What's wrong with always-on backlit meter cluster?

Recently, the news of always-on backlit meter cluster has been taking its round, stating it is dangerous and not conforming to international safety standard.  I am not going to argue or take side on this, and as a driver myself, I could only admit that it happen before to myself on the forgotten headlight issue as the car meter cluster is always blasting its lightwaves in front of my eyes beautifully.

Looking at 2 cars that I am driving now, both are equipped with always-on backlit meter cluster, and both have an indicative light whether the car headlights are on, as pointed out in the photos.

The first photo is taken from a Citroen C3 and second photo from a Honda City.  Thus one could easily see that smart manufacturers would have given the always-on backlit cluster some deeper thought to add in the headlights "on" indicator.  And by the way, the Citroen C3 is a 2003 manufactured car, and the Honday City is a 2009 unit.  These add to the doubt that in fact, in some countries, this indicator might be a compulsory item for the always-on backlit meter cluster.  Or there were too many complaints that forced manufacturers to put this in place.

Advise to engineers out there...tiny little indicator does not cost much, yet it is solid proof on whether you are smart to think further as a user, or just having a plain flat brain.

Nissan Almera, the no-frills Japanese car

You have limited budget, where National's and Korean's cars are not in your shopping list, and you "die die" want to get a Japanese car for its reliability, ease of maintenance, second-hand value, then stop shopping around, as the Nissan Almera is your one and only choice.  With the price staring from RM67k and RM70k for the down-to-earth basic manual transmission and autobox variants respectively, no wonder people are flocking to Nissan's showrooms to let go of their pay cheque.   As simple as the Almera gets, is a 1.5-litre CVVT engine, capable of 101hp/139Nm of power.  Just decent enough to ferry your daily workload in the city and cruise through your occasional vacation along the highway.  4-speed autobox and 5-speed manual transmission variants are available.

On the safety side, the basic E variant come with only driver-side airbag, which is a shame here as even our National's cars come with minimum of two nowadays.  Choosing the upper range of V and VL variants, you will then get dual airbags.  However, it is good to see that all variants are equipped with Anti-Lock Braking system and ISOFIX mount point.  The rest of the features where you pay extra for are stuff like front fog lamps, remote trunk release, automatic aircon, steering wheel audio control, push start button, keyless entry, and some garnishes here and there.

Nothing much to shout about with the Almera, but the rear legroom is incredibly huge, and it is the largest when compare with others in the same B-segment.  Nissan has make this a real comfort and economy car to own.  Uh...the "underwear" look of the steering wheel really need to be updated.  With a splash of the Nismo bodykit, the Almera does look slightly better.  But, in my humble opinion, it still looks like a Nissan March with a boot bolted on at the back.  It is now in the facelifted generation, and in another 2-3 years, let's hope for a real handsome looking Almera.  For now, the price of the Almera so attractive, making it hard to resist for first time Japanese car buyer!

Nightmares of AMT, Automated Manual Transmission (Semi-Auto Gearbox)

Semi-Auto gearbox started in the early 2000, with some car manufacturers pushing it as the next generation technology.  Designed mainly to fit lower displacement small car, one could also see some higher end vehicles using this type of Automated Clutch Gearbox.  Essentially, AMT is a manual gearbox, couple with "robotic" arm and motors to engage and disengage the clutch, effectively shifting the gear automatically for the driver.  Since it is a manual box, with its own ECU controlling it, such gearbox can obtain excellent fuel economy, while giving the driver full control of the gear selection when needed in the Manual mode.

 

Having own a Citroen C3 with Sensodrive, and driving it for almost 12 years now, it's time to share the nightmares with those that are considering a car with this technology.  Firstly, an AMT, being a manual gearbox, does not hold the car in drive position while on a slope, it will roll backward!  Handbrake control is very important here, as there is no clutch for one to depend on.  Secondly, the gear shift speed is at a tortoise speed as the "robotic" clutch need to move in and out to disengage and engage the gear.  Most manufacturers learned and went ahead with dual-clutch gearbox years later.

Aside from the operational change of the driver, reliability of such gearbox is a big concern as there are additional moving parts in the system.  Whenever things move, failing is imminent.  The AMT will usually has two actuators, one the changes gear and another to control the clutch.  In addition to that, another component that will fail is the gearbox ECU.  The clutch plate maintenance is standard for all manual gearbox as well.  Within the first few years of ownership, the gearbox of my AMT has encounter a failure with the clutch actuator, as seen above.  The moving arm (where the black rubber enclosing it), refused to move, causing the gearbox stuck at whatever the last gear number it is in.  Driving it further in one low gear will cause the gearbox to overheat and give up, thus towing is the only option.  Luckily, this was replaced under warranty (Cost about RM3k).  Do however note that servicing and maintaining a AMT need special program that connect to the car ECU, to ensure the arm is retracted in a correct position and calibrated precisely.  Sending it to those Ah Beng workshop is as well as trashing your gearbox!

Second part that failed was almost 12 years later, which should be considered as worth the praise of the built quality.  This round was the Gear Shift Actuator as shown above.  This part is expensive, costing about RM5k, and it is heavy and huge, with 2 motors built into it, controlling the gear selection!  When this failed, the car either will be stuck at a gear or in neutral, and usually the car could failed while driving, which was what happened to me.  With no gear, and in neutral, the car slow down ad stalled!  After which the ECU protection came into effect and disallowing it to be driven or started anymore.  Both parts are manufactured by SACHS of Germany, thus quality should be high, but with a lifetime!

So, are you still considering a car with AMT gearbox?  Think again!  If it is without the Hill Start Assist, normal driver will take times to get used to operating on a slope.  If things start to fail, pray hard the car is still under warranty.  Summary of cost if one were interested:

1. Clutch Actuator = RM3,000
2. Gear Shift Actuator = RM5,000
3. Clutch Maintenance every 80k-120k km = RM3,000
4. ECU = unknown, as mine still working

By the way, Citroen has updated my gearbox ECU many times, mostly are safety enhancement.  For now, cars in the market with AMT would be and not limited to:

1. Greatwall Haval M4 (a lot of pending orders, which it could not deliver and might due to reliability issue of the AMT, start saving money folks!)
2. Alfa Romeo Selespeed models where Sime Darby has stop distributing.
3. Citroen Sensodrive and EGS models (no longer being sold under Naza, and all Citroen brought in by Naza uses normal torque converter automatic)
4. Proton Savvy (where production has stopped)
5. Smart ForTwo and Roadster (not available for sales in Malaysia anymore)

If I were to buy an automatic gearbox car, CVT or normal torque converter type is a must.  No more AMT!  Those having or going to have one, Good Luck!

RON97 & RON95 is now @ RM2.25/litre & RM1.95/litre respectively

With the increase in crude oil price, naturally, the March 2015 announcement of petrol price will follow suit.  A RM0.25 increase per litre across all grades, making RON95 RM1.95/litre and RON97 RM2.25/litre.  Some petrol kiosk has even stop selling trying to reap in the profit now.  Our businessmen are mostly unethical, where during announcement of price drop, they star complaining about their loses, but when the price increases, they try all ways to reap the benefit.  In Malaysia, keeping 3-day of stock is a regulation and this line of business is regulated.  The government should heavily fine them or put them in jail.

Looking at Brent Crude Oil price now, it is about 18% difference from previous month.  Thus the RM0.25 increase is about right!

The High Rider Vehicle...Honda HR-V

The B-segment SUV just got more exciting with the introduction of the Honda HR-V.  It is also known as Honda Vezel is some countries.  For now, Malaysian has the Ford Ecosport, Peugeot 2008, Greatwall M4, Suzuki S-Cross and the HR-V to choose from.  Putting the M4 aside (which has ton of complaints), the HR-V will definitely beat all competitors out with its attractive pricing and list of specifications.  Starting with a 1.8-litre engine and CVT gearbox, the HR-V easily beats the rest with 140hp/172Nm of power.  With 1.2-ton of weight to pull, the HR-V is not a race car, and the engine will do just fine for comfortable cruise.

It is bravo to Honda for bringing in the HR-V, and lighting fire crackers again for celebration for its successful understanding of the demand for this new market segment.  For now, Toyota has long to chase.  Based on the similar platform of the Jazz, the HR-V is longer, yet retain the popular ultraseat configuration, with a huge boot capacity, sitting on 215/60R16 wheels.  Available in 3-variant, with a starting price almost RM100k to RM120k, and long list of equipment, it is of no surprise the waiting period for the HR-V is 4-5 months.  Looks like Ford, Peugeot and Suzuki need to learn from Honda on how to make a successful B-segment SUV.

	Honda HR-V	Suzuki S-Cross	Peugeot 2008	Ford Ecosport	Great Wall M4
Engine Power	140HP/172Nm	115HP/156Nm	120HP/145Nm	109HP/142Nm	105HP/138Nm
Transmission	CVT	CVT	4-speed	6-speed	6-speed (AMT)
Engine Capacity	1.8	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5
Traction Control	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Maybe
Cruise Control	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Airbags	6	7	6	7	2
Wheel	16"	17"	16"	16"	16"
Price	120k	130k	120k	104k	60k

Major differences of variants of on HR-V will be the audio system, where the highest end V-variant getting the now popular Honda 7" touch screen unit with HDMI input and 6-speaker.  Of course, only this variant get 6-airbag where the other two only get to have 2-airbag.  Next big feature is the usage of LED projector headlights with DRL instead of the normal halogen projector type.  Honda, unlike Toyota, is bringing in latest technology to our shore now!  If you were to explore more, the HR-V is equipped with electronic parking brake and Brake Hold feature, where the latter will hold the brake when the vehicle come to a full stop and release it when the accelerator is being pressed.  This is in addition to the Hill Start Assist feature.  Nice!  Light tap on the turn signal stalk will enable the signalling for few seconds, enabling the driver to notify other on your intention, which is especially thoughtful in our driving style when shifting to different lane is frequent.  A feature usually available in continental car is now available with the HR-V, and of course, auto-headlight is standard as well!

As stated before, with 1.2-ton of weight, the HR-V could not be a fast car with the 1.8-litre engine, but it does well as a compact SUV.  The balance of the design, which is unlike the odd and old-fashioned looking Ecosport, make the HR-V even more desirable.  Most users do not need to be able to carry a washing machine in the car, and the HR-V is good enough to not just ferry people comfortably in the huge rear space and fit many luggage in the rear boot.  The industry is now looking very hard on the boring Toyota on what's next, after Honda successfully brought in the people's favourite City, the hipster Jazz, the refreshed CRV/Civic, and now the all new crossover HR-V.  Praise on the HR-V is difficult to express with words and images.  Visit a Honda showroom now to experience the wow effect of the HR-V.  Trust me, one cannot feel how the HR-V would fit in one lifestyle until you get a closer look at the real thing.  A new segment for all lifestyle, the Honda HR-V.

Like to have a new lifestyle, you could go for the HR-V, or wait for the all new Mazda CX-3 which will hit our market in the coming months.  Let's hope Mazda CX-3 could is similarly priced and equipped.  We need to have competition for manufacturer to bring the best of breed to us!

Mazda 2, the long awaited Kodo!

A lot of us has been waiting eagerly for this, and the Mazda 2 is finally here in the hatch form.  The sedan variant shall reach our shore in March.  This round, whether it is the hatch or sedan, both share the same on the road price of RM88k.  With the new Skyactiv body, engine and transmission, the 2 is a whole new car, style to turn heads, especially in the Mazda's Soul Red colour!

It is interesting that Toyota failed to make the Yaris popular here, and Honda Jazz is far off from being a real hatch, yet Mazda 2 always has its origin as a hatchback, with a sedan that is designed to look fresh as well, not any bolt-on tail look, or chop-off sedan look.  The 2 is in fact an impressive car, except for the lack of full round airbags.  With only 2 airbags, and consumers getting more safety minded, the RM88k might not be the best choice one can get in the market.  Though, the 2 is equipped with the rest of the safety features, such as ABS, EBD and Traction control.  The 1.5-litre engine could produce 114hp/148Nm of power, mated to a 6-speed gearbox.  Yes, high compression Skyactiv engine, better power, improve fuel economy, with added i-Stop feature that bring you the extra miles.

The Mazda 2 is fully imported from the Tomyam-land, and with its back-log order, could put a buyer in 2-3 months wait time, if lucky.  People just love the nimble 2 for a change!  The interior is classy,  and is the only car in this segment to have a nice joystick-style controller for the MZD Connect unit.  The simple yet elegant hidden aircon vent is setting a trend for Mazda, which is being used in the all new MX-5 as well.  A digital speedo could be a let down, as personally, I would prefer it to be running on analog instead.  Put the MX-5 meter cluster here and it could make the 2 perfect!  Not very sure why this car comes with a Head-Up-Display?!  Some claim it is for safety where driver could keep their eyes straight forward, but this thing could be annoying at time, and does not provide additional functions, yet having consumer paying the extra for this.  Equip the Mazda 2 with additional airbags instead!  

If you have tall friends or family members, the Mazda 2 could spell difficulty here or reduce comfort for them.  The rear space is kind of cramp, though suitable for smaller size passengers.

If you were bored by Toyota and Honda, and have the budget for the stylish Mazda 2, it is indeed a good car to consider.

RON97 & RON95 is now @ RM2.00/litre & RM1.70/litre respectively

Crude oil price keep dropping and dropping, but we don't really see our car price doing the same, though "someone" claimed some cars prices had came down...but mostly because of those models have been localized for CKD.  In actual fact, most manufacturers has increase their prices since January 2015. They are warning consumers that come April, with GST, and weakening Ringgit, the price will increase as well.  Thanks...promise broken again!

As of February 2015, RON97 is at RM2/litre, RON95 and Diesel are ar RM1.7/litre.  We the consumers, don't even get cheaper Roti Canai or Teh Tarik.  By Chinese New Year, bet we will start paying more for almost everything!  Enjoy...No...Malaysia never get into recession, our standard of living is still low!  Fresh graduates are being paid with same salary set 20 years back, or some even lower!