Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2018 i TopGear Malaysia

139 Mazda CX-5 vs Hyundai Tucson June was an abnormally busy month for car dealerships nationwide. The industry is on a tax break, with GST (Goods and Services Tax) reduced to zero for the next couple of months until SST (Sales and Service Tax) is reintroduced. Malaysians are aware of this window of opportunity and are flocking to showrooms in droves. Even the premium brands – think BMW and Mercedes-Benz – are struggling to fulfil bookings as the more expensive a car is, the greater the savings. On the flipside, things have been rather quiet for us, with no new car launches to report given the recent Hari Raya festivities. So, what have we been driving to kill our free time? For starters, we’ve got the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo…

New exhaust manifolds from F1 team’s supplier, now made from Inconel. Its equal-length tracts make the sound purer. Also it’s much lighter than the GTB’s unequal-length one. And there’s less sound insulation between engine and cabin. You’ll have read that any number of turbo engines are “free of lag”. There’s the Ferrari 488 GTB’s V8. That one is tantalisingly close. Various BMWs and AMGs are nearly there, but only the 488 Pista’s V8 is free of lag. No punctuation required. That’s the electrifying achievement of this car. There’s vastly more to it, though. Has to be. Because the 488 Pista must follow the smoking tyre marks of the 458 Speciale and, in chasing the Speciale’s genius, the Pista has 50 more horses than a 488 GTB. It’s had a major…

Falken Malaysia held a glitzy live viewing party of the Premier League football match between Liverpool and Stoke City recently for invited guests and local Liverpool fans. Held at Score, The Roof, Bandar Utama, registration opened some two hours before the scheduled kickoff at 7:30pm and the guests and, especially, the fans were there early and eager to cheer on The Reds as they played at home in Anfield. Many of the fans proudly wore their favourite Liverpool jerseys. Top Stamford Tyres Malaysia (STM) executives were present too, namely executive vice-president and CEO Cham Soon Kian, and the head of Finance and Operations, Ch’ng Lee Lee. STM Passenger Car Radial (PCR) tyre and fleet representatives, the 10 winners of Falken Malaysia’s recent Facebook contest campaign and several media members were…

I lived in a little house in a working class area of Dublin, and a fella down the road showed up one day in a Jensen Interceptor. I remember looking at it: a Saturn V rocket may as well just have landed on the road. My first car was a Triumph 1300. My father was going to scrap it but I reckoned I could fix it up, so he gave it to me. The suspension was shot, and the front wheels were pointing towards each other. I came home one day to discover that my dad had scrapped it – quite rightly, looking back on it – but neglected to tell me. He’d squashed a dream so I decided not to talk to him… for an entire year. He was…

Every new car that matters, rated or slated Lamborghini Urus £164,950 WE SAY: LAMBORGHINI: 1, PHYSICS: 0. PERFECT WHEN YOU’RE REALLY RUNNING LATE ON THE SCHOOLRUN “The reason people buy a Lamborghini is 60 per cent design,” Stefano Domenicali, Lamborghini’s CEO tells us over a pasta dinner. I don’t doubt him – if you want shock and awe, nothing does the trick like a Lambo. But here we are in the midst of an industry-wide SUV frenzy, and the goalposts have shifted. There’s passion and flair in the Urus, the world’s first self-proclaimed super-SUV and Lambo’s first off-roader since the tank-like LM002, but its task isn’t just to surprise and delight – it needs to double sales figures from 3,500 cars a year to 7,000 and build a foundation from…

Volvo XC60 T8 Twin Inscription Plus RM324,463.83 WE SAY: THINK THE XC90 IS TOO BIG AND PRICEY? WELL, THEN, PERHAPS ITS SMALLER XC60 SIBLING MIGHT JUST DO THE TRICK There hasn’t been a more exciting time for anyone to get into the Volvo brand than now. The Swedish marque continues to get things right, especially if its latest XC60 mid-sized crossover is anything to go by. It doesn’t take much to figure out that it’s a ‘baby’ XC90 in every sense. But to know for sure, we spent an entire weekend testing one. Our takeaway: we’re certain this electrified crossover has all the right attributes to charm plenty of hearts and minds, and as easily as its bigger sibling has done. At a glance, it’s difficult to tell apart the XC60…

Mazda CX-9 2WD RM264,405 WE SAY: MAZDA’S FLAGSHIP SUV RATTLES PREMIUM MAKES WITH MORE SEATS AND PRESENCE AT A DISCOUNT For intelligent beings known to squeeze the biggest scientific breakthroughs into the smallest of packages, humans are still often drawn to the primal presumption of bigger being better. On that basis, the seven-seat Mazda CX-9 is a born winner with its RM264k entry price undercutting those of European five-seat crossovers that are all the rage today despite being one size smaller. The untrained eye will inevitably struggle to identify the CX-9 as the cheaper car if it were parked beside a BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Volvo XC60. It’s not just the Japanese SUV’s girth, but also the presence imbued by its oversized grille and imposing 20-inch alloys in accordance…

Ford Ranger 2.2L Wildtrak RM120,703 WE SAY: LIKE THE WILDTRAK, BUT FIND ITS 3.2-LITRE ENGINE EXCESSIVE? LOOK NO FURTHER… Pickup trucks have been around for ages, but like the diesel that propels them, their popularity among urbanites only rose in recent decades. In Malaysia, the Ford Courier of the 1990s is often credited as the ‘lifestyle pickup’ that started it all. This heritage is upheld by the current Ford Ranger, which is the bestselling Ford here today. Unlike the agricultural users of yore, today’s customers are more interested in features like semi-autonomous driving assistance, touchscreen infotainment and big, shiny wheels. For the longest time, Ford has been bundling these creature comforts into the Wildtrak spec reserved for the 3.2-litre model, which is the brawniest variant of the T6 Ranger to date.…

The Navy SEAL 3580 Series, the very latest of Luminox’s Navy SEAL Collection, benefits from a host of upgrades and revisions that make it tougher than ever. Consisting of five models, the series’ exciting new features include a chronograph function and CARBONOX casing. As per previous editions, Luminox adopts the Navy SEAL mantra, “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday,” which stresses that each day you should work harder than the last, making the previous day appears easier. So, starting with the case and the unidirectional rotating bezel, both are now crafted out of CARBONOX, an innovative carbon compound material and a trademark of Luminox. The CARBONOX results in both a good-looking and lightweight timepiece that remains extremely tough. Besides that, the adoption of tempered mineral glass ensures durability while the…

Whatever your response to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, you can’t fault the company’s credentials. Prestige players crave authenticity above all else – it’s a valuable USP, particularly in China – and rather than being fashionably late to the SUV party, Rolls-Royce can legitimately claim to have been a pioneer. With the ultimate celebrity endorsement. “More valuable than rubies in the desert,” Lawrence of Arabia noted of his nine-strong fleet of Rolls-Royces, modified to handle the brutal theatre of war he operated in. His personal car was called Blue Mist (he’s said to have commandeered it from its owner after spotting it outside a Cairo nightclub); others were open-bed tender vehicles, and several were armoured. During his legendary campaign against the Ottoman Turks, none ever broke down. A century later, Rolls has…

Andreas Preuninger first came to the Isle of Man several years ago, “and ever since I’ve been wanting to come back, to do some real driving here.” This is the place for it. And, God knows, we have the cars for it. I keep having to pinch myself as I look across the car park of the famous Creg-Ny-Baa pub. It’s a litter of Porsche’s most hardcore driving weapons. And Preuninger is the man responsible for each and every one of them. OK, not quite. The 1973 Carrera RS was a tad before his time, but earns its position here as the granddaddy of the car we are celebrating: the GT3 RS. Preuninger is the head of Porsche’s GT cars division. This has to rank as one of the juiciest jobs…

Like a diesel engine, SkyActiv-X runs on compression-based ignition, which means it can achieve combustion without the use of spark plugs in theory. Mazda’s SPCCI (Spark Controlled Compression Ignition) system incorporates them nonetheless to enable compression ignition at wider loads, even at full throttle. The traditional spark ignition here works as an assistance to the compression ignition Mazda is implementing in SkyActiv-X. But it also helps regulate in-cylinder temperature, density of air-fuel mixtures distributed by the fuel injectors and even exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Because of SPCCI, combustion can be achieved with a leaner-than-usual air-fuel mixture, which is good for fuel economy. To facilitate this lean mixture (more air, less fuel), a supercharger is installed to blow air into the cylinders. By having more air in the combustion chamber, the…

BMW Group Malaysia has appointed Regas Premium Sabah as its newest authorised dealer representative in the Land Below the Wind. Regas Premium Sabah is a joint venture between TM Vision Auto Services and Regas Premium Auto, which also represents the BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad brands in Sarawak. The company now has a foothold in both East Malaysian states with Regas Premium Sabah taking over a 53,000 sq ft facility formerly operated by FM Autohaus in Kota Kinabalu. “East Malaysia has long been a contributing market to our growth here and we are excited to have Regas Premium Sabah on board as our new dealer in Kota Kinabalu to continue growing our presence in the state of Sabah,” said Harald Hoelzl, MD and CEO of BMW Group Malaysia. Hoelzl said…

Fresh from another fatal accident involving a car equipped with faulty Takata airbag inflators, UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) has ramped up its efforts to recall the affected cars it sold. This comes after the Ministry of Transport’s instructed the Road Transport Department not to renew the road tax of affected vehicles if the airbag modules have not been replaced. “Safety is our highest priority and we have made every effort to contact owners through various means. We are grateful to the Transport Minister for his concern and will fully support this initiative,” said Ravindran K., president of UMWT. As of June 2018, 91 percent of Lexus models sold within the past three years and 53 percent of Toyota models sold within the past six years have had their defective inflators…

Who: Ollie Kew Where: Glenshee, UK Kew caught halfway through his next Britain’s Got Talent street-dance routine Who: Andy Franklin Where: London, UK Alpine and Cayman duly parked, Andy takes the applause from his adoring fans Who: Tom Harrison Where: TG Towers, UK Like a ‘Magic Eye’ picture, the threeness of the Fiesta ST route revealed itself to Tom Who: Jason Barlow Where: Woking, UK Sufficient words do not exist to explain what was going on in Jason’s mind when he did this Who: Tom Ford Where: Las Vegas, USA Why does this big, shiny machine keep taking my money? I am perplexed and quite hairy Who: Thoriq Azmi Where: Shah Alam Our senior writer auditions for the next Transporter movie using the Mazda CX-9 as a prop. Watch out,…

Formula One’s history resonates with a significance rivalled by few other motorsport disciplines. Everything can be traced back to those halcyon days of the Fifties and Sixties and tales of derring-do and otherworldly heroics. Brabham understands this. The fabled former F1 team is as storied as the best of them, which is why the launch of its brand-new track-only supercar, dubbed the Brabham BT62, wears such a big badge of honour. It’s an entirely bespoke, clean-sheet design, dreamed up by Brabham to serve the racetrack and nothing else. It’s a lightweight chassis with bespoke lightweight carbon fibre body panels and carbon Kevlar wheel housings. There’s double wishbones, together with pushrod actuated four-way adjustable Öhlins dampers, adjustable anti-roll bars and “active bump control”. The whole thing weighs in at just 972kg…

“Coggle, we’re in trouble,” announces my business partner Carl Woodcock, bursting into the head office/utility room of our glamorous Merthyr Tydfil facility, holding a spreadsheet of some kind. “We’re in debt up to our eyeballs, we’re meant to deliver our first customer cars this week. We don’t have any customer cars. We don’t even have a prototype. Our development car won’t go past 80mph. On account of it being a Rover 25 with the doors removed.” He’s right. Things are looking bleak. We’re in so much financial trouble that Greece calls us up every Thursday, just to laugh down the phone. In Greek. But then it hits me. A brainwave. “Carl,” I say, “I have a plan.” “Is it better than your one to reduce kerbweight by filling the passengers…

Porsche Panamera 4 Sport Turismo RM1.2 million (as tested) WE SAY: TAKE REGULAR ROAD TRIPS AND WITH RM1.2M TO SPARE? HERE’S A BIG TICKET DRIVE THAT FITS THE BILL… Phere’s very little difference between the Panamera 4 and the sportier Panamera 4 Sport Turismo, at least physically. Yet, there’s a voice in us that says Porsche could have well marketed the Sport Turismo as a ‘new model’ and it would still be fine. The Sport Turismo, or ST, to keep it simple, just looks so much better. Keeping it simple would also make identifying these things so much easier. Apart from that, the two are near physical copies of one another. They share body length, width, wheelbase, right down to front and rear track dimensions. It’s the height that separates…

Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Inscription Plus RM390,501.56 WE SAY: THE ONE THAT STARTED VOLVO’S NEW AGE RENAISSANCE IS STILL QUITE THE CHARMER Given the number of times we mentioned it in the previous two pages, Volvo’s second generation XC90 crossover really is a huge deal. Indeed, the financial injection by China’s Geely group couldn’t have brought off a better result to say the least. Some have asked us what makes it so good. To remind ourselves as well, we took the liberty of revisiting the XC90 not too long ago. After helming it for a few days, we’re certain the answer is in the XC90’s bones, electrified heart, numerous intelligent safety features and high level of luxury. Starting with the chassis, the second-generation XC90 ushered in the debut of Volvo’s new…

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 $119,995 WE SAY: WE YOROPEANS WON’T BE ABLE TO BUY THIS BEAST. THANKS A BUNCH, CHEVY Sometimes you can be surprised by something, even when you know almost everything about it. Take the new Corvette ZR1, for instance. We’ve been reading all about its facts and figures for months – its bonkers new 755bhp LT5 twin-injected small-block V8 with a 50 per cent larger supercharger than the Z06; that it accidentally smashed the Ford GT’s lap record at Virginia International Raceway by almost 1.5secs; and that its brakes are strong and sure enough to stop a runaway locomotive. But still I was a bit shocked the first time I mashed the throttle into the bulkhead. The Z06 I’d been following, which was also on max thrust, suddenly catapulted…

Bentley Continental GT £159,100 WE SAY: AFTER 15 YEARS, AN ALL-NEW CONTINENTAL. WITH A NEW-FOUND LEVEL OF SPORTING ABILITY You can’t overstate the importance of the Continental GT to Bentley. Not only for the bottom line (a whopping 66,000 sold since it arrived in 2003), but also because the 2dr coupe set the tone for the whole brand. In Bentley’s timeline, BC means Before Continental. It’s a handsome thing, the new Conti GT, at least in profile, where the front wheels have been shifted forward 135mm to improve the weight distribution and drop the engine lower and further back in the chassis. Fifty-five per cent of the weight still sits on those front wheels, but there’s less of it than before – the body alone is 80kg lighter, helping the new…

Alpina D5S £62,000 WE SAY: WANT TO GET NODS OF APPROVAL FROM THE COGNOSCENTI? ALPINA KNOWS HOW… Alpina’s ostensibly minor tweaks add comfort, refinement and speed to BMW’s best barges. And so, the D5S has the same twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six as the 530d xDrive on which it’s based, but with 322bhp to the standard car’s 260bhp, and 700Nm vs 620. Bloody good engine, this. Economical, refined – even sounds decent. And it means this near-1.9-tonne car hauls itself to 100kph in 4.9secs, and runs on to a derestricted 275kph top speed. But this is not an all mouth, no trousers-type upgrade. The suspension has been tweaked – special wishbones give a degree of negative camber for better turn in – the power steering, gearbox, adaptive dampers and AWD system are…

McLaren Senna £750,000 WE SAY: McLAREN’S ROAD-LEGAL TRACK CAR HAS LANDED. TIME TO HOLD ON VERY TIGHT The McLaren Senna has 789bhp. 789bhp is the least impressive aspect of the whole car. The brakes, oh my God, the brakes. I still can’t get my head around them. This was only a taster, a brief encounter with a late development prototype, a few laps of Silverstone’s International circuit, but wow… The Senna is the next product in McLaren’s Ultimate Series line-up. It isn’t a direct replacement for the P1, but instead answers a different question. I’m not quite sure what that is, but it involves aerodynamics. The Senna ain’t pretty, but if you only see it in terms of beauty, you’re looking at it wrong. Forget aesthetics; think function. Now, isn’t…

Yamaha MT-09 From RM44,473 WE SAY: DESPITE ITS KILLER NEW LOOKS AND MYRIAD INTELLIGENT UPGRADES, THE YAMAHA MT-09 REMAINS A WILD RIDE When it debuted here earlier this year, the Yamaha MT-09 looked very promising. With its new aggressive looks and a host of improvements underneath, the streetfighter seemed poised to carve with a vengeance a name for itself. We tested one over a weekend recently and, unsurprisingly, there’s more to it than meets the eye. We’ll start with the obvious, the facelifted exterior that’s been inspired by its manic bigger brother, the MT-10, complete with twin LED headlights. There’s also a slight change at the rear in the form of a new licence plate holder mounted on the swingarm. If you consider those to be mere cosmetic changes, think…

It’s a play of light, dazzling in so many ways, on the wrist, the new and limited edition Happy Fish creation by Swiss jewellery and watchmaker Chopard. Adopting a distinctive marine life-inspired design, the latest Happy Fish women’s timepiece features a navy blue textured mother-of-pearl dial with subtle colour nuances that mimic shimmering seabeds. At the dial centre sits a delightful fish that remains extremely discreet by day and only lights up and reveals itself at night. The dial also houses five moving diamonds that are luminescent at night, along with the small white 18-karrat gold fish that ‘dances’ as if in one of the world’s most precious aquariums. The finishing touches include a navy blue alligator leather strap that brings out the colours of the dial. Measuring 26.2mm in…

Think the 400kph Bugatti Chiron hypercar is only for the super rich? Well, yes. Even so, now even the less than rich can achieve a Bugatti dream of sorts by indulging in the new Lego Technic Bugatti Chiron. You get to build it too, this latest offering of the much-loved Danish toy company’s Ultimate series. It’s nowhere near the real thing in size – at 1:8 in scale – but it’s quite imposing, and blockier (it’s Lego, after all). Just like the famed orangeliveried Lego Porsche 911 GT3 RS model that came before it, this Bugatti Chiron kit promises countless hours of building fun. If anything, this is one Lego kit that proves this isn’t mere child’s play: if its size is not daunting enough (56cm long, 25cm wide and…

“HEY! NICE JEEP! It’s a furfle-karkin mooble!” shouts a man skating past on two-foot long rollerblades. He’s wearing shorts made of clingfilm and possessed of an overly optimistic body image, and the speed at which he’s travelling dopplers his words into aural sludge. A woman riding a beach cruiser bike eases by, looking thoughtful. “Cameras!” she shouts suddenly. “CAM-errrrr-AS! For filming! YARG.” She makes no mention of the fact that’s she’s nonchalantly towing a topless man with skin like glossy mahogany on a long skateboard. He nods to me while taking a sleepy-eyed toke on some sort of vape pipe; I smile the kind of smile that shows no teeth and veers away from my eyes. Next, a burpee of crossfit-types yomps past feeling vaguely paramilitary, and their horrifying collection…

Like all dedicated carmakers, Mazda streamlines the improvement of its engines with the chassis that houses them. This harks back to the brand’s Jinba-Ittai philosophy, which emphasises the importance of “oneness between horse and rider”. SkyActiv Vehicle Architecture is an extension of Jinba-Ittai. It adopts a ‘human-centred concept’, which takes the human anatomy seriously in its design process. The driving position, for one, takes into account the stability of a driver’s head, thigh support and the effects of driving on his pelvic and upper body motions. Even human walking patterns are studied before engineers can agree on what’s natural and what’s not. This attention to detail focuses on three control factors, namely the seat, the body of the car and its chassis. On top of improvements to the steering response…

Atrio of Malaysian drivers made history recently after completing the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans fourth in their LMP2 class and eighth overall. Racing for Jackie Chan DC Racing, Jazeman Jaafar, Nabil Jeffri and Weiron Tan soldiered on after a bad star t to cross the finish line in sixth place in the LMP2 class and 10th overall. However, the disqualification of initial LMP2 winner G-Racing and fifth placed TDS bumped the Malaysians up two spots, narrowly missing the LMP2 podium in what was a stellar debut at one of the world’s toughest races. Jackie Chan DC Racing, co-owned by the Hong Kong superstar after whom the team are named, are now third in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) LMP2 standings after two races, the first being a six-hour…

Early last month, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) opened the order books for a limited run of the Golf R in three-door form. Only 10 units are destined for our market at RM268,888, all in the R’s signature Lapiz Blue paintjob. Number of doors aside, this Golf R is exactly the same as the five-door launched earlier last year. So power comes from a two-litre TSI engine generating 290PS and 380Nm of torque, while power delivery to all four wheels is managed by a 7-speed wet clutch DSG. The only notable differences between the three and five-door are the lack of keyless ignition, exterior mirror memory and power-adjustable seats in the former. “This truly is an opportunity for enthusiasts to be part of something special, as the 3-door Golf R…

Less than two years after the DB11 V12 heralded in a new era of rapid expansion for Aston Martin, it’s being replaced… with this. It’s called the DB11 AMR and claims to bring “a new dimension of race-inspired dynamism and performance to the DB11 family”. Really, it’s a detailed makeover of Aston’s V12 flagship addressing two years of feedback. So this isn’t a truly hardcore GT – that’s being saved for the Vanquish replacement (now badged DBS Superleggera) due later this year. Power from the twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 climbs by 30bhp to 630bhp, the 0–100kph time drops by 0.2sec to 3.7secs and the top speed increases by 13kph to 335kph. That’s 335kph in a car CEO Andy Palmer still refers to as a “consummate GT”. The world has gone mad.…

While renowned as a sporty tyre brand, Falken Malaysia is also a brand that’s serious about public healthcare and wellness if its two recent corporate social responsibility (CSR) events are anything to go by. First, it successfully ran a Cancer Care & Prevention Workshop on April 28 at the Banquet Hall of Persatuan Alumni Universiti Malaya (PAUM), Kuala Lumpur. The one-day programme saw Falken attempt to raise awareness on cancer and introduce a holistic approach to cancer care through traditional Qigong exercises, which featured renowned Qigong grandmaster Anthony Wee. Wee’s tutelage during the workshop centred on how cancer patients can promote well-being and self healing through Qigong exercises. Much of this can be found in his book, The Dynamic Free Flow of Qi, and online through his non-profit webpage, chidynamics-qigong.com.…

This year, the world’s greatest car magazine celebrates its 25th anniversary Bunny girls, a £750k truck, espionage. This is our world Issue 231 – this month in 2012 “I like it because I can see my face in it. It’s like a mirror!” says Bunny Amber. “I like it because I can lie in the back so comfortably!” says Bunny Dagmara. “I like it because it’s a statement. But I’m more a fan of the aesthetic than the ergonomic,” says Bunny Sara. Don’t judge a rabbit by her tail. And so began one of the strangest episodes in TG’s history. The plan was to drive a gold-and-platinum-plated, four-tonne armoured limo, the official ‘Aladeen’ Prombron, created by quirky Latvian firm Dartz for Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film, The Dictator. It began…

Mercedes-AMG G63 £143,305 WE SAY: MEET THE NEW G-CLASS. SAME AS THE OLD G-CLASS. EXCEPT IT’S NOT. FAR FROM IT, IN FACT The doorhandle button, the headlight washer nozzles, the sun visors and the spare-wheel cover. Those are the only parts carried over from the outgoing G-Class. It may not look it, but everything else is new. About time, really. The old G had been around since the dawn of the motor carriage (well, 1979), an old soldier refusing to desert its post. The post is off-roadability. I ask Gunnar Güthenke, G-Class’s boss, if he was tempted to take the new one in a more urban direction, since that’s the landscape the G seems most able to conquer. “Not at all. Above all it had to be authentic, so there were…

Porsche 718 Cayman GTS £59,866 WE SAY: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PORSCHE CHOOSES THE OPTIONS FOR YOUR CAYMAN? It’s important to review a car with a clear, unbiased mind. But I have to admit to being slightly partisan here. I spend rather a lot of time driving the 718 Cayman in the TopGear Garage (p130), and it’s a car I couldn’t stop thinking about while testing the new Cayman GTS. Much like an illicit affair (I imagine, anyway), I felt guilty. Setting aside a car that’s been nothing but faithful for a racier alternative surely constitutes a classic fling. The GTS’s long list of visual tweaks include standard 20in alloys, a restyled front end and gloss black detailing, while there’s also reams of Alcantara inside. You can even have it on the…

Engine 1997cc 4cyl turbo, RWD, 247bhp, 365Nm Performance 0–100kph in 6.7secs, 241kph, 6.8L/100km, 155g/km CO2 Weight 1775kg The Sportbrake is a better XF than the saloon. It’s better-looking, more useful and just as good to drive. And it has exactly the same problems. The interior and infotainment systems are nothing like as good as Audi’s, Merc’s or BMW’s, and nor are the powertrains. This one is a 2.0-litre turbo petrol with 247bhp and rear-wheel drive. It’s quiet enough at a cruise, but a bit rough at lower speeds and saddled with an eight-speed automatic gearbox that, around town anyway, comes across as indecisive and jerky. And that’s a shame because, dynamically, the XF Sportbrake is talented. Among the very best in its class, in fact. Though we haven’t tried it…

Vauxhall Insignia GSi £34,475 WE SAY: THE GSI BADGE IS BACK, BUT NO ONE’S REALLY SURE WHY. ALLOW US TO EXPLAIN… We all know what GTI means, whether it’s on a Volkswagen or Peugeot. But GSi? Now that’s a slightly trickier question. Vauxhall is hoping it can put that right with this, the Insignia GSi, driven here as an estate but also available as a hatch. This car is supposedly all about the chassis – “performance through dynamics” is the official line – and it’s the first Vauxhall to get the badge since the early Noughties. Those chassis tweaks, then. Certain Insignias already come with four-wheel drive and active torque-vectoring, but the engineers have sharpened the settings up on this one. The suspension is 10mm lower, there are new, 20-inch wheels…

Unveiled in conjunction with the recent Shanghai International Film Festival 2018, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Night & Day Medium Tribute to Cinema is a limited edition timepiece that’s ready to dazzle even on a red carpet occasion. This special sees Jaeger-LeCoultre pay homage to the glamorous world of cinema and its attendant celebrity. Fitted with the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 898A/1, the piece reveals a day/night indicator against a new backdrop. The Moon, which traditionally features on the models of this line, gives way to a five-pointed star. The Rendez-Vous Night & Day boldly showcases crimson red on both its iconic function disc at 6 o’clock and on its glistening alligator-leather strap. That motif continues on the winding crown in the guise of a garnet cabochon as red as a film star’s…

“Below 4,500rpm, cylinder deactivation supposedly buys a six per cent fuel saving on boring roads” Primary colours, little pigs, dimensions. Yes, the best things come in threes. This now includes cylinders. Because the brand-new Ford Fiesta ST is powered by a mere three. And this got us thinking. Three countries make up Great Britain, we could sort out three family challenges… and, um, then we ran a bit short. Because as well as city, country and motorway, we wanted to do some track driving. And three writers was logistically one too few. And we couldn’t drive everywhere on three wheels. But three countries and three challenges in a three-cylinder hot hatch, a car we hope to be worthy of three cheers? Sign us up. Three tanks of fuel? Well, we…

I’m skulking in the shadows, next to a cobbled slipway that tiptoes into the jet-black Thames, when they show up. A Corsa and a Fiat 500, packed to the headliner with hormones. Doors fly open, teenagers climb out, music of questionable taste is played, cigarettes of dubious flavour are smoked. There is dancing. Not once do they acknowledge the Night Blue Cayman, parked but eight metres from their party, with the awkward-looking gentleman sinking ever lower in the driver’s seat. Before I can fully curl up in the foot well, Steve Dobie arrives in a shimmering Viagra pill and brings the unlicensed rave to a pause. “Oh my days, what is that?” one offers. “Don’t know mate, but that is SICK,” says another before taking a long, thoughtful drag… and…

Led by Tesla and other premium makes, the electric revolution, plugin hybrids included of course, suggests the West has exhausted all possibilities the traditional combustion engine has to offer. But the East, particularly where the sun rises, has a different set of ideologies, both cultural and technological. It doesn’t take a scientist to identify the knack the Japanese have for over-engineering the simplest of things. A visit to Daiso, where you’ll find cookie cutters shaped like a banana and wet wipes made specifically for cats and dogs, shows you how thorough they can be. If they can think of 101 ways to reinvent something as primitive as a fork, they’re obviously not going to call it quits on a relatively modern invention capable of moving a few tonnes of metal.…

Mazda could develop the best engine in the world, but that would count for nothing if the people buying it didn’t know how to maximise its abilities. This is the premise behind the MazdaSports Academy, an initiative by official distributor Bermaz to educate its customers on their cars and nurture better drivers in the process. Advanced driver training programmes like this are commonplace amongst premium carmakers and sportscar manufacturers, but are rarely heard of in the mainstream due to the cost and logistics involved. Naturally, Bermaz’s dedication to making such an event happen drew a response from the get-go. In its first session tailored to owners of the Mazda2, Mazda3 and Mazda CX-3, the MazdaSports Academy saw 40 owners gather at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang to put…

Nissan distributor Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) recently launched the ‘Nissan Nurtures Nature’ eco campaign in conjunction with World Environment Day. The campaign gathered customers and their families, business partners, non-profit organisations and ETCM employees to join hands in creating positive and meaningful changes to the environment and communities. “Nissan Nurtures Nature campaign is our commitment in raising the awareness of living harmoniously with nature. We wish to inspire a change in lifestyle that eventually contributes towards a sustainable community and environment. It is our responsibility to preserve this beautiful planet for our children and for future generations, and we want to do it together with our stakeholders.” said Christopher Tan, sales and marketing director of ETCM. As it is, ETCM practices a wide range of eco-friendly measures that include…

Ford distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) recently announced the opening of its newly upgraded Ford dealership in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Located at Jalan Limau Manis, the 10,551 sq ft facility features 13 service bays – six more than before – and a dedicated customer service lounge with complimentary WiFi as well as snacks and drinks for customers waiting for their vehicles. “This upgraded facility is part of Ford and SDAC’s network expansion and customer service enhancement plan aimed to offer the very best sales and aftersales services to better serve a growing number of Ford customers in East Malaysia,” said Syed Ahmad Muzri Syed Faiz, MD of SDAC. The facility is staffed by certified technicians and has a full supply of genuine parts for all Ford models sold locally.…

CIMB Bank Berhad and CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad now offer the CIMB 1-Minute Auto Financing InstaApproval which, as the name suggests, is auto financing that may be approved within one minute upon full submission of information and documents. It’s part of CIMB’s InstaApproval series, following the first 1-Minute Home Financing InstaApproval. This quick, secure, paperless and complete online financing involves processes that include biometric fingerprint identification. CIMB 1-Minute Auto Financing InstaApproval is available for all types of cars, both new and used. Upon successful application, the approval comes complete with the issuance of a Letter of Undertaking together with an SMS notification and email to the customer and car dealer. Samir Gupta, CEO, Group Consumer Banking, CIMB Group said, “The speedy approval process of CIMB’s 1-Minute Auto Financing InstaApprovalTM, currently…

The Nissan Serena S-Hybrid has been called plenty of unpleasant names and we will not contest the reasons why. The shape just takes getting used to, but the MPV is made to do one thing: haul people. That usually means family and once the family is happy, how the Serena S-Hybrid looks take a backseat. We’ve given this some thought and decided that in the Nissan’s favour, also, the competitors aren’t putting up a fight. And over time, the people have decided the Serena S-Hybrid shape has become its identity. It’s probably why it’s not too disappointing the new one looks much like the first-gen, admittedly sharper. The best qualities remain, the twin-motorised sliding doors, second row captain seats, and the generous headroom. Wisely, Nissan added new features that just…