GIIAS 2019: Ceweks bid farewell, better late than never

It has been two weeks since we kicked off our annual Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) live coverage from ICE at BSD City. So, why the delay in providing closure? Simple, yours truly had to fly off for another assignment a day after touching down from Indonesia. Now that the dust has settled, here’s our customary wrap-up post featuring the cewek cewek cantik.

But first, a recap. We kicked things off with a world debut. The Daihatsu HY Fun Concept is a sharply designed MPV with a hybrid powertrain. Most concept cars these days are electric-powered, so why isn’t this? Well, Daihatsu believes that its next step in our region (Indonesia and Malaysia, via Perodua, are DMC’s biggest overseas markets) should be hybrid and not all-out electric.

This makes sense, because the company sells inexpensive cars for the masses in our part of the world, and eco tech has to be affordable and realistic. This three-row DNGA-based MPV’s footprint isn’t very faraway from today’s Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia, and it could be viewed as an early vision of the next generation budget people mover.

Next up, the biggest draw at GIIAS 2019 for car enthusiasts – the new Toyota GR Supra. The fifth-generation A90 – which is of course a platform-mate of the current G29 BMW Z4 – comes with the top 3.0 litre inline-six turbo with 340 PS and 500 Nm. BMW’s B58 engine is paired to a ZF eight-speed conventional automatic transmission sending power to the rear wheels. 0-100 km/h is done in just 4.3 seconds.

While it was billed as a launch, the official price was not yet ready to go public. Toyota Astra Motor says that the reborn icon’s price will be around the Rp 2 miliar (RM589,869) mark in the republic. Sounds about right, even for Malaysia, which is the Supra’s next stop.

Another new car wearing a famous old badge is the Suzuki Jimny, which is all the rage in its home market of Japan. The fourth-generation mini off-roader had its official launch at GIIAS and this one came with an official price. Priced from Rp 315.5 juta (RM93,340), the RRP was lower than expected, given that the 4×4 is priced from RM199k in Thailand. Unsurprisingly, the first batch of 50 units have all been accounted for.

We move on to a trio from the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance. The biggest deal by far is the impending local launch of the Renault Triber, which was previewed at the show. Designed for India – hence its sub-four metre (3,990 mm) length – the 1.0L three-row Triber aims to attract a cross-section of buyers with Low Cost Green Car (LCGC) pricing, relatively interesting SUV-inspired styling and a European badge.

For those looking for more space, there’s always the core Low MPV segment that houses the likes of the Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia twins, Honda Mobilio, Suzuki Ertiga and the Mitsubishi Xpander. The latter has spawned a Nissan twin, and the new Nissan Livina is essentially an Xpander with its Dynamic Shield grille swapped out for a Nissan V-Motion item. Like its MMC sister, this seven-seat MPV is rather funky for a budget people carrier. Would this be popular in Malaysia?

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isn’t for those looking for space, but those who want to stand out. First revealed in early 2017, the famous MMC sports car name lives on, but on a crossover that could be viewed as a sportier version of the ASX SUV.

What’s unique here is that rear end, which has a Honda CR-Z-style split glass area and a full-width single beam of light when the third brake light comes into play. The interior has plenty of Lexus NX-derived cues. Powered by a 1.5 litre turbocharged MIVEC engine with 150 PS and 250 Nm, the CBU imported Mitsu is priced from Rp 478 juta (RM140,898).

Over at Honda, we showed you the very mildly facelifted BR-V, and a Mugen-kitted version of the HR-V facelift, which would probably reach Malaysia in the near future.

The big news from the H stand was the launch of the new Honda Accord. The tenth-generation Accord is available in the republic in a sole 1.5T variant, priced at Rp 698 juta, which is equivalent to RM206,033. Pricey? RM200k seems to be the new normal for Japanese D-segment sedans – our Toyota Camry 2.5V is thereabouts and the new Accord starts from close to RM200k in Thailand as well, so brace yourselves, Malaysians.

Other interesting cars include the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace and MINI Cooper 60 Years Edition. The Allspace is essentially a three-row 5+2 seat version of the Tiguan that we know, while the 60 Years Edition is self-explanatory. Decked out in a lovely shade of green and unique 60 Years bits, the limited edition MINI is coming to Malaysia very soon in Cooper S form.

Lastly, three familiar cars with new colourways. Daihatsu rolled out special editions for the Ayla, Sirion and Terios, which are of course the Indonesian sisters of our Perodua Axia, Myvi (the Sirion is made in Rawang by P2) and Aruz. Yellow accents and dark window tint is the common theme of this SE. Till next year, have a good weekend.

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