Malibu with its golden Bow Tie!

For now, of all the brands that are represented by Naza, only Chevrolet that is less seen on our road.  Doom by the low resale value, and the uncertainty of the now defunct Daewoo's quality, even after the great GM acquisition, the brand still has a long way to go.  Consumers here will always be attracted to the Bumblebee - The Chevy Camaro - The Transformer, but a real vehicle that could not transform to a robot, will have its resting place mostly in the showroom or warehouse instead of being driven on the road.  With Naza Quest latest promotion, a 2014 manufactured Malibu is now asking for only RM139k.

The D-Segment Malibu is powered by a 2.4-litre Ecotec engine and mated to a 6-speed gearbox, which is capable of 165hp/225Nm of power.  Horsepower does not look impressive here, but the torque should be good enough to pull this car effortlessly.  At this price, the Malibu is almost fully loaded with all the wannabe equipment, which include stability control, tire pressure monitoring, HID light, rear camera, auto dimming rear view mirror, push-start button, cruise control and the Chevrolet MyLink 7" touch screen audio system.  Almost perfect, but only 4-airbag in a family sedan?  Naza has always been good at bringing in high specifications car, why the imperfection here?

The interior built quality is very good for a GM/Daewoo production.  The Malibu is solid and could be mistaken a muscle car with its bold front and Camaro-like rear taillights.  The dual-binnacle meter cluster add a touch of sportiness, but the manual gearshift selection via button selection on top og the gear stalk is a total let down.  A pair of paddle shift or gated +/- gear shift will be much appreciated instead.  The seat are part leather part vinyl, where both front are power adjustable with lumbar control, prove to be very comfortable.

If one scroll down the list of equipment, the engine could be remote started, which is a feature useful for country with winter, where warming up the car is necessary.  But in Malaysia, this feature will only mean waste of petrol and an open invitation to car hijacking. 

Knowing that the Chevrolet could be a tough sell here, Naza is bundling a 200,000km/5-Year warranty to the Malibu.  It is one of the decent choice for a D-Segment sedan, but do shop around in the Hyundai, Kia,  Honda or Toyota showroom first.  Anyhow, limited service centers is a challenge, and if one don't mind having an immediate depreciation of 50% when the car is being registered with your name, the Malibu does have some traits from the Transformer, though it will not drive itself or transform.

D-Segment fighter, the Toyota Camry comeback!

Toyota is making a comeback, and this round, it is serious!  Though the lowest end facelifted Camry is still lousily equipped with only 2-airbag and missing traction control, it is banking in on the 2.5-litre Camry hybrid to make the bulk of the sales before the tax incentive run out by end of 2015.  Anyhow, Toyota has been losing market share to Honda with its terribly design "Uncle's-look" car, and scantily equipped safety list, and looks like it shall continue this trend.  People that buy a D-segment car without proper safety equipment is getting lesser and lesser, and only fools that do not treasure life of their family want that.  Wake up, uncle, for the price you are paying, you can get other choice with better ans safer car.  Life is priceless, don't risk it!

Let's start with the 2.0-litre Camry, which get to produce 165hp/199Nm of power with the all new 6AR-FSE direct injection with VVT-iW.  The VVT-iW is essentially dual VVT, as the variable valve timing is being applied to both the intake and exhaust camshafts.  This engine, depending on the power output, can work in the Otto cycle and a modified-Atkinson cycle, whatever this is, all one needs to know is it can roll the front wheel, with better power and increase efficiency.  Sadly, at RM160k, the 2.0-litre G variant is only RM15k lesser than the 2.5-litre Hybrid, has 5 airbags lesser, no blind spot monitoring, no Qi charger, no ioniser, wear 1" smaller wheels, no LED headlight, no rain sensing wiper, no auto dimming rear view mirror, etc.  The RM150k E variant is even worst, completely throwing away the Traction Control.  In 2016, if this "E" Camry were to participate in the ANCAP test, maximum it could only get 3-star.  Dude, for RM50k or less, one can get a tiny Kia Picanto with 6-airbag and traction control, or our National pride that think the BMW-equivalent Proton Iriz is also equipped with full safety list.  UMW Toyota again is reaping big profit from the uncle generation this round.  The best I found in the 2.0-litre variant is the 6-speed auto box.  Finally, the 20-year-old 4-speeder is gone.  This torqur converter 6-speeder could drive better than the CVT unit that drive the 2.5-litre Hybrid model.

As for the 2.5-litre 2AR-FXE engine, not completely new, though from the same AR family, running on Atkinson cycle, this unit can only produce 158hp/218Nm of power.  Efficiency of this engine is better suit for the hybrid drive train.  This model is marketed as the highest specifications Camry, asking for RM175k, fully loaded with everything that the 2.0-litre is lacking.  This is the Camry for the smart uncle!  By the way, the NiMH battery comes with 8-year warranty.  However, Toyota is only giving 3-year warranty for the car itself, thus still lacking from the assurance of 5-year from its beggest competitor, Honda.

The interior of the new Camry is nothing but boring still.  Both variants share similar setup, except for the differences in the meter cluster and the ICE system.  Standard 2.0-litre car audio system could be upgraded to a Toyota 7" screen unit.  The hybrid model get a standard JBL unit which has 10-speakers, reverse camera and mirror-link features.  No joystick here as it is reserved for the Lexus only.  Take a look at Mazda if you want a advance looking interior.

Thunder of applause for Toyota in making this Camry better looking, especially the front headlight and bumper.  It now looks sportier, less Uncle-grade, though the rear is still hmm...fit for the mid fourties and above.  Throw in additional RM3k, you get the optional aerokit which includes the front bumper spoiler, side skirts, trunk lid spoiler and the rear bumper spoiler (twin exhaust).  Immediately, the car is fitted for the early fourties!  But the aerokit if only available for the 2.0-litre variant.  To the hybrid owner, just admit you are the uncle, no offence.  One thing to note here, the trunk swing arms are now finally cover up.  Guess my comment has been taken seriously.  The previous car has the arm metal expose, looking as cheap as it can get.

The front and side profiles look good.  Toyota is trying its luck this round, especially with the hybrid model roll-out which capture the mind of people thinking paying RM175k for hybrid is well worth the money as without the tax incentive, this car is worth >RM220k easily.  People, if you purchase this at RM175k, years later, you are not going to sell it for RM200k.  Consumers nowadays are smart, and car never appreciate in value.  Let's now look forward to the arrival of the facelifted Mazda 6 before making your booking!

12 Years on, the new Citroen C3 is back!

The Citroen C3 is finally here!  Making its first appearance in Malaysia's shore in 2003, with about less than 200 units on the road, and a long list of of horrible failures, such as the failing actuator of the Sensodrive Automated Manual Transmission, the discolouration of the athermic windscreen, peeling soft-touch plastic surface, etc., let's hope this round the aging Citroen C3 is serious on luring back some confidence.  The one we will be having here is the 2nd-generation, which made its debut in 2009 and facelifted in 2013.  One will wonder that with a lifespan of about 1.5 years, an all new Citroen C3 will be available, why now?  Maybe Naza finally noticed owners of previous C3 are Citroen's lover, who keep the car for the past 12 years, and returning the Citroen Service Centre to upkeep their cars.  But the truth is, as an owner myself, we have no choice.  There is no residual value in the used car market for the C3, unless we are willing to let it go for couple of thousands, and the complication from the electronic in the car...just scared other third party Ah Beng workshop away!

The new Citroen C3 has not taken any drastic changes in the look department, keeping its artistic roundish profile, and it is the first ever car with a Zenith windscreen in 2009, which stretch all the way back till the front seat position, providing an extreme spacious feel, and for those that like enjoying the moonlight.  In our weather, the shade better to be in the normal position, unless we want to save the hair dryer cost and let the sunlight does its job.

Only the Exclusive trim is available, and according to NEM, it should be priced around RM103k.  Launching should be in the month of May, but once the government approves the price, new car could then start to deliver even before the launching date.  Please, make this car below RM100k.  The C3 is categorized as a supermini by Euro NCAP, only achieved 4-star rating in 2009's result.  It's sibling, the Peugeot 208, which has a fresher design, has a complete 5-star rating in 2012.

Similar to the Peugeot 208, the Citroen C3 is powered by the familiar VTi unit from the Prince family.  It is capable of 120hp/160Nm of power, mated to the old 4-speed gearbox.  Again, why?  Isn't it time we get the all new Puretech engine and 6-speeder instead?  Oh, by the way, please, forget about the ETG6 gearbox, and just bring in the normal torque converter auto.  We are also so tired of the Prince engine now.

Interior is dated, especially the single din audio player and climate control.  Well, these are dated back to 6 years ago, thus do not expect it looks as good or as cool as the Peugeot 208.  At least it has a 7" screen which support navigation, but the map could be lousy, and it is not a touch screen.  Comparing to the Citreon DS3, the C3 interior then looks modern, but nothing more fancy than other cars in the same range.

Boot space is very similar to the previous generation of C3, which is 300-litre.  However, when the rear seat are folded, the hatchback could still carry quite some huge objects, including some of your Ikea's furniture or the old 29" TV that refuse to "koyak".

Being a Citroen, having a plush comfy padded seat is a must and the C3 does not disappoint here.  Though only available in cloth, it is far better than the 2003 C3 which came in light gray colour which did not resist well to dirt, dust and water.  All seats, including the rear has 3-points belt and individual headrest.  Headrest is always an important safety feature in all European car and you will not see rear seat with in-built headrest like our low cost car here.  Proper headrest height could save one live, and prevent whiplash injury...Rakyat of Malaysia, wake up, and start demanding for better safety features in your car.

When you have a big screen, beside having navigation, the next most useful feature will be the reverse camera.  No, the C3 will not park itself, but it has 4 reverse sensors and a camera assisting those that failed their parking test.  Come on, this is a supermini car, if one cannot park this car, go back to your "Lembu" license, and stop driving on the road.

The C3 sit on 205/45R17 rubbers, with dual tone Clover alloy rims.  The spare however is a spare saver temporal tire this round instead of a full size unit, which could translate to fuel efficiency as it is lighter.  Rear torsion beam with coil spring suspension is retained.  

Want a car that turns head?  Get a Citroen.  Want a car with no 2nd hand value?  Get a Citroen.  Want a chubby nice looking car?  Get a Citroen C3.  On the safety department, albeit the 4-star NCAP rating, the car comes with 6-airbag, ABS, ESP, ISOFIX mount points, sleek daylight running light and variable power steering, just to name a few.  If you love the Boomerang headlights on the Citroen C3, go put down your booking and the following keys is yours in coming month.  Do note that keyless entry and push start button is not available, thus the traditional key fob.