Budget 2014 - No Tax Exemption for Hybrid Cars?

 Budget 2014 was announced earlier today by our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, which covered from the 6% Goods and Services Tax (GST) to aid for low income households. Unfortunately, there is no mention about incentives for hybrid cars in his speech.

Currently, the import tax and excise duty of hybrid cars are exempted, enabling Malaysian to afford hybrid cars at a more reasonable price. However, this benefit is only available up to 31st of December 2013, which is the last day of this year. If the exemption is abolished, Malaysian will not have affordable pricing for some popular hybrid cars such as the Honda Jazz Hybrid at RM90k and Toyota Prius at RM140k, not to mention the luxurious Lexus CT200h at RM170k and Audi A6 Hybrid at sub RM300k price.

 Hopefully some sort of announcement will be made before the end of this year to rectify about this issue. Same goes to the fate of electric vehicle (EV). The tax exemption for green cars should be continued as they produce lesser harmful emission to the environment and provide saving in petrol bill. Let's hope the fate of hybrid tax exemption won't be the same as sugar!

*UPDATE: Good news! National Automotive Policy (NAP) will continue to provide incentives for hybrid cars and Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV).

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Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Electric Car) Launched in Malaysia, RM136k !

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has launched the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV in Malaysia, marking the first electric vehicle (EV) being sold officially in Malaysia! I guess the public's biggest question about the i-MiEV is what's the price. Well, it's RM136,118.50 OTR without insurance even with full tax exemption. It's an inevitable high price to pay since producing an EV doesn't come cheap and EVs' number of sales haven't achieve economies of scale.

 Second most important question is, how much will it cost me for driving an EV? A full charge of around 8 hours from a house's power socket will cost you about RM3.50 at current electric tariff, which enable you to travel for 150km. Besides, you'll get to enjoy a low RM10 annual road tax. By the way, the i-MiEV has 5-year warranty for its battery pack as well as free maintenance of up to 100,000km. Service interval is 20,000km due to the absence of engine (means lower maintenance cost too). But a car with this price is not about the money, it's about making the world a cleaner place.

 An electric motor with 49kW (67hp) and 196Nm of torque is used to power the i-MiEV. Top speed is 130km/h. No carbon footprint will be created while the immense amount of torque is available from standstill, how fun is that? With all four wheels located near to the edges of the car and a low-mounted rear engine, the i-MiEV promises nimble handling albeit the tall-ish body.

 The 2550mm long wheelbase promises ample legroom for the occupants. However, it might be a squeeze to fit 3 adults at the back since it's just 1475mm wide, the maximum width of a kei-car. GPS, auto headlights, automatic climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter are some standard features. Safety wise, six airbags, Active Stability Control (ASC) and Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) rigid body construction for the i-MiEV.

For future owners of i-MiEV or EVs, there are charging station in KLCC and Lot 10 parking lot where you can charge your EV for free! Mitsubishi's first EV centre, SAG Star along Jalan Chan Sow Lin also provide free charging station. May the world a better place for our future as well as generations to come.

Check out my previous i-MiEV test drive experience here!

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Mitsubishi i-MiEV coming to Malaysia in December !

 Guess what? Mitsubishi i-MiEV will be Malaysia's first electric vehicle (EV) that goes on sale officially in the market! Back in last year, the i-MiEV was the first EV to register in Malaysia and debuted in the COTY2U 2011. The i-MiEV became one of the highlights of the event because it was the first time EV is introduced to the public.

 Back then, a short test drive of the i-MiEV was made available to the public and I was one of the lucky ones who get to experience what an EV feels like (Click here for the review). The i-MiEV drives like a normal car, and the vast amount of torque of 180Nm in the engine would shame even some compact car with petrol engine of its size at a traffic light junction. Top speed at 130km/h.

Given its tall-ish height, the cabin is spacious enough for 4 adults to travel comfortably. However, with the battery range of only 160km (similar to Nissan Leaf's), it is not advisable to travel far in the i-MiEV as it is meant for city driving.

 While waiting for i-MiEV's launch on next month, many are asking about its price. As we know EV is not cheap to be produced and thus, some estimated the price would be around RM150k-RM160k if there is no special tax exemption for EV by the government. As comparison, a Toyota Prius hybrid car costs RM140k. However, as an EV, you'll get a zero emission car with lower running costs from the i-MiEV.

Also, buyers of the i-MiEV can only charge their i-MiEV in their own house or the charging station in Lot 10 and Suria KLCC parking lot. If Malaysia really want to start selling EVs, more quick charging station has to be installed, at least in the city as first phase. If the i-MiEV's official price is similar to the predicted one, would you buy one?

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Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid Introduced in Malaysia

Volkswagen Malaysia previewed its Touareg Hybrid in the VW Das Auto KL 2012 event about a month ago. Now, Volkswagen Malaysia launches the Touareg Hybrid in Malaysia, further pushing Volkswagen's 'Think Blue' initiative, where eco-friendliness and protecting the environment are some of the main focuses.

 The Touareg Hybrid comes with a 3.0 litre supercharged V6 petrol engine and a 1.73kWh Ni-Mh battery which produces a combined output of 380 PS and 580Nm of torque from 3000rpm to 5250rpm. This is not a hybrid car to be messed with as the Touareg Hybrid can spur from 0-100km/h in only 6.5 seconds, not to mention it weighs 2.3 tonnes! Fuel consumption is rated at 12.2km/l.

The battery is recharged while driven and the Touareg Hybrid comes with start-stop engine, regenerative braking system, e-Mode and Hybrid Powertrain Monitoring System to optimize and monitor the energy usage.

 Unfortunately, having an engine which is larger than 2.0 litres is not eligible for the exemption of excise duty, thus explains the hefty price tag of RM616,888 for the Touareg Hybrid. As a comparison, the petrol engined Touareg is selling at RM429k. Are you willing to fork out almost RM200k extra for a hybrid?

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BMW ECO PRO Screensaver

 While car manufacturers have engine start-stop function to minimise fuel consumption of a car, BMW has came up with BMW ECO PRO screensaver which act as an auto start-stop function for your computer! So cool!

In a car, the engine will be turned off when the car is in a standstill condition, and the engine will be kicked start when the accelerator pedal is pressed. In similar fashion, the ECO PRO screensaver uses a webcam to detect the presence of the computer user. If the webcam couldn't detect the user for 10 seconds (the user left the computer), the screensaver will automatically turn off the screen. The screen will then be on again once it detected the presence of a user.

According to BMW, if this software is installed in every computer sold in this year, it can help the world to reduce its CO2 emission by 50000 kilos and save over 50 million US dollars in energy consumption! Looks like a small software can contribute greatly to the environment too!

To play a part in saving the environment, you can download the BMW ECO PRO screensaver software here. Now, who says you cannot afford a BMW? (At least you own its screensaver!)

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2617km on a single tank in a Passat TDI

Yes you've read the title properly! It's a whooping 2617km journey on a single diesel tank in a Volkswagen Passat TDI! Driven by John and Helen Taylor, they've set a new record for travelling the farthest distance on a single tank of fuel.  I would say the couple did it again, because they broke their own previous record which is set in a Passat 1.6 BlueMotion with a distance of 2457km.

The Taylor couple used a stock 2012 Passat 2.0 TDI SE mated with a 6-speed manual transmission to achieve this remarkable feat. They've spent 3 days on the road without the need of stopping for fuel, and they achieved an average of 135mpg or 2.8L/100km of fuel consumption.

By travelling in 'real world driving condition' with 2 person (driver and front passenger, where both took turn driving the Passat TDI) and weight 54.4kg of luggage,the Taylor couple shows us that it is not impossible for us to accomplish such fuel consumption rating!So buckle up your seatbelt and get... lightfooted!

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Nissan invites you to test drive its Leaf !

 The silhouette above is actualy belongs to Nissan Leaf, an all electric vehicle (EV).In conjunction of Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM)'s Journey to Zero Emission event, Nissan is inviting the members of the public to check out the Nissan Leaf!

Visitors can head Nissan's showroom at Jalan Kemajuan, Petaling Jaya on the 5th and 6th May to check out the Nissan Leaf. Best of all, you can test drive it too! The showroom will be opened from 9.30am-6pm.

It will be a different experience driving an EV. It's a good sign to see some manufacturers are starting their initiative on promoting EVs in Malaysia, as EV is produces no pollution to the environment. Check out here for more information.

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DRIVEN: 2012 Honda Jazz Hybrid !

It's a green green world. Green is the new white; green is the colour where people wants their plants in; green is what they say is the start of new life; green is what the automotive sector say 'hybrid' and 'EV'. Since Malaysia has only Nissan Leaf EV (which is still in first stage of implementation in Putrajaya), the market has no choice but to accept the hybrids available as green cars first.

After car manufacturers compete with each other to provide the cheapest hybrid car for Malaysia, Honda emerged as the winner in the end with its Jazz Hybrid. Selling at RM94.8k OTR with insurance, the Jazz Hybrid is cheaper by RM2k compared to its closest competitor, but might be a heartache to some recent petrol-engined Jazz buyers because the hybrid is cheaper by almost RM10k and comes with a lot more equipments.

Chrome and white taillight housing look suit silver than green paintjob...

The Honda Jazz Hybrid is basically a Jazz with a 1.3litre IMA system, which comprises an i-VTEC petrol engine of 87bhp and 121Nm of torque while the electric motor produces 10kW and 78Nm of torque. This time around hte IMA system is also equipped with engine start-stop which will off the engine temporary while stopping for a red light and turn it back on once the car starts moving. Since I've driven the petrol-engined Jazz, I'm able to tell the difference between the two variants. Other than some cosmetic changes inside and out, the Jazz Hybrid also has some extra goodies such as 6 airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), paddle shift, hill start assist, ECON driving mode and auto air-cond.

Giving guides on the information display...

The cabin is still as spacious as before, with more than adequate head and legroom for the front and back. I noticed there are hooks for your coat which are attached to the side gripper on top of the rear window, pretty thoughtful and convenient. Not to mention Honda's renowned ULTRA seat, where the rear seat has dozens of configuration to cater the needs of carrying various sizes of goods, is available in the Jazz Hybrid. However, the fit and finishing could be better as the rear parcel shelf of the test car was emitting rattle sound while going over rough road undulations.

There's an 'ECON mode' button at the right of the steering wheel that can reduce the output of the car by 3% and optimisizes air-cond performance, what you get in return is better fuel consumption and reduced emission. While on the go, I didn't notice any difference when the feature is on and off in terms of performance and fuel consumption. Maybe the benefits will become more obvious if travelled for a longer journey. By the way, the engine stop-start was smooth and was unnoticable until its symbol appears in the instrument panel, telling you that the engine is currently in off mode. One small problem though, a small sacrifice have to be made where the air-cond compressor will stop operating when the engine is in off mode. This warmed up the cabin a little bit, especially under hot sun.

The Jazz Hybrid will run solely on electric motor unless the pressure applied by the driver on the accelerator is high to gain more power. The petrol engine will then assist the electric motor and the process of assisting will be shown in the instrument panel, where the needle will deviate between 'Charge' and 'Assist'.

It's a sign that you are behaving well if the colour changes from blue to green...

Acceleration was slack compared to its petrol counterpart. The Jazz Hybrid was having a hard time to gain more speed after passing through our national speed limit. Although the engine has to be revved in order to get the acceleration I wanted, the CVT gear change and engine was smooth and quiet. Gone is the raspy note of the petrol VTEC engine and frankly I have to say that I prefer the Jazz Hybrid engine thanks to its quietness eventhough the latter produces lesser power. At that moment I realize that city is the best place for Jazz Hybrid where it has enough power for daily driving, compact enough to navigate through the hectic traffic, refined and absorb bumps easily.

4 leaves after some heavy-footed driving, not bad...

Handling wise, the Jazz Hybrid is similar to Jazz. The steering was on the light side but still good enough to tackle corners and has acceptable high speed straight line stability, probably the minimal body roll helped too. Fuel consumption wise, I got an average of 7.4l/100km after some traffic jam and heavy-footed driving. There's a Multi-Info Display (MID) which shows your average fuel consumption, energy flow and scoring where the system will award you with number of leaves (out of five) if you drive light-footedly and doesn't brake hard or often. I'm sure the my driving style on that day doesn't deserve four leaves!

After a day out in the Jazz Hybrid, I must say I'm pretty impressed with the package offered by this compact car. The extra equipments, spacious and practical cabin make the Jazz Hybrid a worthy hybrid car competitor. Like they say, it doesn't earn a 'Car of the Year' title (for the petrol-engined Jazz) for nothing...

+ Smooth and quiet engine, roomy (and practical) cabin, equipment list.
- Power, ECON mode doesn't differ much compared to normal mode.


*** *** ***

Alright, that is the end of my review on the Honda Jazz Hybrid. I was with few bloggers to try out the Jazz Hybrid and Insight Facelift on that day. I didn't drive the Insight on that day because I've driven one last time. Check out my review on the pre-facelift Insight here!

This time around, I became the passenger at the back while my fellow friends take the wheel. For the facelifted Insight, it is said to have an increase of 15mm rear headroom by slightly lowering the rear seats and adjusting the roof lining. It also has added insulation to improve the NVH. However, the rear headroom is still at a premium for me and the road, and engine noise is intrusive even at city speed. Probably these issues became more obvious because I drove the Jazz Hybrid, which is more refined and more spacious in the inside, before hoping into the Insight.

Although both Insight and Jazz Hybrid has the same IMA powerplant, the Jazz Hybrid's was more refined than the Insight, which sounds rough when pushed. Probably Jazz is better insulated than Insight...

Having an insight on the Insight...


Honda CR-Z looks stunning! No test drive unit was available though...

There are some Honda Roadshows to promote the newly opened 3S Centres and Honda will be giving out vouchers for free Engine Oil to Honda Owners to be used at the Service Centres!

Date of the roadshows:
3rd - 15th of April : Jusco @ Balakong
23rd of April - 6th of May: Tesco @ Semenyih
15th - 20th of May : Alamanda @ Putrajaya

Good news! Honda Imavest 3S will be operating on Sunday from 8^th April onwards from 8am to 1pm, where previously only Mon-Sat. Besides sales and service, it also offer services like insurance renewal (for any car brand owner); fuel injector cleaning; polishing, waxing, disinfect & de-odorising; air-cond servicing and brake, sideslip & suspension diagnostic service.

Finally, you guys can look for the handsome man below if you are interested in the Honda Jazz Hybrid or any other Honda models. His name is Ryan, Sales Advisor of Honda Imavest 3S.

No fred when there's Ryan in the Honda Freed!

Honda Imavest Sdn. Bhd.

Lot 4161 & 4162,

Jalan Besar, Bandar Sungai Long,

43000, Kajang, Selangor.

A map to Imavest 3S centre:

View Larger Map

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Honda Jazz Hybrid at RM94k !

The fight for the cheapest hybrid in Malaysia had began! At first it was Honda Insight, then came the Toyota Prius C, now it's the Jazz Hybrid selling at RM94.8k, almost RM2k cheaper than the Prius C.

To put it all into a nutshell, the Honda Jazz Hybrid uses the same 1.3litre IMA hybrid powerplant found in the Insight. However, Jazz Hybrid gets a slightly better fuel consumption figure compared to Insight at 21.3km/l VS. 21.7km/l. The 1.3litre i-VTEC petrol engine churns out 87hp and 121Nm of torque while the electric motor produces 10kW and 78Nm of torque.



Although the Jazz Hybrid gained a battery pack which is packed under the boot floor, Honda is happy to tell you that the boot space is not affected, but in return you get a tyre repair kit instead of a spare tyre.

Potential buyers will be happy to see that Honda gave the Jazz Hybrid a lot of goodies such as 6 airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), paddle shift, hill start assist, ECON driving mode and auto air-cond. However, the more expensive Jazz petrol version's buyers might feel otherwise...

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Honda Insight Facelift - RM99,800 OTR !

After a period of 'huu-haa' with the launch of Toyota Prius C, which is currently Malaysia's cheapest hybrid car, Honda unveiled the facelift version of its Insight, priced at RM99,800 OTR. 5-year or 140,000km warranty is given to the battery, for your information. This is not a mere facelift exercise involving cosmetic changes only, and you'll have to read the below to find out.

We'll start with the design changes. Exterior has new front and rear bumper, blue tinted headlight and new front grille with a hint of blue reflector. Some Insight owners might notice that the size of rear wiper motor has been reduced, resulting in reduction of the tailgate garnish and improving the rearward visibility.


While Honda still stick with the same powertrain, it is said that the 1.3litre IMA system had minor modification in the CVT gearbox and air-conditioning system to make it more efficient. Safety wise, Honda added hill start assist into the Insight. Dual SRS airbags, ABS, EBD, BA and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) as standard.
Besides that, Honda added insulation into the cabin to improve noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) of the Insight. The fabric for the seats are new upholstered, while the rear passenger's headroom is increased by 15mm with some adjustment made to the roof lining and hip point of the rear seats. This is certainly a good news because the rear headroom of the pre-facelift Insight is hampered by the sloping roofline, although I'm not sure how much can the increment of 15mm helps in terms of rear headroom, I guess we have to drop by the showroom to check it out!

In the meantime, Honda is going to launch its Jazz Hybrid soon! It will go head-to-head with Toyota Prius C!

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Toyota Prius & Prius C - Rethink The Way You Drive !

The all-new Toyota Prius C & new Prius were launched in Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre yesterday. Good news for hybrid lovers as the Prius C is priced at RM97k OTR with insurance, opposed to the initial price estimation of RM104k by Toyota. Price of the Prius C undercuts Honda Insight, which is previously the cheapest hybrid car in Malaysia by roughly RM2k.

The Prius C is powered by Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, where it is fitted with a 1.5litre petrol engine with 73bhp and 111Nm of torque and an electric motor with 61bhp and 169Nm of torque. Combining both create a total system output of 101bhp. The battery is optimally positioned below the rear passenger's seat so that it does not intrude the cabin space as well as lowering down the centre of gravity.


With a coefficient drag of 0.28 and an efficient powerplant, the Prius C can acheive a 25.6km/l of fuel in a European combined cycle! That's similar to its larger sibling Prius in terms of fuel consumption. 0-100km/h can be achieved in 10.7 seconds.


You can travel in the Prius C with 3 modes - Normal, ECO and EV. In ECO mode, the car will optimise the fuel consumption by tweaking the throttle response and onboard energy use such as air-cond. EV mode uses only the electric motor to provide a quiet, relaxing and emission-free drive.

In terms of safety, the Prius C comes with the ABS, EBD and BA as well as TRC, VSC, Hill Start Assist and 7 airbags (including knee airbag). The Prius C below is fitted with bodykits, not sure the production TRD bodykit will be the same or not. Equipment wise, it comes with keyless entry system, push-start button, auto air-conditioning, steering button with Touch Tracer which is touch-sensitive and display the button you are touching on the multi information display (MID). I would say the list of equipment is quite impressive for a compact car like Prius C!


First impression on the cabin can be said as refreshing. Toyota added 2-tone & curves on the dashboard to prevent the cabin from looking dull. However, some parts felt plasticky, especially the door panel. A DVD-AVN system with 6.1inch colour touchscreen, navigation system and reverse camera are optional at the cost of RM2,990.

A person with a tall frame like me will find the space at the rear seat is at a premium. But still, I think it will still be comfortable for short journeys.


At 260litres, the boot space is slightly larger than Myvi's 208litres, to make a comparison.


For the facelifted Prius, it is priced at RM139,900 and RM145,500 for the Prius Luxury which gain extras like LED projector (with Auto Levelling & Washer), leather seats with heated front seats and electro chromic mirror. The new Prius uses the same powerplant as the pre-facelift Prius. A 1.8litre petrol engine produces 99bhp and 142Nm of torque while an electric motor churns out 82bhp and 207Nm of torque. Therefore, they produce a combined output of 136bhp.

Minor changes were spotted in this facelift exercise. Changes include new, sportier front bumper with daytime running LED, new rim design and rear light clusters. These changes made the Prius more appealing to younger buyers.


New dark themed cabin goes well with the dark leather seats. Quality is top notch and everything felt solid to the touch. Since the Prius is a bigger car compared to Prius C, I found the Prius to be spacious at the back, with ample legroom but the headroom is sacrificed (by a little) due to the sloping roof.

The cabin comes with a 6.1inch touch screen display with AUX jack, Bluetooth integrated with a reverse camera, auto air-conditioning, push-start button, steering buttons with Touch Tracer, cruise control and a head-up display so that you can pay more attention on the road. Safety wise, it is equipped with ABS, EBD, BA, TRC, VSC, 7 airbags like in the Prius C, Toyota also fitted JBL 8-speaker system with 8-channel amplifier, sounds terrific even by reading it!

Unlike the Prius C, the new Prius comes with 3 additional driving modes: Power Mode for extra power, ECO mode and EV mode.


Redesigned taillight clusters and a huge boot. Fold the rear seats down and you'll have a wagon, litterally!


195/65R15 rim, wish for a sportier design without compromising aerodynamics to match with the sportier exterior now.


I love Toyota's attention to details like the front passenger footwell illumination (top) and vertical chrome strip on the air-cond outlet (bottom)!


Toyota targeted sales of 1,500 units for the new Toyota Prius while 2,500 units for the Toyota Prius C. I'm sure the Prius C will be selling well thanks to its generous list of equipment, fuel efficiency and compact size which most of the female buyers will appreciate.

Check out some studio shots of the Toyota Prius C & Prius:

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