The "Bug" edition Volkswagen Beetle

The craze for a VW Beetle has since been over as we can see a decent numbers of them now on our roads.  I recalled most dealerships didn't even care to offer a test drive for the Beetle, order it to put yourself in the waiting list then, the car shall be available in 6-8 months later.  That was over, and the Beetle, being a 2-door impractical car, did not really sell in the thousands nor hundreds now.  VW has even drop the highest range 2.0-litre model from their website.  All you can get now is the standard and sport edition.  A limited run of of the "Bug" edition is available at RM147k, equipped with the same 1.2-litre TSI engine, with added features such as bi-Xenon headlight with daylight running LEDs, leather seat and two bold stripe that run from the front to the rear and at the side with the "Bug" wording.

The Beetle, designed to be more masculine, has actually lost its cutesy appeal to most ladies nowadays.  Those that knew the car well, remembered the "flower vase" holder on the dash in the previous generation car, which add a little girlie touch to the Beetle.  But a guy would still avoid being seen driving in the Beetle, it still has the "lembik" feel.  

Interior of the Bug is of high quality, and the body colour matching dash and door inserts add fun factor to the smiling face of the driver.  Layout of all controls is simple, easy to use, and as usual inherit the boring trend from other VW's.  The Beetle deserves to be totally different, and VW should learn from BMW on how to revive a classic that is everyone wannabe, like what it did to the MINI. 

The Beetle should be a fun car, and easy to drive, but the bulkiness of all the round corner could mean dozen of blind spots that one can't see from the driver seat.  It is a car that need tender loving care.  A 7-speed DSG in such a revived classic make thing less attractive, as the previous generation 6-speed auto-tranny could be easier to maintain.  Keeping things simple, easy to maintain, should always be the priority of any classic.  We want it to last and have fun driving it 10 years later instead of spending most time in the workshop! 

For real, Isuzu is back with a MU-X

The all new Isuzu MU-X does bring back good memories from the eighties, where its Trooper range of SUVs were everywhere to be seen on our road.  During that time, the Trooper enjoy a different tax bracket as it was listed as commercial vehicles.  But with its high driving position, good reliability, and the lack of any competitor, the Trooper sold like hot cakes in those days.  After market accessories shops helped to fit in a rear aircon, two side benches above the rear wheel arches, it became a nice 7-seater family "travel-anywhere" tough vehicle.  The sales of such SUV start to decline when the government changed its policy, viewing such vehicle as a normal passenger car, and slap it with those standard high rate.  Most of such SUV, including the Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Land cruiser suffer almost an immediate disappearance from the market.  Then comes with more comfortable MPV, flooding the market.

Choosing a Isuzu, which is well-known for its diesel engines, will never go wrong on the reliability and robustness.  With 21-million of engines to date as solid proof.  Over here, the MU-X is available in only one engine choice, which is the 2.5-litre inline-4 VGS (Variable Geometry System) turbocharged diesel engine, mated to a 5-speeder autobox, and capable of 134hp/320Nm of power.  Though 3-litre model is available in some other countries, this will never be the popular choice.  Two variants is available here, the 2WD (RM152k) and 4WD (RM165k).  Isuzu need to work harder to bring back its previous charm, and MU-X might sees lesser acceptance from the crowd.  The high selling price is a main factor, second by the boring look of the SUV.  For those that remember the Isuzu Piazza which was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro?!  That's a fantastic car Isuzu used to produced, tuned by Lotus!  The MU-X is more suited for those that work for estate, yet a pickup truck is out of class.  Although the MU-X is derived from the D-MAX, the leaf spring suspension has been dumped for a multi-link setup, that bring improve comfort to the MU-X.

A 7-seater the MU-X is, but chairs could not be folded flat completely.  But it is still huge enough to carry your bicycles or your favourite Ikea's flat-packed.  Though the MU-X scored a 5-star ANCAP rating, do note that in Malaysia, the variants we get are only equipped with 2-airbag.  Other safety amenities such as ABS, EBD, TCS, ESC, BA are fully equipped though.

The interior of the MU-X is as comfy as a sedan, and the 4x4 variant comes with a Blaupunkt multimedia player, support navigation, and mirrorlink to your smartphone.  Center console is a simple round shape control.  Nothing fancy here.  The 4WD selector switch is located behind the gearshift.

So think you want a real off-roader, and the Jeep/Land Rover is not within your budget, the MU-X could be a good choice.  Or you really need to stay in a flood prone area to force yourself into getting this car.  If all you need is a comfortable 7-seater people mover, get a MPV.  If all you drive is on city roads, there are better choice such as the Nissan X-Trail or Honda CRV.  Estate managers, please keep your eyes on this MU-X, you can have a good decent car now instead of the pcikup you are having!  Family will love you more!

Roar of the C-Segment Hatch, the Peugeot 308

The all new Peugeot 308 is now available, roaring its way through, hoping it will reinstate the glory of the volume to hit the ever popular VW Golf TSI.  The 308 in the C-Segment hatch guise, looks luxurious, but...hmm...beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.  To claim this is a hatch, the rear of the 308 makes it more toward a station wagon feel and in fact, looks kind of dull when compare to the predecessor that it replaced.  Well, if you want a good looking hatch, at similar price zone (the 308 is asking for about RM133k), do give the Mazda 3 a look.  But if you are a boring person, the 308 could be the right fit, especially who could resist the alcantara seats!

Still, in the heart of the lion, the familiar "One for all" 1.6-litre THP Prince engine continue to soldier on, albeit being tuned to produce 150hp/240Nm of power, mated to a 6-speed Aisin torque converter gearbox.  The latest Peugeot's PureTech engine will not make it to our shore any time soon, which could be caused by the fuel quality issue.

The interior of the 308 is the most luxurious C-Segment around.  With a minimalistic design of the center console, leaving only few buttons accessible where the rest of the functions are now control via the 9.7" touch screen.  Brilliant design!  However, to those that like to have their own AV system, it is now impossible, and you are left with the 6-speaker Arkamys-tuned system, which should be good enough for most normal ears.  Parking brake is electronic controlled now, as well as the cool Push-Start button located behind the gear stalk.  As with Peugeot design language with its small car, the 308 adopted the similar small little steering wheel, where one needs to look over it for the meter cluster.  Most of the time, the steering wheel will block the view and Peugeot ought to listen to Asian customers as we are mostly not as tall.  Peeping carefully to the RPM meter, it spins from right to left defying the norm.  Geeks will defintely like to have something different somehow.  In our hot weather, the owner better tint the panoramic roof as dark as it could before the sun start a bush fire on your head.  The built-in blind will not do any good to block it off for you as it is a thin mesh of white cloth.

A continental car always win with ton of safety features and the 308 is not an exception.  It has 6-airbag, ABS, Traction control, rear-view camera, 5-star NCAP rating, LED lights, Emergency Collision Braking (Self braking), and Dynamic Cruise Control that could maintain a safe distance from the car ahead.  And, yes, the 308 is a lot pricier than the previous model, but with all the new technology included, on an all new EMP2 platform which shave 140kg off, and able to give you 800km on a full tank of petrol, this 308 means business.  Only the Alcantara seats will set one at least RM10k extra if it were offered as an option.

So, is the new 308 a station wagon or hatch?  You decide!  The previous 308 brings Peugeot brand back alive in Malaysia, but its glory has been overtaken by the 208, thus, Naza could afford to offer a luxurious 308 now, but the volume could drop significantly when there are other choices out there!

RON97 & RON95 is now @ RM2.35/litre & RM2.05/litre respectively

With crude oil price in the upward trend for the past months, it is logical that from June 1, 2015 onward, there shall be an increase in the the petrol prices.  All variants, for it be RON95, RON97 or diesel, will cost RM0.10 more per litre.  This increment comes with no surprise and is something so insignificant when compare to a single government company that could have debt in the billion!  RM0.10 is not enough to divert any attention.  We want our money back!!!