Advertisement

2011 Volkswagen Phaeton facelift spied in Malaysia!

January 21, 2012 at 11:12 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

The Volkswagen sedan you see on the trailer above with its badges covered up is not a Jetta or a Passat. Notice the twin rear tailpipes, one on each side of the rear bumper? You’re looking at the ultimate Volkswagen – the Phaeton! And the car’s presence here in Malaysia could be an indication of an impending launch.

If you think the Audi A8 is the underdog choice in the full size luxury car segment, you haven’t met the Volkswagen Phaeton yet. The Phaeton is the ultimate underdog luxury car – said to be brilliant in its capabilities by the motoring press but somehow losing out in sales to the S-Class and the 7-Series because of a “people’s car” badge.

The car you see above is the latest 2011 facelifted version, with a refreshed front and rear, now featuring headlamps with LED daytime running lights and new tail lamps that bring it in line with the current Volkswagen design language. I’m not entirely sure whether the car above is the long wheelbase version or the short wheelbase version though, but most of the players in that segment in this country offer only the long wheelbase version because of the buyer profile.

Curiously, the Phaeton is only available as a V6 TDI in the UK. There are also other engines available of course – I don’t see Volkswagen offering diesels here at this point of time. The Phaeton’s petrol engine line-up include a base V6 FSI engine producing 280 PS, accompanying a V8 and a top of the line line W12 producing 335 PS and 450 PS respectively.

Look after the jump for a picture gallery of the Phaeton facelift.
[Read more...]

52 Comments      

Proton extends its lead in the S-WRC at Monte Carlo

January 21, 2012 at 8:11 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

P-G Andersson has stretched Proton’s lead in the Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) category in Monte Carlo. Combing the icy roads through snow, rain and fog on the third day of the rally, Andersson’s Satria Neo S2000 held on to 9th overall and extended his overnight lead from 23 seconds to 1 minute 40 seconds over the second-placed S-WRC car, Kevin Abbring’s Skoda Fabia S2000.

Abbring dropped two places to 12th overall, while Irishman Craig Breen remains third – and 15th overall – in the S-WRC class, a further five minutes behind in his Ford Fiesta S2000. Bryan Bouffier, in a Peugeot 207 S2000, continues to hold 4th place in the S-WRC class, but has moved up to 18th overall.

The third day saw three special stages being contested in the mountainous region of Southern France, which included tackling what is reputed to be one of the most difficult stages of the rally, the 24.13km Cimetiere de Vassieux – Col de Gaudissart route.

Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb continued to dominate Monte Carlo, leading Dani Sordo’s MINI by more than two minutes. Sordo, in the meantime, has taken advantage of Petter Solberg’s misfortunes to build a gap of more than a minute – the third-placed Norwegian damaged the wheel of his Ford Fiesta and subsequently suffered a puncture.

25 Comments      


VIDEO: 2011 Ford Ranger towing four other rival trucks!

January 20, 2012 at 6:08 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford

Ford Malaysia has a pretty good track record when it comes to fun and creative ways to promote the popular Ford Ranger truck, which some consider the “bread and butter” of Ford in Malaysia before the successful launch of the Fiesta hatchback.

Reader Hafiz spotted this latest generation Ford Ranger that’s yet to be launched in Malaysia while he was driving his Proton Satria Neo. It didn’t have any disguise on, but it wasn’t just being driven around for testing purposes either.

Sime Darby Auto ConneXion actually had the blue Ranger tow a total of four black trucks – from the rearmost truck in order we have the previous generation Ranger, the Mitsubishi Triton, the Toyota Hilux, and the Isuzu D-MAX! The feat looked so incredible that Hafiz thought he was looking at a Ford F150 at first, not a Ranger which is a segment below.

The most powerful turbodiesel latest-generation Ford Ranger available uses a five-cylinder 3.2 litre unit that puts out 200 PS and strong 470 Nm of torque. That’s more torque than some of the strongest diesel trucks and SUVs in Malaysia! A smaller engine is also available – a 2.2 litre four-cylinder turbodiesel with 150 PS and 375 Nm of torque, not bad for an engine down 300cc on capacity compared to its rivals.

Looks like a brilliant teaser campaign to me, although when we asked Sime Darby Auto ConnneXion, they claimed they were just testing towing payload for JPJ-type approval ;) We still think it’s some kind of intentional teaser though!

49 Comments      

Proton leads S-WRC category in Monte Carlo, 9th overall

January 20, 2012 at 5:30 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Proton is currently in the lead in the 2012 FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) category on the second day of the Monte Carlo Rally, with P-G Andersson running in ninth spot overall.

Only 59 cars of the 89-strong entries remain at the end of the second day of the event, which has already claimed some 30 retirements. Among them was the S-WRC front runner, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, who was running sixth overall and leading the class in his Skoda Fabia S2000 when his car was involved in a high-speed crash five kilometres from the finish, ending his race.

Ogier’s retirement saw Andersson inherit the lead in the S-WRC class, with Germany’s Kevin Abbring in the Skoda Fabia S2000 in second place and 10th overall, some 23 seconds behind. In third place – and 15th overall -is the Ford Fiesta S2000 of Craig Breen, while fourth and 20th overall is Bryan Bouffier in the Peugeot 207 S2000.

“The Monte Carlo Rally is all about pacing yourself to the finish. There is a very fine line between driving at your limit and being careful enough not to be caught out by the tricky and changing conditions of the terrain. We’ve had a good run so far, and with two more days of rallying remaining we are going to be extra cautious, as the changing conditions on the special stages make it extremely difficult and tricky,” Andersson said.

“Our goal here is to get the Satria Neo S2000 to a strong overall finish and, if all goes well, a podium finish in the S-WRC category on our debut,” he added.

Current world champion Sebastien Loeb extended his overall lead in Monte Carlo, claiming victory in five of the day’s six special stages. The Frenchman overcame the icy conditions to currently hold a one minute 37 second lead ahead of Spaniard Dani Sordo in the Mini, while Ford’s Petter Solberg is in third, a further three seconds adrift.

27 Comments      

Ford’s Malaysia sales up by 145% in 2011, led by Fiesta

January 20, 2012 at 5:04 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, Local News

Ford today announced that 2011 retail sales in Malaysia rose 145% from the previous year to 7,188 vehicles. This big jump represents the brand’s best annual performance since 1997. Ford is distributed here by Sime Darby AutoConnexion.

Unsurprisingly, the fantastic result owes a lot to the popularity of the Ford Fiesta, the sharply styled and feature rich B-segment global car. 2011 was the first full year of sales for the Fiesta, which found 4,297 new homes.

Before the Fiesta, the Ford name here has been synonymous with “Ranger” for the longest time, and sales of the pick-up truck rose more than 17% to 2,274 units. Sales of the C-segment Focus also increased 58% from the previous year to 263 units.

“This is an outstanding achievement for both Ford and our partner Sime Darby AutoConnexion, and highlights the unmatched commitment we have to our business and our customers in Malaysia,” said David Westerman, Regional Manager, Asia Pacific, Ford Export & Growth Operations.

Last year, Sime Darby AutoConnexion launched the S-MAX MPV and the facelifted Mondeo, both powered by 2.0-litre Ecoboost turbocharged engines. 2012 will see the local launch of the all new Ford Ranger “and other segment defining products,” teased Westerman.

Could the new Focus be one of these “segment defining” cars? Thai production of the new Focus will begin around mid-year at the company’s new plant at Rayong, and the C-segment entry could sneak in before 2012 comes to a close.

24 Comments      

Perodua sold 180k cars in 2011, takes 30% market share

January 20, 2012 at 3:02 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua

Perodua had a media briefing in KL this morning, revealing its 2011 performance and targets for this year. In a difficult year for the auto industry, the brand once again became the top selling marque in Malaysia, shifting about 180,000 vehicles in 2011. Retaining this title means that Perodua has been top of the tree for six consecutive years now.

The 180k figure is slightly down from the record breaking 188,600 vehicles sold in 2010, but then the total industry volume (TIV) also fell from from 605,156 to just below 600k units. Perodua’s market share also saw a slight decline from 2010′s 31.2% to 30%.

Exports grew from 4,000 units in 2010 to 8,000 units last year. Perodua revealed that Sri Lanka is its top export market now, taking over from UK. Bosses say that once overall cost is further lowered, exports will be ramped up, with a target of 20,000 units by 2015, or about 10% of total output. For 2012, they plan to export 10,000 cars.

Of the 180k local total, Perodua sold 81,904 units of the Myvi, which retains its title as Malaysia’s best selling car, 60,675 units of the smaller Viva, and 37,402 units of the Alza, which is the biggest car it sells.


Click to enlarge chart

2011 saw the introduction of the new Myvi in June, before Perodua wheeled out the “Lagi Power” 1.5-litre Myvi SE and Extreme in September. The Myvi is also exported CBU to Indonesia as a Daihatsu Sirion, launched at IIMS in July.

It wasn’t an easy year to launch such a big model, with the launch coming so soon after the triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear) that hit Japan, but the company pulled through (Perodua MD Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh singled out partner Daihatsu for their efforts) and reclaimed lost ground with the popular new Myvi.

Among other obstacles they faced were the amended hire purchase act that came into effect mid 2011, the weak global economy, a strengthening Japanese yen and the recent Thai floods, although effects from the latter was minor compared to the Japanese disaster.

Looking ahead, Perodua sees 2012 as cautiously positive. Datuk Aminar revealed the target of a 4% sales increase to 188,000 units on the back of network growth and “aggressive promotions” throughout the year. Besides new competitors, Perodua sees inflationary pressures, slower growth and Bank Negara’s credit tightening measures (Malaysia’s household debt levels are very high) as challenges.

At the event, Perodua also announced a new flagship 3S Centre to be located in Section 19, Petaling Jaya. This RM30 to 40 million facility will be the model for future sales and service centres in Malaysia and abroad. It will also be the central region’s hub in the company’s new “decentralization” approach. Construction will start in March or April and it’s expected to start operations in 2013.

65 Comments      

Car Clubs to battle each other out at the Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring: The Sequel Car Club Contest!

January 20, 2012 at 7:46 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Advertorial, Cars, Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring, Local News

Similar to the first Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring challenge Castrol Malaysia organised last year, the Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring: The Sequel will see the participation of local car clubs in a car club-specific contest of the challenge yet again.

The driver of the campaign is the new and improved Castrol EDGE which is now engineered with Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™ which makes it the strongest and most advanced performance oil from Castrol. The all-new EDGE is able to adapt to different requirements needed by the engine, including the immense pressures of pedal-to-the-metal driving at the Nurburgring!

To take part in this contest and to win attractive prizes, the car clubs will have to publicize the Castrol EDGE Experience Nurburgring: The Sequel, which also takes place at Castrol Malaysia’s Facebook, via their respective online forums and social media. These car clubs will be judged based on three main categories namely, Most Prominent Key Art Feature, Most Active Forum Discussion and the Best Use of Social Media.

This contest is now open to all car clubs in Malaysia and this phase of the contest will end on 27th February, however the earlier the car clubs starts, the higher the chance of winning. Top 10 car clubs will be selected from the first phase and representatives will be invited to participate in an exclusive driving challenge at the MAEPS Motorsport Park on 17th March 2012. Car clubs will battle it out in BMWs with engines lubricated with the all-new Castrol EDGE which also minimizes metal-to-metal contact and maximizes engine performance.

The grand prize winner will walk home with RM5,000 cash and Castrol EDGE products. 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded RM3,000 plus Castrol EDGE goodies and RM1,500 plus Castrol EDGE goodies respectively. The remaining six places will not walk home empty handed, as consolation prizes will be awarded.

To take part in the event, simply email the name of your car club and the contact number to harvinder@driven.com.my. Does your club has what it takes?

2 Comments      

Defensive driving skills is compulsory – what do you think?

January 20, 2012 at 7:03 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars

We are part of a society which relies heavily on personal transportation solutions such as cars or motorbikes. Unlike countries like Japan or Singapore, our public transportation system still has a long way to go before it becomes a feasible solution to majority of Malaysians.

Till that happens, which might happen in say 20 years (now that is a BIG might), we have to rely on buying cars or motorbikes, which would eventually be upgraded to cars. Simply walk into local colleges or universities and you will notice increasing number of cars driven by students which could be as young as 19 years old.

Without cars or motorbikes, you can safely say that our economy will slowly come to a grinding halt. With a heavy dependability on such transportation solutions, we have a lot cars on the road and this number is rising. With this, accident rates rise naturally as well. At the same time, our drivers don’t learn anything about defending themselves on the road at the driving academies which is another problem all together if you ask me. We only learn basic vehicle maneuverability and road safety, nothing about defensive driving.

Drivers have to first of all understand different driving phenomenons and learn how to negotiate them, while keeping in mind the safety of others. At the same time they will have to also understand the safety features on their respective cars. With such knowledge, drivers have better driving skills and this will translate to a reduction in road accidents.

Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye also recently mentioned in his article on The Star that defensive driving skills is a must, following numerous accidents in public, commercial and private motoring sectors. Although defensive driving is not offered at driving academies, drivers can do their part by taking part in such events that are organized by the private sector, whether it is by auto companies or by defensive driving schools.

Such an event can cost between RM500 to RM2000 and they offer life-saving hands on knowledge which once learned, can be shared with your loved ones. A typical one-day event will highlight driving phenomenons such as understeer and oversteer as well as how to negotiate their cars during the wet and other vital information. Drivers will also learn the effective way to sit in a car and operate the steering wheel and pedals. They will also learn how to carry out emergency braking and how to avoid obstacles on the road.

Although auto companies which offer such training such as the BMW Driver Training, the Mercedes Driving Experience or the Ford Driving Skills for Life treat these events as part of their branding or CRM efforts by promoting safety features or the drivability of their products, the knowledge obtained is still valuable.

Some companies such as Castrol and Shell also carry out such efforts. The former has the Experience Nurburgring yearly campaign which involves defensive driving as part of the campaign and the latter has just launched the Shell Helix D Academy which will give out 30 tickets to a defensive driving event.

Whether it is via the events above or via various driving schools, defensive driving saves lives and should be made compulsory. What do you think? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section :)

32 Comments      

Mercedes-Benz’s turn to do the triple play – C-Class Coupé, SLK and CLS introduced in Malaysia

January 19, 2012 at 8:25 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mercedes Benz

Earlier this week, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia introduced the new CLS, SLK and C-Class Coupe in the country. The company is looking at the models to effectively widen and deepen the brand’s offerings of niche models, and complement MBM’s portfolio of CBU models already available in Malaysia.

The C-Class Coupé, which made its international market debut in June last year, is available in three petrol engine guises here, these being the 156 hp C 180 and 204 hp C 250, with the 306 hp C 350 available as special order. All three models wear a BlueEFFICIENCY tag.

The C 180 Coupé, which comes wearing an AMG Sports package, is priced at RM305,888, while the C 250 Coupé goes for RM388,888.

Meanwhile, there are three variants available for the third-generation SLK, which made its market debut last March, and these are the SLK 200, SLK 250 and SLK 350, all with a BlueEFFICIENCY suffix again.

Power outputs are 184 hp and 204 hp for the SLK 200 and SLK 250 respectively, while the 3.5 litre V6 mill in the SLK 350 offers 306 hp.

Features include the Benz Airguide draught-stop system, and the SLK 200 gets the Dynamic Handling package thrown in. In terms of pricing, only that for the SLK 200 was mentioned at the launch, and this one goes for RM460,888.

Lastly, the second-generation CLS, which arrives in its 306 hp CLS 350 BlueEFFICIENCY form, with the 408 hp V8-equipped CLS 500 BlueEFFICIENCY available only through special order. The CLS 350 rolls in at RM760,888.

We’ve driven the three cars – MBM hosted a media drive up to Penang this week, so stay tuned for the first drive impressions of all three models next week.

27 Comments      

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 sampled on the road

January 19, 2012 at 4:55 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories

Last year, we attended the double launch of Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 and Eagle F1 Directional 5 in Thailand. Held at the Kaengkrachan circuit near Hua Hin, we got to sample the successor to the original Eagle F1 Asymmetric that was launched few years ago, on the tight twisty Thai track.

Admittedly, we didn’t get to fully experience first hand the much touted class leading features of the A2 at the event. It’s not Goodyear’s fault though, as the track is a tight one and safety is top priority, as it should be. Tyre events generally don’t serve a lot of drive time, since there’s usually a big group of media people from across the region sharing a few test mules. It was more of a sampling session, rather than a full course meal.

Despite that, I know the potential and ability of Goodyear’s Ultra High Performance (UHP) contender, having tested the original Asymmetric at Holden’s Driving Centre near Gold Coast, Australia a few years back. That one was a more comprehensive test, involving a rotating turntable to simulate oversteer. If this sequel is better than the original, as claimed, the A2 will be one heck of a performance tyre.

Continue reading after the jump.
[Read more...]

25 Comments