RON97 & RON95 is now @ RM2.05/litre & RM1.70/litre respectively

It was not a surprise that our fuel price has been adjusted slightly lower to RM2.05/litre and RM1.70/litre for RON97 and RON95 respectively, following the drop of crude oil price for the recent months.  Iraq, as the 2nd largest oil producing country has called on the possibility of limiting production volume to boost the oil price.  This is the first time Iraq is supporting this.  It could help with the price, but it could means lesser work hours for the people or equipment, and could lead to other social and economic problems.  

For now, enjoy the cheaper rate, and September has many holidays ahead, time for some road trips!

The game changing Perodua Bezza

The Perodua Bezza name is not anything fantastic, nor it sounds any extraordinary to be in the game changing world, but this is Perodua first sedan, and with its reliability, ease of ownership, new engine and 5-Star ASEAN NCAP safety rating (for the Advance variant, other variant scored 4-Star), could as well welcome those that hated the small boot size of all the hatchbacks the brand has produced to date, to put their money down for a real first family car.  Based on the A-segment AXIA platform, one could expect it to compete with the upcoming Proton Saga.  With order books multiplying quickly and reaching > 20k units now, Perodua seems to hit the jackpot with every model that it brings to the market.  Somehow, cheap does not means it will sell, it is always the user experience that move the product.  Proton is either here nor there to make a real comeback, though most are waiting for the Saga and Persona, which could be as game changing as well.

As with all Perodua's models, Bezza took the simplicity path in the interior design, with some touch of luxury.  The Advance variant is equipped with leather seat, leather wrap steering and gear shifter, which is rarely seen in car of such segment.  The white stitching add to the luxurious feel as well.  Priced at RM51k OTR, it could sound too much for the brand, but heck, it sells when the car is a fully well thought and equipped, especially with dual airbags, ABS and traction control.  It even has keyless entry, Start-Stop button and engine idle stop feature.  If it were to have all round airbags, the Bezza is then really a car not to be missed by car buyers. 

Manual and Automatic variants are available, both for the 1.0-litre (50hp/91Nm) and 1.3-litre (70hp/121Nm) engine models.  Notably, the 1.3-litre engine is the new 1NR-VE Dual VVTi unit, where the 1.0-litre is the existing unit used in the Axia.  Perodua is advancing much better than most local and Japanese manufacturers in trying out new technology, which is a big thumb up.

The anti-snatch seat hook is inherited from the Axia, and best of all, a USB port capable of supplying 2A power is available at the end of the center console, ensuring rear-seat passenger "juice" for their mobile device.

When it is a sedan, naturally boot space is an important spec that people will look at, and the Bezza does come with a 508-litre boot.  It could swallow luggage for not just a weekend getaway, but at least for a full week around Malaysia roadtrip.

So, has the Bezza excite you?  The very first in-house design sedan, not inheriting any of its sibling Daihatsu model, except for the platform, the first trial of Perodua does indeed can be game changing.  When Myvi makes its debut more than a decade ago, no one expected it stirred up the hatchback trend, filling our road with so many of them.  Then the Axia, giving better value than the Kancil it replaced, it quickly becomes the first car of many fresh graduates and the retire generation.  Now, the Bezza, could very well lures those that need a sedan, yet have only Saga as their choice in the past to put their signature in the order list.

Six colours are available, where the Ocean Blue above and Sugar Brown below are new.  If only the Brown could be more brown, it would be a perfect colour.  The Sugar Brown looks a bit grayish under sunlight.

Very soon, we will again see the road full of Bezza, and Perodua laughing to the bank.

All new Honda Civic, the Altis killer

2016 is a game changing year, as with different priority in life, this blog will only be updated when time allows.  As with the recent Honda's models, all are as game changing in their own segment, with simple purpose of hitting its competitors hard and gaining huge leap in market share.  The Honda HRV is one, and now the all new Honda Civic is yet another one, going to hit Toyota big time, especially with the new turbocharged 1.5-litre engine.  It is always good to know car manufacturer is willing to bring in newer technology engine to the local market, as the long time market champion, Toyota has been sticking to the old, trusted and reliable unit, but with no excitement to the demanding consumers.

The all new Honda Civic comes with three variants, one with the old trusted natural aspirated 1.8-litre engine (141hp/174Nm), which is now the cheapest Civic one can get, at RM114k.  Going up is the new Earth Dream 1.5-litre turbocharged variants (173hp/220Nm) which are priced at RM128k and RM136k respectively.  One would start to ask whether should top-up a little more for the Accord instead.  Honda is a believer is CVT, thus it could be disappointing for those that favour the better torque converter gearbox.

The beauty of the Civic is in the eye of the beholder.  Most love the front aggressive and futuristic look, especially the highest end unit which is equipped with LED headlight.  The angle portray some "Transformer" look.  The rear is controversial, either hate it or like it.  The extension to the light cluster to the boot lid could be a hit or miss.  It is always good to know the safety equipment of all variants are similar, all round airbag and traction control are standard.  Parking brake is now electric, no more handle.  For those that would love to modify their Civic for some handbrake drift action, forget about it, as it has grown to be more luxurious now.

Gone are the 2-tier meter cluster and the new Civic live on with a simpler dashboard.  Quality of the interior is questionable, especially with the leather seat.  Sit on it, feel it, one can immediately agreed on the questionable quality, which looks loosely stitch and too soft with some lousy leather.  Locally sourced seats could be a concern! 

The Civic again has adopted the hidden tier to house the 12V and USB input.  Some love it as it hide the messy space, but it is totally not ergonomic for usage.  A driver while seated, making the reach to the 12V socket difficult as it is far toward the passenger side.  Even accessing the USB port which is nearer is difficult as the whole compartment is like hidden deep down the centre stack.  Honda's engineer should relook into the design.

Love the Civic, and want to finally own a turbocharged Japanese car, then heads toward the showroom and test it.  Do however note the engine is so new, and it could take time for local dealer to get familiar with how to service and repair the car.  The engine has not proven itself yet in our ground of hot and humid weather, is it worth the rush to own one?  I would personally wait till Honda resolve all issues (if any) before embarking on the new turbocharged unit.  Maybe the 1.8-litre is the best choice for now!

3 Years on, the Delkor battery report card

This is yet another report card for Delkor battery.  This round, the 55530 (55Ah) model that I had, lasted 3 years and 2 months.  The battery had not failed completely, but the starting of the car felt sluggish.  Back in 2013, the battery cost RM300 and with 1128 days of usage, it simply translated to RM0.27/days.

This round, I bought another Delkor 56030 (60Ah), and the price now is at RM371, inclusive of GST.  Let's hope this will last for many years to come.

RON97 & RON95 is now @ RM2.10/litre & RM1.75/litre respectively

Crude oil price has been in the up trend for the past months and it is natural the pump price should follow as well.  RON97 is now RM2.10/litre and RON95 is now RM1.75/litre.  It is the Raya festive month, and costing the government a lot for disbursement of bonuses, allowing people with additional money to pay for higher petrol price.  There is always the saying that "Nothing comes free", thus don't be fooled by little sweet deal. 

Although the increase is just RM0.05/litre across the board, including diesel, and assuming during the festive month, an average vehicle owner pump 300 litres, it will be an additional RM15 for the month, and with > 1 million road users, you do the math, easy income!

The much hype of the Toyota Sienta

Most of us have the news the the Toyota Sienta is going to make its appearance as a "Made in Indonesia" product very soon.  Almost a quarter of the Toyota Mega Web showroom in Odaiba Tokyo was filled up the Sienta last year, showcasing the space efficient design of the car.  In Japan, the Sienta is available is an array of bright and funky colours, attracting first time MPV buyer, especially young family.  By the way, Avanza and Innova is not available in Japan, as these are the Asian low cost MPVs.

There has been much hype of the Sienta, as some would think this could be the Perodua Alza replacement, where both share the same wheelbase and almost the same size.  Toyota loves their sliding doors in MPV, as this improve the accessibility into and out of the vehicle, as can be seen in the Sienta, or even their mini size Toyota Porte and others.  This makes perfect sense since an MPV, for it be mini, compact or huge in size, should always be designed with convenience as the priority.  It could even be easier to fit a welcab chair for the disabled...very thoughtful.

	Sienta	Alza	Avanza
Wheelbase	2750mm	2750mm	2655mm
Length	4235mm	4205mm	4140mm
Height	1675mm	1620mm	1695mm
Width	1695mm	1695mm	1660mm

The dashboard and the interior is fairly basic, with nothing fancy, and perhaps this is how Toyota keeps their rate of repair so low.  When there is nothing much, then there is nothing much to fail.  "PRACTICAL" could be the keyword for the Sienta, adding a bit of "STYLE". 

According to the specifications from Indonesia, the only 2-airbag could be a big drawback on this people mover.  As a MPV, the safety structure is very much different from a normal sedan/hatchback car, as most can seen those big MPVs that were involved in accident, could result in fairly bad situation.  However, a smaller MPV could have better rigidity if design correctly.  Anyhow, every single additional equipment that could save life is important.

The Toyota Sienta, should be equipped with the same 1.5-litre engine from the Avanza, could make it to Malaysia.  But news was scare as our very own distributor, UMW Toyota could survive on with their existing boring VIOS, ALTIS and CAMRY.  When we peek into our neighbouring countries, they have more models than us, and at least, the Yaris has been missing from our line up for some years now after it was priced at > RM100k.

The Sienta could enjoy a very good position in the market, as none of other Japanese brands are offering this class of vehicles.  Perodua could be the only one, but we do have majority of people that would like to have a foreign brand instead of a local name.  Toyota has lose out in the B-Segment SUV competition for now, where Honda and Mazda is enjoying the sales numbers from the HRV and CX-3 respectively.  If the Sienta really make it to our shore, it could a a big hit, if priced correctly!  Do not repeat the mistake of the pricey Honda Freed though.

RON97 & RON95 is now @ RM2.05/litre & RM1.70/litre respectively

No big deal this April 2016 as the slight increase in petrol price is only RM0.10 for RON97 and RON95, making them @ RM2.05/litre & RM1.70/litre respectively.  A common 50-litre tank now will cost an additional of RM5, which can be a simple meal.  If an average user pump a tank a week, that would be 4 meals in a month.

Crude oil price has been hovering around USD40 per barrel recently, thus justifying the increase.  It is still low, and it could be helping our economy slightly.