Archive for Koreans

Naza Kia Sdn Bhd is having a roadshow for their newly launched Kia Optima, Kia Sportage facelift and Kia Spectra5 models. Many have decided to forever shun Korean cars, especially Kias, after bad experiences with the Sephia. But these are the latest generation of Kias and it would be interesting to go have a look and see if they have made any progress over the years or not.

• 23-25 Nov 2007 – Sunway Pyramid, Kuala Lumpur (New Wing)
• 27-29 Nov 2007 – Damansara Intan, Petaling Jaya
• 30 Nov – 2 Dec 2007 – Danga Bay, Johor Bahru

Kia cars registered during these roadshow dates will be eligible to get a free Samsung SGH-L760 phone, a slider phone featuring 3G, MP3/WMA/ACC player, microSD expandable memory and a 2 megapixel camera.

The new Hyundai Concept Genesis Coupe is the near-production result of the HCD series of concept coupes and crossovers. It goes into production in Spring 2009, and will most probably be slightly more production friendly, with a more toned down exterior design compared to this concept.

Done up in a bright Sonic Orange and Ballistic Black two-tone design, the Hyundai Concept Genesis Coupe is powered by the 3.8 liter V6 from the Genesis Sedan mounted at the front mated to a 6-speed manual, sending over 300 horsepower to the rear wheels. The FR design, a classic sports car drivetrain configuration. 0-100km/h time is expected to be under 6 seconds, and the car will also have an LSD differential.

Although still a concept car, there is some preliminary info to preview the final production car specifications. The 2+2 coupe has a wheelbase of 2,820mm, a length of 4,666mm, a width of 1,902mm and a height of 1,386mm. It rides on 20 inch wheels wrapped with Hankook 255/35ZR20 wheels at the front and wider 275/35ZR20 wheels at the rear. Disc brakes are Brembos, with sizes 340mm and 330mm with twin calipers for the front and rear discs respectively.

Hyundai has an ambitious dream of delivering an Infiniti G37 experience at Mitsubishi Eclipse prices with the production Hyundai Genesis Coupe, so this will be quite an interesting wait-and-see for Spring 2009.

More photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
A spyshot of the production Genesis coupe interior

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Concept Genesis Coupe - RWD V6!

Here are more official details on the car Hyundai has decided to call the Hyundai Sonata Transform, basically the mid-life facelift of the latest fourth generation Hyundai Sonata. The new Sonata facelift will be launched first in the Korean market for the 2008 model year, and the rest of the world will get it soonest for the 2009 model year, this probably includes Malaysia as well, pending our local distributor’s plans of course.

I like the current Sonata’s design and I say Hyundai has taken the new Sonata facelift backward in terms of exterior design - for example, the headlamps are now bigger so they look less sleek. But the new interior is a total redesign and looks much more upmarket than the current interior - a huge improvement to me, but very obviously “inspired” by the second generation Lexus RX/Toyota Harrier interior.

In Korea, the 2.0 liter Sonata gets its power boosted up to 163 PS but internationally the new engine specs is announced as having 158 PS. This probably has to do with different tune-ups for different countries having different emissions laws. The new 2.4 liter puts out 171 PS (179 PS in Korea), up from 161 PS. This power gain is achieved through the addition of a new variable intake system to the Theta engine family, and variable valve timing is now on both intake and exhaust ports.

More images and videos of the facelifted Sonata Transform after the jump.

Source

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Hyundai Sonata Transform facelift

[ UPDATE: Hicom-Chevrolet has launched the Chevrolet Captiva in Malaysia. ]

We previously saw the Chevrolet Captiva parked near the JPJ building in Putrajaya, so it should be launched pretty soon. HICOM-Chevrolet managing director-designate Yukontorn Wisadkosin (probably from GM Thailand) says it will be launched by the end of 2007 and it will be offered with a 7 seat configuration.

HICOM-Chevrolet is the the new 51:49 joint venture between General Motors and DRB-HICOM formed when GM signed an MoU with DRB-HICOM last year regarding taking up a stake in the Chevrolet business here in Malaysia.

Related Posts:
Chevrolet Captiva sighted in Malaysia
GM and DRB-HICOM sign stake transfer MoU

Source

Here’s something to look forward to in the D-segment sedan market here in Malaysia. Hyundai has facelifted its Hyundai Sonata and it’s only a matter of time before we receive a similiar update here in Malaysia.

The most obvious changes are the new bumper and grille designs, but the most impressive feature of the facelift is the new second generation Theta engine under the hood. This new Theta engine brings up the 2.0 liter’s power from 145 PS up to 158 PS, and the 2.4 liter’s power from 161 PS up to 171 PS. The 2.0 liter engine horsepower figures beat the figures produced by the Civic 2.0S and the Lancer 2.0 GT’s engines.

Interestingly, the Lancer 2.0 GT’s 4B11 GEMA engine and the Hyundai-Kia Theta engine both share the same 86mm x 86mm “square” bore and stroke - the fruits of the GEMA engine project with different head configuration perhaps?

This new Theta II engine will also likely find its way into the Kia Optima when it is facelifted, further enhancing the car’s already very appealing specs package.

The Kia Borrego shown above will make its world debut at the 2008 Detroit Motor Show, and it will be Kia’ first mid-sized SUV, larger than the Kia Sorento currently on sale in our market as the Naza Sorento. Named after a breed of bighorn sheep native to California, It is based on the Kia Mesa concept shown back in 2005.

Like the Sorento, the Kia Borrego will use a body on frame construction. It will seat 7 with three rows of seats. There are still a few modern SUVs which use body on frame, like the Toyota Landcruiser and its Lexus LX counterpart. The Kia Borrego is aimed at US market needs and will feature V6 engines as well as Kia’s first V8 engine.

Click to enlarge

[ UPDATE: Hicom-Chevrolet has launched the Chevrolet Captiva in Malaysia. ]

We first saw the Chevrolet Captiva in near production concept form in 2004 as the Chevrolet S3X Concept. Soon it went into production in 2006 as the Chevrolet Captiva and the Daewoo Winstorm, powered by a 2.4 liter petrol (142hp@5200rpm, 220Nm@4000rpm) or a 3.2 liter V6 (225hp@6000rpm, 302Nm@3500rpm), or a GM-VM Motori 2.0 liter turbodiesel (150hp@4000rpm, 310Nm@2000rpm).

The long wheelbase of 2700mm allows the Chevrolet Captiva to fit up to 3 rows of seats for a maximum capacity of 7 seats, although the SUV is also available as a 5 seater.

After looking at the Captiva only through the internet and magazines, suddenly we see it in Putrajaya at the JPJ building thanks to reader akmal… first the new Chevrolet Aveo notchback and now this - is Hicomobil on the roll again?

Related Posts:
2006 Chevrolet Captiva
Chevrolet Captiva unveiled at Geneva Motor Show
GM Daewoo Winstorm

This concept car is not from a car manufacturer but is instead from Kumho, a Korean tyre company. It is more of an idea concept instead of a working concept prototype, but the ideas that Kumho have for the car of the future are rather interesting. The concept car is called the Kumho Epoch.

For a start, the chassis of the Epoch is supposed to be grown from bamboo, which provides an immediate carbon offset. Its body panels are made of recycled tyre tread rubber. The car moves via in-wheel power, however it is far from what we’re used to with in-wheel propulsion like the Mitsubishi i-MIEV.

Instead, the Kumho Epoch uses Maglev units, or Magnetic Levitation units integrated into the four wheel hubs. This means zero friction, and maximum torque across the entire speed range.

The tyres used use EAP technology, which stands for Electro Active Polymer. The tread and shape of these tyres can be changed on a fly by passing an electric current through the rubber, thus enabling the tyre to have different characteristics in different situations. Grooved during wet, slicks during dry, and varying thickness to switch between performance and comfort is an idea.

The interior rubber uses Kumho’s scented rubber technology which uses heat-resistant oils to give the rubber scents such as lavender, neroli or jasmine. This technology has already been used for a production tyre - the Kumho ECSTA DX Aroma.

One more shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kumho Epoch Concept

The new Chevrolet Aveo hatchback is called the Aveo5 now in the Malaysian market as the nameplate is now also being used by the new Aveo notchback. The hatchback variant has been updated recently with new styling although essentially pretty much the same car. Engine options now consist of an 84 horsepower 1.2 liter engine and a 98 horsepower 1.4 liter engine - a big improvement over the current Malaysian Aveo5 with a 1.5 liter engine that produces only 83 horsepower.

The interior has also be substantially enhanced. The meter panel is now a sporty 3-pod design with meters that are backlit with red. The door panels are now more conventional in design, an improvement over the current Malaysian Aveo5’s which has a GEN2-like circular door opener lever.

The new Chevrolet Aveo five-door hatchback model will first hit European showrooms in March 2008, followed by a three-door hatchback model a few weeks later. No news of when this updated Aveo hatchback will be available in Malaysia, but one thing’s likely: the 98 horsepower 1.4 liter engine will probably make only 95 over here, as the same engine in the Aveo notchback only produces 95.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Chevrolet Aveo Hatchback Details

Click to enlarge

Frankfurt 2007 brings us another concept based on the new cee’d family of cars - the Kia eco_cee’d concept. It is based on the 3-door pro_cee’d hatchback and is powered by a 1.6 liter CRDi turbodiesel engine. Through minimal Volkswagen BlueMotion-style modifications to the base vehicle, CO2 emissions drops to 104g/km and fuel consumption is now just 3.9 liters for every 100km travelled.

The 1.6 liter CRDi engine power output remains at the stock 115 PS output levels, and the brake system remains unchanged. This improved emissions and fuel consumption level is thanks to a reduction of drag coefficient to 0.29 cD from 0.33 Cd. This is achieved via lowering the suspension by 15mm, fitting under-floor coverings to the front, middle and rear of the vehicle, adopting plastic wheel arch linings with spoiler lips to smooth airflow around the wheels, a special front grille designed for low-drag, ultra-low rolling resistance Michelin Energy 205/50R17 tyres, and special alloy wheels designed to generate minimum disturbance to airflow along the sides of the car. The car has also been lightened with the use of a tyre repair kit in place of a spare wheel.

The powertrain is also fitted with Kia’s Idle Stop & Go system, which uses Smart Battery Power Management jointly developed with automotive electronics specialist Bosch. This system recharges the battery automatically during deceleration and switches the engine if the ECU determines that the car is in a stopped and idle status with conditions that are appropriate to switch the engine off. When first gear of the 6-speed manual gearbox is selected, the engine is restarted instantly.

The new 6-speed manual is an improvement over the standard 1.6 liter CRDi pro_cee’d’s 5-speed unit, with higher ratios for the last 3 gears to reduce engine RPM while cruising, taking advantage of the turbodiesel’s good low end torque. The ECU also displays the optimum gear to be in on a shift indicator fitted in the instrument cluster.

Have a look at the redesigned undercarriage after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia eco_cee’d Concept at Frankfurt 2007