Archive for Local News

Goodyear’s Duraplus giveaway which was held before the Raya holidays this year had received tremendous response from blog readers. In fact, there were so many entries that Goodyear had felt deserving that they decided to increase the prizes from one set of tyres to four sets.

Now Goodyear has decided to open up the giveaway again. Here is how you can win one out of four sets of Goodyear Duraplus tyres that are to be given away:

1. Snap photos of your current tyres to show that you need a change of new tyres.
2. Give your best reason to change to a set of Goodyear Duraplus tyres!

Send me the photos, your required tyre size and reason to my email at paul@paultan.org. Send your entries in by the 18th of November 2009. Goodyear will pick the winners. You can have a look at the previous round of winners to have an idea of what kind of entries are likely to be picked. Here’s a table of all available sizes as well as their recommended retail price per tyre:

Related Posts:
Goodyear Duraplus lasts up to 100,000km?

Volvo has updated the specifications for the Volvo S40 here in Malaysia. The 2.4 liter engine has been replaced by a 2.0 liter unit which is essentially the Duratec unit found in the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 here in Malaysia. It makes 145 PS at 6,000rpm and 185Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

But what’s most interesting is the fact that the engine is now mated to a Ford Powershift transmission, which is basically a 6-speed twin clutch transmission. This makes it the first locally assembled (CKD) twin clutch car in the country. Powershift is a development of Getrag Ford Transmissions GmbH, a 50:50 Ford and Getrag JV.

Like VW’s DSG, there are two versions of the Powershift transmission out there – one with wet clutches and another with dry clutches. The unit installed in the S40 is the wet clutch version. Generally dry clutch versions like Volkswagen’s 7-speed DSG (the 6-speed used a wet clutch) are more efficient and lighter because an oil bath is not necessary, Ford/Volvo says wet versions have reduced wear and tear and thus last longer. Ford will use its dry clutch version on smaller cars like the Fiesta.

A twin-clutch transmission basically means the gearbox works like a manual transmission but it has two clutches, one for the odd gears and one for the even gears. While the odd clutch is in 3rd gear and is currently the active gear selected, the even clutch pre-selects 4th gear, so that when the time comes to shift, the switchover is much faster and smoother – an almost continuous flow of power.

0 to 100km/h with manual transmission takes about 9.5 seconds in a 2.0 liter Volvo S40 which is really quite far from blazing. The Powershift model is rated at 9.8 seconds, just fractions of a second slower than a true blue manual. As for fuel consumption, the car is rated for 11.3 liter per 100km in the city, 6.4 liters per 100km on the highway, and 8.1 liters per 100km on combined usage.

Other than the engine change, this new S40 specification also adds dual xenon headlamps and the Blind-Spot Info System that notifies the driver (with a blinking light) of objects in the car’s blindspot zone, which personally I feel is a little too sensitive.

The new Volvo S40 2.0 Powershift retails for RM169,950.00 OTR without insurance, which just happens to be the exact same figure as the 2.4 liter model. But what you’re paying for the Powershift is actually just slightly more than the 2.4 by a couple of hundreds of ringgit. This is because the OTR without insurance price includes road tax, and the 2.0 model naturally has cheaper road tax at RM379.50 as opposed to the 2.4 liter model’s RM815.

Look after the jump for a PDF brochure and pricelist of the new car.

Click here to read the rest of Malaysian Volvo S40 updated with 2.0 liter engine and Powershift twin clutch transmission!

A delicious trio of the Volkswagen Scirocco, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6 and the Volkswagen Passat CC are now listed on Volkswagen Malaysia’s website with specifications though there are no prices yet. I understand a preview of the Scirocco and the Passat CC (not sure about the Mk6) was done at Volkswagen showrooms a few weeks ago. According to sales advisors at Cartrade-ABT when they showcased their Abt-kitted cars a few weeks ago as well, the Scirocco is expected to go for around RM250k while the Mk6 GTI will be cheaper. But these are just preliminary prices and things may change.

The Mercedes-Benz E 280 Avantgarde AMG Sports Package that you see on the left is available for sale with just over 20,000km on the odometer for RM360,000. It’s also got an official Mercedes-Benz Malaysia minimum warranty of 12 months or up to 20,000km.

The car I’ve just described above is just one of the few Certified Pre-Owned cars that you can procure through its Proven Exclusivity Programme, a pre-owned car program that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has just launched yesterday. The cars have gone through a 215 point check by Mercedes-Benz trained personnel. All the cars are not more than 5 years old and have less than 100,000km mileage, so you don’t have to worry about reconditioned dealers tampering with the odometer. The cars are also limited to those that were originally brought in by Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and not via grey importers.

The Proven Exclusivity programme will be offered in phases at selected Mercedes-Benz dealerships nationwide starting with five dealerships – Cycle & Carriage Bintang Petaling Jaya, Cycle & Carriage Bintang Mutiara, Hap Seng Star Kinrara, NZ Wheels Klang and Lowe Motor Juru. Phase II, scheduled for early 2010, will see four more dealerships come on board. They hope to sell between 200 and 300 pre-owned cars in 2010 under the programme.

Related Posts:
REVIEW: Mercedes-Benz E 280 AMG Sports Package

Peugeot and Naza signed an MoU for the assembly of the Peugeot 207 Sedan in Paris today. Naza’s plant in Gurun will be the production hub for the 207 Sedan for the ASEAN region from October 2010 onwards. For now, the Gurun plant will be the only right hand drive 207 Sedan assembler in the world. A production of 18,000 units a year is planned.

The 207 Sedan is essentially an updated 206 Sedan based on the 206 chassis. Previous stories revealed that it will be offered with a 1.6 liter engine, which is up from the 1.4 liter found in the Naza 206 Bestari.

The project is referred to internally by Naza as the T33 Project. Naza is the current franchise holder for Peugeot here in Malaysia under its company Nasim Sdn Bhd. They’ve made a name for offering excellent value for money pricing for locally assembled cars such as the 308 and the 407, something that is really unusual with Continental makes here in Malaysia.

Ever since taking over the Peugeot franchise, Peugeot sales in Malaysia have risen from 748 units for the whole of 2008 to the current figure of 2758 units as of August 2009.

The Porsche Panamera is now available from Auto Eurokars with a 2+2 year extended warranty. You can get either a Panamera S with a 6-speed manual, or the Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo with 7-speed twin clutch PDK gearboxes.

• Porsche Panamera S – RM998,000.00
• Porsche Panamera 4S – RM1,118,000.00
• Porsche Panamera Turbo – RM1,398,000.00

All the cars use a 4,806cc V8 engine but naturally the difference is that the Turbo has twin turbochargers. In normally aspirated form, the engine makes 400 PS at 6,500rpm and 500Nm of torque between 3,500rpm to 5,000rpm. When twin-blown, this goes up to 500 PS at 6,000rpm and 700Nm of torque between 2,250-4,500rpm.

Other than the differentiation in terms of 4WD and the turbo for the Turbo, the 4S and the Turbo also comes with auto start-stop, which the S does without. The 4S and Turbo also has a larger fuel tank of 100 liters compared to the S’s 80 liters.

Other than that, most other specs are the same except the Turbo gets a better 14 speaker BOSE sound system compared to the “standard” 10 speaker system. For more details on specs differentiation if you’re really in the market for one its best to check out the Porsche dealership for a personalised buying experience.

Click here to read the rest of Porsche Panamera range launched in Malaysia

A turbocharged Campro engine in an Exora Prestige we saw back in July…

Proton unveiled a turbocharged 1.6 liter engine to selected press in Norwich, UK earlier today while our King and Queen His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah and Her Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda The Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah were visiting the Lotus headquarters in UK.

The new turbocharged engine is said to have the power capacity of a 2.0 liter engine. No precise figures were given but we can make an educates guess – 2.0 normally aspirated would mean around 140 to 150 horsepower. Usually with a turbocharged engine, a 150 horses figure would probably be accompanied by 220Nm to 240Nm of torque. This should put performance at a similiar level with the turbocharged 1.6 liter in the Peugeot 308 Turbo, which is very nice since the peak torque kicks in at low RPMs.

VIDEO: Bulletin Utama segment on the Proton Turbo engine

Source

70 engineers worked on the engine project. According to Proton, the engine was developed in collaboration between Proton and Lotus Engineering, with active involvement of Malaysian engineers and vendors. I actually so happened to meet a few young Proton engineers at a UK visa application center in KL and they were applying for a UK work visa for a certain project, so this must have been it

Producing the engine took 18 months from approval of engineering proof of concept. The proof of concept could have been that turbocharged engine we saw in the Exora. The engine was designed for high torque applications, which will provide good driveability in larger Proton cars such as the Proton Exora. Proton Director of Engineering Tajul Zahari said the engine is RON95 compatible. Apparently the engine will be ready by 2011, so we should see it in Protons by then.

Initially when the Goodyear Duraplus contest was first announced, Goodyear was putting up one set of Duraplus tyres for a lucky and deserving winner to win. The entries poured in like crazy and the Goodyear folks had a tough time picking out a winner.

There was also another issue – there were really too many entries who really really needed a tyre change but could not because they couldn’t afford them. Being the good-hearted folks they are, they decided to increase the amount of sets they were giving out to four!

Here are the four winners:

   
Click images for enlarged version

The winners have been contacted and they will be getting their sets from Goodyear directly. I hope you’re happy with your tyres guys. I’m planning to organize more tyre giveaways in the future especially before festive seasons.

Festive seasons are the times when many families will be on the road to ‘balik kampung’ and they should be able to do so safely. Times are very tough for many these days so helping people with a fresh set of tyres for their own safety as well as for the safety for others is never a bad thing. So if you didn’t manage to get selected this time around, do try again! Many thanks to Goodyear for the tyres!

For more information on Goodyear Duraplus, visit the related link: Goodyear Duraplus lasts up to 100,000km?

BMW have launched four new diesel models here in Malaysia, complementing the existing X5 xDrive30d model. The four are the BMW 320d Sports, the BMW 520d Sports Edition, the BMW X3 xDrive20d Executive Edition and finally the flagship BMW 730Ld, which also so happens to be the cheapest F02 7-Series available in Malaysia.

The BMW 320d Sports is only RM7,000 more expensive than the BMW 320i. It’s also the 3-Series Sedan with the most torque, save for the 335i Individual and the M3 Sedan. With 177hp and 350Nm, the 320d outshines the 320i’s 156hp and 200Nm of torque. Thanks to that 0 to 100km/h acceleration time is down from the 320i’s 9.8 seconds to 8 seconds in the 320d Sports. Nearly 2 seconds is a big difference in acceleration feel.

The Sports suffix means that it has the full M-Sport kit – bodykit, seats, aluminium interior trim, 320i Sports wheels, and the M-Sport suspension bits. But it doesn’t have iDrive though, so for that you’ll have to go for the 323i and above variants. The 320d Sports consumes just 6.0 liters of diesel per 100km on an average driving cycle and if you’re on long distance trips it should be even better.

The BMW 520d Sports Edition has the same engine as the 320d Sports – a 2.0 liter turbodiesel engine with 177 horsepower and 350Nm of torque. 0 to 100km/h takes a little more time at 8.4 seconds because it is a larger car.

The term Sports Edition means it’s sort of in between a regular 5 and a 5 M-Sport. You have the M-Sport bodykit, M-Sport wheels, M-Sport steering, but no M-Sport seats and M-Sport suspension. So it’s going to be more of a comfort cruiser with the aesthetic go-fast bits tacked on. Like all 5-Series save for the non-SE 523i, you get the latest version of iDrive with the internal hard drive storage and etc.

Both the 320d Sports and 520d Sports have exhaust tips that points downwards. All the non-M-Sport E39 5-Series used to have this exhaust but the difference is it was hidden behind the bumper, out of sight. But with the M-Sport kits on both the 3 and 5 of this current generation, the bumpers show off the exhaust tailpipe in full glory.

The reason for this is due to the rules set by the German HQ. We get Euro 3 versions of these engines due to our diesel quality which is only just Euro 2M and not the Euro 4/5 capable diesel available in Europe, and amongst the various differences is the fact that the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) has been removed because of the Euro 2M sulphur levels.

For cars without DPF filters, the instruction is to have the tailpipe facing the road, so that the particulates are channeled towards the ground instead of straight out. For owners, if you don’t like the look you can probably get that fixed at JFA in Sunway or something or something. Other than that, BMW says they’ve done adequate testing and the engine should run fine on our Euro 2M fuel, at least within the warranty period.

The flagship is of course the 730d long wheelbase with the new aluminium crankcase 6-cylinder diesel engine. This is a new generation diesel engine that I had the opportunity to try out matched with a manual gearbox when it was installed in a 330d in Germany. In Malaysia installed in the F02 7-Series, its mated to a ZF 6-speed automatic.

It’s got 245 horsepower and 540Nm of torque, but consumes 6.9 liters per 100km. The engine felt really amazing in the 330d – unlike other diesel engines its powerband did not taper off at the higher ends of the rev range, which shows somehow with this new generation BMW has managed to control the auto-ignition combustion quite well at high revs. The 7-Series is the only car in Malaysia with this new engine, but the X5 xDrive30d will probably be getting this engine too when its time for it to be facelifted.

Looking at the 730d at the launch also gave us a sneak peek at changes to the 7-Series offerings when it comes to the 2010 model year here in Malaysia. The rear passengers of all 7-Series variants will now get a proper full-fledged iDrive controller, including this new 730d. Previously, rear passenger iDrive was only available on the 750i. The 740i had the dual rear screens but you had to control it with a remote control, and the user interface was a little limited on features. Now with full rear iDrive on all models, the ceiling air conditioning vents have been removed as part of the spec adjustment, presumably so the same price can be offered.

Removing the ceiling air conditioning vents is probably good as the option adds a little box in the boot that intrudes into the bootspace which I initially thought was a subwoofer of some kind, but is in fact the aircond compressor. This means 2010 model cars will have more boot space. I don’t think people will miss the ceiling aircond much as there is still the B-pillar and center console air conditioning.

The following are the prices for the new diesel models:

BMW 320d Sports – RM 255,800.00
BMW 520d Sports Edition – RM 379,800.00
BMW X3 xDrive20d Executive Edition – RM 333,800.00
BMW 730Ld – RM 698,800.00

They include BMW Service Inclusive + Repair for 3 years or 60,000km. Look after the jump for hi-res photos of the three sedans. I kind of missed the X3 that was on display.

Click here to read the rest of Four new BMW EfficientDynamics turbodiesel models now here in Malaysia!

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There are currently only two car companies offering hybrid models officially here in Malaysia – Toyota and Honda. Despite the sensitive question of whether Malaysian technicians can maintain a complicated hybrid vehicle, the grey importers have started bringing them in without manufacturer support.

Naza is easily the biggest grey import player in Malaysia, thanks to them holding the largest chunk of Open APs in Malaysia. This 2008 model Toyota Estima Hybrid is currently going for RM 268,000 including a 1 year warranty and the one you see here in these photos has already been sold.

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This is the second generation Estima Hybrid featuring Toyota’s THS-II system. It’s based on a 2.4 liter gasoline engine mated to electric motors which reminds you of the Lexus HS250h and the Camry Hybrid but the implementation here is different – other than the usual front axle motor, there is a motor on the rear axle as well, effectively turning this into an all-wheel drive vehicle, hence the E-Four badge on the rear.

Much like the Camry Hybrid, the 2.4 liter engine is an Atkinson cycle variant, quite different from the one you can find in a normal Camry 2.4. The gasoline engine itself puts out 150 PS and 190Nm of torque. The front electric motor produces 105 PS and 270Nm of torque and goes through a 2.478 reduction gear. The rear motor is of a less powerful variant – 50 PS and 130Nm.

All systems can work together to produce a peak power of 190 PS. It’s not blistering as the vehicle is large. 0 to 100km/h takes 10.8 seconds. Under the 10-15 Japanese test cycle, the Estima Hybrid can achieve 20km per liter.

There is even an exhaust heat recovery system to recover thermal energy from the exhaust and use it to heat engine coolant. This helps reduce engine warm-up time, which enables the engine to shut off earlier when idling (for EV or auto start-stop functions).

We got to drive the Estima Hybrid around abit, though you could hardly call it a test drive that could produce any kind of evaluation as it was only around the Naza Automall carpark next to the Federal highway. All I can say is I love those Alcantara combination seats that this particular model has!

Like the Prius, the Estima Hybrid has a zero-emissions EV mode so you can drive around your neighbourhood, in a jam, or in a parking lot solely on the motor and NiMH batteries with the engine turned off. The Estima Hybrid was not as quiet in EV mode as the Prius. This is because with such a large interior and the many air conditioning vents required to cool it down, you constantly hear the air conditioner working. It didn’t help that it was such a hot day – I could not touch my E30’s steering for a short period of time once I got into my car to leave the place.

Various new meter indicators attempt to explain to you what’s going on but it’s all in Japanese so I didn’t understand at first, but after driving around a little you can pretty much guess which one tells you the battery level and etc.

Look after the jump for a few photos I snapped of the Estima Hybrid.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Estima Hybrid now available from Naza