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Audi Q3 preview in Malaysia: 26/12/11 to 8/1/12

December 24, 2011 at 9:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars

Guess whose coming to town? Other than Santa of course. The Audi Q3 will be here in Malaysia for 2 weeks on an ASEAN preview tour.

It will be at the Audi Kuala Lumpur showroom from the 26th of December 2011 to the 1st of January 2012, and at the Audi Glenmarie showroom from the 2nd of January 2012 to the 8th of January 2012, after of which it will head out to Indonesia.

The 5-seater Q3 is a compact SUV, and the specs indicated by Euromobil lists a 2.0 liter TFSI four pot turbo engine making 170 horsepower at 4,300 to 6,300rpm, and 280Nm of torque from 1,700rpm to 4,200rpm, mated to a 7-speed S-tronic dual clutch transmission. And of course, you’ll also get quattro all wheel drive. 0 to 100km/h takes 7.8 seconds.

The Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI will be on sale in Q2 of 2012. Yet another runaway success for Audi in Malaysia? If the Q3 follows the footsteps of its larger stablemates, you can expect long waiting lists! Look after the jump for a small gallery of the Audi Q3.
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Kia Ray EV – Korea’s first production EV enters the scene

December 23, 2011 at 12:40 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Kia

Kia has introduced its Ray EV in Korea, and the zero-emissions city car has the honour of being the country’s first production electric vehicle. The car, which is only for the domestic Korean market, shares a general commonality with the company’s 1.0 litre gasoline-powered Ray CUV launched recently; it has the petrol model’s major dimensions. Operating range is up to 139 km on a single charge.

The front-wheel drive Ray EV is powered by a 50 kW electric motor offering 68 PS and a high-capacity 16.4 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack – engineered for a 10-year life cycle – that’s packaged under the rear seat and cabin floor. It’s equipped with an automatic transmission offering two drive modes, Eco and Brake, the latter maximising braking power on downhill runs.

The Ray EV weighs 187 kg more than the gasoline model, but the 167 Nm on call ensures responsive performance, Kia says. In terms of performance, the Ray EV does the 0-100 km/h run in 15.9 seconds, while top speed is 130 km/h. As for recharging times, it’s six hours using a 220V household supply and just 25 minutes in fast-charge mode.

The vehicle has a few small distinguishing points to identify it as the EV version. A flap in the front radiator grille covers an electricity inlet for a 220V supply for the slow recharge mode, while the fast recharge mode inlet is where the fuel intake of the regular model is.

Then, there’s the dedicated 14-inch alloys it wears, which improve aerodynamic performance by minimising drag, but surely the easiest way to spot it is from the ‘Zero Emissions EV’ decals pasted on the front doors.

Inside, the Ray EV features a unique instrument cluster, displaying electric motor operation, battery status and distance to recharge. It is also equipped with the first-ever EV-specific navigation system that features a 7-inch screen and provides crucial information for EV drivers. such as the nearest locations of the slow/fast recharging stations.

The display shows a circular shaped area in which the model can travel with its current level of battery power, so that drivers can see which destinations are reachable without a recharge. Some trivia: there are 500 slow/fast recharge stations in Korea, and the government plans to increase that figure to 3,100 stations by the end of 2012.

Since the Ray EV generates no engine noise, which can be a potential problem with pedestrians being unaware of the approaching car, the vehicle is equipped with a VESS (Virtual Engine Sound System). At speeds below 20 km/h, the system delivers a mixture of recorded gasoline engine noises, which are also emitted whenever the car is backing up.

Safety kit includes six airbags and electronic stability features – VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) and Hill Assist Control – as standard. Kia says it plans to manufacture 2,500 units of the Ray EV next year, which will be provided to government departments and public offices as part of Kia’s long-term real-world research and development programme.

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Ford’s Driving Skills For Life kicks off in Malaysia

December 23, 2011 at 2:18 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Ford, Local News

Ford brought its hugely successful global Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) programme to Malaysia for the first time last weekend. Held at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), the event – which ran over two days, on December 17-18 – saw a total of 84 licensed drivers participating.

The Ford DSFL programme imparts safe driving skills in four key areas, these being hazard recognition, vehicle handling, space management and speed management. It includes both classroom and practical trainings sessions to help educate drivers of all levels in safe-driving skills.

The participants in the four sessions over the two days included Fiesta and Focus customers, who began with the classroom session learning about proper seat positioning, correct steering control, understanding understeer and oversteer, as well as getting tips on highway driving, driving in the rain, as well as other general dos and don’ts on the road.

The segment also covered Ford specific safety features such ABS, electronic stability program (ESP) and traction control system (TCS). As for the practical session, crucial skills such as the correct ABS braking technique, obstacle avoidance, ESP and a typically eventful slalom course were to be had.

I popped by on Sunday evening, when the last batch of attendees were going through the practical session exercises – while the coursework covered basic points, it proved valuable and highly informative to the participants, many of whom experienced the full workings of ESP in action for the very first time.

A Fiesta 1.4 manual was used to showcase the effects – or rather, the lack of – ESP, and when the tyres on that one had gone south from doing one too many skid control runs, a Focus sedan took over duties. The latter did a sterling job of highlighting the differences of not having and having electronic driver-aids to assist under volatile road conditions, all achieved with the simple switch of a button.

The participants came away suitably impressed with the programme. “A big thank you for organising such a wonderful programme and giving me the opportunity to learn what driving school didn’t teach me. My colleagues and friends are amazed that Ford is helping raise awareness on such a large scale – this is essential for today’s drivers,” one said about the programme.

Meanwhile, Ford is glad to do its bit to educate drivers. “Ford is proud to provide our global Driving Skills for Life programme to drivers in Malaysia, and to try and help make a difference on the roads here by raising awareness of safe driving practices,” said David Westerman, regional manager, Ford Export & Growth Operations.

“People are taking to the road in ever-greater numbers, often without the training to drive properly or the fundamental understanding of driving skills. Driver training, education and public awareness are imperative to making a difference,” Westerman added.

The event, which it effectively picked up the tab for, was a great move by Ford – each participant only had to pay a nominal RM50 confirmation fee to take part, a token sum merely to ensure that those who confirmed showed up (to preempt the tendency to say ‘yes’ and not show, which tends to happen a fair bit); it hardly made a dent in covering the total cost of the event.

The game’s well and truly on though, and plans are afoot for more DFSL programmes to run in 2012, so Ford owners, you’ll want to be in for the next one!

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DRIVEN: Proton Exora Bold Turbo, our first impressions

December 22, 2011 at 4:30 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Test Drive Reviews

It’s the hottest model of the moment, and the most talked about for sure. It’s also the first recipient of Proton’s long awaited turbocharged engine, the Campro Charged Fuel Efficiency (CFE). It’s the refreshed Exora, the Exora Bold.

After countless sightings, both clothed and naked, Proton finally officially unveiled the Exora Bold and the range topping Exora Prime last Thursday. With an aggressive facelift and a new powertrain that’s so much more appealing on paper, the Exora is making a strong case to be the best MPV under RM100k.

We’ve driven it already – first impressions and full gallery after the jump.
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Volkswagen Passat “The Force” ad is the top watched car video on YouTube in 2011!

December 22, 2011 at 4:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

Remember Volkswagen’s The Force commercial? The one featuring a pint-sized Darth Vader trying his “powers” out on the new Volkswagen Passat in his parent’s driveway. Well, it turns out that the amusing ad made it as one of the top 10 most watched videos on YouTube in 2011. The ad made its debut at the Super Bowl, and the recipe combining one of the most popular car brands in the world with one of the biggest movie franchises in the world sent the ad on its way to becoming one of the most viral videos of 2011.

The commercial showcases the Passat’s Remote Start feature, which allows you to start your Volkswagen Passat’s engine from your remote control while you are still outside the car – this is a useful feature if you want to crank up your car to let the air conditioning run and cool down the interior before you get into the driver’s seat.

The Passat featured in the ad is the North American model, which is a unique larger model designed specifically for the North American and Chinese markets. The Passat sedan with the 1.8 liter TSI engine that was launched in Malaysia this year is the European model.

Check our the rest of the Top 10 Most Watched Videos on YouTube.

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UPDATE: Final Exora Bold brochure shows different data

December 22, 2011 at 12:49 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton


Click to enlarge spec sheet

Here’s an update. Remember when we posted up scans of the Proton Exora Bold brochure shortly before Proton made an official announcement? We now have a hard copy of the finalised brochure with us, and it appears to have slightly different figures from the scans. We will take you through the changes.

The scans had a code at the bottom of the page “091211REV0″ and the new one has the code “161211REV3″. The numbers look like the date of approval or print (9-12-2011, as opposed to 16-12-2011), so it’s clear that the one we have now is the newer version. The “REV” could be for revision, and three comes after zero, falling nicely into the scenario.

So where is the difference? The ones that really jump out at first glance are the 0-100 km/h acceleration figures. In the old scan, the Premium CVT (Campro CFE) does 0-100 in 13.3 seconds, the Executive AT (Campro CPS) does it in 15.7 seconds and the manual variants stop the clock at 13.1 sec.

In the new brochure, as you can see here, the turbocharged Bold is timed at 11.3 seconds, two full seconds faster. The CPS + 4AT variant does 15.5 sec and the CPS + 5MT does 12.9 sec. All times are faster, and 11.3 sec for the 1,486 kg CFE sounds more encouraging.

Other changes include the deletion of the Bore X Stroke row across the board (76 X 86 for CFE) and the correct compression ratio for the CFE, which is 8.9:1, not 10.0:1 as per the CPS. Fuel tank capacity has been revised from 60 litres to 55 litres. Top speed and “Fuel Consumption @ 90 km/h” data remain intact.

We have driven the Exora Bold, so expect the test drive report very soon!

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Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTEC Hybrid introduced, in both saloon and estate form – E400 Hybrid also debuts

December 22, 2011 at 12:46 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz has announced the introduction of the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid, available in both saloon and estate form, as well as the E400 Hybrid. Both vehicles will make their official debut at the upcoming NAIAS in Detroit in January.

The E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is powered by a four-cylinder diesel offering 204 hp and 500 Nm, working in tandem with an electric motor that produces 20 kW and 250 Nm – Merc says that the vehicle is the most economical luxury-class vehicle in the world.

The company adds that there’s no compromise in space, safety and comfort brought about by utilisation of the intelligent modular hybrid concept – no changes to the body of the base vehicle were necessary.

The car is part of the intelligent downsizing strategy of Mercedes-Benz – the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is positioned at the same level as the E300 CDI, but offers fuel savings of around 15% compared with the E250 CDI, even in actual road traffic conditions.

Meanwhile, the V6 petrol unit in the E400 Hybrid cranks out 306 hp and 370 Nm, and the mill is also supplemented by the same electric motor’s 20 kW and 250 Nm.

The E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is initially planned to be launched on the European market, while the E400 Hybrid will be made available on the American market first, followed by other countries such as Japan and China later. Right-hand drive variants are scheduled.

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Proton P3-21A – more snapshots of it, out in the rain

December 22, 2011 at 12:42 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Spyshots

Here we go yet again – the Proton P3-21A continues its road-testing, today out in the rain. Reader Mnazri.tan was on the PLUS highway a while ago when the evaluator went past him near the Pedas area. He says that his friend’s Saga BLM was having a hard time catching up in the wet conditions, doing around 150 km/h, adding that the test mule looked very stable and poised at speed.

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Lexus LF-LC – wraps come off early on the new 2+2 coupe

December 22, 2011 at 11:12 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lexus


Click to enlarge.

It was supposed to only be fully revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 9, but the Lexus concept that is now known as the LF-LC is a surprise no more, courtesy of a leaked image of the car by a publication, which carried the car in its entirety in a digital preview of its latest magazine.

So, Lexus has now brought out an official image of the LF-LC, which is a 2+2 sports coupe that takes the company’s design direction a step further. Conceived as a design exercise to explore the future of Lexus design, the LF-LC was created at the company’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, California.

“Crafted from a clean sheet of paper at the request of Lexus headquarters in Japan, the LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “The clean lines of the vehicle emphasise motion, creating a distinctive look for this futuristic sport coupe.”

Expect more images to come about, now that the rug has been pulled out from under this surprise. So much for all that teasing …

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Luca di Montezemolo to run for Italian presidency in 2013

December 22, 2011 at 10:51 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Ferrari, International News

Some news about Luca di Montezemolo – reports say that the Ferrari chairman has indicated his intention to be a candidate for the Italian presidency in 2013, the announcement being made in an open-letter to Italiafutura, a think-tank that he formed in 2009.

“The Second Republic has failed. Politics has been losing touch with the everyday problems of Italians and the challenges of a difficult international situation, but is also full of opportunities,” di Montezemolo said in the letter.

“If there is a country that should not be afraid of globalisation, it is Italy. If only we stop thinking defensively and start to invest resources on our core (culture and industry), benefits will not be long in coming,” he added.

The 64-year-old’s campaign is set to focus on creating employment as well as on issues critical to the country’s future, such as taxation and reform of the institutions. “We will promote the adoption of measures, concrete and operational, to respond to many emergencies in the country. We will begin by presenting a proposal for the rapid sale of public assets and lowering debt,” he said. It remains unknown if di Montezemolo will step down from his position at Ferrari.

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