Skoda Superb's ANON owner's review

Picture above: Top of the range Superb 2.8i V6 30v engine bay...

Article A) Hi all.

I own a skoda superb 1.8T and just travel about 2000 km. The car is superb for me as i was driving a proton last time. Compare to Proton perdana, it is much much better in terms of comfort in driving, built quality, features, space and handling.

It comes with 4 cyl 1.8 20 valve turbo engine(aluminium made) with is equavalent to power of Camry 2.4. The engine is very torquey and responsive. However i tend to drive more slowly and cruising at legal speed as it is very relaxing when u driving it.

Fuel consumption is very economical as 5 speed tiptronic gear is used (2000 rpm @ 110km/hr) so on highway i can get roughly 10-12 L/100km.

In terms of size, it is huge. You cannot see from the outside as the car is evenly dimensioned in terms of length, height and width. But when u open the real door, u are sure to be surprised on how spacious the rear seat area is. I am a tall person (6 ft),and i usually push my front seat backward. And even that, the rear cabin is still very spacious. My wife is the most happiest one as she can cross her leg reading newspaper while balik kampung last week.


In terms of features, it is so many at yet the advertisement by AP don't capture all:
1) Fully electric Front driver seat c/w 3 memory setting (so far i have mine and my wife's setting. Just press 1 button, the seat will automatically adjust for you + side mirror)
2) Fully electric passanger seats as well
3) Onboard computer display (many type of display can be set..)
4) Auto angle adjust right side mirror when u put to "R" so that assist u to see car's tyre when do revese parking
5) Rain sensor euro wiper
6) Xenon head light (adjustable brightness)
7) Anti glare real view mirror
8) Climate control air cond system
9) Rear air cond (4 outlets)
10) Chilled center compartment
11) Chilled glove compartment
12) Auto cruise control (can be set by using stick or button on handwheel
13) wheel button control for audio channel and volume
14) Tiptronic c/w 5 speed automatic gear box
15) Fuzzy loggic gear system - automatically set for sport/economical driving, and also auto gear change locking
16) Front and real foglight
17) Immobilizer system
18) ABS + EBD
19) 4 air bags
20) Nighttime u can see all the adjustable button, handle illuminated
21) Auto headlight on for 30 sec during nightime when arrive home
22) Wetcase umbrella at the rear door
23) A spare type (I heard some expensive car don't have this)
24) Plus many more...

And i enjoy surprise by friends and neighbor, they kept on asking" What car? China made one kah?" and i keep on saying to them " Yes this car is so-so, made by previous communist country, no money buy expensive car so buy this one..., aiya i mistake already to buy this car..., engine no good..., etc. etc."

For i want to keep low profile and every day i sleep with a smile because i know i own one of the best car around which some RM250K model can't compete.



I bought my superb from PJ. Actually initially i was attracted by octavia so i went there last september just for a look. But the SA has asked me to wait for this superb.

Just to share my buying experience. The SA i met has certainly one of the factor in assisting me making the purchase. This guy is quite friendly and really follow through with customer satisfaction. I am quite satisfy with his help from optaining car loan until delivery of the car.

He has inform me some customer may experience bad experience when talking to SA due to Quasar's poor sales incentive system. Each SA is competing with each other. Therefore if SA no 1 know u are SA no2's customer, he will no bother to u.



END OF (A)




Article B) HI all, long time no post. It is very interesting to see this skoda thread is still keep going on.

Just want to clarify one thing there, for those non skoda driver especially.

My advice is that don't buy any skoda car if second hand value is your major consideration. Definitely, its second value will be lowered compared to other cars. As far as what I know, for a 2003 Octy, the current offer price is around 78K (original is around 106K if i am not mistaken)

Japanese or national cars offer higher resell value. so they are the best choice definitely.

If your buying priority is brand and prestige, skoda is also not your taste. Skoda is no brand in malaysia and most part of the world

if your buying consideration is lower maintenance cost, skoda is also not the one, as most of the parts are from Audi and Volkswagen (see picture)


But if lets say, value for money is your main consideration, I will recommend skoda to you - driving a much higher spec car at much lower price. Very close to volkswagen/Audi quality but at Japanese car price.



END OF B)

After spending quite some time looking at the thread, I can't actually find any review. Let me share with you on how a review can be written, to show how comfortable the driving experience is.

Here is my driving experience on a trip from KL down to North:

3:30 pm:
With the car still in alarm mode, I press the "boot release" button on remote control and the boot "thud" opened through "gas piston". My wife and maid were then packed 4 big bags inside the boot and hook 2 bags on the special design hook in the boot. The boot closed.

3:45 pm:
My 2 monkeys get dressed and rushed out to open the doors. Well, they can't.

3:50 pm:
Everybody was ok and we locked the house. I was then pressed the "door open" button on remote, and "thud" the doors were unlocked. My 2 monkeys immediately rushed into the car...Goosph..

3:51 pm:
I open the driver door, pressed the memory setting button No 1, and instantly the driver seat, left mirrors and right mirrors moved automatically. At the same time, my elder son who sat in front was playing with the front electrical driven passenger seat. I was then close the door and it sound “thud”.

3:52 pm:
I sat in driver seat. Put the unfolding key into ignition. Waited for 5 times of beeping sound while the CANBUS system checked all the engine condition. Then, I started the engine....vroooommmm...

3:53pm:
Put the gear to reverse mode, released the handbrake. The left door mirror automatically lowered and adjusted to help reversing easier. Now as the car moved forward, the doors were automatically locked.

3:54pm:
We were on the way to the destination. With the unbelievable large cabin size especially the rear cabin, my wife who sat behind, crossed her legs comfortably and enjoying her favourite magazine. My smaller monkey just running across from left to right in the rear and my elder son was
sitting in front enjoying scenery passed by.

3.55pm:
I pressed the automatic air conditioner on. Set at 20 degree C, The cold air flowed from 4 vents in the front , 2 vents at the back of the center console and 2 vents beneath the front seats towards rear passengers.

3.56pm:
I switched on the radio. The RDS information was then shown in both radio display and information display at the RPM meter area. I pressed on the “volume control” on steering and then press the “search” button looking for best radio station. It was “Light and Easy….”. I suddenly increase speed to overtake a vehicle in front and the sound of radio increased proportionally according the speed. At this point I was cruising at 100km/hr and the cabin is so quiet filled with beautiful music.

4:30 pm:
In the middle of highway with less traffic. I pushed the “set” button on the steering and the car was cruised automatically at 110km/hr. After a while, I pressed the (-) button on the steering and reduced the cruising speed to 90km/hr as there was a slow moving car in front. Then I overtook the car and reset back to normal cruising speed afterwards.

5.00 pm:
There was a sudden rain. The front wiper automatically wiped and the wiping speed was according to the heaviness of the rain fall. Then I noticed there was a little mist on the left wing mirror. I quickly switch to heater mode and the mist gone.


6.00 pm:
My elder son felt thirsty. I immediately open the chilled box at the front console and gave him the chilled 100+. I was then open the chilled glove compartment and handed over another 2 cans of chilled cokes to my wife and maid.

7:00 pm:
Stop at rest corner. Finding a parking space is difficult as the car is large. It was raining heavily. My wife then took out the umbrella from the Umbrella holder in the left rear door area and we went for dinner.

7:30 pm:
After stop over at rest area. It started to get darker. I switched on the HID headlight and all the detailed area lighted such as all the door handles, central console area, all the air cond vents area, foot well and etc. so that I can locate these at ease in dark.

7:35 pm:
My wife switched on her own reading light at the back and started reading again and my maid switched on the other reading light preparing drinks for my sons.

7:34 pm:
There was a car from behind came fast with high-beam on. Immediate the rear view mirror automatically reduce the flare and protect my eyes.


8:00 p.m: It was a bit late in schedule, so I decided to give a little push to 150-160 km/hr. The turbo kicked in and the car was cruised effortlessly and comfortably. After passing through tunnel, the speed was maintained at 130-140km/hr eventhough the road is windy, as the car is very stable and in control.

8:23 p.m.: Passing through the uphill and downhill area, I switched into Tiptronic gear mode and drive the car manually…Everything was so quiet as all have droop off.

9:00 pm:
We reach the destination. As it was dark, I stopped the car and engine and switched to “Coming Home” mode, the headlight and room lights automatically on for about 2 minutes allowing time for us to get out easily.


9:05 pm:
Well come to HOME SWEET HOME.
;
;
;
Well, it is not a BMW, it is not a Mercedes, it is not an Audi either…….
…………………..It is just THE BLOODY HELL SKODA SUPERB 1.8 TURBO.
Cheers!

(Source: http://www.autoworld.com.my/forum (under VW Group)



END OF ARTICLE C/REVIEW.



GENERAL OPINION: Want to know more about the "Superb"? Come to our showroom to test drive. We also have the Value for money Fabia, Fabia Combi.

Also check out the State of the art Skoda, Octavia / Octavia Combi wagon. Why? Coz it has 6 speed Tiptronic Auto by Audi, Latest 150hp and 200Nm of torque @ 3500rpm, 2.0 FSI Engine (identical to current Jetta @ RM185,000), 0-100km/h in 9.8secs, Top speed 210km/h. The Octavia is priced @ RM165,000 only (RM171,000 for Combi wagon), NOW with 0% Interest for 4 yrs (OR CASH REBATE). INDEED EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY and BUILT QUALITY @ Japanese price.

That's all folks... Thanks for reading...

Hijacking this blog. NEW JOB Selling...

New Job selling Skoda cars and Mercedes Benz Vans (Vito, Sprinter) from 9/7/07 onwards. Well, I managed to survived 1 week. How do I feel? What's my routine? Here's some journal over the past 6 days...

Monday (9/7/07): Just introduction to the job, colleagues, briefings on the Code of conduct etc... and familiarize with the cars. Nothing much to do, left the showroom @ 2.30pm.

Tuesday (10/7/07): FULL DAY PRODUCT TRAINING. 9.30am till 6pm. Morning session conducted by Datuk Amir himself (Managing Director of Quasar Carriage), then product Test drive session. I test driven 1) Skoda Octavia 2.0FSI, 2) Mercedes Vito MPV (More on the test drive experience later). Our flagship, Skoda Superb's Not available for test drive. Then, it's Lunch break.

After lunch, there product training on Skoda cars conducted by Sales Manager Mr. Lawrence, followed by Mercedes Vito and Sprinter product training by our Senior Manager.

Wed (11/7/07). Nothing much to do. Morning meeting. Each of us were assigned with a partner. Did some roleplay and product familiarisation. Got to know more about my colleagues, chatting with them. Left @ 4pm.

Thurs (12/7/07): AM: Technical Training about Octavia FSI by Mr.Yap, chief foreman. Lunch with one of my Colleague. Otherwise, nothing significant to highlight.

Fri (13/7/07): Duty roster came out. I was on duty 3 times in the month of July with my partner, Ghazali. On duty means I have to stay at the showroom from 10am to 7pm. Otherwise, I just have to punch card @ 9am then I will be free to do whatever I want. Though the main idea is to enable to find Prospective customers. Lunch @ 6 to 10 grill and Nasi Lemak with 2 other colleagues. Had Fish and Chips + Drink = RM12.00 poorer.

Sat 14/7/07: WHOLE DAY Skoda ROADSHOW @ Berjaya Times Square 10am till 6pm. Was mentally sabotaged @ 11am, 1st guy approached me. That idiot kept on Saying how good Accord is VS Skoda WITHOUT CHECKING out the OCTAVIA (He just hesitated). He refused to accept that Octavia = (similar to) VW Jetta. He TAUGHT SKODA IS FROM RUSSIA. I wanted to say to him (So dumb, Skoda also dunno where from). But I refrained.

Lunch tapau from McD (5th floor), Approached a Korean, showed him the car, forgotten that you need to remove the rod before closing the bonnet as I taught it's like Skoda Superb. "Krak", the base of the rod which is plastic plated broke. Kena lectured by Kelvin, Quasar Carriage KL, Sales Manager. After that, very Jittery, Tense up, got some inferior complex against certain kind of people. MOST PEOPLE REFUSED to EVEN take the Brochure let alone looking at it. Few of them said "Skoda Ar! Sucks!" No thanks. One of them said "Spare parts hard to get and maintenance AND expensive". CONCLUSION: Most Malaysian have bad Perception on Skoda brands.

Around 4pm, I approached a 16 yrs old Boy. He's very reserved, Showed him the Fabia, he's quite keen. Said "will talk to dad and get back to you". After that, my confidence reached to a new high. At about 5pm, my colleague "BO FENG" approached Small tour bus driver, talked to them and response quite positive. So I get his idea and approached a Mercedes MB140 Bas Persiaran and briefed the driver the new Mercedes Sprinter (thank God I brought 3 copies). Response, Very KEEN. Left the place @ 6pm sharp, took Monorail => KL Sentral => Putra LRT back to Taman Jaya where Dad fetched me home.

THis roadshow was Very tiring, gotta stand WHOLE DAY. Thank goodness we were sheltered from the Rain.

Sunday 15/7/07: Day 2 of the roadshow but I choose not to go. Went to Church Instead. Came back from Church straight went to sleep. Woke up, dinner, then typing this.

CONCLUSION: Eye opening Job, learned a LOT from ALL of the Colleagues, 10 of them in Sales Division including me (ALL but 1 of them were friendly), product training, my Manager (Mr. Lawrence). Looking forward for SALES, SALES and MORE SALES Especially on Mercedes Vans. Will put little hope on Skoda judging by the Poor Brand Perception among Kiasu Malaysians.

Oh! From next thread onwards, I will hijack this purportedly "USED CAR REVIEW Blog". I will instead post AT LEAST 5 blogs on SKODAs and Vitos, Few on Skoda Owner's review as well as some of my Experience as a Salesperson.

REVIEW: Honda Jazz @ Fit 1.5 iDSI/VTEC

In this review, the spotlight is on Honda Jazz. Honda Jazz is a World car (Ie. On sale in all corners of the world). It’s called HONDA FIT in Japan and America. FINALLY, I have a car to “test” and I can come up with my OWN REVIEW for a mere 15 minutes only though…

In addition, I'd also like to invite another 2 Honda jazz/Fit owners in Malaysia to write about the experience of Owning Honda Jazz.



REFERENCES:
1) http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/cars/honda-jazz-1-4/reviews/ (England Owner's review)

2) www.whatcar.co.uk (for some car Specifications)
3) http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/reviews.aspx?year=2007&make=Honda&model=Fit&trimid=-1 (USA Owner's review)
8) http://www.carsurvey.org/review_74011.html
9) Thanks to Dr. Melchi S.J. Phuah for letting me assess his car.

MY REVIEW: (only 15 minutes with the car)

My Church friend, Dr Melchi S.J Phuah allowed me to check out his car. It’s 6 mts old Jazz 1.5VTEC 7 speed CVT instead of IDSI. It is a Facelift model. His car’s fitted with 15’ rims, bodykit, Leather seats (see picture) and V-Kool (RM2400 and RM2050 extra respectively).

INTERIOR:


The main advantage of the Jazz though, is its interior room. The 1st thing I did was to check out the split rear “ULTRA-seats”. This is made possible by having fuel tank under the front seats instead of under rear seats in “Typical cars”.
There's plenty of room for four people and the boot is a very good size. It really is a “MINIVAN”.

Folding the seats down reveals a van-like flat floor and folding them up enables you to put a lot of stuff in the middle of the car. It takes seconds, and makes for a very versatile small family car. See picture below. It can carry 2 seater sofa when seats fold down. The rear legroom’s spacious, it’s as good as a Proton Wira. The Jazz had quite poor all round visibility with thick A pillar @ front and big "square shaped" rear headrests which causes blind spots (especially seeing bikes, cyclists).






The Aircond switches is 3 non-digital knob-turn type, fairly easily reach from both driver and passenger seats (see photo above). The In Car Entertainment’s cool for a Standard unit. It’s 2-DIN KENWOOD CD-player with USB Port (on the bottom right) and Media controls. See photo below. Oh! It has 4 speakers.

The driving position is quite good with adjustable steering and upright seating (as the fuel tank is located under the front seats) with quite high roofline (MPV Style). The front driver seat also has lumbar adjustable. Cushion is on the hard side, with optional leather. According to the owner (Dr Phuah), the interior build quality is good let down by squeaking sound at back seats at times - especially with passangers (like something loose). He also added that the soundproofing is quite poor but that can be fixed by installing DYNAMAT Soundproofing @ KKLAU (will tell him).

EXTERIOR: The Jazz’s a 2 BOX styling, mini MPV style. Design’s quite good looking (see Picture below) and as a Honda means Virtually Endless Modification options if you have the money. The rear hatch opens high and loading/unloading’s quite easy. The car dimensions can be found in “Specifications” at the end of this review.



RIDE and Handling: The car is quite powerful, there’s a word for this. Ah! Nippy. It goes from 0-100km/h in around 10 seconds (VTEC). Can be considered the most powerful Acceleration in its class. The feeling of effortless power is the result of clever seamless CVT gearing, however, and the Jazz quickly becomes harsher if you need swift uphill pull or uphill overtaking power -- the engine then sounds a bit coarse and a bit hesitate to move.

The Jazz’s also very quiet at idle, you’ll hardly notice that the engine’s on. The car is also doodle to park and steering type is “ELECTRIC POWER STEERING” ie. speed sensitive version.

The suspension is quite hard at uneven surfaces. Is it due to its low profile rims/tyres (15’, 55 series)? Handling is quite good for a Mini MPV, but a bit of bodyroll still there at high speed cornering. Oh! There’s slight wind noise above 120km/h. The brakes were EXCELLENT thanks to ABS+EBD and 4 disc brakes as a VTEC model (rear drums for IDSI model). My friend did LAST Minute breaking, 60km/h to REST around 100 feet...

OWNING IT: The car is very reliable (as agreed by ALL 6 owner reviews in various part of the world). FUEL CONSUMPTION is super. Fuel tank - 42 litres can go 800km, highway, 380km urban and 500km averaged. This is VTEC model. IDSI model’s EVEN more economical around 50 to 80kms more. According to Dr. Phuah, the owner, from Petaling Jaya to JB (around 380km) = slightly above half tank only. As a Comparison, my Ford Telstar consumed 1 FULL TANK. In Malaysia, a new Jazz IDSI costs RM94,000 and JAZZ VTEC costs around 103,000, Imported from Thailand. It came with 3 yrs warranty and 2 years free maintenance (don’t know whether still on now). AS This is a USED car review blog, will cover how much can you buy when used at the end of this blog.


USA Average Owner’s RATINGS:
MSN Auto (USA) Owner’s Reviews
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.2 Overall Rating
9.2 Styling
8.9 Performance
9.0 Interior
9.5 Quality
9.2 Recommendation


OWNER REVIEW 1: Honda Jazz 1.4IDSI 5 speed Manual
Jazz up your Motoring
by sandrabarber Rating: (5 of 5 possible stars)

Advantages spacious and flexible, superb fuel economy, comfortable and stylish
Disadvantages none for me

The time was right for a new car. And I wanted brand new, in the hope that I would be guaranteed a few years trouble-free motoring (and hopefully no sudden expenses) with a good warranty and some peace of mind.

In my new car, I wanted the following criteria:

Light and easy to drive
Comfortable seating and leg room in the back
Fuel economy
A good sounding stereo
Affordable insurance
Quiet and reasonably powerful engine
Safety
Good looks
Flexibility (i.e. can take large packages/suitcases etc when necessary)
A make with a strong reputation for reliability
Extra gizmos
Under (preferably considerably under) £10,000

A lot to ask? Yes, but then along came the Honda Jazz?

Criteria 1: Light and easy to drive

My Honda Jazz drives like a dream. It's classed as a 'supermini MPV', meaning that I get to sit quite high up which gives me a great view of the road, adding to ease of driving. The power-steering is light as a feather and I swear could be done one-fingered. All controls are easy to reach and easy to use. Visibility is very good, especially through the enormous front windscreen. Brakes are very effective without being jolting, the clutch is sensitive without sudden shocks, suspension is superb, cornering is a doddle, and overall the ride is smooth with a soft and comfortable bounce over those pesky road-ramps.
Rating: 9/10

Criteria 2: Comfortable seating and leg room in the back

As mentioned, the front seats are high, giving driver and passenger and excellent view. The seats are also comfortable under the bum, and easy to adjust. The back seats are, I'm told, equally pleasant. I'm also told that back seat passengers have ample room for their pins as long as the front seats aren't pushed right back. Oh yes, and it's 5 door, so back seat sitters don't have to contort themselves to get in and out.
Rating: 10/10

Criteria 3: Fuel economy

My Jazz has a 1.4 engine that delivers the economy of many 1 litre cars. I've had it a month now and I'm regularly getting a wonderful 50 to the gallon approx. My Escort (previous car) with the same size engine gave about 33 on a good day.
Rating: 10/10

Criteria 4: A good sounding stereo

My Jazz S, which is the basic model, comes with a built-in Radio/Cassette. The two higher spec models come with CD, although a 6 CD can be put in my boot and easily fixed. I planned to get the 6 CD changer but the sound of my radio/cassette is so crystal clear and rich that I'm not going to bother.
Rating: 8/10 (because the radio/cassette is excellent)

Criteria 5: Affordable insurance
My Jazz is in insurance group 3E which is superb.

Criteria 6: Quiet and reasonably powerful engine. The Jazz is very quiet indeed when sitting in traffic. In fact, it's easy to think that you've stalled. Noise levels do obviously rise the faster you go, but on the motorway it's still a hell of a lot more silent than my old Escort and you can easily have a conversation at normal voice level. Power-wise, again it gives much more than my same-engine-size Escort. I would often have to floor the accelerator in the Escort to get uphill or overtake on the motorway, but the Jazz requires none of that. Acceleration is fast and responsive.

For those who are interested, it does 0-60 in 11.9 seconds (for comparison, 1.4 Clio does it in 13 seconds, and 1.4 Peugeot 205 in 15.2 seconds)
Rating: 9/10

Criteria 7: Safety

The Jazz S has some impressive safety features, including a proper seat belt for the back seat passenger who sits in the middle, side-impact bars and driver and side airbags. It achieved a 4 star in EURO NCAP crash test.
Rating: 9/10

Criteria 8: Good looks
The best word to describe the Honda Jazz is CUTE. Despite being an MPV it's not too tall (front seats are high because the petrol tank sits underneath them) and it has a gorgeous snub nose.
It comes in a variety of colours, mostly metallic. Mine is 'clover green', a very dark metallic green. I think it looks wonderful in bright red, pearlescent white and a gorgeous metallic ice blue.
Rating: 9/10

Criteria 9: Flexibility

Here is where the Jazz is absolutely unbeatable. It is remarkably roomy inside and incredibly interchangeable. The back seats fold down completely flat for that flat-pack furniture, or the seat part of them folds up flat, giving you a lovely tall space for plants etc. (see picture above). Add to this the fact that the boot is a good size and quite deep, and you've got even more space to play around with. You've got the car that is everything - a comfy long-distance ride and a flexible transporter for large and small items.
Rating: 10/10


Criteria 10: A make with a strong reputation for reliability
Since buying my Honda, many people have said to me, 'Oh, you'll run a Honda for years and years.' Time will tell how true this is, but those remarks demonstrate Honda's reputation for building quality, reliable motors.
9/10
Criteria 11: Extra gizmos
Buying the basic model means that you don't expect a lot of these, but what you have got is nice. Heated mirrors come as standard, as does a height adjustable steering column, and the cup holders are actually the right shape and size. Electric front windows and central locking are also standard on the basic model, as are immobiliser and locking fuel cap.
Rating: 8/10

Criteria 12: Under (preferably way under) £10,000
The Honda Jazz S is £9000 if you want it in red, or £9249 in all other colours.
However, I managed to get hold of one that had been pre-registered 3 weeks earlier and had 3 delivery miles on the clock. The only drawback for me was the colour, but that paled into insignificance when I found I could have it for £7699.
8/10 normally, 10/10 in this instance

Services are at 12 month or 10000 mile intervals. 3 years warranty.
5 doors, petrol, 1399 cc, 5 speed gearbox, CO2 134 g/km, vent disc front brakes, drum rear brakes. Official fuel consumption figures: urban 40.9 mpg, extra urban 57.6 mpg, combined 49.6 mpg.

Overall:
I'm absolutely in love with my Jazz. I've taken it on short journeys, long journeys, smooth roads, rough roads, straight roads, winding roads, slow trips and fast-lane motorway dashes. It has delighted me on every occasion and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a comfy, flexible, fun, quality car that's always economical, quiet around town and speedy on the motorway.


OWNER’s REVIEW 2 from USA:
"Fantastic Commuting Car!"
2007 Honda Fit Sport 1.5 7-Spd AT
By: An MSN Autos Consumer
Owned: Less than 1 year
Review ID: #504380

10.0 Overall Rating
10 Styling
10 Performance
10 Interior
10 Quality
10 Recommendation

Pros:
Great acceleration, braking, and handling, very intuitive interior layout, tons of space, and great mileage. Easy to handle in heavy-duty urban traffic and a cinch to park in tight spaces.
Cons:
Minor things that most people have already mentioned: lack of a center armrest and doors don't lock automatically; nothing important.
Overall Review:
Love it! It's easy and inexpensive to drive and maintain and wonderful for city driving and parking. It's also got a great personality and the Honda dealer/service people I have dealt with thus far have been so friendly and polite! I went from driving a gas-guzzling Corvette (I love it with all my heart but not with my wallet) to an 07 Fit and I love the Fit's practicality.

SPECIFICATIONS: Honda Jazz @ Honda Fit 1.5 IDSI CVT (1.5 VTEC in Bracket)

Engine: Petrol, Code: L15A 4 Cyl in line, SOHC 1-dsi, Twin spark plugs 1497cc 8 valve (L15A 4 cyl in line, SOHC VTEC 1497cc 16 valve Normal Spark plugs), PGM-Fuel injection with Compression ratio: 10.5:1 (10.1:1), Bore x stroke: 73x89.4mm.

Max power: 65kw [88hp] @5500rpm (81kw[110hp]@6000rpm)
Max torque: 131Nm@2700rpm (143Nm@4800rpm)

BRAKES: Front ventilated discs, rear drums ABS+EBD [Electronic brake force distribution]. (Front ventilated discs, rear solid discs, ABS+EBD)

DIMENSIONS: Length: 3830mm, Width: 1675mm, Height: 1525mm, Wheelbase: 2450mm, Tracks: ff/rr: 1460/1445mm. Ground clearance 150mm. Kerb weight: 1050kg (1080kg).

FUEL TANK CAPACITY & Fuel consumption: 42 litres. Extra urban: 12km/litre, 20km/litre (Highway). Average: 15km/litre. (VTEC: 10.8km/L, 19km/L, 12km/L)

STEERING: Electronically Assisted power steering (VTEC Same)
. Lock to lock turns: 3.53

SUSPENSION:
Front: Independent McPherson struts, springs & dampers, stabiliser bar. (VTEC same)
Rear: Torsion beam axle, springs and dampers (VTEC Same)

TRANSMISSION: Front wheel drive. Electronically controlled CVT (Continuously variable transmission). RATIOS: -NA-

TYRES/RIMS: 175/65R14 (185/55R15)/5.5JJx14” alloy

PERFORMANCE:
Top speed: 180km/h (190km/h VTEC)
Acceleration 0-100km/h: Below 12 secs IDSI. (9.8 secs VTEC, tested)

PRICE:
NEW: RM94,000 1.5 IDSI, 103,000 1.5 VTEC.
USED:
2003 1.4IDSI CVT: 66,000,
2004: 1.5 IDSI 72,000, (FIT 1.5 VTEC: 70,000)
2005: 1.5 IDSI 78,000, VTEC: 83,000
2006 1.5 IDSI: 86,000, VTEC: 90,000

(Honda Fit resale value is about RM2,000 +/- than above, depending on Equipments and type of AP).

AS YOU CAN SEE, the Resale value depreciated about 13% in the 1st year, then subsequent years depreciate about 9%. THREE years retained value is about 72%, which is THE BEST RESALE VALUE VOLUME SELLING CAR IN MALAYSIA (tied with Toyota VIOS). Actually is 2nd BEST OVERALL but MINI is Not a volume seller (ie. Sell few units only) so not really counted (Another similar Example of NON volume seller is Porsche).

Buy one, NEW or USED Honda Jazz/Fit TODAY and the car will depreciate THE LEAST amount of money every year compared with any car in Malaysia. On the 5th year of ownership, the Jazz will still retained about 60% of its Value which is VERY IMPRESSIVE indeed. As a comparison, Kia Spectra 1.6 retained 60% in 1st YEAR OF OWNERSHIP ITSELF.

What to look out for in a Used Honda Jazz? This car is still new (introduced to the Malaysians @ 2003. It’s extremely reliable worldwide (from owner’s review). The precaution is buying a unit abused by Fresh “P” Drivers AND Accident repair unit – make sure body surface & paintwork is smooth & even (can only be checked at daylight, under the sun, so AVOID viewing the car @ evening (Ie. 5pm onwards). AND beware of JOINED units. For PEACE of Mind, send the car to PUSPAKOM before you commit. GOOD LUCK in finding a right Jazz!!!

FINAL CASE STUDY by "Hamster " on Perodua Myvi.

SOURCE: RICHARD HAMMOND'S CORNER: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/motoring/hammond/tm_method=full%26objectid=17707140%26siteid=89520-name_page.html

A MYVI FOR NOT A LOT OF LOLLY

Good-looking, versatile - and it's so cheap too

Richard Hammond 08/09/2006

"HERE'S how to gauge a car's desirability. Imagine you are in a fashionable bar. The jazzy mood music dips and the barman shouts: "Will the owner of the green such-and-such a car move it because it's blocking the cellar doors."
If the car is yours and you leap up to claim it, then it's passed the test. If you hide under your stool hoping the thing will be taken away on a lowloader and crushed, it's failed.

Aston Martin, Maserati, Alfa Romeo - these are makes that pass this test. Some people jump up even when they don't own them.


Perodua is not one of those. Many people have never even heard of them. It doesn't help that no-one is ever sure how to say it. When I try, it sounds like I'm sneezing. Well, it is a Malaysian company and they make really cheap cars.
The Perodua Kelisa currently retails at about 4.5 pence and uses so little fuel I can't see why they bothered fitting a filler cap.

The Perodua Myvi - again, how do you say the name? - is their flagship vehicle. And it looks it.

No jokes, this is a good-looking car. But if it looks familiar, that's because this is a Daihatsu Sirion in all but name. You see it costs billions to develop a new car - you design them on computers then build lots of them to crash into walls. So Perodua let someone else do it and spent their money sticking a new badge on it.
But they kept a bit back to spend on styling. Which is why, even though it shares bits and pieces with the Sirion, the Myvi is better looking.


Inside, there's a ton of space. It's versatile too - the rear seats fold to make a huge loadspace. The 1.3-litre engine means 0-60mph takes 13 seconds - hardly sports car territory, but it handles so well you can just get it up to speed and keep it there with ease.

The Daihatsu Sirion, on which the Myvi is based, is itself partly based on the Toyota Yaris - still one of the best small cars. It has air-con, electric windows, and remote central locking and when it goes on sale soon will cost £7,799 - around £300 cheaper than a Sirion.

But I've heard that Perodua will also give £1,000 cashback for the first few weeks to get us in the mood.

So under seven grand for a good-looking car, built in a factory shared with Toyota, which handles as well as a Yaris, does nearly 50mpg with a three-year warranty - yes please.


I just wish I could say the name.

THE RIVALS

Daihatsu Sirion
Similar car, different price. Is the badge worth paying extra for? £8,000

Suzuki Wagon R
Not pretty and starting to look dated. Reasonably well built. £7,999

Chevrolet Matiz
Cheap to buy and run, managing 50.4mpg. Proven reliability. £6,595

THE FACTS

Perodua Myvi

Five-door hatchback
Price:
£7,799 with £1,000 cashback
Engine: 1.3-litre, four cylinder, 86bhp
0 - 60mph: 11.3 seconds
Fuel consumption: 48.7mpg


LOSERS PAY


For the price of a new Myvi you can drive off many old bargains

Richard Hammond

"WHEN I was growing up, a new car was an incredible rarity. There was certainly never one on our street.

But today, cars like the Perodua Myvi - tested on the previous pages - mean that many more of us can have the pleasure of driving out of the showroom in a brand new motor.
But it also means many more of us will be hit with the mighty hammer of depreciation. The moment you leave the showroom, your new car's value is falling. Many people are happy to pay this price in return for the security and confidence of a new car with a manufacturer's warranty - but not everyone.

Why buy new when you can get more for your money if you buy secondhand? Of course, the older you go, the more you get, but the bigger the risks. So, here's a guide to how to win in the depreciation stakes. Just how much car can you get for the price of a new Myvi and is it worth the risk?

ONE YEAR OLD: RENAULT CLIO


IT doesn't have the space or versatility of the Myvi, but it's a chic and cool little French supermini with a great image. Renaults are not as fragile as French cars used to be and for this money, it should represent a safe buy. You'll even have some of the original manufacturer's warranty left to run.
CLASSIFIEDS: 1.4 DYNAMIQUE, 5,000 MILES, £7K

3 YEARS OLD: VAUXHALL ZAFIRA



NOW we're into MPV territory, albeit mini-MPV.

The Zafira, with its clever and super-versatile flat-folding rear seats, was king of the mini-MPV pile for a while and still makes for an excellent family car.
It may not be dripping with school-gate cred, but the kids will love being that bit higher up and the extra space will mean holidays and shopping trips can be coped with easily.
CLASSIFIEDS: 1.8 CLUB, 23,000 MILES, £7K

5 YEARS OLD: VW SHARAN



GET that bit older and you get that bit more. In comparison with the little Myvi, the full-size Sharan MPV is huge. You get seven seats and enough luggage space to live in it. It's not a bad thing to drive either, despite the size, and diesel versions, while not too quick, should return reasonable fuel economy if not in the same league as the frugal little Myvi. Remember, there are other costs in running a car, not just depreciation and if you're going to do high mileages, fuel economy is a big consideration.
CLASSIFIEDS: TDI SE, 64,000 MILES, £7,495


8 YEARS OLD: MERCEDES E-CLASS


CARRY the family in style. If you're happy to drive something a bit older, then there's no reason why it can't have a three-pointed star on the bonnet. Leather seats, air conditioning, you'll get the lot on a Merc, but you won't enjoy paying if things go wrong. By now, an E-Class will have shed a huge chunk of its value, which means not only do you get a bargain when you buy it, but it shouldn't lose a fortune when you sell it on. Insurance, fuel and servicing costs will be higher though, but when the man in the pub asks the owner of the Mercedes to move it, you won't feel embarrassed.
CLASSIFIEDS: E220 CDi, 92,000 MILES, £7,250"

END OF ARTICLE. What do you think of this article? Is it BETTER than Clarkson? Right to the point AND Less crapping right? Do give comments on this article.

CASE STUDY 4: Clarkson on Audi R8, "One of the all-time greats".

Check out this Clarkson's article about the New Audi R8. Again, he spend almost half of his article talking crap. But read it word by word, this time, the crapping is HILARIOUS... This is one of the RARE article of his, Over the board praises over the car he's reviewing... SUPER RARE WORDS such as "One of the all-time greats" AND "One of the best surprises of my motoring life.". Also, for this review, I've including READER's Opinion on his article...


From The Sunday Times (UK)

June 3, 2007

Audi R8




It’s so comfortable you can run over anything up to a medium-sized fox and not even notice

by Jeremy Clarkson

"We all know what businessmen’s hotels are like. There’s a priority check-in section where you wait behind some rope, on a bit of carpet. There are staff in shiny suits who say things like “If there’s anything else at all for yourself at all”. And you are given a credit card key that makes lots of whirring noises when you put it in the lock but will not, no matter what you do, open the door.


After you’ve kicked it down, you have the room. There’s no obvious button to turn off the fan, which sounds like a Foxbat jet. The light switch by the bed turns all the lights off, except one. Which can only be extinguished by hitting the bulb with your shoe. The plug you need to charge your mobile is always behind the mini bar, and the “tea and coffee making facilities” are designed to ensure you can’t make either.
No, really: the kettle lead is never more than a foot long and the brown powder they put in the sachets is way closer on the periodic table to radium F than it is to coffee.


The restaurant, furnished in beige, is overseen by a woman who says: “Can I get any bread items for yourself at all, sir?” and then hands you over to a 14-year-old Latvian girl who arrived in Britain that morning on the underside of a Eurostar train. Beer is not a word she’s familiar with, which is annoying because it’s what you want most of all in the world.


Your fellow diners are chomping their way through their suppers, some reading books, some newspapers, and there’s always one whose reading the hotel’s smoking policy leaflet over and over again. Just killing time till they can go to their room and watch pornography.


Businessmen’s hotels, I think, are the most miserable, soul destroying, soulless, energy sapping, embarrassing, badly run and badly organised edifices in the entire world. I’d rather stay in an igloo. And that’s before we get to the food.
The menus are always written in a massively squiggly, curly-whirly typeface. And there’s much talk of jus and things being drizzled onto other things. But you know the chef is not from Paris or Rome. He’s from Darlington and he hasn’t a clue what he’s doing.


As a general rule, I order items that even I couldn’t mess up, which is why, at a businessmen’s hotel next to Manchester airport last week, I went for a lamb chump with mashed potato and cabbage. “No, lamb. Lamb,” I said to the Latvian teenager. “A baby baa baa black sheep . . .”


I was expecting something irradiated, something the colour of a camel’s dingleberry and with the texture of a cedar tree. But you know what? It was absolutely brilliant. Historic, as Michael Winner would bark.


I thought it would be impossible to be so pleasantly surprised ever again. But then, as the next day dawned, I found I had to drive back to London in a new Range Rover . . . wait for it . . . diesel.


The Range Rover is a car so ideally suited to a V8 that putting a diesel in the mix completely spoils the point. It’d be like putting diesel on your supper instead of gravy. The worst thing about a diesel is the noise it makes when you start it up. A Range Rover is elegant, dignified, luxurious. And a diesel’s rattle and clatter just don’t go with the look at all. It’s like ringing a sex chat line and being put through to the Duke of Marlborough.

Strangely, however, the Range Rover made almost no noise when I started it, and even less on the move. What’s more, the fuel gauge stayed pretty much where it was on the entire three-hour schlep back to England. That was an even bigger surprise than the hotel’s chump.

But it was nothing to the car that was waiting for me in London. The Audi R8.

I had seen pictures of this mid-engined supercar and they left me underwhelmed. I thought it looked a bit boring, like a slightly bigger version of the TT. And it wasn’t going to be a real supercar, was it? Not when you remember Audi owns Lamborghini. I mean, why make a car to compete with your own brand? That’d be stupid.


This view is reinforced when you climb inside. There are very few supercar extravagances. There’s no panic handle. No stitching made from yellowhammer feathers. No titanium machinegun triggers. It’s very grey, very Audi, very normal. And that’s fine, actually, because there are very few traditional supercar drawbacks either.
You can see out, there’s room for your head, even if you have truly enormous hair, and there’s space for briefcases and whatnot on a shelf behind the seats. It’s big in there; much bigger than you’d believe.

Then you set off and there are no histrionics. The exhaust makes a deep, meaningful rumble, but as is the way in Jaguar’s XK you can’t really hear it when you’re inside.


So it’s spookily quiet, and that’s just the start of it. Because it is also spectacularly comfortable. I don’t mean comfortable . . . for a sports car. I mean it’s so comfortable you can run over anything up to a medium-sized fox and not even notice. Couple this to the usual array of Audi in-car entertainment – sat nav, a hi-fi from Bang & Olufsen no less – and you have a car that, like the Porsche 911, you really could live with every day.


You needn’t even worry about the engine. It’s not a W16 with eight turbos and plugs that foul themselves at every set of lights. It doesn’t run on fertiliser and grated tiger chippings. Instead, it’s the 414bhp 4.2 V8 from the RS 4. I’ve described this as one of the best engines made today and a drive in the R8 has not changed my mind. It does everything, brilliantly.

Of course, you cannot really expect a quiet, comfortable car with the engine from a saloon to perform well on a track. The suspension would be too soft. The power not quite grunty enough. The track is Lambo land. The Audi belongs in a city, soothing the fevered brow of the man with the midlife crisis, while massaging his ego, all at the same time. Wrong. Very, very wrong. In fact the Audi is outstanding when there’s nothing coming the other way. It’s not blisteringly fast. From rest to 120, it goes at almost exactly the same rate as the Porsche 911 Carrera S. And flat out it’ll be out of steam before it gets to 190. But to dismiss it for this is to miss the point.


The four-wheel-drive system affords a huge level of grip, but because it’s been tuned so no more than 30% of the power is ever sent to the front wheels you don’t get the dreary understeer that’s plagued all quattro cars in the past.


You turn in, feel the grip, add power, the rear starts to slide, you apply some opposite lock, balance the throttle and then . . . and then . . . you start to realise you are driving one of the all-time greats. It’s not a hefty car. You don’t manhandle it through the bends. It flows, delicately and precisely.


I don’t think I’ve ever driven a car that works so well on both the road and the track. Even if you remove my natural prejudice against the Porsche 911, I believe the Audi has it licked on all counts. Except perhaps one . . .


The Audi is listed at just under £77,000 and that looks good, but if you want any equipment at all, that shoots up fast. The car I drove, which had a manual gearbox rather than flappy paddles, and normal brakes rather than ceramic discs, still cost a whopping £92,000. Even the leather interior was an optional extra.


But look at it this way. The R8 shares some parts and infrastructure with the Lamborghini Gallardo. And that’s £125,000. Anyone who’s just bought a baby Lambo – me – must be feeling as sick as a dog right now. Because in so many ways the R8 is better. Yes, the Lambo is more exciting, louder and harder. But on the other 363 days of the year, when you just want a nice car . . .


The only problem is that Audi cannot build the R8 fast enough. There are difficulties with making the carbon fibre panels, and as a result it can manage just 20 a day. That’s nowhere near enough to satisfy demand, especially when a more powerful V10 comes on stream next year.


In the meantime I can safely say the R8 is one of the best surprises of my motoring life. It is one of the truly great cars and the only hesitation I have in giving it five stars is that, ideally, I’d like to give it six."


Vital statistics

Model Audi R8
Engine 4163cc, eight cylinders
Power 414bhp @ 7800rpm
Torque 317 lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Fuel 19.3mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 349g/km
Acceleration 0-62mph: 4.6sec
Top speed 187mph
Price £76,825
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Verdict Better than my Lambo


Reader review 1:

"Once in a lifetime you read something and thing Spot On! I agree entirely, they are my thoughts - symbiotic.

Oh that wasn't Mr Clarksons review, it was four years ago when I read a jouno's brief drive of an Audi Le Mans as the R8 was called then. I put a deposit down in February 2003 for the car I was so taken by it. It has been a LONG time coming, but it is due August 2007 and I cannot wait.

I drive it's competitor the Porsche 911 4S, at present and some might say it is liveable with everyday. I would have to say if you do a few miles and they include some quiet Welsh roads, then OK, but for decent mileage, you always arrive shaken, stirred and half deaf.

I cannot wait to drive this newest addition to supercars.
Look out - who will be the next mainstream manufacturer to bravely go where Audi's gone?"
Ken Murray, Manchester, UK

Reader review 2 (an American):
"14-year-old Latvian girl who arrived in Britain that morning on the underside of a Eurostar train"

"As usual, I fall over laughing at these sorts of lines.
The R8 looks wonderful, I hope it comes out in a convertible version (when in Southern California...)"

Gus, Los Angeles, USA / CA

Reader review 3:

"I have to say Mr Clarkson has hit the nail on the head once more. I had the privelidge of drving the R8 around the Boxberg proving grounds in Germany & I agree 100% this is a phenominal piece of engineering genius & by far the best car I have ever had the pleasure to experience. Not only that the build quality & fit & finish is that of large Luxury saloon not the bare bones & wabbly switch gear you'd find in many of the more exotic offerings on the market, it's just a shame I can't afford one, let's see what the V10 is like !!!"

Darren Bodilly, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

Reader review 4 (An American:

"Still haven't decided what I want to think about the car. One the one hand, its one of the best-looking cars I've seen in person, looking like it just drove off the turntable and out onto the streets. Similarly, its a cheap option to the so-so Gallardo, that frankly makes more sense, but there is still two huge problems in my book:

The Porsche 911 and the Chevrolet Corvette. They are the defacto sports cars of choice in the US, both cost less than the Audi, and depending on what spec you opt for, faster as well. I mean, call me crazy, but I think the $110K asking price (USD) is a bit steep for what you get, Lamborghini techno doo-dads and all.

...But lets face it: When the Z06 is available for $70K, and you can get a pretty nice Carrera S for a little more than $80K, I think I'd take the two cheaper cars. Audi goodness or not.

But what do I know? I'm just some crazy American..."
Brad Y, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Michigan, USA

Last reader:

"Clarkson for King, I say. Or Prime Minister at least. Please..."

Ian Oliver, Singapore, Singapore (COUGH! COUGH!!! PUHLEEESSSEEE!!! - Jeff Lim)

CASE STUDY 3: Clarkson MAULED Kia Sorento...

Here’s an article by Jeremy Clarkson (JC) where he SCRUTINISED the car Kau Kau (badly). Note that my “Prelude to Case Studies” blog (3 blogs ago), I promised to blog about JC bad mouthed American in the Corvette C6 review. Well, It had been removed from the website probably because it’s deemed Sensitive to Anericans. Anyway, I managed to dig a SUPER NEGATIVE review by JC himself on Kia Sorento. Also, note that JC again, played down Proton, Perodua, Kia and Hyundai. Oh! At the 1st half of his article, Clarkson talked crap again, this time trying to be a "Standup comedian". "Enjoy exploring the article. If possible, do give comments on this article.


From The Sunday Times Online (UK)

March 9, 2003

Kia Sorento

Think of the dead parrot sketch, with four-wheel drive

by Jeremy Clarkson


"When I was eight I distinctly remember my father dragging me out of bed one Sunday night and telling me to watch a new show he’d found on television. It was called Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

I was tired. I had school the next day. And while there were plenty of sheep falling out of trees, there were no elephants standing on their hind legs and no clowns. But Dad wouldn’t listen to my protestations. “Son,” he said in a frowning, fatherly way, “you need to watch this. It’s going to be important.”

It turned out he was right. Ten years later I was faced with some enormous examination that would attempt to probe my knowledge of Shakespeare’s sonnets. An hour had been set aside but 10 seconds would have been enough because I knew nothing (except that they hadn’t been written by Brian Voles).

And then I thought: “Hang on a minute, I know every single Monty Python song, film, television show and book off by heart. So if I can recite, verbatim, the entire Travel Agent sketch, I can learn this old tosh.” It worked. I passed.

Monty Python was my life. My Big Red Book was signed by all the cast, the Holy Grail made me physically sick with laughter, and when people attempted to quote from the Four Yorkshiremen I would grow visibly angry when they got bits of it even slightly wrong. “No, no, no. It’s not a shoebox in middle of t’ road. In Yorkshire, you don’t pronounce a ‘the’ as a ‘t’. The whole word is substituted for a barely noticeable flick of the head. It’s why people in Leeds could never catch the The in action. They’d ring the box office and ask for tickets to see.”

So what’s funny now? Well, over lunch at Wimbledon last summer I sat between Ricky Gervais and Rob Brydon, and that was. It was verbal tennis, with moves that left the table breathless. Gervais served, Brydon sent a backhand reply down the line, Gervais scooped it up, added some Welsh abuse and sent it cross court for a winner. But the next point was won by Brydon with a devastating smash on the subject of fatness.


Strangely, however, their television programmes never raise a smile. Oh sure, I watched every episode of The Office and have the T-shirt, but it never finished with me on the floor, begging for oxygen. And as for Marion and Geoff, that’s some of the most keenly observed drama ever to worm its way into your sitting room but it isn’t even on nodding terms with comedy.

You’ve Been Framed is funnier. Especially when the host’s new boyfriend went back to his wife. I nearly laughed at that.

Maybe it’s a by-product of getting old. When I was six poo was hilarious. When I was 12 I’d howl at the Irishman on a plane with one parachute, and when I was 14 the St John Ambulance had to carry me out of Sheffield City Hall to escape from Jasper Carrott’s mole story.

But today everything’s different. I marvel at the quick-wittedness of Paul Merton on Just a Minute. I stand in silent wonder every morning at the genius of Matt. I have enormous respect for Jonathan Ross and Steve Coogan. I devour Viz and I’ve never once considered cancelling my subscription to Private Eye. But I don’t actually laugh at anything. I simply recognise that something is funny, wish that I’d thought of it and move on.

I don’t even laugh at Python material any more. But it still stands proud, because unlike any other comedy, it left an indelible mark on everything it touched. Freemasons. The Spanish Inquisition. John Stuart Mill. All were turned into jokes by Cleese, Palin et al.

They did the same thing to places as well. Bideford, for instance, is always somewhere you hike for. And, of course, you don’t want to come back from Sorrento to a dead cat.

Imagine my surprise then when I was presented last week with a car called the Sorento. I didn’t laugh, obviously, but I did say to myself: “That’s funny. It’s like calling a car the Slough. Or the Royston Vasey.”
The car in question is yet another dreary 4x4 from some godforsaken industrial conglomerate in the Far East. This one’s a Kia and in exchange for £18,000 you get nothing worth writing home about.


Let’s start by gently mauling the Sorento's 2.5 litre diesel engine. It will give you 33mpg, which isn’t bad, but the downside is that to cover 33 miles you need to set aside a fortnight. This is not slow, like a Citroën 2CV or a dustbin lorry; sometimes there’s so little power you don’t move at all.

No, really. At one point I made an uphill left turn in second gear and even with my foot mashed into the bri-nylon carpet, I ground to a noisy standstill.

I had a sense that the throttle wasn’t connected to the engine in the usual way. It felt more like the telegraph system on a ship. Putting my foot down sent a “full ahead” signal to some oily boilerman under the bonnet who put down his copy of the Sport and reluctantly shovelled some more coal on the fire.

This means you have plenty of time to admire the interior, which is a symphony of video rental box plastic with the sort of cloth normally used to make dogtooth suits for old ladies in Eastbourne. I was going to talk about the giant gear knob, too. But it fell off.

Then there was the traction. The Sorento wades into battle with big fat tyres, enough space under the prop shaft to shelter from the rain and switchable four-wheel drive. Kia itself calls it a capable and rugged workhorse. But it’s no such thing. It got completely stuck in a puddle of mud through which my four-year-old daughter had walked only moments beforehand. And she normally falls over in a light breeze.
It gets worse, because Kia says the Sorento is also aimed at the style-conscious buyer who wants presence on the road. And yet this is the very same company that urges us all to think before we drive.

It points out that a billion car journeys each year are less than a mile and even gives away a free bicycle with one of its spoon-bendingly boring saloons. So if it’s so anti-car, what in the name of all that’s holy is it doing making a dirty great off-roader? This hypocrisy isn’t my main problem with the Sorento, though. And nor is it the woeful engine or the Bambi traction. I don’t even care that it’s no more spacious inside than a normal hatchback. No, what I object to — violently — is the treacly nothingness of it all.


This car wasn’t designed to be the best 4x4 in the world or the easiest to drive, or even the most comfortable. It’s automotive KFC, a light bulb with reclining seats, a consumer good with the personality of a caravan site and the desirability of herpes.

You sense this with every Kia, and Hyundai and Proton and Perodua. They’re nothing more than reasonably well-made tools for African taxi drivers and government officials in Burma. They’re white goods that happen to be blue and red as well. So quite why we in Europe might want one I have absolutely no idea.


Value for money? Oh puh-lease. The Jeep Cherokee, the Honda CR-V, the Land Rover Freelander, the Toyota RAV4, the Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin and the excellent Nissan X-Trail all cost the same or less than the tedious Sorento.

Pathetically, Kia defends the price by saying you get a free three-year roadside assistance package which even covers you if you go to the Continent, though taking your Kia on holiday is a bit like taking your ironing board. I’d rather take the free bicycle.

Cars may be tools in the emerging markets, like Vietnam, Rwanda and America. But Europe emerged from its shell a thousand years ago so here cars are much more than mere machines. They’re engineering with a purpose, social pointers, private booths in a bustly world, and they are sculpture. But unlike any Henry Moore, their power can marshal your internal organs in a small, tingly puddle at the base of your spine. They’re Helmet Heads with added G-force.

Like television, they expand your horizons, they excite you, they amuse you, they frighten you. I’m told, though I’ve never experienced it myself, they can even arouse you.

Look at it this way. Over a period of 20 years Monty Python poked fun at philosophy, literature, class, stupidity and even Christianity. But apart from a Welshman who wanted to swap a mint condition 1927 Rolls-Royce for one exactly the same — which was more an attack on the Boyos — cars were never mentioned. Some cows are just too sacred."

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Kia Sorento 2.5 CRDi XE
Engine type four cylinder turbodiesel, 2497cc
Power 138bhp @ 3800rpm
Torque 232 lb ft @ 1850rpm
Transmission four-speed automatic
Suspension (front) double wishbone, coil springs, anti-roll bar; (rear) five-link live rear axle, coil springs and self-levelling
Tyres 245/70 R16
Dimensions 4567mm length; 1884mm width; 1804mm height
Fuel 33.2mpg (combined)
C02 226g/km
Acceleration 0 to 62mph: 14.6sec
Top speed 106mph
Insurance Group 12
Price £17,995

Verdict Woeful (1/5 star)

END OF ARTICLE.

MY HUMBLE OPINION: Kia Sorento was on sale in Malaysia since late 2003 as CBU from Korea. It was priced at RM157,000 back then. In 2005 (2 yrs later), it was Assembled in Malaysia and renamed "Naza Sorento". The price had since dropped to RM138,000. Those who bought the "Kia" before it's known as "Naza" were not amused. Why?
1) They paid RM19,000 more, 2) Resale value badly hit.

Let's talk more about #2. The resale value of "Naza" Sorento's suffered as a result of the Rebadging. It only retained 45% of its value in 3 years. As a comparison, both Honda CRV and Ssangyong Rexton both retained 63% of its value in the same period.

Kia Claimed that Germans tuned their Sorento’s ride and handling. Did I hear Porsche? Am afraid yes. If it’s really“tuned” by Porsche, then why NOT a Single EUROPEAN Car journalist mention about it?

Would I recommend this SUV to you? Am afraid NO… For the money, you are better off with a NEW Nissan X-trail 2.5 CVTC which is A LOT More fun to drive or a nearly new 2005 Ssangyong Rexton which has proven and more powerful Mercedes E-class 2.7 CDI engine, it also happened to be a TRUE 7 seater. Both have DECENT 4x4 capability, WAY BETTER Resale value (65% retained value in 3 yrs for X-trail and only 2% less for a Rexton against 45% retained value for Sorento) AND MORE Rewarding to Own and drive. Dunno about you, but if I were you, I'll AVOID KIA cars (for the time being) unless there's improvements on their Future products... Hey, the NEW KIA RIO sounds promising, well I'll wait and see when it reached Malaysia...

Clarkson's CASE STUDY 2: Volvo XC90 V8 Sport

CASE STUDY 2: This is Clarkson's typical review where he spend 2/3 of the article crapping before finally reviewing the car. This is another car review where Clarkson sang praises to the subject. He also poke fun of Americans in this review. Check the article out... Read it WORD by WORD...

From The Sunday Times (UK)

January 7, 2007

Volvo XC90 V8 Sport

Worshipping the god of hell fire

by Jeremy Clarkson



(Picture source: www.volvocars.com.my)

The three twentysomething Californians were fairly intelligent so although they’d never been to Europe before, they could take most things in their stride: the smallness of the portions, the warmness of the beer, the lowness of the ceilings, the absence of pick-up trucks and the gunlessness of the policemen.

But then I took them for dinner at a small Italian restaurant in Notting Hill where, shortly after sitting down, all three were struck dumb. “What,” stammered the first, staring at the ashtray, “is that?” If you’d asked them to list all the things they’d least expect to find on a table, in a restaurant, in a country that’s a member of Nato, an ashtray would line up alongside a child’s potty full of sick. They would have been less surprised if they’d been confronted with one of Saddam Hussein’s ears.

For all their adult life, these guys have lived in Los Angeles where you can no more smoke in a public place than stick your private parts in a cooked quail and run around shouting “I am the god of hell fire”.

Now, of course, in America, it’s very easy to enforce laws like the smoking ban because this is a nation where people make friends in lifts. So if you light a cigarette on a beach, for instance, you will be shamed into putting it out by a combination of dirty looks and threatening gestures from those in nose shot.

Here, though, we don’t like to make a fuss or cause a scene so the job of enforcing our smoking ban will fall to someone in a high visibility jacket.
We saw much the same thing on Boxing Day when 16m people climbed onto their horses and spent the day pretending not to chase foxes up hill and down dale. They were forced into the charade because each one was being monitored by someone in a high visibility jacket with a video camera.

Try selling a pound of sausages at a market stall in Britain these days. You’d last a week before the kilogram police descend on you like a ton of bricks. Or should that be a tonne? Since his Toniness was appointed supreme ruler, his government has imposed the equivalent of one new law a day. And with each new law, he’s had to employ an army to enforce it. That’s why the civil service now employs more people than live in the city of Sheffield.

Strangely, however, the American system of using dirty looks seems to be working already with the large off-road car.

It’s not banned, but a constant government-led attack on this type of vehicle, backed by a dollop of fury from the nation’s communists and cyclists, seems to be shaming everyone into buying something else. Fiona Bruce, the agonisingly gorgeous newsreader, wants to replace her Volvo with something less enormous. Davina McCall got pangs of guilt over her Range Rover.


The arguments for and against off-road cars are both fairly silly. On the one hand, you have some nitwit from Richmond council appearing on television’s Fifth Gear, saying that he doesn’t like the new Honda CR-V because it’s too tall; as though that has anything to do with it.


And on the other, you have Honda arguing that its new CR-V will cause no more damage to the planet than a toaster or a cow. Blah blah blah.
The facts of the matter, however, are irrelevant because if you drive a large SUV round a city centre these days you are almost melted by the hate. You’d get less reaction if you were caught videoing a school playground while wearing a Kiddie Fiddler T-shirt.


Even I’ve caught the bug. I look at people in Range Rover Sports, which have the same level of oikishness as Shane Warne’s hairdo, and I think: “My God, you must have a thick skin.” I’ve always wanted a proper Range Rover, but today I’m not sure I could actually buy one. It’d become wearisome, I’m sure, tuning in to the BBC news every single night and being told I was personally responsible for every single one of the world’s ills. It seems 4x4s kill polar bears, drown Indonesians, bankrupt ski resorts, vote Tory and don’t slow down for badgers.


This means the second-hand value is weak. Trying to sell a year-old Land Cruiser is like trying to sell a year-old piece of cheese. That’s why we read recently that sales of off-road cars have fallen by 5.5% in the first 10 months of 2006. Without a single piece of legislation, the bubble has been pricked.


Strangely, however, the car makers don’t seem to have noticed this. I mean, take Volvo as an example. Instead of launching a new small hybrid to quench the thirst of those who miss the Soviet Union, it has just announced the arrival in Britain of a Volvo XC90 . . . V8 Sport.


Not since Shane MacGowan last picked up a microphone have we heard anything quite so out of tune with the way of the world. But like Shane MacGowan, this thing does have a place.

Like half the school-run families in Britain today, I have an XC90 and it’s brilliant. Unlike various other alternatives, it really does seat seven, and even with a full load on board, the boot is still big enough for a couple of dogs.
Apart from all this, it’s reliable, good looking, quite well priced and it’s served on a big bed of honest to goodness common sense. The buttons, for instance, are designed so that you can operate them while wearing gloves.

The only drawback has been the choice of engines. The V6 was asthmatic and underpowered so I went for the diesel, which is noisy, as powerful as a cap gun and not all that economical either.


The V8 changes everything. I assumed that because Volvo is owned by Ford, which also owns Land Rover and Jaguar, it’d be the Jag V8, or perhaps the pig iron V8 from a Mustang. But no. It’s an all new 4.4 litre unit, designed in conjunction with Yamaha, and it’s really rather good.

It makes a nice noise, and because it develops 311bhp your big old Volvo bus will get from 0-62mph in 6.9sec and reach 130mph. You really can think of it in the same breath as the BMW X5.

Perhaps because the engine is mounted sideways, the handling is very good. The ride, too, is unchanged from the diesel and, best of all, you should get more than 20mpg. Not bad for any off-roader, leave alone a V8.


The only drawback is that the turning circle is now rubbish. You’ll make people angry by driving such a thing in the first place, but their anger will turn to a murderous blind rage when every mini roundabout requires a five-point turn.
But let’s not worry about what other people think. Let’s worry only about you and what car best suits the needs of your family.

The only seven-seat cars that are truly comparable to the V8 XC90 are the Audi Q7, which is a woeful thing with no boot and no go, and the Land Rover Discovery, which is a big and spectacularly heavy automotive V sign that chews fuel and breaks your fingernails every time you want to load a child into the back.


The Volvo, as a piece of design, has always been the best school-run car. And now, with that V8 under the bonnet, you can enjoy the run home as well. And if you are glowered at for bumbling round a city in something so seemingly vast and wasteful, simply take a leaf from the book of that great automotive thinker and motoring philosopher, Jack Dee.

Jack says he’s particularly fed up with abuse from van drivers who trundle around London in huge Mercedes Sprinters with nothing in the back but a hammer, while his Volvo XC90 is loaded to the rafters with six children. “By running a big 4x4, I’m keeping three other cars off the school run,” he argues, reasonably.
Have a great 2007, and don’t let the nonsense wear you down.

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Volvo XC90 V8 Sport
Engine 4414cc, eight cylinders
Power 311bhp @ 5850rpm
Torque 325 lb ft @ 3900rpm
Transmission six-speed Geartronic
Fuel 20.9mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 322g/km
Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.9sec
Top speed 130mph
Price £45,950
Rating 4/5

Verdict A fine car, brilliant on the school run

CASE STUDY 1: JC: Do the funky German!

As promised in previous post. The 1st Case study of Jeremy Clarkson (JC). As I mentioned in the previous posting, JC is well known for spending 3/4 of his car review CRAPPING (or talking c0ck) before ACTUALLY reviewing on the SUBJECT itself. But strangely, all those crapping WILL eventually LINKED or LEAD to the SUBJECT itself... Well, this is an Out of the ordinary post by him as
1) He JUMPED to the SUBJECT @ 1/2 of the article.
2) He sang praises to the CAR he reviewed (which is RARE)...
3) He talked a bit about his past in the 1st 3 paragraph (EVEN RARER)

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, lets get the ball rolling and STUDY his Article...

"DO THE FUNKY GERMAN"! by JC.

"AFTER three years of on-the-job training interspersed with block released courses at a college in Sheffield, I became a qualified journalist (supposedly) proficient in the art of Law, Public admin, shorthand and how best to make a parish council meeting zing in print.

I saw myself becoming Jon Swain, dodging bullets and bombs in the World's troublespots as I dashed hither and thither in a neverending quest for the truth. But instead, I moved to London and became a teddy-bear salesman.

I was rubbish in it. I'd drive all the way to Cwmbran or Pontefract where the usually horrid proprietor of a gift shop would listen to my spiel and then say "No thanks." I knew of course that I was supposed to talk him round but instead I'd say: "Oh Okay," and then drive back to London.

In the course of two years, I covered 100,000 miles and sold 6 Captain Beakies, 2 stuffed dogs, a tea cosy and 14 Paddingtons. It was pathetic and backs up Adam Smith's observation that in order to survive you must specialise.

Bernie Ecclestone, for instance, is a superb businessman but would not, and I'm only guessing of course, be a very good Nurse. Can you see Kate Moss running the United Nations, or Jilly Cooper taking charge of Football League? I struggle too, to imagine Teddy Wogan as a terrorist.

Tony Blair is blessed with an ability to lie through his teeth, which is a useful tool if you want to be a successful lawyer, but it makes him a hopeless prime minister. And then there’s his deputy, a fine and conscientious ship’s steward, I’m sure. But how can the ability to mix a decent gin and tonic qualify someone to run the nation’s housing? We see the same sort of problem in the world of cars. For the past 30 years BMW has specialised in expensive, well engineered sporting saloons. So unsurprisingly its attempt to make a small hatchback, as we saw recently with the introduction of the 1-series, was as successful as my attempt to be a salesman.

Then there’s Audi. Since the beginning of the 1980s it has made nicely designed, technically innovative large cars, but then one day the boss woke up and thought: “I know, let’s build a supermini.”

The result was the catastrophic A2, which cost £14,000, leading some to believe that it was made from gold. In fact, it was made from aluminium that was so light and flimsy the whole car rocked from side to side when you turned the windscreen wipers on.

More recently Volkswagen decided to forget its roots completely and introduce a £50,000 W12 super-saloon called the Phaeton. It’s a wonderful car, one of my favourites in fact. But the small number that came to Britain are now being used to ferry Jordan and Kerry McFadden to and from glittering functions in the West End.

The most disastrous attempt to switch direction, though, came from Mercedes-Benz, purveyor of solid, quiet and dignified diplomatic transport to 85% of the world’s governments.

After a hundred years, that three-pointed star became an emblematic byword for quality and engineering excellence, a symbol of what capitalism could achieve. And as a result it’s probably true to say that it has done more to bring down tyranny and end oppression than even the B-52 bomber.

Then Mercedes decided to make a hatchback and the world woke up one morning to find the A-class had arrived.

On the face of it this seemed to be a fine idea; all that Mercedes quality in a package that every man could afford. But pretty soon the whole thing fell apart.

In the course of doing a standard lane change manoeuvre — known as the elk test — a Swedish motoring journalist found the little Merc had an alarming propensity to roll over.

If you suddenly needed to swerve while travelling at more than 50mph, the little car didn’t understeer, as you would expect from such a thing. It flipped onto its roof.

The problem was, of course, that Mercedes was not Fiat or Renault. It had no real experience of small front-wheel-drive cars and consequently no deep-seated understanding of the way they might behave in extreme circumstances.

So the A-class was taken back to the drawing board and given a traction control system that cured the problem. Then it was released again with Mercedes trumpeting a safety message.

Mercedes actually argued that it had two floors — the normal one, and then another to which the seats were bolted — so that in the event of a head-on accident the engine would slide into the gap between the two, underneath the occupants rather than into their crotches.

Sounds brilliant. But the real reason that the car had a sandwich floor was rather different. You see, the A-class had been originally conceived as an electric car and the cavity had been created as somewhere to store the batteries.

It was a complete hotchpotch then — Merc’s Edsel. A Daimler-Benz Corvair. But in Britain alone 88,372 people bought one. So rather than give up on the idea and go back to making big saloons, the company has just brought out A-class 2. The Sequel.

The first thing you’ll notice when you step inside is that this doesn’t feel like a cut-price Mercedes. There’s no sense of going to Barbados’s west coast and staying in a two-star hotel. You will find that the quality of the trim and the texture of the upholstery are pretty much exactly the same as they are on a £100,000 S-class.

Then there’s the size. This new A-class is bigger in every dimension than the original, so you’d expect more space. But not this much more. The back, in particular, is hugely roomy, and if you remove the rear seats completely — well, it’s a van.

It doesn’t look like one, though. I always rather liked the style of the first A-class but the new version is in a different league. The three-door model, especially, is the funkiest thing to have come out of Germany since . . . um. Crikey. I suspect it may be the funkiest thing to come out of Germany ever.

Then there’s the list of equipment. My test car had satellite navigation, an in-built telephone, an air-conditioned glove box to stop your chocolate melting, an airbag for my thorax, and a traction control system that came down like a big steel firewall if I even thought about swerving round an elk.

Sadly, it also came with fat, ultra-low-profile tyres, which made the ride harsh and jarring. If you’re asked whether you’d like these on your car it doesn’t matter how charming the salesman is being, or how much you think they improve the looks, Just Say No.

And please, don’t try to argue that they’ll improve the handling, because that traction control will step in long before the height of the tyre’s sidewall could make any difference.

Under the bonnet I had a diesel that was . . . well, it was a diesel. So it made a din when it started but compensated for this by being economical. Same as every other diesel, in fact.

Overall, though, I have to say that the A-class was very, very good. It drives and feels just like a much bigger Mercedes, and that brings me on to the only significant drawback. It’s also priced like a much bigger Mercedes.

Oh, sure, we’re told that the base model is actually a few hundred pounds less than the base model of the outgoing version, despite a bigger engine and a longer list of standard equipment. But the car they sent me, an A200 CDI, costs a simply massive £19,995.

This is probably why the car works so well. Because it’s not a diversion for Mercedes at all. It’s exactly what Mercedes has been doing for 100 years, only a tiny bit smaller.

Before signing off, I would just like to say that Merc’s dealers seem to be improving. For the past few years they were the worst in the industry — rude and utterly incompetent. But my own experience, and a sharp drop-off in the number of letters I get on the subject, suggest that they’re back on track.

VITAL STATISTICS: Well I decided NOT TO include it in this blog as the SUBJECT Model JC's review was a DIESEL. Hence, the Specification is for Mercedes Benz A200CDI SE which is "A Turbo Diesel model" and I dared to say that is NOT AVAILABLE Officially in South East Asia.

Rating 4/5

Verdict Just as good as its bigger brothers"

END OF ARTICLE:

I only don't know the meaning of the following words:
1) "hither and thither", 2) "hotchpotch".

What do you think of this article? Feel free to comment...

Prelude to a series of Case studies: Jeremy Clarkson

From next blog onwards, I'm going to study Jeremy Clarkson's articles as published in "The New Sunday Times" and/or The Sunday Times (UK). Why? Read on...

It's because this "Joker's" write up of so called "Car review" always spent 2/3 of a typical article Talking crap before reviewing the car... The next blog is an "unusual " article written by him. This is a RARE article of him, going about reviewing the Mercedes A-class @ 1/2 of the article. The NEXT NEXT article of him is a review on Volvo XC90. The Volvo XC90 review is his typical car review, where he spent 2/3 of his article talking CRAP. But strangely, these craps eventually linked and/or lead to the car itself. The 3rd blog is his another rare article, Giving the subject car FULL 5 stars out of 5. There's going to be 2 more article, 1 depicting him THRASHING or Scrutinising the review subject car in which he played down Americans. This hurt an American in the process (when republished in Malaysia's New Sunday Times 1 week later) - see accompanying letter appended by me at the end of his review. Lastly, 1 of which is written by "HAMSTER", Richard Hammond.

I enjoyed reading his article. BUT I'm not a FAN of him. As he's racist, bad mouthed Malaysian and Korean cars. Two weeks ago, this joker criticised the NEW Civic Type R, giving it 2 stars out of 5. Ironically, TOP GEAR magazine gave the SAME CAR the "BEST HOT HATCH" title. Is it strange, when Mr Clarkson also worked as one of the columnists of Top Gear?

REVIEW: Ssangyong Rexton 2.7XDi

Source: The Times Supplement UK
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/used_car_reviews/article1294502.ece
January 21, 2007

SsangYong Rexton



By Jason Dawe

It’s not the most photogenic vehicle in the world and it does have a rather strange name, but don’t let that put you off the SsangYong Rexton, because in every other respect it’s a used car gem.

Introduced to the UK in June 2003 (launched in Malaysia around mid 2002) the SsangYong Rexton gave buyers a bargain basement alternative to offerings from Nissan, Mitsubishi, Jeep and Land Rover. With new prices starting at just £18,000 (from RM138,000 onwards, launch price in Malaysia - 2002) for a full blown five-door 4x4 with a decent diesel engine, new Rextons should have been flying out of the showrooms.

But DRB HICOM's patchy advertising and some rather harsh reviews from journalists nearly consigned the Rexton to sales obscurity. Despite these troubles it soon found favour among buyers keen to put value before badge snobbery, and word began to spread.

One of the Rexton’s trump cards has to be its engines — 1 diesel and 2 petrols, 2.9XDI, 2.3 Petrol and 3.2 Petrol — all sourced from Mercedes-Benz. Such illustrious heritage stands any vehicle in good stead but you need to choose the right engine to suit your driving needs. In 2004, the 2.3 petrol model was dropped and 2.9XDi replaced with Newer 270XDi taken from 2nd Generation C class (C270CDI).

If budget is your main consideration then an early 2.9 litre diesel with 118bhp on tap should suit your needs. Prices start from about RM70,000 for a 2002 RX2.9 TDi with about 120,000 kms, to RM110,000 for a 2005 RX270 model. For Rexton 270CDI 2.7 you can expect to average around 32mpg.

Low mileage drivers may prefer the 3.2 litre petrol. With 217bhp there is no shortage of power but in combination with the standard four-speed auto box you will rarely better 20mpg. A 2003 model is yours for about RM78,000.

But the pick of the bunch is undoubtedly the 2.7 litre turbodiesel. It didn’t join the lineup until late 2004 and prices start at about RM85,000, but you do have the choice of a five-speed manual or five-speed Tiptronic auto box.

It is the same engine and gearbox combination that you will find in the second generation Mercedes-Benz C-class and, as you might expect, the result is pretty impressive.

Fuel economy should average 30mpg-plus, regardless of transmission, and with 165bhp and 340Nm of torque it manages to give the Rexton a reasonable turn of speed. All Rextons can tow up to 3,500kg but this diesel is the one that feels most at home doing it.

On the road there is no hiding the car’s generous dimensions. At 4.72 metres long and 1.87 metres wide it’s a big vehicle and one that is happier on the open road than in the urban jungle. The turning circle is ponderous and, on models fitted with privacy glass, visibility when reversing can be a challenge. But these are problems common to most 4x4s so we have to forgive the Rexton these shortcomings.

Take the car off road and the depth of its abilities start to become apparent. It defaults to two-wheel drive under normal conditions, saving fuel and reducing road noise, but get it into the rough and at the touch of a button you have four-wheel drive. The system can be activated on the move and boasts a low-ratio function for extreme mud-plugging conditions.

Standard specification levels for the SsangYong Rexton were universally high with all models boasting alloy wheels, CD player, electric windows and twin airbags. Higher specification SE models feature climate control and all SX derivatives boast leather upholstery as standard.

Look at a used Rexton and it is often difficult to see how SsangYong managed to build such a well-specified car for so little money.

Any economies in terms of fit and finish do not show, and while the cabin is not quite leading edge in its design it is well screwed together and easy to use. Even well used examples seem to wear well. You can afford to be fussy when you are looking at secondhand examples and negotiate a price reduction if repairs or refurbishment are needed.

In a head-to-head contest the SsangYong Rexton outperforms many of its better known rivals. Factor in price and it starts to look like a champion of nononsense secondhand 4x4s.

Four-wheel drive Under normal driving the Rexton is two-wheel drive only — a button transforms it to four-wheel drive. Check it engages smoothly and that the dashboard indicator lights


Boot: Huge 935-litre boot swallows loads and allows the option of a third row of seats to make it a true seven-seater. Spare wheel Stowed in a cradle under the rear, it is exposed to the weather and thieving hands so check it’s present and inflated
Leather Upholstery Standard on top-spec models and a common and desirable option on all

Towing Massive 3,500kg towing capacity puts it on par with the best in class
Warranty Check the book has been stamped by SsangYong-franchised dealers; some cars have a void warranty due to nonfranchise service or repair work

Stereo CD comes as standard but buttons can be fiddly

Bonnet High, bluff styling makes the bonnet and headlamps prone to stone chips, so check these carefully


VITAL STATISTICS

Model SsangYong Rexton 270 XDi SX7
Engine 2696cc, five-cylinder turbodiesel
Power 165bhp Torque 340Nm
Transmission Five-speed automatic
Fuel 30mpg (combined)
Acceleration 0-62mph: 13.2sec (Automatic)
Top speed 111mph (178km/h)

THE ONE TO BUY

SsangYong Rexton 270 XDi 7 seater automatic 2004 with around 60,000 kms. Pay RM88,000 @ dealer or around RM83,000 privately. Note that the prices will drop as Rexton II's out in Malaysia

New twist to this blog. My fave "quotes", articles from various...

From various Car related publications,Brochures , journals, newspapers... From this blog onwards, I'm going to post my favourite "Punch lines" which includes, 1) Quotes, 2) Opening, 3)Body, 4) Impactful Conclusion/Verdict/Closing...


I'll also study how other journalists start their articles (those who stand out), I'll post it here... Don't worry, I'll acknowledge the work of respective writers and/or the source of the articles. This is also for the benefits of "AMATEUR Car writer/journalists" or those INTERESTED to write about cars LIKE ME. It's an eye opening to see GREAT "write-ups" and learn from it or be inspired...

Why sudden change in my Blogging topics/patterns? Because It's Getting more and more difficult to Find Used car specifications. I mean what is the point of writing a Used car review without their specifications? It's JUST NOT COMPLETE. MOST Malaysian car publications can accept it (Especially CARS.MY, which I think is very unethical comparing 2-3 cars WITHOUT their SPECIFICATIONS side by side) BUT NOT ME... I'd STILL REVIEW Used cars, but this time UPON Requests only, so SEND ME your REQUESTS, I MIGHT REVIEW it if I have its specifications.

Here's the 1st one: Check this out... IMPACTFUL Opening taken from "SUNDAY STAR - STARMOTORING 3 June 2007.page MO11. Author Either George Wong OR Hong Boon How...

"HAVING rolled through 66ookm of tarmac, the DUNLOP four have truly been scrubbed in.

It's 9.30 on a stormy April night. The downpour has petered out to a drizzle. The highway was wet and shiny as buffed pewterware. As the driver ramped up speed to take the corner at the Rawang Interchange, the rubbers were busy dispersing water away from themselves and the road.

Nary a screech nor howl was heard as the tyres gripped strongly and executed another routine manoeuvre without mishap. It's ALL IN A DAY's work for the Dunlop Formula D01 as it delivers on its promise of competent wet handling without giving the driver
a dreadful dose of aquaplanning fright."

YES, NO PRIZE Guessing. This is an impactful opening (1st 3 paragraph actually) for a TYRE REVIEW (Dunlop Formula D01). This literally knocked me off my chair... I was so inspired that I decided to post it here to share it to you guys/gals out there... ENJOY!

Sis new car arrived 19/5/07. What car? Read on

It's no other than a Silver Perodua MYVI 1.3SXi. Sorry, I know this is a used car review blog but this posting is a prelude to my next used car review. The new one come and the old one go... I'm going to write a FULL "FAREWELL Report" (very soon) on my Sister's old ride: 1992 Mazda Astina, 100% Stock. The MYVI shared the same double digit no. as the Astina. The Astina is a Kuching Plate while the new Myvi is "WQC" (Weak quality control?, WOnderful Quality Control?). Hahahahah...

Here's some pictures of the car...