Car News and Reviews in Malaysia - Paul Tan's Automotive News

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BMW 1 Series GT – third row seats for the MPV?

In BMW, Cars, International News, Spyshots / By Danny Tan / 21 May 2013 7:10 pm / 3 comments

One day on and we have a better view of the “MPV” that BMW is developing. Yesterday, our European spy pixmen – for the first time – saw a longer version of the BMW 1 Series GT hatchback that has been previously caught testing at the Nurburgring. It had an MPV-like shape, leading us to believe that BMW could be coming out with its first MPV.

Today’s set of pics feature a mule without camo on the rear glass, giving us a tiny glimpse of the car’s cabin. Are those shadowy things head rests for a third row of seats? If they are, we could be looking at a three-row, seven-seat BMW MPV. Yes, an ultimate driving multi-purpose vehicle! Will such a car be a runaway success or a niche too far for Munich? Only time will tell.

Click here to see a video and pics of the shorter BMW 1 Series GT hatchback, which should be making its debut this September in Frankfurt. The front-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz B-Class rival is based on the BMW Concept Active Tourer from last year.

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SPIED: Subaru BRZ, by the transporter load

In Cars, Local News, Spyshots, Subaru / By Anthony Lim / 21 May 2013 6:47 pm / 5 comments

Last week, a Subaru BRZ was spotted at JPJ Putrajaya undergoing type approval evaluation, suggesting that the car was on its way to showrooms soon. Well, it definitely looks very close now, actually.

Earlier today, Paul was driving on the NKVE and saw a transporter carrying four examples, all uncovered, like a sampling of sorts. The lot even offers a complete set of exterior shades – blue, red, white and black. Ads for the BRZ have been popping up on oto.my, all listing the car at RM239,800.

The introduction of the BRZ in Malaysia is more than well due already; we were originally told back in 2011 that the car was coming in sometime in Q2/Q3 2012, and during the first impressions drive in Singapore in April last year the arrival was pushed back to Q4.

The BRZ’s sibling, the Toyota 86, has of course been around for nearly a year now, having been introduced in June last year.

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Facelifted Nissan Grand Livina launching next week in Indonesia – improved 1.5L engine, X-Tronic CVT

In Cars, International News, Nissan / By Danny Tan / 21 May 2013 4:39 pm / 6 comments

The facelifted Nissan Grand Livina has been introduced to journalists in Indonesia, ahead of an official launch next week. Readers of this website would have already seen the revised Livina range, via spyshots and a live gallery from Auto Shanghai 2013.

The Indonesian market, the first in the region to get the refreshed Grand Livina, will get an improved MPV. Besides the exterior updates, which we have detailed in full here, there’s an updated HR15DE 1.5 litre engine with dual injectors and twin CVTC for both intake and exhaust. This mill alone is said to be 4% more fuel efficient than the outgoing 1.5L engine in Indonesia.

More importantly, the seven-seater will come with Nissan’s X-Tronic CVT gearbox in Indonesia, replacing the torque converter four-speed automatic. This should further imporve economy, besides providing a smooth, silent ride. A five-speed manual will be the other transmission on offer.

The facelifted Livina range is sure to arrive in the near future, and Tan Chong has already been spotted testing the MPV ahead of local assembly. But what remains unknown is the chosen powertrain for Malaysia – carryover 1.6L or updated 1.5L, conventional automatic or CVT.

The pics below are of the facelifted Livina from Auto Shanghai 2013.

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Nissan GT-R Gentleman Edition – 10 headed to France

In Cars, International News, Nissan / By Hafriz Shah / 21 May 2013 3:01 pm / 4 comments

France will be getting exclusive Nissan GT-R Gentleman Edition models, limited to just 10 units. We know what you’re thinking, but no, this is not an homage to Psy’s latest hit of the same name.

The Gentleman Edition GT-R boasts nothing more than simple badges on its wing fenders, a numbered titanium plaque on the dash, unique hand-stitched premium red leather upholstery and a bespoke leather sunglass case.

With some added luxury appendages, this limited-run special can be seen as a halfway house between the standard vehicle and the top of the range Egoist variant. Purists may even say that it’s the closest one can get to a modern day M-Spec GT-R.

It’s a bizarre move by Nissan’s French marketing team to say the least, as the GT-R is perhaps the most ungentlemanly sports car on sale today. Super fast and extremely capable yes, but refined and courteous? We think not.

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Chevrolet Enjoy launched in India – Wuling-based

In Cars, Chevrolet, India, International News / By Danny Tan / 21 May 2013 12:49 pm / 7 comments

Here’s another budget MPV from Chevrolet, but unlike the ASEAN Chevrolet Spin, the Chevrolet Enjoy MPV we see here started life as the Wuling Hongguang, a product of GM’s Chinese joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. The Enjoy, assembled in India with kits imported from China, was launched in the subcontinent earlier this month.

In India, the rear-wheel drive Chevy Enjoy is available with ‘Smartech’ engines – a 1.4 litre petrol unit (104 PS, 131 Nm, 13.7 km/l claimed) or a 1,248 cc commonrail turbodiesel with 78 PS and 188 Nm of torque from 1,750 rpm. The latter is claimed to achieve 18.2 km/l. Both engines are mated to a five-speed manual gearbox – no auto option available.

Size-wise, the van-like Enjoy is slightly shorter than the Chevy Spin, but has a 100 mm longer wheelbase at 2,720 mm. The seven seater has 195 litres of boot space, expandable to 630L with the rear bench folded away. Dual airbags, ABS with EBD, second row captain chairs and rear air con are among the features in the Enjoy.

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Toyota Innova rival will be priced from 5.49 to 6.99 lakh (RM29,998 to RM38,195) for the petrol and 6.69 to 7.99 lakh (RM36,555 to RM43,658) for the diesel. Not likely to reach our shores, as we are more likely to get the Spin.

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Mitsubishi Attrage – the Mirage sedan launches in July

In Cars, International News, Mitsubishi / By Anthony Lim / 21 May 2013 12:47 pm / 23 comments

It looks like the timing wasn’t quite stated correctly – the Nikkei initially reported that the new Mitsubishi Mirage sedan was set to arrive at the end of fiscal 2013, which would make it sometime early next year, a rather far away point.

Well, MMC has just announced that the car will be launched into the Thai market in July, and the official name for the series production version of the car previewed in Bangkok as the Concept G4 in March has also been released.

The car will be known as the Mitsubishi Attrage. No idea how they came out with that one, really, though a search reveals that the filing date for the name was made on October 29 last year. Hafriz ventures that it might be an amalgamation of the words ‘attractive’ and ‘Mirage’, which probably wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

Anyway, the Attrage is pretty much the booted form of the Mirage, and so will have most of the hatch’s mechanicals and equipment. It shares the same 1.2 litre 3A92 three-cylinder MIVEC unit, which offers 78 PS at 6,000 rpm and 100 Nm at 4,000 rpm, with CVT or five-speed manual transmission choices.

The Attrage, which like its Mirage sibling qualifies for the Thai government’s Eco-car Project, will be produced at Mitsubishi Motors Thailand’s Factory Three at the Laem Chabang plant located in Chonburi. No view of the rear as yet, but save the shiny chrome grill on the production model, the front doesn’t veer from Theophilus Chin’s rendering of the car.

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Peugeot 308 – imagining a three-door 2nd-gen variant

In Cars, International News, Peugeot / By Anthony Lim / 21 May 2013 11:23 am / 2 comments

We’ve seen what the second-generation Peugeot 308, which is set to debut in Frankfurt in September, will shape up like, and there’s quite a bit to like about the new exterior lines and shape flow.

The hatch has been announced in its five-door form, and no word as yet as to a three-door. The current first-gen model has such a body style – the 175 PS 308 GT was sold here in limited numbers early on.

Theophilus Chin has come up with a couple of renderings imagining what a three-door variant of the new car would shape up like – he muses that the company can either give it a whole new sheet metal, or if cost-constrained, re-angle the C-pillar like in his renderings. What do you think – does a three-door catch the eye better than the five-door?

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VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG shows its funny side

In Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz, Videos / By Hafriz Shah / 21 May 2013 11:19 am / 3 comments

Who ever said the Germans can’t be funny? These two new video ads for the Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG prove otherwise by being both original and hilarious at the same time.

The one above features the two current Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg squabbling over who gets to drive the new 360 hp hot hatch with most powerful series production four-cylinder engine in the world. Their refusal to back down results in a humorous ending.

There are no F1 superstars in the second clip below and yet it comes out as the better of the two ads. Just goes to show that Lewis and Nico are better drivers than they are actors. Watch the videos for yourself and if the same situation happened to you, what would your three wishes be?

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BMW 6 Series M Sport Edition updated with more kit

In BMW, Cars, International News / By Hafriz Shah / 21 May 2013 9:23 am / 1 comment

Amidst the 5 Series facelift, M5 and M6 Competition Package announcements over the weekend, BMW also revealed a minor update for the 6 Series M Sport range. Repackaged BMW 6 Series M Sport Edition models with more kit and options thrown in play will be available in other major markets starting from July 2013.

The M Sport edition models of the 6 Series Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe include the usual model-specific M aerodynamics package, 19-inch M light alloy wheels, LED foglamps, High-gloss Shadow Line trim and black-painted brake callipers. New are the exhaust pipes in dark chrome and Adaptive LED Headlights that are now packaged in.

Also standard are new M steering wheel and badged door sills to complement the Alcantara/nappa leather sports seats and re-trimmed interior. The latter includes new fitment of Head-up Display, leather-wrapped dashboard and Professional sound system with extra speakers – 16 in the Coupe and Gran Coupe, 12 in the Convertible.

Previously exclusive to the M6 models, the Sakhir Orange metallic M paintwork is now an option on the M Sport editions. Meanwhile the white leather upholstery with contrast orange seams pictured here is new and unique to the 6 Series M Sport edition, together with optional Comfort Seats. Find the 6-er too plain and M6 too extreme? BMW has all based covered.

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SPIED: Longer BMW 1 Series GT – is it a seven-seater?

In BMW, Cars, International News, Spyshots / By Hafriz Shah / 20 May 2013 6:43 pm / 10 comments

BMW has long announced that they are developing a range of smaller front-wheel drive vehicles, citing vastly improved rear cabin space compared to its more traditional rear-wheel drive offerings. And what better way to maximise the space advantage than to offer a mini MPV variant with roomy rear quarters?

We are already waiting to see the Active Tourer Concept turn into reality this September in Frankfurt as the BMW 1 Series GT in production form and now we have this – a previously unheard of, longer version of the tall hatchback captured on camera for the first time by our resident European spy photographers CarPix.

This is a BMW as you’ve never seen before. It’s all change aft of the B-pillar with longer rear doors and overhang. The rear hatch is more upright too, a la traditional MPVs which begs the question: is this a seven seater people carrier? By BMW?

These pictures are all we have to speculate over for now so we can’t yet confirm if it will indeed seat seven or whether it’s just a longer Touring variant with a larger boot. Either way, it’s interesting times indeed for BMW. Colour us intrigued.

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