27 July 2012 by The Clutch

JUly 27, 2012 YOU R

B I - M ON T H LY

M OTO R I N G

G U I D E

WITH

YOU R

COPY

feedback@mmail.com.my

z n e B s e d e c r e M

s l i e v Un s s a l C M d n a B New

The latest generation MercedesBenz B and M-Class has just arrived in Malaysia. More agile and efficient while being comfortable and spacious as ever, the 2nd generation BClass offers an entirely new drive programme: a four-cylinder petrol engine with direct injection and turbocharging and a seven speed/gear and a new 7G- dual

clutch automatic transmission with several new assistance systems to support the driver. The B-Class features a radarbased collision warning system with adaptive Brake Assist as standard. The system gives a visual and acoustic warning to alert a possibly distracted driver to identify obstacles and prepares BRAKE ASSIST for the most pre-

cise possible braking response. This is initiated as soon as the driver emphatically operates the brake pedal. The new B200 features a BlueDIRECT four-cyclinder petrol engine with direct injection and a new &G-DCT dualclutch transmission. The new Mercedes-Benz MClass scores particularly highly on outstanding energy efficiency

and on average, the new model range consumes 25 per cent less fuel than previous models. The new generation of Blue DIRECT petrol engines ensure excellent economy and outstanding life cycle assessment of the new M-Class. Along with the permanent all-wheel drive, the new M-Class offers exceptional safety and well-balanced ride comfort

as well as excellent driving dynamics on and off the road with an array of new chasis developments and innovative dynamic control systems which further enhance both driving enjoyment and handling safety. The new Mercedes-Benz BClass is priced at RM220,888.00 while the M-Class is at RM570,888.00.

FRIDAY 27 jUly 2012

CLUTCH

THE MALAY MAIL

Maybe it's time to take the whole family to an actyon-packed adventure on... and off the road

T: 03 7960 3633

Malay Mail Fullpage Full Colour | Ssangyong Actyon Sports Teaser Ad | 24 July 2012

E: sales@ssangyong.com.my

ssangyong.com.my

THE MALAY MAIL

III

FRIDAY 27 JULY 2012

TESTDRIVE

Mini Cooper S Coupé Loud, brash and sure to turn heads, meet the Lady Gaga of the MINI world - the all new-Coupé By RICHARD AUGUSTIN

YOU may have heard or even seen the latest addition to the MINI stable, the radical-looking Coupé. In fact you’ve probably stolen glances because of how cool it looks. But upon closer inspection you maybe surprised to know that despite its cutting edge racy design, the Coupé is also purpose built to seat two. Factor that to its RM250,000 sticker price and you’ve got one expensive taxi ride. But here’s what a quarter of a million ringgit will get you from the latest model from the MINI stable. It will turn heads for sure and put a smile on your face when you decide to be a little naughty on the open roads. It will also most certainly make you the envy of your friends and family. That’s what makes the new Coupé all that desirable. It’s a retro-modern interpretation of the super-compact sports car with MINIs signature handling characteristics and driveability. That said though, don’t expect to ﬁnd anything remotely new under the sexy exterior. The all-new Cooper S Coupé, isn’t all ‘that new’ as it sits on the same MINI Cooper platform and banks on the same and proven 1.6L twin scroll turbo charger powerplant that’s used by all Cooper S models. The Coupé also utilises the same six-speed automatic transmission, with paddle shifters mind you for that sportier

Plenty of space here but the passenger and driver has little extra to their beneﬁt. There is a small opening hatch in the middle

Carries the same well designed and retro dashboard

appeal, which results in a power delivery of 180hp along with 240Nm of torque. MINI claims that the Coupé can go from 0-100km/h in just over seven seconds before eventually topping out at around the 220km/h mark. For arguments sake, we’ll take their word for it but based on ﬁrst hand experiences, the Coupé is indeed su-

per quick and more importantly nimble too. The ‘Go-Kart’ handling synonymous with all MINIs is nevertheless there but owing to the slightly shorter, narrower and lower demeanour along with the ﬁnely tuned electric power steering, the Coupé seems a lot more responsive and athletic in and out of corners. But the main rea-

son why the general public is drawn to the new MINI Coupé is because the way it looks. The helmet-like roof is certainly radical and befits a form factor that is far removed from previous models in the MINI family. The stepped rear also resonates style and purpose as it house an active rear spoiler that deploys at speeds above 80km/h. The overall design of the new Coupé also offers an unprecedented 280-litres of boot space, almost double of that of a standard Cooper S. But the latter does have the benefit of a backbench. The Coupé is a strict two-seater but the lower roofline somehow gives the car an almost cocoonlike feel. The inside is tight, and cosy but will seem too confining for some. There’s also no major changes to the interior as well as the Coupé bears the similar cockpit with the trademark buildquality and layout of its Cooper siblings. As far as driving goes, the Coupé scores top marks for being a bonafide tarmac hugging overgrown go-kart. It goes as well as it looks but other than that it’s essentially a MINI Cooper S in a hotter, sexier dress that shows off some newly acquired naughty bits. Sometimes, that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

The coupe like proﬁle does not work well with the Mini's traditional cute looks

Rear hatch opens wide

PICTURES BY DSF

MINI COOPER S COUPÉ SPECIFICATIONS CAPACITY:

1598cc

ENGINE:

1.6L four-cylinder twin-scroll turbo

MAX OUTPUT:

184hp @ 5,500 rpm

MAX TORQUE:

240 Nm @ 1,600-5,000 rpm/Overboost: 260 Nm @ 1,730 – 4,500 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-Speed Automatic Gearbox

ACCELERATION (0-100 KM/H): 7.1 s TOP SPEED:

224 km/h

PRICE:

RM249,888.00

CLUTCH

MOVINGFORWARD

Hyundai Pony

Korea’s first home-grown c ALTHOUGH Hyundai’s company history dates back to 1947, its involvement in the automotive industry did not come until 1967. Before that, Hyundai was very much a player in the construction industry, and one of its notable feats was building what still remains as the world’s largest shipyards in Ulsan in 1972. This is an incredible achievement because Hyundai had no prior experience at all in shipbuilding, let alone putting together a shipyard of a massive scale. Today, Hyundai Motor Corporation is a separate business unit from the Hyundai Group, and the car that set them on the way was a rebadged Ford Cortina launched in 1968. From that point, it took Hyundai just seven years to develop its own model without outside help. The Hyundai Pony was launched in 1975, and was at the time, Korea’s ﬁrst home-developed car, eventually becoming the country’s ﬁrst automotive export in 1976. The man tasked to put the Pony together was George Turnbull, a man whom Hyundai pinched from British Leyland. Turnbull was Managing Director of BL’s Austin

Morris division, and among prod under his watch was the Morr Marina’s underpinnings eventu Pony’s mechanical basis, but w was a bodyshell designed by G engine room were four-cylinder subishi displacing 1.2 to 1.4 lit the Cortina were also featured. to note that despite this vast am parts, Hyundai was already bu with 90% domestic content by la In 1976, ﬁrst shipments of the for Argentina, Colombia, Ecuado notable milestone was achieved ports reached the UK, before B lands, and Greece eventually go 1978. The US market remained even when the second genera launched in 1982, though exp Canada in 1983. The second generation Pony co ture the same line-up of Mitsub remained on sale until 1980, dai introduced the Excel as a re model in 1985. In certain marke Excel was sold alongside the Po and it is worth noting that the E cel was the car that eventually

FRIDAY 27 JULY 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

NEWPOSIBILITIES

car

ducts launched ris Marina. The ually formed the wrapped over it Giugiaro. In the mills from Mittres. Parts from It is impressive malgamation of uilding the Pony ate 1975. Pony left Korea or, and Egypt. A d in 1976, as exBelgium, Netherot their stocks in d beyond reach, ation Pony was ports did reach

ontinued to feabishi engines. It although Hyuneplacement ets, the ony, Exy

spearheaded Hyundai’s entry to the US market in 1987 — a clear example of perseverance and determination leading to eventual success. Looking back, the humble Pony’s contribution to the automotive industry, both in Korea and globally, is indeed incalculable. It represented a key milestone in Hyundai’s history, and spurred the company on to greater success. The Pony marked the point when Hyundai transformed itself from being an assembler to manufacturer, and its capabilities today include in-house designed platforms, engines, and transmissions. Hyundai’s success today was deﬁnitely not achieved overnight, but it started with Pony, and from there, the company made constant and incremental improvements to its products and practices to become a leading automotive manufacturer. Today, the Pony’s lineage is continued by the Hyundai Accent, but as a matter of fact, Hyundai’s entire line-up of world-class vehicles owe their origins to the humble Pony.

From left to right: Mr. Chua from Asian Auto, Mr. Lau from HSDM and En. Sazali from ALLIANZ

MD ELANTRA Takes 5,000 Plus Bookings Since Its Launch In April 2012 HYUNDAI-SIME Darby Motors Sdn Bhd (HSDM) has received 5,000 plus bookings for its MD Elantra since the launch on 8 April 2012. To date, 1,570 units of the MD Elantra are already on Malaysian roads. According to Mr Lau Yit Mun, the Managing Director of HSDM, the launch of the MD Elantra was another success for the company following the successful launch of the LM Tucson and YF Sonata in 2010. The MD Elantra was also named the ‘Car of The Year’ by Asian Auto at the recent Asian Auto Allianz Auto Industry 2012 Awards ceremony that was held at Saujana Hotel, Subang. The Asian Auto ALLIANZ Auto Industry Awards 2012 is one of the biggest automotive industry awards in Malaysia with Vehicle Certiﬁcation Association (VCA) UK as its partner in the evaluation and judging criteria. The judging criteria takes into account the total package of the

car, which includes space, engineering, warranty, after sales service, showroom appeal to customers and affordability of the car to the middle class Malaysian. “The MD Elantra speaks of the success of Hyundai’s bold design and great fuel economy. The MD Elantra is what everyone wants of a car. Dynamic compact design, premium touch, high fuel efﬁciency, spaciousness, and low maintenance cost with an exceptionally accessible pricing,” said Mr Lau. HSDM offers a 5-year or 300,000km (whichever comes ﬁrst) extended warranty on all its new passenger vehicles. Hyundai’s extended warranty is in accordance to its manufacturing warranty. A 24-hour road assist service is also now available to new and existing Hyundai vehicles which the car insurance purchased from HSDM panel of insurance.

CLUTCH

FRIDAY 27 july 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

FRIDAY 27 july 2012

CLUTCH

VII

TESTDRIVE

BMW unveils 6 Series Gran Coupé BMW Group Malaysia has unveiled its first ever 4 door coupé the all-new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé. Available in Black Sapphire, Vermillon Red, Havanna, Space Grey, Orion Silver, Deep Sea Blue and Mineral White, the retail price (on the road, without insurance)is RM788,800.00 and can be purchased with the optional premium package for an additional RM35,000.00. The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé is also the only four-door coupé that provides space for up to five people as standard. Its two outer rear seats are sporty individual seats with a high degree of comfort, while the third seat can be used for shorter journeys. Featuring an in-line six-cylinder engine which combines the latest generation BMW TwinPower Turbo technology with twin-scroll turbocharger, the 3.0 power unit is capable

of delivering a power output of 235kW / 320 hp and a maximum torque of 450Nm, enabling the impressive car to complete the 0 – 100km/h dash in 5.4 seconds and hit a top speed of 250km/h. The power is transferred to the wheels via a 8-speed sport automatic transmission that comes with a Auto Start / Stop function and Driving Experience Control — enabling customers to switch between the comfort, sports or ECO PRO mode to choose between relaxed, sporting agility or a more efficient style of driving. The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé also provides a selection of innovative BMW ConnectedDrive functions, such as the full colour BMW Head-up Display, rear-view camera, Speed Limit Device, office functions and Internet access, along with Facebook and Twitter Apps.

The Gran Coupe is an extended 6-Series

Honda Malaysia to manufacture hybrid vehicles locally Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has announced that it would be producing hybrid vehicles locally. The announcement was made by Mr. Hiroshi Kobayashi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd. at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of its No. 2 Line at Honda’s Pegoh Plant in Alor Gajah, Malacca last week. When the first hybrid rolls out of its plant later this year, Honda will become the first nonnational automotive manufacturer in Malaysia to locally produce hybrid vehicles. Currently, Honda produces its hybrid vehicles only in Japan and the US. Together with its plant expansion, it is also widening its local supplier network to increase the parts content sourced in Malaysia. Currently, Honda Malaysia sources about 40% of the completely knocked-down (CKD) vehicles components locally and plan to further increase the local content. The expanded Pegoh Plant in Malacca will assemble (CKD) models such as the City, Civic, Accord, CR-V and the first hybrid model, the Jazz Hybrid. Honda Malaysia is investing RM350 million for the expansion, which includes building, equipment and facilities. The new No.2 Line is scheduled to begin operations by the fourth quarter of 2013 and will be able to produce 100,000 units annually. When both the production lines are up and running, Honda Malaysia will be able to produce up to 800 vehicles per day, double its current output.

VIII CLUTCH

FRIDAY 27 july 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

MalaysianNews

GSR Repsol Air Asia Rally Team Dominates ROUND 3 MRC Round 3 of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) 2012 was held last week from the 13th to 15th of July, in Johor. This round, which was also an Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) event, saw a total entry of 36 cars braving the tough estates of Kota Tinggi. The GSR REPSOL AIR ASIA RALLY TEAM, had drivers Nathan Quinn from Australia, Fan Fan from China, Lohitt Urs from India and local hero, Karamjit Singh, on board to secure a successful consecutive victory for the team. The GSR REPSOL AIR ASIA RALLY TEAM also won the 4th and 5th overall place, with drivers Lohitt Urs - Sujith Kumar, and Fan Fan

- Fang Jun Wei, both with Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10. For Repsol, UMW’s Executive Director, Encik Megat Shahrul Azmir said “Congratulations to our rally team for winning Round 3 of the MRC, and for doing so well overall. With each victory we achieve, we further strengthen the fact that our lubricants are of superior quality, and is able to perform and deliver results under challenging, competitive conditions. It is great that Repsol have a winning combination here with The GSR Repsol Air Asia Rally Team, and I’m sure we will witness many more victories together in the Malaysian motorsports industry.”

The First 4 Nissan LEAF Ambassadors Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM) handed the keys to the first 4 Nissan LEAF Electric Vehicle (EV) ambassadors recently. Daniel Yap, Jason Goh, Yoong Huey Yee and Rizman Harith Merican were the first few to use the EV in their daily lives for up to 6 weeks. They will share their daily experience with friends and the public via different mediums such as video clips, write-ups as well as to provide valuable feedback to ETCM on the performance of LEAF in local conditions. The LEAF ambassador application is still open and the previous applicants still stand a chance to be selected. ETCM would like to have as many Malaysians experience the LEAF in real life situations to create a better understanding

Perodua unveils New Alza Advanced Version There is a new variant of the Alza in all Perodua showrooms. This latest version comes with a built-in touch screen multimedia system which includes navigation; reverse camera; a new leather seat cover design with embroidery; PVC coil mat and an “Advanced Version” grade mark. The New Alza Advanced variant’s multimedia system also comes with new applications such as the “Yellow Pages”; whereby users will be guided to the location of any company registered with the listing service provider. Another notable feature in the New Alza Advanced Version is the TM WIFI Hotspot locator, which can enable customers to locate the nearest TM WIFI Hotspot as a value added proposition for the customer.

of the EVs. ETCM invites all to see, feel and explore the world’s first mass-produced 100% EV, Nissan LEAF at the following venues:Date July 26 to 29

Venue Queensbay Mall, Penang

August 3 to 5

Mahkota Parade, Malacca

August 10 to 12

Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

September 12 to 16

1 Utama Shopping Center, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

October 5 to 7

Alor Setar Mall, Alor Setar, Kedah

November 7 to 11

1 Utama Shopping Center, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

November 23 to 25

East Coast Mall, Kuantan, Pahang

December 26 to January 1

1 Utama Shopping Center, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

The New Alza Advanced Version variant comes in Automatic Transmission and in 3 colours – Mystical Purple, Ebony Black and Ivory White. The on-the-road price for the New Alza Advanced Version remains at RM69,503.50 for solid and RM70,003.50 for Metallic. Perodua is maintaining its 188,000 sales target this year despite the challenging industry environment and has unveiled its New Alza Advanced Version as part of its product line-up to excite the market. For the first 6 months of 2012 Perodua has sold some 93,000 units up 17% from nearly 80,000 units sold in the same period last year. This represents 31% of the estimated 303,100 total industry volume for 1H12.

EDITORIAL NOTE

by Daniel Fernandez

Consultant Motoring Editor

ADVERTISING SALES

A motoring pullout is a common feature with most newspapers… but Clutch will be different. How different? Well just like the rest of the all new The Malay Mail, Clutch will be informative and true to its editorial integrity. Clutch will be a bi-monthly (every other Friday of the month) motoring pullout that will give straight-to-the-point car reviews and relevant motoring information for the Malaysian car enthusiast

Joel Miranda

Lim Ee Mae

in a simple language. We will not confuse you or ‘smoke screen’ you with technical terms and instead offer our views on each and every test drive. We at Clutch hope that the car reviews presented will be able to

General Manager

Manager

move you to personally take a test drive of the cars reviewed at the nearest showrooms and see for yourself what we experience in each and every test drive. Your feedback is needed for us to improve in every area.

012-2337394 joel.miranda@redberry.com.my

012-2073241 eemae@mmail.com.my

Email us at clutcheditorial@gmail.com.

Please watch out for our next issue on the 10th of August 2012.