As promised, Driven Web Series 2015 is back, and so is Harve! Powered by Petronas Primax 95 with Advanced Energy Formula, we’re setting up the battle of the powertrains, comparing hybrid, petrol, diesel and all-electric technologies to find out which one’s ideal for you.
Taking up the challenge are the petrol-electric Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Ford Mondeo Ecoboost petrol turbo and the Peugeot 508 GT turbodiesel. See how they stack up against each other (on paper) on CarBase.my.
All three D-segment sedans have over 200 hp, but with wildly varying torque figures – 213 Nm (engine) + 270 Nm (electric motor) for the Camry, 345 Nm for the Mondeo and 450 Nm for 508 GT. How would these numbers feel from behind the wheel, and how economical would each car be?
Find out in the video above. Stay tuned next week as we look at Malaysia’s most affordable cars. The Perodua Axia is a given, of course, but what other cars would we compare it to? Find out for yourself next Wednesday, October 28.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro for the best price.
its technically not robust.. need alot of care.
2. Cheapest
3. 270Nm torque at 0rpm.
4. Most economical as tested
5. Widest service network
7. Best safety level, the most airbags
8. Voted as the best by Driven. Priceless.
Plus our Camry Hybrid is CKD...Made with a lot of Malaysian parts. the price should be much lower because of this.
So, how can a car costing US26k, comes in without tax, CKD in Malaysia, and stripped of many safety features, be sold for RM175k?
Where is Najib's Promise to reduce car prices by 30%?
For sure UMw is making buta buta clean profit of RM100k for each Camry CKD Hybrid they sell in Malaysia
Honestly, i too feel that the Camry asks for the least compromise here. Sure, i was waiting for the Mondeo with glee when i saw the specs but it is quite a thirsty car and the handling does a feel a bit short of Ford's Focus and Fiesta.
I will always have a soft spot for Pugs and it started with the 405 SRI manual. I drove it once on the highway and i was sold. Loved it. I quite fancy the 508 estate and i think it's the most user friendly estate you can get now.
It is really a very very very good car. For the price it demands, its a steal!
Marketing strategy.
The Peug has BLIS, dynamic cruise control, which should be ACC? But no AEB or LDW.
When it comes to safety, trust the Contis. Particularly the Ford (well, the Mondeo is more European than Murica), as they previously owned Volvo, they must've absorbed some knowledge from the Swedes.
The Camry, who knows if it needs future recalls for airbags, power window, etc. UMW hasn't been too generous making recalls relative to worldwide's Toyota, so it raises doubt if all recalls necessary will be addressed.
The Ford has cheapest road tax too, 2.0L is about RM380+-, Peug's 2.2L would be around RM580+-, while Camry around RM880+-. Mondeo may be thirstier, but this road tax cost advantage gives it quite a headstart.
That said, Ford's and Peug's after sales service seem to have bad reputation. Though, Ford gives 3-years free service, that can cushion the running cost a bit.
EV definitely will dominate the car industry end of the day once the charging infra in placed nation wide. Driving range around 500km will be materialized soon. Hydrogen Car will be the few mass production car in near future as interim solution.
Let's say the average distance possible per full charge is 150km, then need to stop and recharge. That may take 5-6 hours to get to 75% before you can finish the remaining 10km
Better wait another 3 ~ 5 yrs for fully satisfied driving a new EV.
Mr Singh needs a haircut.
Lastly, thanks to police patrol for supporting paultan.
Well to be honest, being a loyal fan of Driven, I've been trying very hard to like this season but yeah, I do agree with a lot of previous comments that there's something missing in this season. It is somehow, lackluster compared to the previous two, and although the hosts are doing a much better job right now, Driven 2015 somehow fails to spark my interest as much as they do previously. Nevertheless, I still look forward to the upcoming episodes and all the best to the Paul Tan team!
Hybrid vs Petrol
The new Hybrid is more responsive and have more toys than the petrol even though it cost less than the older Camry. On highways, overtaking feels rapid as long as you are within the legal limits as compared to the older Camry. The transition between the motor and engine is smooth, as there isn't any lags of power.
The downside of the Hybrid vs the Petrol would be the sudden jerk it gets when the petrol engine kicks in, as you know the hybrid car keeps the petrol engine off until it's needed, and because the battery runs out pretty quickly, while driving or parked (15 minutes max) the petrol engine's jerk would be quite intimidating as it feels like the car is moving forward while it isn't.
Comfort?
I've bought the hybrid because it's a variant that seems to be most economical in the medium-long run. And other makes doesn't have a d-segment hybrid below RM200k so I didn't have much of an option. Therefore when I was test driving the car it didn't bothered me much that the head-rest is stationary, nor the seat padding wasn't as comfortable as the older Aurion version. But after using the car for 5 months now, I have to admit it has become rather annoying. After an hr drive and my lower back starts to hurt, I do sit quite straight because I prefer to be able to see the bonnet of the car while driving. And because the head-rest aren't adjustable, I couldn't rest my head while driving neither (I'm 176cm tall), I did went on a search for a head rest but there wasn't one that is thick enough to rest my head comfortably so I use an arm pillow instead. Compared with the Aurion version this is a major setback when comfort is concerned, my parents who often sits at the rear did complained that the rear seat was too stiff and the suspension was rather hard, as they put it.. "older one feels like being chauffeured around, this one feel like sitting in a LaLa Cai car" I couldn't help but to laugh my head off when they said that. I assume that the harder suspension of the car does make it far less comfortable than the Aurion version and then there's the seats. So yes, I don't use the car for long distance driving, which is quite a shame because I work from home and when I brought it up for the 3rd month service it was barely 500km because it only went on a trip to Ipoh and that's pretty much it.
Speakers?
I'm an audiophile, and these speakers on the Hybrid although JBL is incredibly disappointing. Especially when compared to the Aurion's speaker, it lack clarity and the bass is distorted, wearisomely to enjoy an immersive listening style the unit has to be turned up quite high, Aurion was vol 16 while the hybrid is at 38. I brought it over to an accessories shop my friend owns and he recommended me to not alter the system, because the car runs on hybrid power, which means any bad wiring or if the capacitor unit of the audio system fails, there would be an incredibly expensive bill to fix things.
Don't get me wrong though, the Hybrid system is great, handling is good as well. but the rest of the car... rather disappointing indeed. It's as though the car was built for the sake of technological advancement instead of actual daily commuting. Well, another 4 and 1/2 years till loan are re-payed... So I guess I'll keep it less than 30,000 km range for better resale value then.
Hope you enjoyed my comparison,
Growing older I've begun to shun the harsh, low ride of most D segment sedans. My own car, the Kia Optima have been put on hold for an upgrade since 2017! Was very interested in Mazda 6, but the car was simply too low! (Try getting in and out of the car 12-16 times a day in a hurry)
The Camry is, unfortunately the ONLY sedan I see that would suit my newfound 'uncle' tastes now.... :(