Clutch - 13 July 2012

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All-New Ford Ranger Arrives in Malaysia

FORD has launched its classleading all-new Ranger in Malaysia which redefines the pickup truck segment by combining the toughness and capability of a pickup truck with smart technology, outstanding safety, excellent fuel economy and high standards of quality and comfort.

Everything is new in this Ranger — engines, gearboxes, frame, suspension, steering system, brake system, chassis, exterior sheet metal and vehicle interior.

The list continues with brandnew features for safety and passenger comfort.This Ranger features either a Duratorq TDCi1 2.2L Variable Geometry (VG) Turbo diesel engine with six-speed automatic transmission (6-AT) or manual transmission (6-MT) or a Duratorq TDCi 3.2L VG Turbo diesel engine 6-AT. With newly engineered powertrains and new six-speed transmissions, the all-new Ford Ranger ensures class-leading fuel efficiency and

a quieter, superior driving experience. The Ranger’s Duratorq TDCi 2.2L VG Turbo engine delivers 150 PS and powerful 375 Nm of torque. It offers exceptional fuel consumption from as low as 8.1L/100 km2. Equipped with the Duratorq TDCi 3.2L VG Turbo engine, the Wildtrak offers a power output of 200 PS with a substantial 470 Nm of torque.

The fuel consumption of this fivecylinder diesel engine in a combined cycle is among the leader

in its class with fuel consumption as low as 8.91L/100 km2.

The all-new Ford Ranger brings new levels of spaciousness to the compact pickup ownership experience with a comfortable and quiet ride, along with a level of features and technologies that make it second-to-none. At the time of launch in Malaysia, overall customer pre-bookings for the all-new Ford Ranger have surpassed 1000 units to date.

MODEL AVAILABILITY AND PRICING 2.2 XLT 4X4 6-AT DOUBLE CAB RM95,888.00 2.2 XLT 4X4 6-MT DOUBLE CAB RM89,888.00 WILDTRAK 4X4 6-AT DOUBLE CAB RM116,888.00 On-the-road with insurance for Peninsular Malaysia and private registration only. For more information on the all-new Ford Ranger, visit www.ford.net.my

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THE MALAY MAIL

TESTDRIVE PICTURES BY DSF

Honda Insight Hybrid Alternative Energy, Alternative Choice

By Kon Wai Luen

The car-shopping budget of a typical urban wage earner in Malaysia is usually capped at RM100,000, and whilst there are a few options available, choices are restricted to the national makes and entry-level Japanese sedans. The Koreans do offer bigger and betterspecced options, but as the likes of Hyundai move up the automotive food chain, their prices are inching correspondingly upwards, moving closer and closer to the Civic and Corolla territory.

In any case, if you are restricting your budget to a five-figure

Honda Insight SPECIFICATIONS Capacity: 1,339cc Engine: Inline-4, SOHC, 8V, IMA Max Power: 88PS (engine) + 14PS

(IMA) 121Nm (engine) +

78Nm (IMA) Transmission: CVT FWD Price: RM99,800 with

Insurance

Max Torque:

sum, what you are getting, regardless of brand, will almost certainly be locally assembled.

Your other alternatives besides the used car market would be pick-up trucks, or a sub2,000cc hybrid vehicle, and this brings us to the Honda

Insight, launched here in late 2010, and recently subject to a minor product update earlier this year.

Honda Malaysia imports the Insight as a CBU from Japan, but thanks to Government tax incentives, the privilege of owning one costs only RM99,800, making it a very attractive option indeed. Based on the same platform that underpins the City and Jazz, the Insight is another product that showcases Honda’s unmatched prowess in packaging spacious and practical interiors within the confines of compact dimensions.

As such, the Insight’s case is already sufficiently compelling before we even talk about the merits of its parallel hybrid

This is the facelifted Insight which has some exterior and interior extras. It is now the most popular and best selling Hybrid in Malaysia

powertrain, which Honda dubs Integrated Motor Assist. It features a 1.3-litre 88PS petrol engine aided by the efforts of a 14PS electric motor. Torque contributions are 121Nm from the engine and 78Nm from the motor.

Unusually for a hybrid, Honda does not boast anything about the Insight’s fuel economy, with rated fuel consumption figures and CO2 emission numbers conspicuous by their complete absence in the Insight’s brochure. For the record, Honda’s official website for the UK quotes 4.1 l/100km and 96 g/km respectively, and Honda took deliberate care to set the Insight up to guide you as close as possible to achieve those figures.

Using similar psychology that gets people hooked up to video games, the Insight’s instrument panel ‘rewards’ its driver with eco scores the more economical his or her driving habits are. The Eco Assist system even has long term memory, so over the months and years of your ownership, you can occupy your time by playing your way to be an Eco Champion in

your Insight.

Whilst friendly to your wallet, such driving patterns also have the habit of misleading you into thinking that the Insight is sluggish and slow. It is not. Think of its electric motor as a 78Nm overboost facility on tap, and you can see that the Insight is capable of brisk acceleration should you need to get anywhere in a hurry. This crucial assistance from the electric motor provides instantaneous response on overtaking.

The Insight is a highly recommended pick for sensible family buyers seeking a spacious vehicle that also provides excellent fuel economy. Some parties have raised concerns on the durability of its battery pack, but Honda has addressed such claims by slapping a five-year warranty specifically on the IMA system itself, which should assuage most doubts.

THE MALAY MAIL

FRIDAY 13 july 2012

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MOVINGFORWARD

Hyundai One man with a vision MANY great success stories began with humble origins, and a case in point would be the Hyundai Motor Company, which rose from its modest and obscure beginnings to become the world’s fourth largest automotive manufacturer in a relatively short time span of forty years. Hyundai’s remarkable success story is a touching tale of hard work and an unshakable resolve to succeed not just at home, but on a global scale as well.

Walking into a Hyundai showroom today, one is greeted with stunning highquality products such as the Sonata, Tucson, i10, and the all-new MD Elantra. Today’s Hyundai products offer unbeatable combinations of good looks and cutting-edge technology, at affordable prices, thus retaining the value for money preposition upon which the brand’s success is built on.

Official beginnings of this remarkable enterprise took place in 1947, when Chung Ju-Yung started up Hyundai Togun, a company which specialized in construction. Renamed as Hyundai Construction in 1950, the company was the first Korean construction firm to venture overseas with projects in Thailand, Guam, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Chung was also famously responsible for building the Ulsan shipyards of South Korea in 1972, which re-

mains as the largest shipyards in the world today.

The company’s fateful entry into the car industry took place twenty years after its founding, with the incorporation of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in 1967. As an interesting side note, however, HMC was not Chung’s first foray in the automotive business. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Chung had operated a workshop which he acquired from a friend. Chung operated A-Do Service Garage for only three years, though the experience undoubtedly planted the seeds of his interest in the industry.

One year after coming into existence, HMC rolled out its first car, the Cortina, a rebadge of the famous Ford model of the same name. The company’s collaboration with Ford continued for some time, but it took them just nine years to develop Korea’s first homegrown vehicle, the Hyundai Pony, which began exports just a year later to Ecuador, making it Korea’s first automotive export as well.

As years passed into decades, Hyundai took on challenges and overcame them one by one. The 1980s marked the company’s entry into the North

American market, and as more markets opened up, it took Hyundai less than a decade to achieve a million exports. Progress continued to come at an exponential rate — annual production was a million in 1994, and by 1996, the world had more than 10 million Hyundai vehicles running on it.

The company’s progress was measurable not just by numbers, but by significant milestones as well. It churned out its first self-developed engine in 1991, and by 2008, Hyundai engines were deemed good enough to be regular inclusions in the annual Wards’ 10 Best Engines list. These recognitions come on top of a slew of awards won

by Hyundai vehicles worldwide from various bodies and judging panels.

Mr Chung died in 2001 at the age of 86, leaving behind a legacy that impacted millions of lives not just in his home country, but worldwide as well. Today, Hyundai Motor Company personifies the sheer determination of its founder rising in from the ashes of obscurity and striving to unimagined heights. He may have passed on, but the company he founded continues to make impressive strides with each successive product.

FRIDAY 13 JULY 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

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THE MALAY MAIL

TESTDRIVE Mercedes G-Wagen Sales Remain Healthy

By Russian & Chinese Buyers WEALTHY Russians and Chinese buyers are keeping the classic looking Mercedes G-Class Wagen from being discontinued. The G-Class has been in production since 1979 and over the years many improvements have made this SUV a class act buy in North America and Europe. Even with tough new competition coming into the market year after year, more than 6,600 units of the G-Class was sold last year. This healthy demand has persuaded Mercedes to continue its production for now. The best selling model is the G 65 AMG which happens to also be Mercedes’ most powerful vehicle and the most powerful series-produced cross-country vehicle in the world. It has a 612hp V12 turbocharged engine. The face-lifted G-Class has only minor exterior tweaks such as LED

A design that has lasted 33 years, the G-Class production will continue

daytime running lamps and new exterior mirror, but the interior has extensive modifications to make it more modern and more luxurious. The new modern dashboard has a large screen that resembles an Apple iPad and high levels of comfort for all passengers.

Volkswagen Takes Over Porsche VOLKSWAGEN GROUP now owns Porsche and intends to maximize its profits and market share with combined engineering and production. Its recent decision to take full control of Porsche Automobil Holding SE’s car manufacturing business puts the VW Group and Porsche in a stronger position

as a global manufacturer.

VW agreed to buy the remaining 50.1 percent of Porsche SE’s automotive business that it doesn’t already own for 4.46 billion euros ($5.6 billion), ending a sevenyear takeover saga that divided two of Germany’s most powerful families. The agreement means Volkswagen can now fully fold the Porsche car manufacturing business into its stable of brands, which range from Audi and Bentley sedans to Skoda and Seat

volume models and Ducati motorbikes. It leaves Porsche SE, which is controlled by the Piech-Porsche family still owning 50.7 percent of VW’s common stock.

With sales volumes running close to 20 percent above their previous record, Porsche’s main challenge is “securing sufficient production capacity,” and integration with VW will help as VW already has plans to start assembling some Porsche models in its own plants.

Citroen DS4 (pictured above) and DS3 and DS5 cars now on sale in Malaysia at Brooklands

Citroen To Tackle Chinese Market With DS Range CITROEN is now introducing new models in China’s luxury car market as the French carmaker aims to further increase is sales figure in the country. Citroen is now introducing its upscale Citroen DS3, DS4 and DS5 models in China in order to take a chunk of the luxury car market in the country Citroen aims to almost double its

sales of lower-range cars in China by 2015, during which it expects Chinese sales to account for around 15 percent of its global figure.

Citroen’s luxury car sales in China accounted for around 11 percent of its global figure in 2011. The Chinese luxury car market is currently dominated by Volkswagen’s Audi, BMW and Daimler’s

Mercedes-Benz and is being viewed by global carmakers as an important market particularly as the current economic situation in the West, particularly in Europe, has been negatively affecting vehicle sales. The DS Range is sold by Brooklands Motors in Malaysia. Showroom in Klang Valley located along Federal Highway.

Volkswagen will start assembling some new Porsche models in its factories

THE MALAY MAIL

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TESTDRIVE

Refreshed Mazda MX-5 Miata THIS is the refreshed Mazda MX-5 or better know as the Miata. It is a midlife facelift and come with a new front end that looks similar to the one on the hugely popular CX-5 SUV. The MX-5 Miata won’t just receive tweaks to its looks. In addition, it has a new pedestrian safety feature and its performance has been improved quite a bit.

The new MX-5 front end gets

a more pointed black mesh grille, while the foglight housings and lip spoiler, resulting to a vehicle that is sleeker and sportier. Customers who want the power-retractable hardtop will be getting new 17-inch wheels while Dolphin Gray Mica is the replacement of Metropolitan Gray Mica as a color option. Buyers can also choose a tan interior option. In

addition, Mazda differentiated its hardtop models from the soft-top ones.

The soft top variant gets black-tinted headlights. Meanwhile, the wheels are dark gray, while the interior door handles get a black treatment, and the gauge surrounds have a dark gray finish. All of the accent pieces of the hardtop version are painted in silver rather

than a darker shade.

The powerplant didn’t get modifications. Instead, Mazda retuned the ECU on the manual transmission MX-5 to provide a more linear throttle response.

Changes could also be seen on the braking performance with the brake booster changed to offer a higher performance on the roadster. The MX-5 will

be powered by the redesigned 17-inch wheels, new front bumper, and wiring harness. Most notable of all the new features on the 2013 MX-5 however is the Active Bonnet. If the vehicle detects a frontal impact under certain conditions, the rear

edge of the hood will prop up so that more space is created between the hood and engine compartment. Mazda is betting on this change to lessen the risk of injury if a pedestrian is hit by the car.

Renault Clio 4th Generation THIS is the all new 4-generation Renault Clio. Pictures and initial details have just been released ahead of its official unveiling at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Set to hit the market in early 2013, the new vehicle is clearly the first Renault model to feature company’s new design identity. Everything you see at the car is completely new. Under the hood there is a new range of engines starting with a 0.9 liter three-cylinder petrol turbocharged ‘Energy TCe 90 Engine’ with Stop&Start.

This engine delivers the performances of a normally-aspirated 1.4-liter powerplant: 90 hp and 135 Nm of torque. There is also a new 1.5-liter diesel engine delivering 90 hp and 220 Nm of torque.

A new 1.2-liter petrol engine will also be available and this engine will be paired to a 6-speed EDC automatic transmission.

The turbocharged 1.2 engine delivers the performance of a normally-aspirated 1.6-liter

powerplant: 120 hp and 190 Nm of torque. This engine is currently in the process of being homologated and will become available in the first half of 2013. The new Clio RS model is expected to receive a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine delivering an impressive 200 hp and this will be coming to Malaysia.

Lamborghini Gallardo Special Edition For Hong Kong THERE is a special edition Lamborghini Gallardo just for the Hong Kong market dubbed the HK20 which was created to commemorate its 20th anniversary in Hong Kong. This product is a collaboration between Kingsway Cars (HK Lamborghini dealer and of course Lamborghini in Italy). Similar to what Lamborghini KL did recently with the Malaysian edition of the Gallardo.

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FRIDAY 13 july 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

MalaysianNews

Audi Q3 Now In Malaysia Euromobil Sdn. Bhd has launched the Audi Q3 to the Malaysian market from RM258,000 OTR without insurance and the sportier and athletic S line exterior package for an additional RM21,000. The Audi Q3 is a premium compact SUV that promises equally comfortable drive on and off road.

The Q3 showcases Audi’s expertise in all aspects of engineering, from its lightweight body to efficient drivetrains and a dynamic chassis; to its state-of-the-art assistance and multimedia systems. The coupé-like lines are a visual expression of its sporty character. The sharp edges frame, elegantly arched sheet metal surfaces, and the wedgeshaped xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights give the Q3 a distinctive and formidable presence on the road. Thanks to systematic lightweight design, the basic version of the Audi Q3 weighs less than 1,500 kilograms. Its bonnet and wraparound tailgate, which houses

This Q3 carries the design language of the Q5 in a compact form

the taillights, are made of aluminum and the passenger compartment features ultra-high-strength steels. The handsome Q3 also leads its

class in aerodynamics, with a drag coefficient of just 0.32Cd — a remarkable figure for an SUV. The 2.0 TFSI engine intro-

duced in Malaysia — combines Audi’s mighty efficient technologies: direct fuel injection, turbo-charging, startstop system, and energy re-

covery system. The 170 hp petrol drivetrain delivers outstanding fuel economy figures of just 7.7l/100kms with 280 Nm of torque arriving between

1700-4200 rpm. Paired with the 7-speed S tronic transmission and quattro-all wheel drive, it can reach 100km/h from rest in 7.8 seconds.

all passengers in the first two rows. The new Freed S boasts of innovative storage space and holders such as the illuminated centre tray, large door pockets, backrest hook and front seat back pockets. There are 7-cup holders in the Freed S, which means each of the passengers has their own cup holders.

The new Freed S comes with a 5-speed auto transmission, Drive-By-Wire for smoother ride, 1.5L i-VTEC engine that produces maximum power of 118PS/6,600 rpm, which

can also reach the maximum torque of 146Nm/4,800 rpm.

The new Freed S features with dual front SRS airbags and seatbelt reminders for the driver. It is rated with 6-Stars JNCAP for both driver and passenger seat. The G-Force Control Technology (G-CON) helps disperse the crash impact across the body frame while the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) gives better crash compatibility with other cars, thus minimising injuries. The Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electrical Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and Grade Logic Control are featured in the latest Freed S. The new Freed S is available in Brilliant White Pearl, Polished Metal Metallic and Crystal Black Pearl at all Honda dealers now with on-the-road price tag of RM 99,800.00.

For more information, please call Honda Toll Free number at 1-800-88-2020, or log on to www.honda.com.my.

Honda new affordable Freed variant launched Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has introduced a new Freed variant, the Freed S in Malaysia.

The new Freed S is a Complete Build-Up (CBU) unit from Indonesia. Young modern

families will find its flat floor and roof design very practical as it creates more cabin space and head room to allow young

kids and elderly to move around easily in it. The design of the flat floor is achieved through the use of an ingeniously builtunder-floor fuel tank.

EDITORIAL NOTE

The low floor is one step, only at 410mm from the floor.

The best in class walkthrough cabin of the new Freed S features four captain seats in the first two rows with a 200mmwide aisle to ease access.

This also increases visibility for

by Daniel Fernandez

|

Consultant Motoring Editor

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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 in a

Joel Miranda

Lim Ee Mae

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. In this first issue, we at Clutch hope that the car reviews presented will be

General Manager

Manager

able to 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

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Email us at clutcheditorial@gmail.com.

Please watch out for our next issue on the 27th of July 2012.