Cars To Watch in Malaysia in 2014 !

Happy New Year 2014! The automotive market is in a tough situation, rising fuel cost and rumour has it that the toll price will gain a hike as well. Nevertheless, the automotive sector will continue to grow with plenty of exciting offering from car manufacturers. Below are some of the worth-paying-attention cars which are going to be launched in this year (in no particular order):

1) Ford Fiesta Ecoboost & Fiesta ST

The highly anticipated 1.0 litre Ecoboost engine will be available for the Ford Fiesta this year. The three-cylinder engine is capable of producing 125PS and 170Nm of torque while sipping fuel at a rate of 5.3l/100km! Estimated price from RM96k to RM99k.

2) Honda City, 4th generation

While Toyota has launched its 3rd generation Vios, Honda will soon introduce the all-new City to our shore. Made its debut in India, the 4th generation City now comes with more space, better quality and luxury (hopefully the touch screen controlled air-cond and rear air-cond vents will make it into our market!). 

3) Mazda 3, 3th generation

The details we received from Mazda are the Mazda 3 will be sold in CBU form at the time it debuts in Malaysia with full SkyActiv technology. Estimated price is RM139k. The sleek looking Mazda 3 will be a good package with good handling, albeit the slightly high pricing. 

4) Mercedes Benz S-Class W222

While the outgoing S-Class W221 still looking great (even the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng just bought one!) after all these years, Mercedes-Benz introduced the S-Class W222 to the world. Packed with high-end safety features such as Magic Body Control, Night View Assist Plus, Traffic Sign Assist and the list goes on and on and on...

5) Proton P2-30A (Savvy Replacement Model)

No official name has been given to the Proton P2-30A yet (Proton is in the midst of choosing the winning name for P2-30A from a naming contest now), but the P2-30A is slated to launch in the first half of 2014. No details have been released by Proton yet, but from the spyshots it can be deduced that its size should be somewhere in between Viva and Myvi. 

6) Nissan Sylphy, 2nd generation

Not going to comment on how the outgoing Nissan Sylphy fair in the design department, but I can say the 2nd generation Sylphy looks much better! It should be downgraded from a 2.0 litre to a 1.8 litre engine mated with a CVT gearbox for Malaysia's market. The current Sylphy shines in the comfort and NVH department, the all-new Sylphy is expected to do the same or even better!

7) Toyota Corolla Altis, 11th generation

No further introduction needed for the Toyota Corolla Altis, as it is the best selling car in the world. The all-new Altis don a contemporary exterior design, opposed to the conservative design for the outgoing generation. 3 variants will be available - 1.8E, 2.0G and 2.0V, from RM115k-RM137k. Some gripes are VSC is only for top-of-the-range 2.0V and only 2 airbags across the range. Well, at least the Altis is a comfortable and reliable car...

8) Nissan Teana, 3rd generation

The D-segment Japanese Nissan Teana will soon be replaced with an all-new 3rd generation. Initial detail is the Teana will be available with 2.0 litre engine and 2.5 litre non-V6 engine. This will be a car where boss can drive and chauffeured in style. 

9) 2014 Volkswagen Polo Hatchback

The Volkswagen Polo Sedan CKD has an estimated price of RM87,788 on-the-road with insurance, thus the soon-to-be-launch Polo Hatchback CKD should be priced in the region. There's a huge chance that the Polo Hatchback CKD will be priced slightly lower than the Polo Sedan CKD, grabbing the title as the cheapest Volkswagen in Malaysia. Changes include a normally aspirated 1.6 litre MPI engine and tail lights design. 

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CKD Mazda CX-5 - Starts from RM137k !

Surprise, surprise! Mazda CX-5 is available in the CKD form and is priced starting from RM137k for the 2WD mid-spec, RM144k for the 2WD high spec and RM154k for the 4WD high spec, all on the road with insurance. With local content of 40%, the CKD CX-5 2WD mid-spec's price undercuts many rivals while offering generous amount of equipment and features.

 Standard features on the 2WD mid-spec include auto wiper, auto dimming rear view mirror, cruise control, dual-zone climate control, reverse camera, tire pressure monitoring system and stability control, to name a few. High-spec variants gain leather seats, navigation system, daytime running lights, auto levelling bi-xenon headlights, keyless entry and electric-adjustable driver seat.

All variants use the same 2.0-litre SkyActiv engine found in the CBU variants. 2WD makes 155hp and 200Nm while 4WD have to make do with 154hp and 198Nm, the difference in power between the two variants is negligible.

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Spotted: 2013 Mazda 6

 I was not a fan (nor hater) of the 2013 Mazda 6's styling when it first debuted online, right until a red Mazda 6 was parked right outside of my neighbour's house. Looking at it in flesh gave me a totally different impression - sexy, sporty, stylish & smooth. KODO design language of the Mazda 6 is amazingly well executed from the front to the side, giving the Mazda 6 a sense of moving forward.

 Judging from the nice looking huge alloys, my guess it's the 2.5 variant. There's no emblem at the back to distinguish the 2.0 and 2.5. Another angle of the Mazda 6:

 There is nothing to brag about the rear-end design of the Mazda 6. The awkwardly shaped chrome lining on the bootlid reminds me of a samurai's frowning eyebrows, maybe that's what KODO design is about.

 
I'm so mesmerised by its beauty till I don't want to mention about its (well-equipped) specification... Are you attracted by it too?

Price OTR with insurance:
2.0 sedan - RM159k
2.5 sedan - RM190k
2.5 Touring estate - RM194k

*P.S. There are 40 units of Mazda 6 2.5 involved in a recall. Huge possibility that this Mazda 6 is one of them!

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The Star Motor Carnival 2012 !

The Star Motor Carnival 2012 is organized for the very first time at Stadium Bukit Jalil carpark, from 14th to 17th of September 2012. I just happened to pass by Bukit Jalil, so decided to pay it a visit! For your info, parking fee is RM2, which I think is reasonable compared to other events.

First thing I saw was the classic cars ranging from Rolls Royce to Mercedes-Benz, all of them were well preserved despite they are aged (I believe they are not 'young' anymore)!

One of the purposes of organizing this event is to make it a one-stop centre for buyers to search for the best deals. Not sure how the car performs? No worries. Test drive is available for certain models of Mazda, Hyundai, Perodua, Toyota and Ford, to name a few. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how long is the test course because I didn't go for it.

In Toyota's booth, there were Vios, Prius C, Prius and 86. Below is the 86 showcasing its Boxer engine by Subaru. Didn't know 86 looks great in white until now!

In Nissan's booth has the Teana, Sylphy and soon-to-be-launched Almera (below). Visitors get to enter the B-segment Almera to check out its interior and I found that the cabin is quite well built and attractive. Most impressive is the cabin space, where there is ample legroom at the back even with a tall guy sitting in front! Comparable to C-segment Sylphy's, I would say!

Mitsubishi displayed its Triton, Lancer Sportback and this MiEV, an 100% electric car. Most of the visitors in Mitsubishi's booth were checking it out, this shows that many are curious about electric cars!

Ford Focus.

Mazda CX-5 and the recently launched BT-50.

Volkswagen Beetle.

Last but not least, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo police car!

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2012 Mazda CX5 - RM155k-RM165k

 Another Mazda came to town! This time around, it's the SUV - CX-5. While Mazda also sold the previous generation CX-5 in Malaysia, we can barely see one on our road. However, this CX-5 is set to change the scene, with already more than 600 bookings right after tha launching. There will be 2 variants for the CX-5, a 2WD and a AWD, where the former is priced at RM155k while the latter is priced at RM165k (OTR without insurance). 

 The CX-5 gained Mazda's newest KODO design language and front fascia, looking sexy but I'm not a fan of the overly large grille. The rear design although looks simple, but at least the lines are clean and sharp. There are no difference in terms of exterior design for both variants, perhaps an embedment saying '2WD' or 'AWD' will be fixed at the rear for us to differentiate both.

The main 'character' of the CX-5 is the SkyActiv-G engine. It's a 2.0litre engine which produces 152hp at 6000rpm and 198Nm of torque at 4000rpm for the AWD, while 153hp at 6000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 4000rpm for the 2WD. The SkyActiv-G engine is claimed to be 15% better in terms of fuel economy, torque output and also 15% lower carbon emission. As a result, the AWD consumes only 7.3L/100km while the 2WD managed to sips 6.9L/100km.

 

 Both variants, however, has the same long list of equipment. The equipments include dual-zone air conditioning, electric powered driver seat and a 5.8-inch touchscreen with rear view camera. Safety wise it has 6 airbags, DSC, TSC, Tyre Pressure Monitor and other common features.

 

The Mazda CX-5 is impressive, especially the engine, according to some journalists who tested the CX-5. No wonder it received a high amount of booking in such short amount of time! CKD is in plan for the CX-5, so expect cheaper pricing for the CKD model in the future!

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Mazda Takeri - All-new Mazda 6?

Mazda unveiled its latest midsize sedan concept car called Takeri. There's a huge possibility that the Takeri is a hint of what the replacement of Mazda 6 will look like. Following Mazda's Kodo design language, it has clues of the company's Shinari concept and CX5. Although the Takeri is a concept car, the design of it does not say so. It looks ready for production, even with the sharp lines and huge alloy rims.



The window profile, again, has hints of the Mazda 6. However, the Takeri has more curves and lines to make it a stunning looking car. Then, Takeri (or the upcoming Mazda 6) will be a direct competition to the beautiful Hyundai Sonata in terms of design. Coincidentally, the rear of Takeri has hints of Hyundai Sonata, which is a good thing.



The Takeri will have a 2.2litre SkyActiv-D turbodiesel engine and an i-stop idling stop function with regerative braking to assist fuel consumption. More details will be released once it is debuted.

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