smart City Brake Support with Pedestrian Detection (front and rear)

Last but not least, exclusive to the 2.2D 2WD High and 2.5G 4WD High Turbo variants are features like:

Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)

Lane Keep Assist (LKAS)

Heads-Up Display (2.5 Turbo only)

Offered in 8 colour options (Soul Red Crystal, Machine Gray, Snowflake White Pearl, Deep Crystal Blue, Sonic Silver, Meteor Gray, Jet Black, Arctic White), the new Mazda CX-5 comes with a 5-year or 100,000 km warranty, along with a free maintenance package.

Looking for a new Mazda? Find the best deals
here
.


2017 Kia Picanto - This Is How The New Picanto Looks Like

Kia Motors has today released images of the all-new third-generation Picanto, one of the company’s global best-selling cars.
Penned by Kia’s design centres in Namyang, Korea and Frankfurt, Germany, the third-gen Picanto hopes to inject energetic and vibrant character into the A-segment. The car you see here is decked out in Kia’s ‘GT-Line’ specification – designed to be assertive and command a sporty stance through bold body lines and sculpted surfaces.
The new car has a 15mm longer wheelbase (2,385 mm to 2,400 mm) and Kia has also pushed the wheels further out towards each corner. There are 11 body colour options that are offered, to suit a wide variety of taste buds.
On the Inside, the Picanto’s will offer greater comfort, convenience and safety features – set amidst a modern and refined new cabin design. The focal point of the cabin space is the ‘floating’ touchscreen infotainment system, delivering the latest in-car infotainment technology.
The third-gen Picanto will also allow greater potential for customer personalisation, with buyers able to choose from a range of colours for trim and upholstery.
Buyers of the all-new Picanto will enjoy smarter packaging efficiency than ever before, with more cabin and cargo space than rivals in the segment. Despite the growth in wheelbase, the Picanto retains its compact dimensions. Shorter front overhang and longer rear overhang means the all-new model is the same length (3,595 mm) as
the car it replaces
.
Kia will reveal the all-new Picanto to the public for the first time at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show in March, and will go on sale at the end of the third quarter of 2017.


New 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLA Facelift Launched In Malaysia – From RM240k

A crossover version of the A-Class, the GLA-Class is a highly successful spinoff from Mercedes-Benz’s compact car MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform – the front-wheel drive/all-wheel drive platform that also underpins the A-Class, CLA-Class. Nearly three years after its initial debut in Malaysia, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has given its GLA-Class a customary mid-lifecycle facelift.
As before, the fully-imported from Daimler’s Rastatt plant in Germany, and will be offered in three variants. Their respective prices are as follows:
Mercedes-Benz GLA 200: RM239,888
Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 4MATIC: RM269,888
Mercedes-Benz GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC: RM408,888
Prices quoted are excluding insurance.
What’s New
The most obvious difference in the new GLA-Class are the radiator grille that now features rectangular sub-elements within the twin-horizontal slats, redesigned front and rear bumper. The previous model’s bi-Xenon headlamps have also been replaced by LED units while tail light clusters are also new.
Where the previous model starts off with 18-inch wheels for the entry GLA 200 model before progressing to 19-inch ones for the GLA 250 4MATIC and 20-inch ones for the GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC, the new facelift model starts off with 19-inch ones for both the GLA 200 and GLA 250, albeit with a different designs.
The new GLA 250 4MATIC also drops the previous model’s Sport suspension in favour of off-road Comfort suspension. As a result, the new GLA 250 4MATIC also rides taller. The same setup is also mirrored in the GLA 200.
The new GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC will continue to wear the iconic 20-inch AMG design multi-spoke alloy wheels
Inside, the interior is still familiar but there are minor tweaks to the instrument panel – with the previous model’s white-faced dials now replaced by sportier looking black-faced ones.
The entry GLA 200 model will come with Urban Line trim package while the more expensive GLA 250 4MATIC will feature a sportier AMG Line trim package.
The GLA-Class’ range topping GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC model is dressed with the AMG Night packaged while its interior is trimmed in the AMG Exclusive interior package.
Engine and transmission
Mechanically, the new GLA-Class’ powertrain is largely unchanged. Under the bonnet is the familiar range of petrol turbocharged, direct injected engines.
The GLA 200 is powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that pushes out 156 hp at 5,300 rpm and 250 Nm from 1,250 – 4,000 rpm. Drive is transferred to the front wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch 7G-DCT automatic transmission.
Moving one step is the GLA 250, which is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that pushes out 211 hp at 5,500 rpm and 350 Nm from 1,200 – 4,000 rpm.  Drive is transferred to all four wheels, also via a 7G-DCT automatic transmission.
The GLA 45 AMG pumps out 381 hp at 6,000 rpm and 475 Nm from 2,250 – 5,000 rpm from the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, with drive transferred to all four wheels via 7-speed dual-clutch AMG Speedshift DCT-7 automatic transmission. The sprint from 0-100 km/h is dispensed in just 4.4 seconds.
Trims and standard features
As mentioned earlier, the GLA 200 is styled in a more conservative Urban Line package while the GLA 250 will wear the sportier AMG Line package.
The
GLA 200 Urban Line
comes with the following standard features:
19-inch 5-spoke light-alloy wheels in matt black with a high-sheen finish
Off-road comfort suspension
Aluminium roof rails in high gloss black
Night Package – darkened exterior trim elements (side mirrors, rear diffuser, side mouldings)
LED headlamps
Adaptive High Beam Assist
Semi-leather upholstery - Artico synthetic leather/black Maringa fabric
Aluminium interior trims
Automatic air-conditioning
Power-operated tailgate
Reverse camera
Active parking assist
8-inch Media 20 infotainment system with support for Apple Car Play and Android Auto
KEYLESS-GO starting function
The
GLA 250 4MATIC AMG Line
 adds the following:
19-inch AMG 5-spoke light-alloy wheels
Semi-leather upholstery - Artico synthetic leather/black microfiber DINAMICA fabric
Illuminated AMG door sill panels
AMG floor mats
Additional off-road mode display on the 8-inch Media 20 infotainment system
impo
The range topping
GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC
 comes with the following premium features:
AMG Ride Control sports suspension
AMG Dynamic Select drive mode selector
AMG Performance exhaust system
20-inch AMG multi-spoke alloy wheels
AMG Night Package
AMG Aerodynamics Package
AMG Performance Seats with red Designo seat belts
Black leather seats with contrast red stitching
Artico synthetic leather wrapped dashboard
Carbon fibre interior trims
Nappa leather wrapped AMG Performance steering wheel
8-inch COMAND Online infotainment system with Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system, support for Apple Car Play and Android Auto
Panoramic sliding roof
Read also:
Review: 2017 New Mercedes-Benz GLA SUV Driven In Budapest


Adventurer Extraordinaire And G-Class Ambassador Mike Horn Makes Pit Stop In Malaysia

Unless your idea of a holiday involves scaling up the Himalayas or braving the Pacific Ocean on a sail boat, chances are you might not have heard of Mike Horn. In 1999, Mike became the first person in the world to sail solo around the equator with no aid or motorized engine support. In 2006, he became the first person to ski across the Artic night, spending two months in pitch black darkness. In 2015, he and his two daughters drove two Mercedes-Benz G500 from Switzerland to Pakistan, before Mike continued his journey climbing up K2, the second highest peak in the world after Mount Everest. In short, he is not a very normal guy, but the type that you have huge respect for.
Interestingly, Mike said he prefers to travel with a petrol-powered G-Class than a diesel-powered one, simply because modern day diesel engines require very clean, low suphur diesel which might not be that easily available in places that we travel in, while petrol engines can easily cope with low octange petrol that's commonly available in the rural areas that we travels to.
Now, the South African national Mike is on a two-year Pole2Pole journey to cover both poles in one mission – the Pole2Pole mission.
On 6-May 2016, Mike set sail from Monaco’s Yacht Club on his customized aluminum hull Pangea sailboat - powered by two Mercedes-Benz V6 engines - to Namibia, where he drove his G-Class through the Namib Desert, the oldest desert in the world, through Botswana’s Okavango delta, the world’s largest delta to Cape Town, South Africa. There, he sailed his Pangea to the Antarctic, which he skied across, before sailing to Asia.
His G-Class is currently in Singapore, while Mike sailed his Pangea to Port Dickson. He will be in Malaysia until early next year, when he will resume sailing to India. From there, he will drive his G-Class into Russia’s Kamchatka tundra before making a final push to reach the Arctic.
The Pole2Pole mission is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Panerai
Not a stranger to Malaysia, Mike has travelled to more parts of Malaysia than many Malaysians, and is deeply involved in environmental conservation projects in Sabah.
On Thursday, Mike made a trip up from Port Dickson to Kuala Lumpur to share his experience with local fans of Mercedes-Benz.
When he is not risking his life in some hazardous environment, Mike is a motivational speaker, whose list of clients include 2011 Cricket World Cup champion India and 2014 FIFA World Cup champion Germany.
Contrary to other motivational speakers, Mike doesn’t preach fluff ideas like ‘thinking positive,’ which in his own words, is described as ‘bullshit.’ “If a glass is half empty, it is what it is and if you can’t deal with reality then you should step away from it,” said Mike, who also clarified that he believes in giving positive vibes to motivate his crew, but positive thinking is not going to keep you alive in the harsh unforgiving nature.
Mike also urged his audience to frame success in a slightly different way. Mike first attempted to scale K2 back in 2013, but he had to abort his mission when he was just 200 metres away from the peak because the weather conditions had become too dangerous. Another team who was on a similar mission didn’t want to give up, all perished in an avalanche.
Mike explained that surviving another day is in itself a success to be proud off. Just because he didn’t succeeded in reaching the peak of K2 on his first attempt doesn’t mean he had failed, because he succeeded in staying alive. He advised his audience to not be greedy, and be happy and make do with what you have at the moment, because these little steps, little successes, staying alive one more day, will eventually lead you to the next destination.
To him, what is more important is the ability to think independently – where others see a wall, we need to be able to see what’s beyond the wall, was his advice. “The impossible only stays impossible until we make it possible,” said Mike.
When asked about the dangers of his adventures, Mike acknowledged that every time he leaves for another mission, he might not come back alive but rationalizes by saying that he won’t do anything stupid to endanger his life unnecessarily, and that he is more afraid of not living a full life than dying.
He encourages everyone to find their own adventure, in their own little ways. It doesn’t necessarily mean going on an extreme journey like him, but to find adventure in pursuing our dreams and ambitions, because life is short and life is beautiful and we should cherish it, and not waste it away doing things that add no value to it.
“The average person has 30,000 days to live. Of which 10,000 is spent sleeping so we have only 20,000 days left. Don’t wait till your last 2,000 days before you wonder where have your life gone,” said Mike.
“We prefer to stay in the comfort zone and stick to what’s familiar but just as stagnant water that don’t move will eventually smell and rot, so too will humans,” he added.
Here are some videos of Mike’s talks and his Vlog of his previous mission to K2 with his daughters, who undertook the mission with their father after they had lost their mother to cancer.
Mike has also appeared in a recent Youtube commercial for Mercedes-Benz’ SUV range, along with several other ambassadors of Mercedes-Benz’ SUV models.


ANCAP Five Stars For Mazda CX-3 and Mazda 2, Four for Audi TT

Both the Mazda CX-3 and Mazda 2 have received the maximum five-star rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).
The CX-3 scored some very impressively high points from the tests – 2 out of 2 for the pole impact test, 16 out of 16 for side impact, 15.44 out of 16 for frontal offset impact, giving it an overall score of 36.44 out of 37.
The smaller Mazda 2 was equally impressive - 2 out of 2 for the pole impact test, 15.66 out of 16 for side impact, 15.69 out of 16 for frontal offset impact, giving it an overall score of 36.35 out of 37.
The Audi TT scored four stars, let down by its marginal performance in child occupant protection and non-availability of options for autonomous emergency braking, which is available on both the Mazdas.
The Mazda CX-3 tested was produced in Japan while the Mazda 2 originated from Thailand.
I thought the Mazda CX-3 Scored Only Four Stars For Euro NCAP?
Just in case you are wondering why the rating for the
CX-3 is different from the 4-star Euro NCAP
 reported by us last week, this is down to the different methods of testing adopted.
While there is a general guideline for all Global NCAP-affiliated organisations around the world - which includes ASEAN NCAP, Latin NCAP, ANCAP, Euro NCAP, JNCAP, C-NCAP and IIHS – some NCAP organisations have the liberty to introduce additional requirements which best reflects the requirements of their consumers.
Euro NCAP for example, originates in a relatively wealthier part of the world and needs to introduce stricter requirements to keep the bar for a five-star rating sufficiently high.
Conversely, it is unrealistic to expect ASEAN NCAP or Latin NCAP, or even ANCAP to adopt a similarly tough stance as doing so will only result in prohibitively expensive cars, which defeats Global NCAP’s purpose of making safer cars accessible to all.
Starting 2015, the requirements for a Euro NCAP five star rating have been made stricter with the introduction of the addition a 50 km/h full width frontal collision test with a rigid barrier and two smaller dummies representing smaller frame female occupants, seated in front and behind.
In addition to that, the side barrier test now uses a larger, heavier impactor and the side pole test is a tougher, oblique-angle impact.
This is on top of the requirements introduced in 2014 that demands advanced driver’s assistance – autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning - to be fitted in at least 50 percent of the cars sold.
Generally, one should avoid comparing test results that are more than two years old, as the requirements are likely to have changed, and also to avoid comparing results from different NCAP organisations as the tests conducted are different.


Naza Kia Opens 3S Outlet in Butterworth

A brand is only as strong as its service network. Naza Kia has invested RM 1.5 million a new 3S centre in Butterworth, sitting on 10,000 square feet of property. The centre can display up to 5 cars in the showroom, but more importantly it has 6 service bays that will allow for servicing of up to 24 cars per day. The outlet is meant to cater to owners in the Butterworth area as part of Naza Kia's commitment to developing their service network and improve their quality of service. The outlet is located at Jalan Bagan Jermal, Taman Bintang, Butterworth and has a sales target of 20 units per month.
“This new facility will be a one stop centre for current and potential new Kia customers in the Butterworth area. Kia Butterworth is evidence of our commitment to expand our network and quality of service. We will continue to improve the quality and efficiency of our operations which will benefit our customers with exceptional new sales-vehicle delivery and quick turnaround time for after sales service,” said Dato’ Samson Anand George, Group Chief Operating Officer, Automotive Group, Naza Corporation Holdings. “Building on the brand’s global success, we have broken new ground in the automotive landscape as the first and only company in Malaysia to pioneer a Guaranteed Future Value program. Available for the Sportage, Sorento and Cerato, ‘Kia Value 5’ guarantees the future value of Kia vehicles for peace of mind, making it easy for customers who may want to upgrade to a new Kia model in five years."
For any enquiries regarding sales and bookings, please call 04-3323687 for further assistance.


Jangan Parkir Merata Kalau Tak Mahu Ditunda – DBKL

Tak nak kereta kena tunda? Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) memberi amaran terhadap orang ramai supaya meletakkan kenderaan di tempat dan kawasan yang betul ketika membeli-belah di ibu negara.

Memandangkan musim perayaan bakal tiba tidak lama lagi, beberapa lokasi tumpuan pengunjung semestinya akan dipenuhi dengan lautan manusia. Bila ramai orang, jangan pula anda meletakkan kereta sesuka hati di tepi jalan kalau tak mahu dikenakan tindakan oleh DBKL.

Antara kawasan tumpuan pengunjung yang disebutkan DBKL adalah:

Dataran Merdeka

Jalan TAR

Bukit Bintang

Peringatan DBKL

Usah meletakkan kenderaan sesuka hati seperti di tepi-tepi jalan

Letak kenderaan di lokasi betul yang disediakan

Jangan menyukarkan lalu lintas serta perjalanan orang lain

Boleh dikenakan tindakan penguatkuasaan termasuk ditunda

Peringatan itu dibuat ekoran tindakan orang ramai yang sering meletakkan kenderaan sesuka hati di tepi-tepi jalan sehingga menyusahkan pengguna lain dan menyebabkan kesesakan lalu lintas, terutama ketika musim perayaan ini.

Kepada yang gemar meletakkan kenderaan secara sesuka hati, ketahuilah bahawa terdapat banyak kawasan parkir swasta berhampiran kawasan tumpuan yang dinyatakan. Walaupun ianya perlu dibayar, namun ia lebih selamat dan tidak menyusahkan pengguna jalan raya lain.

Pesan DBKL, Raya tetap Raya namun peraturan tetap harus dipatuhi. Pihak mereka akan terus membuat pemantauan di kawasan tumpuan bagi memastikan peraturan dan undang-undang dipatuhi.

*Kredit foto: DBKL


Farewell Jules Bianchi – By Alex Yoong

*image credit: Jules Bianchi Official Facebook page
Jules Bianchi was laid to rest yesterday. The young French Formula 1 star succumbed to injuries from a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix nine months ago. The motorsport world mourned the loss of a bright talent who many felt had it in him to be a World Champion one day.
Bianchi becomes the first Formula one driver to die while racing in F1 since Ayrton Senna in 1994. It’s a harsh reminder that racing is dangerous and that we must continue to always strive to improve safety on the track, not just for the people piloting the cars, but the mechanics, marshals and spectators too.
I was in the studio at Fox Sports when it happened and knew immediately when we saw his Marussia next to the tractor that had come out to clear Sutil’s Sauber that it was very serious.
You would think the big crashes that see a car spreading parts of it all over the track like Lego pieces are the scary ones. But it’s the ones that can look innocuous that are the ones we look out for. The ones that result in a sudden deceleration as Bianchi’s did nine months ago.
Formula 1 chassis’ are very strong these days, and will survive just about anything: they’re all about trying to slow down the decelerations so that the driver within is not faced with anything life threatening.
Bianchi’s crash was a freak accident and it’s led to stronger rules on slowing down for yellow flags, especially when a vehicle is on track. So, I am confident that we won’t see this sort of accident again.
Nonetheless, the sport has lost a popular and respected figure, and the loss of Jules will be felt at this weekend’s Grand Prix in Hungry. Drivers will not be able to help thinking about the ex-Marrusia driver, and whether that could be them one day.
However, race car drivers are a special breed, and I’m positive that once that crash helmet goes on, their focus will be straight away on doing what they do best: driving flat out at every single corner.
Motor racing will always have an element of danger and there will be some questioning of whether Formula 1 is too dangerous a sport to continue on in the same way. In my mind, I believe the FIA have got it right and have made big strides over the last twenty years. It’s so much safer and there is no area that hasn’t been looked at.
I’ll say that perhaps the one last area that needs to be looked at are the open cock pits, because with an exposed helmet, there is always a chance for a freak accident like the one that almost cost Felipe Massa’s life back in 2009.
Jules will be dearly missed by all who knew him, and this weekend’s race is going to a painful one for many.


Wage-To-Honda City Ratio – In Which Country Is It Most Affordable To Buy A Car?

Did you know that an average Australian just needs to pay an equivalent of just slightly over three months of his salary to buy a Honda City? In comparison, an average Vietnamese needs to work for 158 months to afford the same car.
The average Malaysian sits somewhere in the middle, requiring about 25 months of his salary to pay off his Honda City. But does this tell the whole story?
To find out citizens of which country have it the easiest when it comes to buying a car, we made a simple comparison by cross-referencing published data on the average monthly wages of key countries in the Asia-Ocenia region against a common entry-level car that is available in each country.
Of course, with a diverse range of countries in our list, the word ‘entry-level’ carries a different meaning in different countries. A Honda Brio is an entry-level car for people in Thailand and Indonesia but the model isn’t sold in Malaysia, so it can’t be used as a common denominator for our comparison.
The other option was to use a Toyota Vios, but the model isn’t sold in Australia. So the next alternative was to use a Honda City, a common car that is sold across all the countries listed here, with more or less the same specifications.
We also recognised that the entry-variant for the City In many developing markets is a very low priced manual transmission model but this variant is not available in Malaysia or even Singapore. So keep the comparison as consistent as possible, we only took prices of the cheapest automatic transmission (CVT) variant of the Honda City sold in the respective countries.
The data on monthly wages are taken from the United Nations International Labour Organisation – the primary source data for many socio-economic research.
But is this enough to tell a full story? Not quite, a country might have a high average income but that might not mean much to the average guy on the street. This is where the Gini coefficient comes in – a measure of how well income is distributed across the population of a given country.
A Gini coefficient of 1 indicates a perfectly equal country, where nobody lives in poverty and nobody is outlandishly rich. The opposite of that is a Gini coefficient of 100, essentially a failed state, where wealth is only concentrated among a small group of elites while everyone else lives in poverty.
Sweden has a Gini coefficient of 23.0 while the figure for Botswana is 63.0.
Back to the results, China was a surprise. With an average income of USD613 (RM2,689, depending how much our RM has dropped), it is not too far from Malaysia’s circa RM2,900. In other words, labour in China is no longer as cheap as what many people still think it is.
Since 2011, the Chinese government has been working to raise the country’s minimum wage by at least 13 percent per annum, and it aims to continue doing so for the next five years.
An average Chinese worker can also pay off his Honda City about two months earlier than his Malaysian counterpart, who needs to fork out about 25 months of his salary to own a Honda City 1.5S.
What is more worrying is the figures on the last column. Malaysia’s Gini coefficient is the second highest among all the countries listed here.
So while the statistics show that the average monthly wage in Malaysia is about RM2,900, the reality is that there is a large percentage of Malaysians who earn a lot less than that.
We also need to point that this comparison is only limited to the cost of purchasing a new car and does not reflect the actual cost of owning a car. In many developed countries like Singapore and Australia, cars might be relatively cheaper to buy, but driving in these countries can be a lot more expensive than in Malaysia, not to mention the higher labour charges for maintenance work.
In central Melbourne for example, you can expect to pay between AUD35 to AUD40 for just a two-hour parking, and kerbside parking in limited to a short period only, usually about 30 minutes or less, and is very limited.
The idea is not to discourage people from buying cars, but to discourage them from driving into the city centre, where public transport is easily available.
Over in Singapore, the system makes it very difficult for one to keep a car beyond 10 years. So nevermind about resale value, the car going to be scrapped anyway. Yes, you can renew the Certificate of Ownership (COE) for another five or ten years, but it’s going to be cost a lot, sometimes more than the market value of the car.
There’s also other things like toll charges, depends on toll roads which vary from not just from one country to another but also from city to city.
Insurance cost might also differ, but not by much. Australia follows a driver’s risk profile-based model when quoting insurance premiums for drivers, so no two drivers pay exactly the same amount for insurance.
A low-risk driver in his 30s, driving a nondescript silver colour Honda City that is mostly used to drive to his work place and back, parked outside of his house at a relatively safe suburban neighbourhood in Victoria will only need to pay about AUD730 per year for his motor insurance. Sounds pretty affordable. Conversely, a 25-year old driving a Subaru WRX can expect to pay a lot more.


Malaysian Tech Company Eagle I CVR Launches The Vision 1 Car Video Recorder

Eagle I CVR, a Malaysian based company established in 2015, has launched its latest car video recorder for the local market called Vision 1.
The all new Eagle I Vision 1 CVR is able to capture important situations during an accident and it is built with advanced technology to offer high definition image quality recordings.
Oliver Yeo, Managing Director and founder of Eagle I said, “Our company, Eagle I CVR was established in 2015 with a mission to protect our users and their beloved ones from rising crime rate & vehicle accident rate in Malaysia. Our future target is to develop and export Eagle I CVR to other SEA countries. We aim to build and bring more high-tech CVRs into Malaysia.”
The Vision 1 measures 97mm (length) X 61mm (height) X 18mm (width) and offers a 3.5 inch 16:9 widescreen with 480 X 320 pixels 6-layer glass lens display. It is powered by an MT6735VCM processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage up to 32GB with a microSD card.
The Full HD camera weighs just 127 grams and supports VGA/HD/FHD video resolution in 30 fps, recorded in 3gp video format. It is also capable of taking decent pictures too.
The Vision 1 comes with as 400mAh capacity rechargeable battery. The device utilises the Android 5.1 operating system out of the box, and it comes with SIM card slot that supports 3G/4G mobile network as well as WiFi connectivity. The integration of WeChat app to the Vision 1 also gives the user the convenience to share the videos to via WeChat with friends in just a few clicks.
This device also comes with unique features such as Loop recording, Find Your Car, Auto Video Lock, Capture Moments and WiFi Hotspot Sharing that is currently regarded as one of the most comprehensive CVRs in the Malaysian market.
Eagle I CVR also released a cheaper car video recorder called the Iris-M1 which features a 5 inch HD display screen with 140° wide angle video capture. The Iris-M1 has a built-in battery capacity of 380mAh and is capable of recording VGA, HD and Full HD in AVI video format while taking good photos too.
The Vision 1 is available in Immersive Black and Galaxy Grey colour options at the retail price of RM738, additionally, for every purchase of the Vision 1 CVR, buyers receive a complimentary RedONE SIM card for FREE.
The Iris-M1 video recorder retails for RM448, Eagle I CVR also throws in a personal accident insurance coverage plan worth RM30,000 for every purchase of Eagle I CVR products. Both devices are available for the Malaysian market now.


Audi SQ7 TDI – 900Nm Super SUV Unleashed

Audi has launched its first ever S model of the
Q7
; the new SQ7 TDI which is claimed to be the most powerful diesel-powered SUV in the market, offering explosive performance whilst delivering outstanding fuel economy.
Powering Ingolstadt’s new performance flagship SUV is a freshly-developed 4.0-litre V8 TDI, pumped up by two sequential turbochargers as well as an electrically-powered supercharger focused at the lower rev range.
According to
Audi
, the electric supercharger is able to deliver boost in less than 250 milliseconds, thus eliminating turbo lag altogether. Driven by a compact electric motor, the charger’s compressor spins at up to 70,000rpm.
To drive the electric supercharger, Audi had to implement a dedicated 48-volt electric architecture to provide the 7kW of operating power it needs. Powered by a lithium-ion battery, the 48V electrical system is also used to supply energy for the active roll stabilization system (optional) and also to supplement the 12-volt circuit that serve the vehicle’s other ancillaries when needed.
Performance figures provided by Audi quote maximum power of 435hp from the 3,956cc V8, accompanied by a colossal 900Nm of torque generated between 1,000 and 3,250rpm.
Mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive as standard, the SQ7 TDI powers its way to the century sprint in a mere 4.8 seconds whilst consuming fuel at a rated 7.4 litres/100km in the New European Driving Cycle, corresponding to CO
2
 emissions of 194 g/km.
On the chassis bits, electric power steering and adaptive air suspension with aluminium control arms are standard. Carbon fibre ceramic disc brakes are available as optional enhancements.
The active roll stabilization system is a particularly nifty piece of chassis technology. A compact electric motor sits in the middle of the stabilizer bar, actively coupling and de-coupling the two sides to alternate between enhancing comfort and aggressive body roll reduction.
Like the regular Q7, the SQ7 TDI can be specified as either a five- or seven-seater. In Malaysia, where the
Q7 is currently available only in 3.0 TFSI form
, the seven-seater configuration is standard.
In Europe, the Audi SQ7 TDI can be ordered beginning spring 2016. It will be offered in Germany for a base price of €89,900


2023 Maserati Grecale GT launched In Malaysia - 2.0-litre engine, 300hp, 0-100 in 5.6secs

Naza Italia, the official distributor of Maserati here in Malaysia, has unveiled the brand's latest model offering, the 2023
Maserati Grecale
 GT, after previewing the model back in June. Priced from RM598k including local duties and taxes, the Maserati Grecale GT is the entry-level variant for the Grecale lineup, but there's definitely nothing entry-level about the SUV.

With that being said, here is the lowdown on the new 2023 Maserati Grecale.

Powertrain

Naza Italia calls the Grecale GT
a hybrid variant of the Grecale lineup.
The GT is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder mild hybrid engine that is capable of delivering 300 hp and 450Nm of torque. The engine is mated to an 8-speed transmission, which together helps the car go from 0-100km/h in just 5.6 seconds.

It has a top speed of 240km/h and four-wheel drive system with an open mechanical rear differential, which helps anchor the SUV to the road.

Exterior Design

Embracing Maserati's new design language and visual symbol, the Grecale SUV carries a lot of design inspirations and elements from the brand's highly-regarded supercar, the MC20, but with more everyday usability as well as practicality. But that doesn't mean that they can't make the Grecale look sexy.

The front end features a low-hanging and concaved grille that's also inspired by the MC20. Smooth line and fluidity from front to rear showcase the brand's designing skills that feels more like an MC20 that transformed into an SUV rather than an SUV that was heavily inspired by the MC20, if that makes any sense.

The GT rides on a set of 19-inch wheels, which probably makes it one of the more comfort-oriented models, as the higher spec brothers are equipped with larger wheels. Body-coloured bumpers and side skirts and front grille insert in brushed chrome and dual chrome-plated exhausts complete the GT's looks.

Interior design and features

For the GT variant, the interior is themed under a warm and enveloping setup. As an alternative to Black Leather, the GT can be had in a rich chocolate colour, and sophisticated greige or bold black with contrasting stitching is available as an option. The steering wheel is upholstered in leather, with aluminium fixed shift paddles.

Inside the cabin, the standout tech specs include the traditional Maserati clockface which is now digitised which gives it more features. Digital for the first time, it transforms into a veritable in-car concierge, courtesy of voice control.

The Grecale's interior is headlined by all of the screens around the dashboard area. The technology is controlled from the displays: the large 12.3” central screen, the largest ever seen in a Maserati, another 8.8” display for the extra controls and a third for the passengers in the rear seats. An optional state-of-the-art heads-up display is available, taking its place among the best currently available in terms of brightness, contrast and viewing angles.

It can go offroad

Despite looking like a modern-day city-dwelling Italian beauty with its huge screens and digitised analogue clock (a first in Maserati), the Grecale can actually handle minor off-road driving situations. All Grecals have four different driving modes - Comfort, GT, Sport, and Offroad.

Colours

The Grecale GT is offered in Blu Intenso (metallic blue), Bianco Astro (metallic grey) and Bianco (white solid) at the Malaysia launch.


Watch As The New Porsche Macan Facelift Tackles South Africa

First introduced in 2014 as a smaller alternative to the Porsche Cayenne, the then-new Macan went on to become one of Porsche’s best-selling models, shifting more than 350,000 units globally.
For the second half of its model life cycle, Porsche will be giving its premium compact crossover a little nip and tuck, including an updated front and rear fascia. From the photos provided by Porsche, it appears that the updated Macan's front end is inspired by the new third-generation Cayenne.
Current Macan
To ensure that the new Porsche Macan is up to the task, the development team took prototypes of the updated Macan to South Africa, where the SUV was subjected to rough asphalt, dusty gravel roads, and hostile mountain passages. The development team also took the Macan prototypes up to a height of 3,400 meters above sea level in Lesotho.
The market launch for the new Macan facelift is expected to happen later this month in China.


Geneva 2018: Subaru Viziv Tourer Concept – Coming in 2020, Next-Gen Levorg?

On display at the ongoing Geneva Motor Show, the Viziv Tourer Concept is the latest of Subaru's Viziv (a portmanteau of the words 'Vision for Innovation') series of themed concept models. Following the introduction of the
Viziv Performance Concept
 at the 2017 Tokyo Autoshow, the Viziv Tourer Concept is the second vehicle to preview future Subaru vehicles from a technological, and design perspective.
At 4,775 mm in length, 1,930 mm in width and 1,435 mm in height – the Viziv Tourer Concept offers some insight on the next-generation Subaru Levorg, in the same way the Viziv Performance Concept hinted at the next-generation WRX sedan. By comparison, the current Subaru Levorg measures 4,690 mm in length, 1,780 mm in width and 1,485 mm in height.
The Viziv Tourer Concept, like all-other Subaru vehicles, is powered by a horizontally-opposed ‘Boxer’ engine that sends power to the company's enduring Symmetrical AWD system. Little is known about the chassis or drivetrain, except that the wheelbase of the Viziv Tourer measures 2,730 mm (Levorg: 2,650 mm), and is fitted with 20-inch wheels, shod in 245/40-series tyres.
The Viziv Tourer also previews next-generation autonomous driving technologies, and advanced driver-assist functions under the company’s
EyeSight technology
 suite.
Scheduled for launch in 2020, the production version of the Viziv Tourer Concept will incorporate improved driver assistance systems, courtesy of enhanced EyeSight, radar, and high-accuracy GPS and navigation systems.
In terms of design, the Viziv Tourer Concept is based on Subaru’s shared “Dynamic x Solid” design philosophy. The trademark hexagonal grille serves as the starting point for a rigid, forward-thrusting body that is complemented by boldly defined fenders around the flanks.


MINI Cooper SE Launched in Malaysia – RM 218,381

The first all-electric model for the 61-year-old British brand has arrived here, and it’s set to stun with a competitive price-tag to boot.

It seems that MINI has snuck one in under the radar with the launch of their all-new, all-electric MINI Cooper SE, because it’s arrived with hardly any hype or fanfare preceding it. The MINI Cooper SE is available as a three-door hatch, and it represents MINI’s commitment to electric mobility moving forward. Pricing for the model stands at RM 225,888 – but thanks to the tax rebates that go on until the end of the year, you can grab one for RM 218,381.

We’ll run through the specifications quickly. Performance comes from an electric motor and battery system adapted from the BMW i3s, which gives the MINI Cooper SE a healthy 184 hp and 270 Nm of torque. The range is between 235 and 270 km depending on how you drive it, and 2.5-hours or charging with a wallbox will get you to 80% charge from a flat battery. Power is delivered exclusively to the front wheels and the batteries are stored in the floor to maintain interior legroom and practicality.

Visually, it can be easy to spot a MINI Cooper SE thanks to its yellow accents and electric badges – though the accents can be swapped for grey if you desire a stealthier look. Get a little closer and you will notice the model-specific front-bumper and closed off front grille, as well as the model-specific wheels and rear diffuser.

On the inside, the arrangements are like any other MINI model on the market, with a neat blend of quirky design and functional placement. The circular central motif remains, with a large 8.8-inch MINI Navigation System sitting inset. The system comes equipped with the full MINI Connected suite, including Teleservices, Remote Services, Intelligent Emergency Call, MINI Online, and Apple Car Play. A heads-up display and 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system round out the equipment list.

What is unique to the MINI Cooper SE is an entirely-digital instrument cluster which displays various readouts and statuses of the electric powertrain. The full colour screen makes for a nice touch and is perhaps the only reminder that you aren’t driving a MINI with a conventional powertrain. There are four driving modes available to choose from – SPORT mode, MID, GREEN, or GREEN+ - each with varying levels of control for onboard systems to maximize performance or efficiency.

To make sure that you don’t run out of charge, the Green Driving Assistant system can even help plot routes based on efficiency and with charge stations in mind. Paired with the MINI Connected app on your phone, it makes planning your trips and your day easier than ever, with less worry regarding whether you can make it through the day without running out of juice.

Bringing it home are the various Driving Assistant systems – the camera based system offers everything from Speed Limit info, to digital high-beam assistant, person warning with light city braking, approach control warning, Park Assistant, rear Park Distance Control, Cruise Control with the braking function, and the entire Wired package.

The MINI Cooper SE is really poised
as more of a city car
 than one that you would use for long distance trips, and even the electronically-limited speed of 150 km/h is a nod to this. That’s not to say that it isn’t fun, as it retains much of the go-kart like handling and nature that makes MINI models such a joy to drive. With electric vehicle charging infrastructure expanding quicker than ever, we expect to see a number of people adopting electric vehicles – and the MINI Cooper SE will be one of the few options available.


Porsche Taycan Is Coming To Malaysia In 2020, SDAP Preparing Support Infrastructure

Said to be the car that will show Tesla how electric vehicles (EVs) are supposed to be, the all-electric Porsche Taycan (pronounced as tie-khan) is set to go on sale in Malaysia sometime in 2020. Globally, the car is not available for sale yet as it's still under development and is not expected to go on sale in Europe until later this year. As such, prices have yet to be announced and details are short.
What we know so far is that it will be come with all-wheel drive, driven by a pair of electric motors producing over 600 hp in combined output. The sprint from 0-100 km/h will be achieved in under 3.5 seconds, while driving range will be in excess of 500 km. In terms of design, it will closely resemble the Porsche Mission E Concept (below).
It will ride on an all-new platform that places the battery under the floor, and when charged with a suitably equipped fast charger, it can deliver 100 km of driving range with just four minutes of charging. A full charge can be completed In under 20 minutes.
Prices will be highly dependent on a local country’s tax structure but in the US where Porsche dealers have already started accepting orders for the car, US customers are being told that the Taycan will be priced between a Cayenne and a Panamera.
It’s hard estimate how much will the Taycan cost in Malaysia as our import and excise duty structures are based on engine capacity, and the Taycan doesn’t have any.
We expect the government will most likely tax the vehicle using some form of equivalency formula based on the car’s power output. This is the same method used by JPJ when registering the previous generation Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV, both of which were launched during the period when import and excise duty were exempted for all electrified vehicles, even if it’s an imported model. The Leaf for example, was taxed by JPJ as a 1.8-litre car.
Prototype Taycan shown
As Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP) is an authorized importer and distributor, the task of importing a particular model will be more complicated in comparison to the parallel importer down the street. SDAP needs to guarantee the cars it sold for at least four years, and be equipped to provide the necessary after-sales support.
As you can imagine, supporting an all-electric car like the Taycan is going to be very different from its regular models.
The company will soon be relocating Porsche Centre Glenmarie, which also serves as its head office, to a new six-storey facility in Ara Damansara by the third quarter of this year.
The new facility will house 23 service bays spread across two floors. It will also serve as SDAP’s competency centre for electrified Porsches, capable of carrying out major repairs on electric Porsches.
At the same time, all Porsche centres nationwide, which will expand to four outlets by Q1 2020 with the opening of Porsche Centre Johor Bahru, will be upgraded to carry out minor repairs for electrified Porsches.
Separately, the company is also working to setup fast charging facilities along the North South Highway.
Processes to recycle/dispose high voltage batteries will also need to be put in place before SDAP is approved to sell the model by its principal at Porsche AG.
Beyond the Taycan, Porsche has also confirmed that a grand touring (Porsche refuse to call it a wagon) Taycan Sport Turismo variant will also follow soon.


Review: 2018 Ford Ranger Raptor – More Than Just Cosmetic Enhancements

After a short hiatus, the highly competitive pickup truck segment is back in full swing once again, both locally and globally.
On the global front, Volkswagen just revealed the pickup version of the Tiguan called the Tarok, and the new Mitsubishi Triton has just made its global debut in Thailand last month. In fact, the Triton, which will be launched officially in Malaysia next year, is already open for bookings.
And then we have Ford, which recently took the wraps off one of the most anticipated models of the year – the new Ranger.
Offered in nine variants, Ford Malaysia only announced the pricing and details of eight during the launch ceremony, and decided to make us wait for a little bit longer before launching the most exciting one of them all - the Ranger Raptor.
Launched at this year’s Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS 2018) last week, the Ranger Raptor is basically a high-performance version of the Ranger, featuring a significant number of mechanical and cosmetic enhancements on top of the standard Ranger Wildtrak which used to sit at the top of the range prior to the arrival of the Ranger Raptor.
Priced at RM199,888 OTR without insurance, the Ranger Raptor is by far the most expensive pickup truck to be ever sold in Malaysia.
Yes, we can hear you going
“Eh, gila kah?
 Why so expensive?”
So, in order to find out why priced as such, and what the hype is all about, we were given an opportunity to give the Ranger Raptor a go on a drive from Setia Alam to Bentong and back, which made us understand the vehicle better.
Specifications
Engine: 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: 10-speed automatic, 4WD
Max Power: 213 PS at 3,750 rpm
Max Torque: 500 Nm at 1,750 to 2,000 rpm
Price: RM199,888 OTR without insurance
Origin: Assembled in Thailand
Overview
Targeting Asia Pacific region and markets that are not fortunate enough to get the full blown F-150 Raptor, the folks at Ford basically took the Ranger and fitted it with extras like a reinforced frame, heavy-duty Fox shock absorbers, a wider track, BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres, and a few other enhancements which make it way more capable than the regular Ranger off the beaten track. In fact, the extras make the Ranger Raptor a mini “Baja 500” desert racer.
On top of all of the above, the Ranger Raptor features a Watts Linkage and also coil-spring rear suspension instead of leaf springs, similar to the Everest SUV.
Power comes courtesy of Ford’s new EcoBlue 2.0-litre bi-turbo commonrail Turbochaged diesel engine which kicks out an impressive 213 PS and 500 Nm, and paired to it is a 10-speed automatic gearbox that sends the power to all 4 wheels via Ford’s 4WD system.
The brakes have also been uprated all-round, with 332 mm discs front and rear, along with uprated brake calipers.
The materials used are more rugged and can take more abuse without deterioriation, having been put through rigorous off-road testing.
There are even holes in the side-steps designed to help drain mud, sand, and snow that accumulate.
Other standard features include:
Automatic headlights
Automatic wipers
Steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters
Power driver seat
Blue stitching on the steering wheel, shift boot, hand brake, dashboard, seats, and centre arm rest
Dual-zone automatic air-conditioning
285/70R17 BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A K02 tires
Rear disc brakes
Easy lift tailgate
Raptor-specific side steps
Ford Performance scuff plates
Exterior
There are many features that set the Ranger Raptor apart from your modified "
Celup"
 Raptors and the standard Ranger.
Firstly, we have the superior 283 mm ground clearance which is a 46 mm increase over a stock Ranger. And then, there is the frame mounted steel front-bumper with integrated LED fog lamps and functional air ducts. The Lightning Blue and Conquer Grey exterior colours and the 'Raptor' decal design are also exclusive to the Ranger Raptor.
Adding to the list is the high-strength aluminium alloy die-cast step board, and a modified rear bumper with an integrated tow bar and two recovery hooks rated at 3.8 tonnes.
Last but not the least, there are the 285/70R17 BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A K02 tires which complement all the features above and give the Ranger Raptor the mean desert racer-ish look it has.
Overall, you can just tell that it is a Ranger Raptor when you see it from a mile away, thanks to all of the features above.
Not only does it look like it means business, it is also capable of withstanding the toughest of conditions, as many of these unique features fitted on this truck actually serve a purpose.
Interior
Inside, the Ranger Raptor gets sporty seats tailored with some suede and blue stitching, a unique instrument panel, a chunky steering wheel with magnesium paddle-shifters, Raptor logos everywhere, and unique Ford Performance scuff plates.
In typical Ranger fashion, the level of comfort and refinement were top notch for a pickup truck, almost similar to what you get in the cabin of a car.
Entertaining us throughout our drive to Bentong, Pahang was Ford’s latest Sync 3 infotainment system which comes with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, AppLink, and an 8-inch touch screen display with Bluetooth, GPS, as well as voice recognition. The system was pretty straight forward and user-friendly, enabling us to get used to it in no time.
An interesting feature in the Ranger Raptor worth mentioning is the 230V power socket located in the rear, which would come in real handy during a weekend’s 4x4 camping expedition in the jungle.
That aside, for as long as we were in the Ranger Raptor’s cabin, most of the buttons, levers, and switches which we laid our hands on felt solid and didn’t feel cheap.
Driving it
Our stint with the Ranger Raptor comprised an 84 km long drive from Setia Alam to Bentong. Most of the journey was on the highway, followed by a short mild off-road session off the small town of Bilut.
The Terrain Management System (TMS) offers six driving modes to choose via a dedicated five-button switch located on the steering wheel - Normal, Sport, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Sand, Rock, and Baja off-road sport mode.
Since most of our journey was going to be on the road, we were in Road mode mostly, followed by Gravel mode during the off-road session. The one mode which we really wanted to try but couldn't was the "Baja" desert racing mode. What happens in this mode is that the Ranger Raptor becomes very "jump-friendly".
So, if there is a sudden jump while speeding through an open gravel road, which results in some air time, the truck will land smoothly with maximum composure, and not hit the ground hard.
Coming back to the road, the Ranger Raptor offered great level of comfort, refinement, and composure. Even on the twisty stretches of the Karak Highway, the truck felt quite planted, but it was still not as sure-footed as the Triton.
What surprised us was that even though the truck was fitted with all-terrain tyres, tyre noise was minimal. Likewise engine noise and road noise. There was still slight noticeable body roll but it was only at higher speeds.
Bumps and lumps on tarmac and gravel surface were both absorbed respectably without compromising the level of comfort in the cabin.
For a truck that weighs about 2.4 tonnes, a 2.0-litre engine and 213 PS may not sound impressive but boy oh boy, this thing was anything but slow.
Signs of struggles? Not even once. Not in town, not on the highway, and not even off the beaten track. It just wants to keep going and keep going faster. It was just so powerful that the uphill stretches of Genting Sempah felt like they were flat.
Even though there were paddle shifters for us to downshift and bring the Ranger Raptor up to speed, we never felt the need to use it at all, as all the power we needed was available at a press of the accelerator pedal, and because it is that powerful, occasional “hooning” was inevitable.
With the 10 speed gearbox, power delivery was super smooth. It’s just that there were so many gears that sometimes we didn’t know which gear we were in, but it didn’t matter.
It’s a pity that we didn’t really get to test its off-road prowess through a more challenging course as that is where we think the real strength of the Ranger Raptor lies, but the mild off-road session and the highway drive did prove its capability of providing the best of both worlds.
Conclusion
The Ranger Raptor is more than just another variant of the Ranger. In addition to a new design and a 150mm wider track, it has a long list of extra features which make it a truly unique and capable product.
However, features like the all-terrain tyres, the steel bumpers, the Fox shock absorbers, the heavy duty side-steps, and the Baja mode which basically turns it into desert racer, come at a cost, which explains the hefty price tag of about RM200,000.
The blunt fact is that this is not a model for everyone. The Ranger Raptor is actually a premium 4x4 which would most probably appeal to those in the higher income group, those who can afford to buy a vehicle just to make a statement.
Despite all of its capabilities, most owners are going to be driving it on the road and nothing more, just like how most Ferraris never see the racetrack. But then again, this is the most expensive pickup truck in Malaysia, and the closest thing we’re going to get to the F-150 Raptor, so if you can afford one, why not?
You may wonder if there are actually people who are willing to spend so much for a pickup truck, but from what we’ve heard, there are customers who have placed their bookings without even test driving it.


2017 Toyota Camry is Officially Here in Malaysia. Two New Variants, From RM153k

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd has announced the addition of two new variants for the Toyota Camry range as well as upgrades for the existing variants.

As we mentioned earlier
, the introduction of the new variants (Camry 2.5 Hybrid Premium and Camry 2.0 GX) now brings the amount of Camry variants to four, which are:

Camry 2.5HV Luxury - RM174,900

Camry 2.5HV Premium - RM164,900

Camry 2.0G X - RM159,900

Camry 2.0E - RM152,900

According to Toyota Malaysia, safety has been improved across the Camry range, with features such as Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRC), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), and 7 airbags now being offered as standard.

All variants also have an Emergency Stop Signal (ESS) system which is connected to the hazard warning lights.

Exclusive to the top variant (Camry 2.5 Hybrid Luxury) is a Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) which keeps the driver informed of vehicles that may be in the blind spot adjacent to the car.

Also exclusive is the Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) which can reduce the possibility of an accident when reversing out of a parking spot. The system uses sensors that cover a wide area behind the car to detect approaching vehicles on the left and right sides.

Inside the latest Camry range, there are also enhanced features for more convenience or comfort, such as a more premium audio system with 12 JBL GreenEdge speakers and 5.1 channel surround system.

The Wireless Qi charger which was only available with the top variant is also available in the Camry 2.0G X. This convenient charger uses a pad located between the front seats. Compatible smartphones with wireless charging capability can be placed on the pad and will be recharged without having to connect any wires.

The upholstery for some variants has also been upgraded or changed to refresh the appearance and ambience of the cabin. While three variants have black interiors, the new Camry 2.0G X has dark brown upholstery and Mughal Teak wood trim. The other variants have different wood trim patterns, all of high quality and inserted with the highest standards of craftsmanship.

The two Camry Hybrid variants come with a Driving Video Recorder (DVR) as standard to record the view ahead while driving. The recording may be useful evidence in the event of an accident and a special function will lock the relevant video file if there is an accident. The DVR is also available as an option for the Camry 2.0G X and 2.0E.

On the exterior, the updated range does not have any major changes but the Camry Hybrid variants are now fitted with a LED fog lamps as standard. The alloy rims remain the same as before with the Camry 2.5 Hybrid Luxury and new Camry 2.0G X having 17-inch rims while the Camry 2.5 Hybrid Premium and Camry 2.0E have 16-inch rims.

All Camry variants come with a 5-year warranty, subject to terms and conditions. The battery pack for the hybrid variants on the other hand has a separate warranty of 8 years.

Looking for a Camry? Find one now at
Carlist.my


Mazda's iconic MX-5 Miata embraces electrification for 2026

Mazda has officially confirmed that the upcoming 2026 MX-5 Miata will be electrified, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of this legendary sports car.

According to Motortrend, while Mazda remains tight-lipped about the specific electrification approach—whether it will be a fully electric vehicle (EV), hybrid, or plug-in hybrid—the move comes as part of the automaker's broader strategy to transition its entire lineup to partial electrification by 2030.

The MX-5 Miata has garnered a well-deserved reputation for being a thrilling, affordable roadster with exceptional driving dynamics. Electrifying this beloved model is a necessary step to ensure its relevance and viability in the automotive landscape of the future.

As Mazda takes its time to meticulously develop EV technology,
 it is likely that the next-gen Miata will first see a hybrid or plug-in hybrid variant before an all-electric version emerges
.

Mazda's Vision Study Model, a visually striking sports car showcased last year, might provide some insights into the design direction of the electric Miata, although it is more inclined to serve as an influence on the production model's aesthetics.

In the pursuit of electrification, Mazda has partnered with Rohm Co. to develop electric powertrains and forged an agreement with Envision AESC for battery development. While these collaborations could impact the next-generation Miata, opting for a hybrid version seems logical, given the challenges of fitting a battery with sufficient range within the Miata's compact frame.

A full EV setup might compromise performance due to the weight of the battery pack and result in a considerable price increase. Alternatively, Mazda could explore a partnership with another automaker for platform development.

As for the anticipated release date, we can expect to witness the next-generation MX-5 Miata hitting the roads in time for the thrilling top-down driving season of 2025, designated as a 2026 model year vehicle. Mazda enthusiasts and sports car lovers alike eagerly await the electrifying future of this iconic roadster.


2023 Perodua Axia (D74A) officially launched! RM38,600-RM49,500

The all-new 2023 Perodua Axia has been officially launched here in Malaysia.

After months of teasing, including a short but sweet media preview and test drive last week, the latest generation is finally out and about with four different variants to choose from.

2023 Perodua Axia - four variants (G, X, SE & AV)

2023 Perodua Axia 1.0L G -
RM38,600

2023 Perodua Axia 1.0L X -
RM40,000

2023 Perodua Axia 1.0L SE -
RM44,000

2023 Perodua Axia 1.0L AV -
RM49,500

As stated above, the new 2023 Perodua Axia will be offered in four different variants - G, X, SE, and AV. But the base of them all is the same - the combination of the Daihatsu New Global Architecture platform (DNGA) paired with the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine from the previous-gen but brought into the present by mating it to the D-CVT gearbox just like the facelifted Myvi and Ativa. Sorry, no turbo and no manual.

Dimensions are also similar across the board with the new Axia being longer, taller, and shorter with a slightly longer wheelbase compared to the previous-gen Axia. The new kid on the block is 3,760mm in length, 1,665mm in width, 1,495mm in height, and 2,525mm for its wheelbase. That’s 115mm longer, 45mm wider, 15mm shorter, 60mm longer wheelbase, as well as an extra 20mm ground clearance compared to the outgoing model.

2023 Perodua Axia - new sporty exterior

All those numbers don’t really mean anything if the looks are not upgraded as well. The new Axia now comes with a sportier and modern exterior look with a hint of aggressiveness that makes the old Axia looks docile and boring. Not only does the new Axia, but it’s also more aerodynamic which further improves its overall fuel efficiency together with the addition of the D-CVT transmission package.

To tie it all up, all variants of the Perodua Axia are fitted with the same 14-inch rims. There are minor differences between the four variants starting with the base G variant that comes with halogen headlamps that go up to LED headlamps for the X, LED headlamps with LED DRLs for the SE, and Auto High Beam (AHB) safety feature for the range-topping AV variant.

A set of front and side skirtings with a chrome front grille is exclusively available for the SE and AV variants to further differentiate the four Axia models.

2023 Perodua Axia - Interior

Perhaps the biggest change (and differences between variants) can be seen via its interior. The sporty and modern exterior flows into the cabin thanks to its new horizontal theme and sporty aesthetics finished in black and silver highlights. New fabric seats are offered for the G, X, and SE models while the range-topping AV comes with semi-leather seats for a more premium touch (semi-buckets for SE & AV).

Equipment-wise, the first three variants are fitted with a 4.2-inch LCD multi-info display and a monotone instrument display. Only the most expensive Axia variant comes with the very cool-looking 9-inch LCD touchscreen with HDMI and a 7-inch TFT multi-info display plus steering switches for the Power Mode (also available for SE model) and audio controls. Digital AC controls are also equipped in the top two variants.

2023 Perodua Axia - Safety

If safety is of concern, the 2023 Perodua Axia comes with ABS with EBD and BA across the board together with Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and two airbags. Smart entry and push-start button with front corner sensors are available from the X variant going up.

The range-topping AV Axia gets six airbags, Lane Departure Warning & Prevention, Blind Spot Monitor (BSM), and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) to further enhance its Advance Safety Assist (ASA 3.0) package.

2023 Perodua Axia - Price & Colours

For those who are interested to get your very own 2023 Perodua Axia, the price starts from RM38,600 to RM49,500 (OTR excluding insurance. Five different colours are available - Lava Red, Glittering Silver, Granite Grey, Ivory White, and the newly-added ‘hero’ colour,
Coral Blue.


Review: 2017 Porsche Panamera 4S – Agility Of A Sports Car, Street Cred Of A Flagship

The Mercedes-Benz 500E W124 and the Audi RS2 Avant. Both seemingly dissimilar cars yet they share one common strand in their respective DNAs – Porsche engineering. The story goes that in the early 1990s, Porsche found themselves strapped for cash and these side jobs had helped the company stay afloat.
At a time when Porsche showrooms only had the 911, 928 and 968 to show, the lesson learned was that you need more than just a few sports cars to keep customers interested in your brand. With the proceeds from the 500E and RS2 in the pocket, Porsche aggressively expanded its line-up in the decade that followed.
First came the Boxster and Cayman that simultaneously offered the charm and balance of a mid-engined sports car whilst lowering the price of admission to own a Porsche. But perhaps the most controversial move in the company’s history was the daring gamble to build a big luxury SUV with the Cayenne.
Success of the Cayenne, over two model generations and
going into a third
 no less, emboldened Porsche’s belief that its badge cachet can be expanded to work outside the realm of sports cars, and just as the Cayenne offered 911 DNA in an SUV body, inevitably came the four-door luxo-barge with the same credentials – the first generation Panamera in 2009.
Inevitably, the Panamera, like the Cayenne before it, proved its detractors wrong at the sales chart, becoming another successful (and no doubt very profitable) project by Porsche. You know a car maker got the product right when the said car has a ‘fresh in the market’ feel right to the end of its model cycle – the Panamera is one of those cars. It hardly felt overdue for replacement when the second-generation model debuted globally in 2016.
Specifications:
Price: RM1,100,000 (nett selling price without options); RM1,289,231.58 (as tested)
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 Longitudinal, Turbocharged Petrol
Power: 440 hp @ 5,650 – 6,600 rpm
Torque: 550 Nm @ 1,750 – 5,500 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic, AWD
Safety: 8 airbags, Electronic stability control, ISOFIX, Active Bonnet (Pedestrian Protection),
Origin: Fully-imported from Germany
Overview
The first generation model’s success gave Porsche encouragement not just to continue the Panamera name, but to grow the family outright. An estate variant, bombastically named the
Sport Turismo
, is available in select markets, whilst the not inconsequential demands of the Chinese market meant that the
long-wheelbase Executive
 variant was all but an inevitable development.
Malaysia
, for the moment, carries on exclusively with the tried and trusted four-door fastback profile. As you would expect, all engines on offer are turbocharged, even though the 550 hp V8 flagship model carries a
Panamera Turbo
 callsign. A 3.0-litre V6 powers the base model, the only rear-wheel driven variant in the line-up.
For the purpose of this review, we found ourselves behind the wheel of the mid-spec Panamera 4S, a variant powered by a 2.9-litre bi-turbo V6 with 440 hp and all-wheel drive. We also have memories of from the recent
Porsche Media Driving Academy
 to call upon during which we had a few half-laps around Sepang in the 4S back-to-back against the Turbo.
As standard for Malaysia, the 4S comes fitted with adaptive air suspension, LED headlights, and 14-way powered seat adjustment for both front passengers; these coming with the vehicle’s net selling price of RM1,100,000 before on-road costs.
The options list is, however, lengthy and can inflate the car’s asking price substantially if boxes are checked without restraint. As tested, the vehicle pictured in with this story comes with nearly RM190k worth of add-ons. We highlight keyless entry (RM4,788.71), ParkAssist with 360-degree surround view camera (RM3,224.79), and a rear USB port (RM1,402.36) as your must-have items.
We should also point out that whatever dynamic findings we make with this test car comes in conjunction with two key options worth a combined RM17k – rear axle steering (RM8,950.56) and Sport Chrono Package (RM8,142.75).
Exterior
Just as the Cayenne was not universally well-received among critics at its launch, the Panamera had its fair share of doubters too. Some denounced it as another cynical attempt at milking the worth of the Porsche brand, others had less than flattering remarks on its awkward styling that attempted to fit a 911-esque shape into a functional body of a four-door tourer.
Still, criticisms or not, the Panamera’s shape has endured and has become one of the most recognizable silhouettes among cars – it’s certainly more distinctive than a conventional three-box sedan. The second-generation model here carries forward the familiar design template, but with the rough edges suitably sandpapered away.
The most important aesthetic amendment takes place at the roofline, which is lowered by some 20mm at the rear. No doubt this comes at the expense of rear passenger headroom, but it has the visual effect of trimming off the predecessor’s ungainly posterior and has helped create a far more dynamic-looking profile
Interior
A similar design approach that brought us the evolutionary exterior is evidently applied inside as well. Like its predecessor, the Panamera’s cabin strictly seats only four occupants and neatly bisected through the middle by a high-rising centre console that starts from the centre screen and stretches all the way back to the rear armrest.
Building on a well-established formula, Porsche focused its attention to further refine its selection of materials and to sharpen the collection of switchgear. A driver jumping over from the predecessor will find oneself ensconced in the broadly familiar aircraft-inspired cockpit; looking closer however, one finds that the array of buttons that lined the outgoing centre console replaced by shiny black panels.
At a glance, you may think it’s all touch-operated, but you actually need to press the black panels down hard until it returns a tactile feedback to activate whatever function you are attempting to access. One panel takes the place of several switches – desired functions are accessed according to which section of the black panel you press. Not entirely intuitive to operate, but if the intention is to portray and ambiance of sophistication, the designers did their job.
Back seat occupants get their own climate control and infotainment access. The scope of access is not as comprehensive as what’s available in the
Mercedes S-Class
 or
BMW 7 Series
, but crispness of the display images and tactile sensations of the surrounding switchgear nevertheless help paint a convincing picture of legitimate luxury.
Driving Experience
The traction of all-wheel drive in conjunction with the added maneuverability of rear-wheel steering means that the Panamera manages to strike an enviable balance of assured stability with agile handling.
Throw in Porsche’s mastery in suspension setups, the Panamera is also blessed with almost unflappable body control that it maintains even when driven with some vigour. The car also manages to be at the same time agile without being overly excitable; it’ll nonchalantly munch the highway miles all day long and at the same time pull itself around corners with admirable tenacity.
A less exciting, but highly welcomed effect of its rear-wheel steering system – an RM8,950 option, we must remind you – is its tightened turning circle. A Panamera without this option ticked requires 11.9 metres to clear a U-turn without troubling its reverse gear; spend that RM8,950, you’ll do it in 11.4 metres.
Driven back-to-back with its more expensive Turbo sibling at Sepang, the Panamera 4S shows a marked deficit in straight line pace, but is otherwise found lacking in very little else. In isolation and, more pertinently, in the real world, the 4S is plenty fast enough, and its 2.9-litre bi-turbocharged V6 is a rather charming engine; revving more eagerly and sounding sweeter than the Turbo’s V8.
Comfort & Refinement
The Panamera passes our usual metrics of comfort and refinement with a decent score. Ride comfort over most surfaces, whilst not at Mercedes S-Class levels, certainly surpasses expectations for a car of such an overt sporting brief. The suspension does not quite isolate the cabin from surface imperfections, but does a more than adequate job of filtering them.
In need of work, however, is the low speed refinement of its 8-speed PDK dual clutch transmission. Whilst faultless at high speed and hard driving, the PDK is susceptible to the kind of low-speed jerkiness that blights the day-to-day driving experience of many dual clutch-equipped cars.
Interestingly enough, the older 7-speed PDK of the 718 Cayman, which we will be featuring in a separate review to be published later, is a far smoother gearbox in slow-moving traffic. For us, we can’t help but wonder if ZF’s 8HP 8-speed torque converter auto might have been a better fit for the Panamera’s needs.
Conclusion
Despite boasting all-new mechanicals underneath, such has been the success of the original Panamera – awkward looks notwithstanding – that Porsche has deemed fit to revert back to a similar template with the new model. This is a formula that has served successive generations of the 911 well, and there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work with the Panamera.
Besides loading up the car with the most updated tech available, much of Porsche’s efforts appear to be focused on polishing the outgoing car’s weak spots. That the new car looks so similar to the outgoing one whilst appearing much improved vindicates the approach.
Where function is concerned, the Panamera’s breadth of talents is wide. It is focused on delivering sportiness, yet it also puts on a fine shift on its many other supplementary duties that include effortless long-range cruising and day-to-day urban driving. That it competently accomplishes such mundane duties without sacrificing its ability to thrill the driver shows that Porsche has dutifully learned the biggest lesson of its past - sports cars are great, but you need a wider range of tricks to keep your customers interested.
>


Lake Wörthersee - Where The World Unites To Celebrate The Love For All Things VW

Some of the biggest entries in modern history centre on some of the unlikeliest candidates, people without clout or big budgets, but whose accounts are richer in faith and passion than dollars and cents. Microsoft was upstaged by a couple of post-graduate students working out of their dormitories, Toyota’s massive F1 budgets couldn’t deliver a performance that can match a small team working out of small English town of Woking, and more recently, no amount gerrymandering by the powerful could stop a hastily formed loose group of volunteers from organizing the greatest relay race in history – the 24-hour race to transport postal votes from back to Malaysia.
In the annals of car culture, many of the greatest legends were accidental. Toyota didn’t plan for the AE86 Corolla to be such a hit. When the aptly named Dr. Friedrich Goes and his loosely formed group of engineers at Volkswagen decided to stay back in office to work on a secret ‘super Golf’ project not approved by their bosses, they didn’t expect that forty years later, the three letters G-T-I will continue to fuel an automotive cult followed all over the world.
Until today, no car company no matter how big their budget is, can replicate the loyal following that Volkswagen enjoyed from fans of the GTI.
When Volkswagen Chairman Rudolf Leiding approved the first Golf GTI in 1975, he had expected it to be nothing more than a one-off model, to sell no more than 5,000 units. Why would the European blue collar working class pay more for a faster Golf? More than forty years later, the market is proving him wrong with a cumulative sales that is now close to 2 million units.
Herr Goes and his team of engineers thought their achievement stopped at building a great car. Little did they know that the car was only the beginning of a new sub-culture. One action influences another - a wing flutters in Wolfsburg, winds change in Uitenhage, and rain follows in Pekan.
Nearly 1,000 km away from Volkswagen’s nerve centre of Wolfsburg, Germany lives Erwin Neuwirth, an Austrian actor living in a small Austrian town of Reifnitz. In between his acting duties, Erwin ran a restaurant by Lake Worthersee. A sharp entrepreneur, Erwin was always thinking of ways to attract more tourists to his town.
In 1982, he organized the first GTI Wörtherseetreffen, as the meeting of GTI fans was known as in the local language. It was a fan-organized event and had no involvement from Volkswagen. The first event saw less than 100 cars turning up, but with respected automotive personalities including Austrian F1 driver Nikki Lauda gracing subsequent events, GTI Wörtherseetreffen grew bigger.
Today, Volkswagen fans from all over the world make an annual pilgrimage to the serene summer surroundings of Lake Wörthersee every May/June. For these fervent disciples of hot hatch tuning, Wörthersee is their Mecca.
Like all popular lifestyle events, one either likes it or hate it. The quiet and introverted residents of Reifnitz balk at it but business owners love it. Every year, more than 120,000 fans and 6,000 cars descend into the town, bringing with them not just convoys of heavily modified Volkswagens new and old, but also cars from Volkswagen’s sister brands Audi and Skoda.
What started as a GTI gathering has now grown to include anything from Sciroccos to T5 vans to Jettas and, Passats and even Audi A4s. Anything produced by the Volkswagen Group, new and old, are welcomed.
In the past, the four-day event was characterised by rowdy fans, popping exhaust noise, and the smell of burnt rubber. Fans gather along long strips of tarmac for illegal drag races and roundabouts become makeshifts skidpads, while parking lots become locations of rave parties.
This was also why Volkswagen didn’t want to get involved with earlier iterations of Wörtherseetreffen, even though the event celebrated its cars. But as a manufacturer, it was difficult for the company to be associated with tuning culture.
And don’t ever mention anything about that famous Internet meme to visitors of GTI Wörtherseetreffen. The one about finding the location of a Volkswagen meet simply by looking out for an orange glow on the sky, the glow of their check engine lights. You will be heckled, bottles will be thrown at you, and you will wake up by the lake minus your pants. These are hardcore fans who love their Volkswagens very much, warts and all. They literally flew and sailed across seas, drove over mountains, and crossed continents with their Volkswagens to perform their pilgrimage.
However as of late, the atmosphere at GTI Wörtherseetreffen has toned down significantly, with the Austrian Polizei present at nearly every junction. Every few minutes, Polizei cars – which ironically, are mostly Volkswagen T5 vans and Passat Variants - were seen driving up and down the three main roads surrounding Lake Wörthersee.
The Austrians don’t share the same love for cars as their German counterparts. Where the Germans fiercely defend their speed limit-free autobahns, the Austrians practice a zero tolerance on speed limits. The national speed limit is 130 km/h, 50 km/h for urban areas, 30 km/h for housing areas.
Some residents put up signs at intersections saying “You can enjoy your GTI quietly” while others simply go on a holiday to escape the crowd and the noise.
On the whole, visitors of Wörtherseetreffen were very respectful of the police. Anti-social vehicular behaviours have now been replaced by passive car spotting. The stretch of road outside the ENI petrol station in the nearby town of Velden was the focal point. Bring out a deck chair, have a cold beer and give a thumbs up to a fellow petrolhead driving past. Paddy McGrath of Speedhunters documented the atmosphere quite well in this post
here
. Perhaps after 37 events, Wörtherseetreffen is maturing.
The formal participation of Volkswagen, which since 2006 has co-opted the fan-driven event as one of its own, also helped. With better resources and expertise in logistics, the event is now better coordinated with local authorities and it's better organized and safer for everyone.
Every Wörtherseetreffen now sees a new Volkswagen model announced, while young Volkswagen apprentices are given a chance to show off concept cars that they’ve worked on, sort of a prelude before they gain enough experience to work on a full-fledged international motor show-standard concept car.
This year’s event saw the announcement of the
Golf GTI TCR Concept
 while the young apprentices – aged between 19 and 23 - showed off a Golf GTI whose boot had been retrofitted with a tablet-controlled foldable large flat screen TV.
The theme for this year’s event was ‘Passion. Family. Friends’ and how apt it was. Friends now include Volkswagen clubs from South Africa, China, USA and even Malaysia, participating on their own initiative. For the first time ever, GTI fans from Malaysia were represented by Volkswagen Club Malaysia, who got their five minutes of fame to share their experience with their fellow fans from other continents.
The star of the show was a South Africa-only CitiGolf, a derivative of a Mk1 Golf. It was built by an American fan who travelled to South Africa to locate a donor car, before shoehorning a 3.6-litre VR6 engine from a US-market Passat, and shipping the completed car from South Africa to Europe just in time for the meet. It was a project that spanned three continents.
Others shipped their cars from USA while a group of British fans drove across the English Channel, driving thousands of kilometres on the wrong side of the road with their right-hand drive Volkswagens to join their fellow fans from the continent.
At the same time, a small group of hardcore fans of the original Wörtherseetreffen have taken upon themselves to preserve the spirit of the original unfiltered Wörtherseetreffen by gathering two weeks earlier.
They had intentionally kept information of their planned gathering only to within their tight-knit community to keep the numbers low. Like many things about meetings involving car fans, it stops being fun when it gets too crowded and immature kids start doing silly things that get everyone else in trouble.
Whichever their interpretation of how GTI Wörtherseetreffen should be run, all of them agree that their Volkswagen means a lot to them. For these people, ‘Aus Liebe zum Automobil,’ loosely translated as ‘For the love of cars,’ is represented best by a Volkswagen rather than by some out of reach exotic.
For four days a year, one car brand made everyone put aside their differences to celebrate their common love for cars. Political leanings, gender, skin colour, and more importantly, tuning philosophy – slammed or stanced, clean stock standard or heavily modified – everyone showed respect to one another, acknowledging the diversity in each fan's expression of his/her individuality. Passion. Family. Friends.
Enjoy the video highlights of the GTI Wörtherseetreffen 2018!
Our friend Hezeri from
Careta.my
 did a pretty good vlog that captured the atmosphere. Enjoy the video below.


ETCM Lancar Bantuan Bencana Banjir Nissan - Diskaun 20 Peratus, Servis Tunda Percuma Dan Pelan Pembayaran Mudah

Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM)
 bersama-sama Tan Chong Ekspres Auto Servis Sdn Bhd (TCEAS) mengumumkan program Bantuan Bencana Banjir Nissan buat pelanggan yang terjejas akibat
banjir kilat
 yang melanda baru-baru ini.

Program khas ini menawarkan bantuan berbentuk:

diskaun 20 peratus ke atas alat ganti tulen dan kos upah

restorasi upholsteri khas untuk sedan bernilai RM1,655 dan RM1,988 untuk MPV, SUV, trak pikap dan van

Pelan Pembayaran Semula Mudah (EPP) sehingga 12 bulan

jaminan enam bulan atau jarak perbatuan 10,000 km untuk penggantian alat ganti tulen.

Selain itu,
ETCM
 turut menawarkan khidmat tunda dari rumah secara percuma, serta perkhidmatan Collect & Deliver untuk servis penyelenggaraan pada hujung minggu.

ETCM dan TCEAS berkata ketenangan fikiran pelanggan adalah keutamaan syarikat dan turut bersedih dengan kerugian yang dialami oleh mereka yang terjejas akibat banjir. Mereka juga komited untuk memastikan keselamatan dan kepuasan pelanggan Nissan berada pada tahap tertinggi, dan sedang bekerjasama untuk menangani situasi yang tidak dijangka ini dengan segera.

Para pelanggan
Nissan
 boleh menghubungi talian Nissan Customer Care Centre Hotline di 1800-88-3838 untuk maklumat lanjut.


Ford Kicks Off Truck Month - Up to RM6,000 Cash Rebate For Ranger WildTrak

Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC), the sole distributor of Ford vehicle in Malaysia kicked-off the ‘Ford Truck Month’ campaign to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ford trucks.
The campaign, which will go on until 31 October will see SDAC offering RM6,000 in cash rebates and also booking gifts (set of four ‘Built Ford Tough’ t-shirts) to customers who book a Ford Ranger WildTrak at any of its dealerships nationwide.
In addition to this offer, a fleet of Ford Rangers will be making an appearance in East Malaysia this month.
Members of the public will not only be able to view the trucks indoors at Imago KK Times Square, Kota Kinabalu from 26-27 August, but also participate in an outdoor obstacle test drive course with the Ranger.
“It’s an amazing test of time for Ford trucks as they celebrate a century of leadership, innovation, capability and durability for their iconic trucks,” said Syed Ahmad Muzri Syed Faiz, Managing Director, Sime Darby Auto Connexion, adding that SDAC is extremely proud and honoured to be a part of Ford truck’s 100-year celebration.


All-New 2016 Honda Civic Sedan Set To Debut On September 17

In only a week’s time, the tenth generation
Honda
 Civic Sedan will make its global debut, five months after it was previewed by the sporty Civic Concept during the 2015 New York International Auto Show back in April.
Scheduled to take place at YouTube Space Los Angeles, the unveiling of the all-new Civic will be streamed live on YouTube on September 16 at 6.15pm (local L.A. time). Converted to our local time, the reveal will take place on
September 17 at 9.15am
.
Details on the upcoming
Honda Civic
 are limited at the moment although we do have a good guess what the final product will look like based on
official patent images which were leaked online
, revealing minor changes from the concept shown. Not too soon after that, we were given a first look at the
Civic's all-new interior as well
 which showed a significant departure from the one found in the current ninth generation model.
The new Civic lineup will include the Civic Sedan, Coupe and Si models, along with the first-ever five-door Civic hatchback for the U.S. market, as well as an all-new, radically powerful Civic Type-R as the performance flagship of the Civic lineup.
In terms of powertrain, a new turbocharged VTEC engine featuring direct injection, with transmission options including either a six-speed manual or CVT automatic will be offered depending on the market the sedan is sold in.