If you’re on a look out for a budget continental work horse for your everyday family use and abuse, then the Peugeot 207 Sedan should do you proud.

Once upon a time, the 207 rolled out of its manufacturing plant in Poissy, France as a hatchback and up till recently, it finally grew a boot (about 420 litres of it). It may not seem rather large from the exterior, but once you take a peak inside, you’ll be rather amazed at how accommodating it will be to allow you so much more room.

Thankfully, its derrier doesn’t seem too out of place and blends relatively well with the Pug’s lines. However, the Pug’s body seems rather jacked-up for ride-height, even though it sits on a set of 185/60R15 Kumho KH18 tyres that hides away the ventilated discs at the front and drum brakes at the rear. The wheel-wells seem to scream for larger rims and tyres just to fill in the excess cavities.

On top of that, if you’re a big burly kind of guy, you may find the door handles visually fragile to operate, but rest assured, they are sturdy nonetheless.

Of course, a Pug isn’t a Pug till it’s gotten that front nose DNA that’s been infused into all current Peugeots as well as that gaping wide grin that seem like it’s got some serious dental jewellery. But one thing that makes this particular Pug stand out isn’t just its size, but its sharp headlights giving it some form of aggression to this already tame looking ‘Frenchie’ along with its arguably cute but cramped external mirrors.

Getting into the 207 sedan, the first thing you’ll notice is its soft to the eyes dash board with a touch of textile wrapped onto the glove compartment.

All round visibility is good, and making those seat adjustments are a cinch requiring you to barely lean forward and reach down with your left hand for that lever. However, adjusting the rear view mirror cold be deemed somewhat awkward, where the main cabin’s lighting is found extremely close to the mirror, forcing you to squeeze your fingers as the above picture depicts.

We can only wonder why the glove compartment would be wrapped in textile and it also gets a metal latch as well. Nice touch all together, however in our sort of temperate climate, textile wrapped sections of the interior only knows to do one thing; bubble and peel. But thankfully, polished metal lasts for ages.

This makes the glove compartment section seemingly out of place with its soft rubber-like dash board, but once you start up that 1.6L twin-cam non-Prince engine that’s got 110bhp and 147Nm of torque, you’ll be happy to note a smoothness about it. By the way, if you’re looking to pop the hood of the engine, you’ll find a long metallic latch well hidden under dash board of the front passenger, just next to the door, but do be careful not to rip anything else out instead.

That’s right, the engine isn’t a Prince block, but with those power ratings, it does make this particular Pug feel quite nimble when in motion even with its 4-speed automatic transmission that comes with Tiptronic and Sports mode, but if you find yourself driving in the mid afternoon, it’d be best to don a pair of ‘sunnies’ because that ‘bling’ on the shifter can get a quite annoying when the sun manages to shine its rays upon it.

As with most Peugeots, the seats are somewhat plush, though not as plush as its more costly and larger brethren, but we’re confident enough that it will keep you comfortable for some long distance runs out of town. If you find yourself having to push this Pug around the bends, the seats actually offer some body-hugging ability, but only some which is still better than none. Once in the driver’s seat, you may find yourself having a ‘perched-up’ effect along with noticing a set of external mirrors that may make you question it with a “…is that it?” statement.

If you’ve got lanky rear passengers they’ll be delighted, as much as we were, in having an abundance of both leg and head room for this particular Pug. It’s usually the case where cars that possess a large boot, tend to eat into the cabin, compromising the rear passenger’s spaciousness, so for this, it really is a big bonus.

First impressions on how this Pug hauls itself up to speed was that it pulls decently enough (you may find that its Japanese rivals may have just a tad more initial pull), and its power delivery is relatively smooth and linear throughout the gears, once you prod that accelerator about halfway that is.

But if you must have a little “bat out of hell” experience, then by all means engage Sports Mode or simply shift the gear knob to the left for tiptronic. But driving this Pug around in Sports Mode doesn’t mean you’ve latched on to a few more ponies, instead you’ve just got the engine opening its throttle larger than usual and having the engine speed lingering around the 4,000rpm mark when accelerating or down-shifting (putting you right smack-dab in its power range). The engine really lives between 3,500rpm – 4,500rpm, which is rather high, and then it just seems like it’s running out of breathe as the RPMs climb beyond that, red-lining at 6,000rpm.

As you crawl upwards on a slope on first gear, we did find the gearbox to be a little ‘lost’, unknowing when it should shift into 2nd and when it thinks it should be in 2nd gear, it lets you know with a very slight jerk forward along with a ‘thud’ (not enough to cause you panic), but just ever so slightly to let you know that the gearbox has managed to find the second gear ratio. Annoying or negligible, we’ll let you decide.

This Pug does have a tendency to roll quite a fair bit around tight corners, that puts you in a mind-set that you shouldn’t even be trying that sort of ‘stunt’. But in its defence, the 185mm wide Kumho tyres does impress to keep the Pug relatively well in a turning trajectory. Allowing you to slowly build up a little more confidence over time.

The Pug’s steering leans a little to the heavier end of the spectrum, and whilst it does add a sporty feel to it, it also does mean less effort in keeping the Pug heading straight, what with all those uneven road surfaces, so in our eyes, it’s a definite plus point. Thankfully, it’s not so much weighted that you’ll develop chunky arms, but perhaps leaner ones depending on how many 3-point turns you make in a day/week/year. Gladly, the 207 Sedan did have auto- headlamp and wiper activation, which is rather surprising to find these sort of gizmos available, especially at this price point. Even the single-DIN CD Player comes with Bluetooth functionality and allows for a USB interface that plays your MP3/WMA files. Splendid!

The brakes on the Pug are the way we like it, firm and not so much spongy, but if you’ve been driving a Japanese car for awhile now, you may need some getting used to these brakes.

All in, the Peugeot 207 Sedan is a great car to get used to, minus a few hiccups on the design-engineering, but what matters is that it does provide you with that travelling from A-B attitude about it and it does so with much confidence. The engine and transmission are undoubtedly well suited and married to each other and just like all marriages, spats do occur especially when you’re crawling uphill (easily resolved and very much unlikely to test the limits of each other).

And so after a long day, you’ll come to realise what a blessing the Pug’s compliant suspension is, when it lets you know that you’ve gone through some uneven roads instead of allowing you to experience most of them, whilst listening to your favourite tunes stored on your USB, making this particular Pug easy to live with and seemingly easy on the wallet as well, claiming to achieve about 6.1L/100km on your favourite RON95.

We’ve previously had our feel around with the Satria Neo R3 bad-boy from Proton, but thankfully we had the opportunity to spend a little more time living with this particular hot-hatch. From deep within the realm of Proton’s R3 department, comes a more affordable variant than the Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing Edition.

If you can remember the Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing Edition (LRE), you’d have gotten the idea of how racy, raunchy and delectable it was out on tight roads, with its 1.6L 4-cylinder CPS engine given a little extra something to keep you wanting more.

Although the Satria Neo R3 has lost some of its aesthetic aggressiveness compared to the likes of the LRE, in fact, it has also lost its light weight carbon fibre bonnet, AP Racing brakes, Öhlins adjustable suspension and those lightweight BBS look-alike rims. But, thankfully it hasn’t lost its potency in terms of performance.

The interior is undoubtedly rough and unrefined, ditching the Lotus green for a more spicy red, its smoothness lost with the seating position rather higher up than usual. Because of the semi-bucket seats being used, both front passenger and driver will be seated higher, so the R3 crew has had the foam in the driver’s seat shaven down in order to afford additional head room for more lanky drivers.

However, rather than the standard single-DIN Blaupunkt (direct translation: Blue Dot) headunit, Proton has opted for for a double-DIN 7″ touch screen headunit that’s got MapKing PRO GPS maps installed for your travelling convenience. Ontop of that, you’ve got options to play your tunes via your iPod/iPhone, an SD Card or via USB. Bluetooth pairing to your phone come as standard.

Other than having the steering wheel’s wraps changed to Alcantara, the Nappa leather seats thankfully remains in this particular R3, which has been nothing but helpful during our winding impression. The handling department has managed to keep the R3 well-planted and wonderfully neutral, without having too much understeer that the rear actually has a chance to step out and play as well, but only just enough to help the car turn a little more into the corner should you need it.

Sure you’ve lost a few weight-saving items as compared to the lighter Lotus Edition, but this particular R3′s weight hasn’t strayed that far south from its initial birth weight of 1,180kg. But, with 145bhp, that’s about almost 14% more power than your usual 1.6L CamPro CPS engine, and an improved torque of 168Nm, the R3 is still capable of feeling extremely neutral in the handling department, which makes us question if the LRE’s Öhlins adjustable suspension (estimated RM10k retail price tag) was necessary. Century sprints were reached in about 10 seconds, and we even managed to reach 200kmh.

But all this performance does come with a price, a fuel economy price to be exact. Travelling at speeds in excess of 200kmh as if it were a daily routine will definitely get you places, where gas stations will begin to recognize you and probably begin to pre-authorize a specific pump that comes with credit terms. Yes, definitely a pipe dream, but one can always dream.

Given the opportunity to categorize this R3, it’d be in the bi-polar section; along with the LRE. Just to give it some form of human character, if you could, imagine this hot-hatch at a party consuming copious amounts of petroleum beverages whilst being overly boisterous. Yet, it can even seem civilised, well-behaved and properly seated at a black-tie event sipping away on some “Dom Pérignon Petroleum”.

In short, you really need to decide how you’re going to manage the yield of mileage from your 55L fuel tank. To stretch it or to “chug” it? Whatever the choice yours may be, it goes without doubt we’ll be chugging it, because it’s just that much fun that you’ll be spending all your free time appreciating Ulu Yam – for its scenery of course.

But if you’re more for aesthetics then this should please you:

1) Proton R3 Satria Neo Styling Package: RM9,599.99

2) Proton R3 Gen. 2 Styling Package: RM8,699.99

3) Proton Satria Neo Clubsport Package: RM3,999.99

4) Proton R3 15″ Wheels and Tyre Package: RM2,199.99.

According to Proton, these packages can be added onto your car loan for new car buyers, so for more information regarding the above packages, click here.

The Peugeot 308 Turbo is back with a new improvement to its attitude, and that improvement is the inclusion of a 6-speed automatic transmission that thankfully brings about a marked improvement in terms of fuel economy and has also managed to slap us silly with greater driver engagement.

When Naza introduced the Peugeot 308 Turbo to the Malaysian market, it got snapped up as fast as a “rotiboy” fresh from the oven. Undoubtedly, the initial 308 Turbo had a small nick in its paint job and that was its 4-speed Porsche gearbox. But it still remains the most affordable continental 4-banger turbo hatch on the market.

At current, the 308 Turbo has managed to ‘touch up its paint work’, so to speak, which now includes a 6-speed automatic transmission for this hot selling 308 Turbo hatch. It thankfully brings with it a marked improvement in terms of fuel economy from the get go and is still more than capable of slapping you silly with greater driving engagement.

The Prince engine’s power rating gets a 16bhp bump upwards to 156bhp but torque still remains at 240Nm, which will whisk you right past 200kmh in relative comfort. The bump up on power also comes with a RM5,000 bump up on price from the earlier 308 Turbo, and arrives you at RM118,888 On The Road price.

Our first experience with the 308 Turbo came with an Aisin AL4, 4-speed auto transmission (with Tiptronic System Porsche), and whilst it did the job, it felt relatively clunky especially on a slow uphill crawl. Instead, a new provision has been made which replaces the AL4 gearbox with the AT6 (with Tiptronic System Porsche) also from Aisin with a tolerance of 300Nm of torque.

As for the previous 308 Turbo, we late found out that its fuel consumption was relatively high for the first 10,000km, which yielded around 350kilometres per RON95 tank, but thankfully beyond that mileage, you should be arriving at a petrol station after amassing around 500 kilometres for every 65 litre tank (roughly RM95 based on RON95′s RM1.90/litre).

We felt that the 156bhp 308 Turbo is now able to provide new owners with the latter sort of mileage per tank upon delivery, instead of having to wait till you’ve done such an obese amount of mileage, and after having lived with it for two weeks, we found the mileage to be rather consistent having done a mix of urban and extra urban runs. The mileage per tank increases if you find yourself cruising along highways most of the time, so don’t be gob-smacked when your eyes come across the trip counter passing the 600km mark.

From the exterior, you’d find that there is little to distinguish the new from the old, but for a pair of trapezoidal bling on the lower section of the Pug’s “derrier”, which arguably adds a little more ‘character’ to its already bland styling.

If you’re familiar with the older 308 Turbo, then you’ll find its cabin to be very much similar, with seating comfort a welcome delight, but your nose will notice something amiss. In fact, the aroma therapeutic package that was found in the middle air conditioning vent on the dash board is missing, which would usually have you smelling wonderfully the same as your cabin after a short journey, allowing you to save on some of your expensive EDT. Love it or hate it, you decide.

The 156bhp 308 Turbo that was provided to us also came with a heavily tinted panoramic roof, which adds a tad more sky light effect into the cabin, not that the already elongated front windscreen didn’t, but the cabin does light up nonetheless.

However, it does provide you with a tickle of warmth above your head thanks to the roof.

Whilst still in the cabin, you’d also notice a rather small circular-looking vent, just rear-ward of the forward cabin lights. Its no proximity sensor or air ioniser of that sort, in fact its a microphone that happens to be hooked up to the car’s bluetooth enabled headunit.

So once you’ve successfully paired your handphone to the headunit via bluetooth, you’ll be able to talk to people who aren’t in the car and garner a few curious onlookers while you’re stuck in a jam, having a boisterous conversation.

We found that power delivery via the Aisin AT6 gearbox to be one of pleasant surprises because the power band has been shifted further towards the shallow end of the rev, with power being felt somewhere just below 2,000rpm, making its abruptness seem more uniformly leaned throughout the rev counter. Thankfully, the Pug’s handling characteristics hasn’t gone anywhere, and still feels every bit planted as before with a touch of roll. At non tyre-blistering speeds, the Pug’s suspension does feel a little firmer than usual, but its really when you’re cruising below Mach 1 on the highway that you realize how you should appreciate its comfort levels as you waft over uneven surfaces.

So even if you do get some change for your RM120,000 there really isn’t anything else out there that makes you run out of breath when others ask what sort of amenities come with this particular 308 Turbo Pug. All you have to do is squeeze in the same amount of air as a cetacean can hold into your own lungs and hope you don’t turn blue when mentioning: A panoramic glass roof, automatic dual-zone air-conditioning, electric folding side-mirrors, “follow-me-home” lights, daytime running lights, automated headlights, and automated wipers, six airbags, ABS, electronic brake distribution, emergency brake assist, electronic stability program, traction control, dynamic stability control, a rolling code transponder immobilizer security system and two ISOFIX points for child seat installation. Now breathe.

Since the 308 Turbo comes with such a long and distinguished list of goodies, we can’t begin to imagine if the upcoming 2012 308 Turbo could be offered at a similar price point as well. In fact we’d be surprised if it were anywhere near it. But in any case, here’s a teaser below.

Here, we have the baby LEXUS CT200h Luxury model (CT for Comfort Touring and h for hybrid) that had its debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show and has just entered the Malaysian market back in February this year and retails for RM198,000 OTR. While you’re equating hybrids to being non-performance oriented and quite arguably boring, you’d be hard pressed to change that mindset.

Built at Toyota’s factory in Kyushu Japan, this stylish looking luxury hybrid shares the same engine and platform as the current Prius, but thankfully they’ve decided to exclude the looks and have, instead, gone with the the looks of the Avensis (manufactured in the UK) with a slight change to the front bumper and grill of course.

Its looks isn’t one that shout’s uniqueness in styling, but rest assured it was picked because it achieves a respectable 0.29Cd (Drag Coefficient) and comes with large exterior wing-mirrors that adds to the great all-round visibility. However, the rear-wheels of the CT200h  seems a little lower than usual, which houses a larger 11″ solid disc-brake as compared to the 10″ front ventilated disc brakes.

The door handles have been quipped with touch sensors for their keyless entry and makes for swift entries and fast get aways if you’re in a rush. Lexus has even made the cut-out behind the door handle a little more deeper by 3mm than other Lexus in order to help accommodate and prevent those with larger hands or who wear excessive jewellery from scratching up the paintwork.

In addition, it even boasts to have the most LED installed in a Lexus with a total of 89 Light Emitting Diodes and a pair of them has been installed into the low-beam headlamps which helps to reduce electrical consumption by 45% in comparison to halogen bulbs and can last far longer and illuminate much more quickly than most other bulbs.

The interior of the CT200h is undoubtedly plush thanks to the leather upholstered seats and the uniqueness of the centre console does eat into your knee-room up-front, making it just a tickle more cumbersome when engaging the foot-actuated parking brake, as it tapers in towards the centre arm rest. So if you’re familiar with the centre console of the Prius, then the CT200h’s will be a familliar sight, but this sort of set-up seems oddly similar to that of a commercial jet liner’s, which makes the centre console seem excessively bulky for a car. But it does ensure that your controls are all easily in reach; such as your six-speaker (inclusing an 8″ subwoofer in the boot) audio system with CD player, Bluetooth phone connectivity, iPod connectivity, USB interface, dual zone automatic climate controls and that unique computer mouse-like controller, which also allows the front passenger to toggle through the options being displayed on a 7″ retractable screen that’s mounted on the centre of the dash.

The CT200h was surprisingly lacking in terms of rear legroom as compared to the Prius, where the first thing you notice is how spacious the Prius’ cabin is, compared to the CT200h’s. But besides that, getting into the rear seems quite cumbersome with the rather thick C-pillar in the way, forcing you to duck forward before taking your seat or risk having to endure a bump on your head.

What impressed was the ease of choosing your driving mode with a particularly large dial for you to choose from three driving modes (Eco, Normal and Sport), which changes the colour of both the instrument cluster as well as the dial from a calming blue to an aggressive red when in Sport mode, as you sit comfortably in that electronically adjustable and plush leather-upholstered seat (driver-side only), which makes it especially useful for long-haul interstate drives. Needless to say, the interior feels every bit sturdy as expected from Lexus.

Lexus didn’t stop on the comfort levels, but also heeded driver confidence by ensuring that occupants are well protected with a 5-star EuroNCAP crash safety rating as well as 8 aibags, Whiplash Injury Lessening (WIL) for both front seats, an upgraded Electronically Controlled Braking-Regeneration system (ECB-R), which incorporates Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist (BA), Traction Control (TRC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC).

Under the hood, the CT200h is powered by the same 2ZR-FXE 1.8L, VVT-i 4-cylinder petrol engine from Toyota is used producing 98bhp and 142Nm of torque that is paired with an electric motor in the hybrid drive system which adds an additional 80bhp as well as 207Nm of torque. That brings the total amount of horsepower and torque to 178bhp and 349Nm of torque.

Unless you’re going to be stuck in city traffic, then Eco mode would be your obviously choice of driving modes, where the EV (Electric Vehicle) mode generates zero emissions by utilising its electric motor to drive the vehicle. So as long as you’re under 45kmh, have a full charge in the battery and you haven’t pressed on the accelerator pedal too excessively, you should be able to squeeze out just under 2km of continuous driving on relatively flat road surfaces.

But if you’re out and about in loose traffic, then we’d highly recommend keeping it in Sport mode, where the throttle and brake response has been increased, the electric power steering becomes a little more weighted and the suspension becomes firmer, while the stability control and traction control becomes less intrusive. All this and you’ll be able to maximise the CT200h’s performance, but the only drawback is that the CT200h will be relying predominantly on petrol power, so be prepared to get used to some excessive engine noise due to the CVT gearbox which makes it run at a consistent engine note.

Even though the CT200h is heavier than the Prius by about almost 100kg, it does feel a lot more nimble even with its 16″ alloy rims wrapped around by Yokohama Advan A-460 205/55 tyres, which does add a dash more comfort to our uneven Malaysian roads.

At speed, the CT200h displays impressive road holding abilities although it does telegraph a dash of lift at the rear around tight corners, which could be the reason why the rear seems a little lower in order to correct this handling issue. Regardless, it does manage to hold its line as progressive understeer sets in, indicating to take it down a notch around the corners. The CT200h will get you to a top speed of 180kmh effortlessly with a 0-100kmh in just under 10 seconds and still able to achieve about 30km per litre on a mix of urban and extra-urban driving.

Sure, the CT200h comes in at a price where you could afford to pay for two Prius at RM198,000 OTR, but we feel that the Prius can only provide half of the story, which is all about going “green”. However, the CT200h can provide you with both sides of the story, which is also about going “green”, but with a little sprinkle of fun mixed into your pallet.

All in, the Lexus CT200h Luxury model does well to impress, though you’ve basically gotten yourself an upgraded version of a Prius in terms of some styling and a lot of performance enhancements, the entire package makes this car a fun, everyday Comfort Tourer it was made to be.

We’ve finally managed to get our hands on the rather new and “Naughty” Volvo S60 T5 and together with our associates at Motorsportchannel.com, we looked to exploring what the S60 T5 had to offer.

The S60 thus far, has had its fair share of accolades since its introduction at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010, but its reception in Malaysia is still unknown due a debut here not too long ago. As a matter fact, the new S60 was awarded the 2011 International Sedan of the Year at the New York International Auto Show by the International Car of the Year (ICOTY) in April, for being the best-in-class in terms of consumer lifestyle related options.

In Malaysia, Volvo Car Malaysia offers the S60 in three variants; the T6 3.0L, T5 2.0L and soon-to-be-unveiled T4 CKD. We got our hands on a S60 T5 unit recently, but were really hoping for the top of the line S60 T6 which Volvo Car Malaysia could not provide due to its unavailability for the time being. The new S60 instantly became one of our trendiest sedan cars with its “coupe with four doors” profile. From the front, the car presents a forward-thrusting shape with a low dipping bonnet, with the necessary S60 exterior kits, which ours had, the car looks even more engaging.

The C-pillar stretches sensually all the way to the tail lamps – and the slim coupe-like roof line is accompanied by a new contour on the shoulders on either side of the lower body, creating a gentle yet powerful double wave from the headlamps at the front to the tail lamps at the rear. The wheel and tyre sizes on the S60 at 215/50 R17 are justifiable, while the rear’s skid plate(an option) and double exhaust/ end-pipes give it quite a sexy behind.

From the ground up, the new S60 expresses Volvo’s design philosophy: to create beauty that works beautifully. “With all the visual noise that surrounds us daily, the simplicity and emotionality of modern Scandinavian design has never been more welcome,” Fedde Talsma, Exterior Chief Designer of Volvo Cars, said.

The new S60′s design was inspired from race cars, but Volvo has added almost all the safety equipment currently available in the world into the S60 to ensure steadfastly of its motto “Volvo equals Safety”. The S60 is equipped with ‘Eyes on the Back’ Park Assist and Park Assist Camera (T6), ‘Personal Gatekeeping’ Intelligent Driver Information System, ‘An Eye on the Blind Spot’ Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), ‘Keeping a Safe Distance’ Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake, ‘Staying Alert’ Driver Alert Control, ‘Position Control’ Lane Departure Warning, ‘See Around Corners’ Front Blind View Camera, ‘Stay on Track’ Dynamic Stability and Traction Control, ‘On-Road Enlightenment’ Active Bending Lights, ‘Urban Collision Avoidance’ City Safety, ‘Pedestrian Detection’ Collision Warning with Full Autobrake and ‘Smooth Cruising at any Speed’ Adaptive Cruise Control.

Inside, the instruments and centre stack are angled towards the driver to create a sensation of focus and control. The new dynamic three-spoke steering wheel and new sports seats with extra side supports are standard. The interior is lavish in terms of its driver-oriented details, but it is still a five-seater offering comfortable space for all its occupants. Beige and black are the main colours of the upholstery range, which is spiced up with the new highlight shade Beechwood Brown. The décor inlays are available in Charcoal, Shimmer Graphite aluminium or Urbane Wood.

At the centre of the dashboard, Volvo’s unmistakable floating console houses a centralized Air-condition vent and just below it a 6-Disc changer insert mount, AC and dual temperature switches, and all your Audio, phone, entertainment, car setup and front camera control switches. The 7-inch integrated display panel has an affixed Air-condition vent on the left, especially useful for the front passenger. In addition, the screen is positioned high up to make it easy for the driver to keep his eyes on the road. All the functions can be controlled via buttons built into the steering wheel or via touch buttons located just below the colour screen. An optional multimedia audio system offers more access and connectivity from the navigation system, phone, reversing camera, panorama camera, DVD player, digital TV and so on. The Bluetooth works for phone calls and plays music or tunes from your mobile devices through the audio system, which consists of an 8-speaker set up that’s powered by a 4X40W amplifier.

The driver’s cockpit is especially fulfilling and compelling especially with the accentuated leather trims all around and that premium sense; including the leather wrapped gear knob, sports leather steering wheel, arm rest, door panels, as well as a luminous white speedometer and rev counter gauges, chrome-plated sports pedals and textile matte-black floor mats.

Looking under the hood, the T5 boasts a 2.0 GTDi (Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection) powerplant which churns 240hp @ 5,500rpm with an equally impressive torque of 320Nm between 1,800 – 5,000rpm. With this much power on the road, this latest S60 does get you going places at a quicker pace. The 6-speed Powershift, Auto with Geartronic, enables that ‘torque-ish’ exhilaration on acceleration and should be a favourite for those with a heavy foot. The powertrain combination provides either instant acceleration or a relaxed drive in all driving situations, dependant upon your mood really. Though power output is assured, Volvo has included a fuel saving technology in the form of the Brake regeneration in the S60 to curb drastic fuel consumption. Emissions, too, is kept minimal through the Brake regeneration function.

Our drive entailed many interesting experience, mostly due to the savvy and extremely proud contours of the S60 T5. An auto mode cruise around town proved that the T5’s transmission worked steadily to ensure for a smoother acceleration surge, whenever and wherever and together with its new sports chassis, it has made the S60 a better-balanced and more agile car. In the European market, the dynamic chassis comes as standard, while some other markets, such as Malaysia’s, the touring chassis comes as standard with the dynamic variant available as an option.

The difference between the two chassis is simply the dampers and both the front and rear sub frames. Here, the touring variant has a somewhat softer setting to provide for a smoother ride on poorer road surfaces that we know so well of. All variants of the new S60 can be specified with the advanced, self-adjusting FOUR-C active chassis.

With the softer chassis setting, the S60 T5′s road contact was distinct and gave instantaneous feedbacks, but at the same time, if it went on uneven roads or over pot holes the sturdy suspension took care of any anomalies in the ride. When head-checking whilst changing lanes or overtaking has become a thing of the past thanks to the ever-ready BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) feature. The BLIS activates once the car exceeds 10kmh and works to full effect for amateur drivers and blinks whenever the car nears an object or when an object closes in.

The T5′s handling and stability rely on sufficient steering bushings, stiffer springs, dampers, and stabilizers. Additionally, handling and stability are also aided by Dynamic Stability and Traction control (DSTC) with Advance Stability Control, Traction Torque Vectoring and Sport Mode, Anti-Lock Braking system (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assistance (EBA), Hydraulic Brake Assist, Ready Alert Brake and Fading Brake Support. Basically a plethora of electronic programs to keep the T5 steady as a rock on virtually any surface in the world.

The S60 is also the first sedan on the market to incorporate Advanced Stability Control, a function that reports on skidding tendency at a very early stage, which translates to rapid avoidance manoeuvres. With the Traction Torque Vectoring, the S60 is able to achieve smoother cornering even at excess speed. When cornering, the car’s inner driven wheel has its brake slightly engaged while more power is transmitted to the outer wheel. This allows cornering more tightly, while reducing as much tendency to understeer as possible.

Our drive targeted a mixture of fast-pace and city roads in order really immerse ourselves into the new S60 and prove its worthy output and torque combination as well as functional onboard equipment. Acceleration was definitely sheer exhilaration, even at speeds beyond 180kmh. From idle to 60 kmh, the surge made us speechless, with the revs hitting 6,000 rpm, the engine still remained calm. The wheel spin was even more rapid with the TC turned off. Grip level held consistent, but DSTC and Traction Torque Vectoring sometimes proved tricky on repeated cornerings, especially on longer stretches. Braking was equally manageable thanks to ABS, EBD, EBA and DSTC. We tried an 80-0kmh and the tyre barely made a screech with only tiny spots of smoke emerging from the brakes.

Highway cruising at speeds beyond 200kmh did not present that much fun, compared to a combination of curves and corners. The car, though, yearned for greater challenges every time. However if  you find yourself driving over excessive undulations whilst in a corner, you’d be surprised to find how turbulent the vehicle will react rather than simply soaking up the dips, but nonetheless, the T5 did remain steadfast in its trajectory. Be advised though, not to overdrive the car because the safety equipment inside are meant to assist, but do not guarantee life-saving measures.

Fuel economy wasn’t too bad, as we did plenty of fun driving rather than pay much attention to the fuel gauge. Can you blame us with that much power and torque right under the sole of your right-foot? Minor qualms with the S60 were a limited boot space, DSTC versus Traction Control Vectoring on long-stretch corners and minus the optional Volvo accessories, the S60 could be less enticing. All in, the new S60 is one of the true sports sedans which projects one of the better continentals with the likes of the BMW 525i, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and others.

Volvo Cars Malaysia distributes the new S60 in T5 and T6 variants for RM288,000 and RM348,000 (without insurance) respectively. See a list of Accessories for the S60 below:

New Volvo S60 Accessory Packages
- Multimedia (RSE) RM 6,860 from RM8,070
- Skid plate Front bumper RM1,187 from 1,397
- Skid plate rear bumper RM2,080 from 2,600
- Deco Frame RM 903 from 1,129
- Side scuff plate RM 2,391 from 2,989
- Sport pedals RM670 from 838
- Spoiler rear RM1,649 from 2,061
- Front blind view camera for High-performance sound and 7″ screen only RM 2,231 from 2,789
- End pipes RM1,208 from 1,510
- Rear park assist camera RM2,379 from 2,974
- RTI Navigation system 20% off Total package

Volvo S60 T5 Specifications
- Cylinders: 4
- Displacement: 1,999
- Power/Torque: 240hp/320Nm
- Gear: 6-speed Powershift, Auto with Geartronic
- Max speed: 230kmh
0 – 100kmh: 7.5 seconds
- Fuel consumption: 8.3/100km combined
- CO2: 193 g/km
- Wheels/tyres: 215/50 R17

Following the launch of the 2011 Perodua Myvi in June, we managed to have a go in the Elegance model that came with a 5-speed manual transmission.

Still utilising the same platform as the the Daihatsu Sirion, the new Myvi gets an all-round update with new body panels that makes the older Myvi look boring and lacking in character. But thankfully, the new Myvi does look markedly sportier with new definitions to its lines. One thing in particular as well is how the new 2011 Myvi makes the older one look a little more rounded and quite seemingly “plump”.

From afar, the new Myvi may seem very much similar to the older one, but up close you’ll begin to notice the new lines, the more unique body panels, hood, bumpers and front and rear light clusters; which begins to add a little more character and to some degree sophistication, for the revitalised 2011 Myvi. So if you’re thinking of transplanting certain parts of this car to your older Myvi, you’d need to think again.

Even the rear door ports have been revised to a more rounder look, which helps to make it look larger, hence accessible. Currently, dual SRS airbags still remain as standard for both front passenger and driver and can be found throughout the model’s range.

On the interior, it hasn’t lost the essence of what the old Myvi still possess, copious amounts of head and rear leg room, but instead the dash too receives a sportier look with it’s two-toned plastic dash-board as well as silver carbonfibre stickers around the power window controls on both arms rests on the door that certainly adds to the sportier feel.

The Elegance model also comes equipped with a new 7″ touch screen head unit as standard and besides is now capable playing your favourite DVD as well as MP3 files via a USB thumb drive or SD cards. Besides showing you GPS information on the large screen, we found that it too was capable of playing AVI files. Fortunately, for safety reasons, the visuals will turn off while the audio remains when the car is in motion and will return with a tap on the screen, once you come to a complete stop.  However, we felt that Perodua could have included basic steering controls for volume and skipping tracks without having to reach over to the headnit, but perhaps this could be a future refinement for the new 2011 Myvi. Do be forewarned, the touch-screen head unit’s glossy plastic fascia does attract quite a bit of finger prints.

What really caught our attention was the uniqueness of the instrument cluster, which really adds more character and sophistication to the new Myvi. Moreover, you’re now able to check your range based on the level of fuel that remains as well as your average fuel consumption (km/L).

The Myvi seats in the Elegance come upholstered in leather with Alcantara faux-suede accents on the back rests as well as the word “ELEGANCE” embroidered into it. The visual effect is there, but comfort levels for these seats haven’t really been dialled in just yet, especially with the back rest stopping short of reaching higher up towards your shoulders, which makes them fall short of ideal for long hauls, but they do help to emphasise how cavernous the cabin seems, which should be even more so for more petite drivers.

The new 2011 Myvi’s 1.3L 4-cylinder K3-VE engine has had it’s ECU remapped to provide improved consumption figures, has a power rating of 90bhp @ 6,000rpm and 117Nm of torque @ 4,400rpm as compared to 85bhp and 116Nm of torque on the older Myvi. Furthermore, we were able to achieve around 320km on a full tank of Ron95, and that was with a heavy foot. What can we say? Manual transmissions usually bring out the evil within.

Changing gears didn’t go as smooth as we had expected and required a bit of effort for it to engage, but the car has yet to even see its second service at 5,000km, there lies the possibility that the ‘sticky’ manual transmission may see ‘smoother’ days once everything breaks in by its 10,000km service interval.

Besides the engine bay looking just a tad neater than previously, you’ll be happy to note that Perodua has refined the way the engine sounds when you turn the ignition. Even better was the overall improvement of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) at idle, but once you push the engine closer to red-line at 6,000rpm, engine noise penetration into the cabin becomes quite significant.

The new Myvi’s 14″ rims may be a different set of alloys now, but it’s tyre specs still remain. Shod by 175/65 Continental ContiComfortContact CC5  tyres, it explains the the apparent amount of roll that exists around tight corners with its 65mm profile. Though we felt that perhaps a set of slightly larger alloys with lower profiled tyres could do the job in providing for more confidence inspiring drives, but you’d be best advised not to deviate too far from the original specifications, ‘lest you wish to rid yourself of your kidneys, figuratively speaking of course.

With understeer having been significantly dialled into the new Myvi, and though we still think its compliant around the bends, we also found that its tail was capable of wandering during long high-speed corners and required mid-corner corrections in order to maintain our trajectory, which could pose as a potential cause for panic if it were in the hands of less experienced drivers. However, with the car only having done about 1,500km, the tyres have yet to be properly broken in and this could be the cause for its “wandering” rear-end.

With the new 2011 Myvi having received slightly more heft than before, we quietly hoped that Perodua would ditch the rear drum brakes for some solid disc brakes for better braking performance, but alas our hopes were dashed. Even with a kerb weight that’s a tickle below one tonne (Kerb weight of Elegance: 985kg), we initially felt that the brakes weren’t abrupt enough and had to push the pedal deeper in order to get them to really bite. Although this is a characteristic for better levels of comfort, the utilisation of DOT3 brake fluid (according to Perodua Service personnel) could be better improved by using DOT4 instead for better heat tolerance and braking performance. Just make sure not to overcook the rear drums though.

At RM54,400 OTR, the new 2011 Myvi Elegance with its manual transmission is great for city-goers. Small in size, it does compensate by providing much offerings for your money and best of all; it looks like it won’t need to dig too deep into your pockets in order to maintain it. Perhaps, just to provide it with a little more customization.

Last month, Proton announced that the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox will soon be a norm in their vehicles and what better way than to kick it off with their most popular model, the SAGA BLM. This month, Proton invited us out to their in-house oval test track to try out their CVT equipped SAGA 1.3 FLX.

First off, in the looks department, there’s practically nothing new about the FLX, except for the badge at the rear and a new colour tone – Elegant Brown. The real differences is that its engine noise isn’t as intrusive as before, the front end of the car feels a little more reactive and best of all, it should be less painful on your pockets.

The CVT equipped Proton Saga 1.3 FLX features a button just below the gear knob labelled SAT (Stepped Automatic Transmission)

The Proton Saga 1.3 FLX variant comes with a list of added features besides the driver and passenger air-bags, there’s now Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), but this time around its the CVT that’s on showcase here. The CVT comes with a button right next to the gear knob; labelled SAT – Stepped Automatic Transmission.

Once engaged, the CVT then begins to feather the gearbox and throttle, giving you the impression that its changing gears and mimicking that of a stock automatic gearbox. Unfortunately, there’s no secondary remap of the engine’s ECU for a more sportier drive, instead it simply provides the illusion that that the transmission is shifting, which is something for some who’d very much prefer.

Proton claims that the CVT equipped FLX’s fuel economy to be as follows in comparison:

Proton's Fuel Consumption and CO2 Comparison chart compares the the Saga 1.3 (M) with the Saga 1.3 FLX with CVT.

The CVT gearbox comes from Punch Powertrain, where their gearboxes can be found in the likes of Audi, MINI, Hyundai and Kia to name a few. We dare suspect it could be the VT2 transmission from Punch Powertrain, which has a maximum torque tolerance of 186Nm, where the SAGA’s CamPro IAFM engine only produces 120Nm of torque and 94bhp.

Punch Powertrain VT2 CVT gearbox.

The new CVT comes in weighing only 55kg in the FLX and is 15kg lighter than the stock 4-speed automatic transmission (70kg), which helps in making the front end feel a little more responsive. The CVT also chain driven, utilising a wet-sump clutch and does not require any additional maintenance, save the usual transmission fluid flush. Even then, Proton says that the CVT’s service intervals has increased by 20,000km from the usual 40,000km, which helps in keeping your maintenance expenditures lower, by lowering your service frequency when flushing out your old transmission fluid for new.

Proton FLX 1.3 CVT oil cooler can be seen just behind the grill on the right.

Although certain CVT gearboxes have been known to overheat in the past during the first phase of its introduction into vehicles, Proton has helped qualm some of these concerns by installing an independent oil cooler for it, where the transmission fluids will run directly from the gearbox to the oil cooler and back again. The oil cooler has been mounted vertically, in front of the radiator on the far right (when facing the vehicle’s bumper) and Proton assures that the CVT is capable of tolerating temperatures of up to 150°C whilst possessing a lifespan of up to 200,000km.

On full acceleration, the CVT was smooth on power delivery and will help to optimise your access to horsepower and torque, which is best at around 5,500rpm. However, the usual 4-speed auto tranny allows you access all the way to red-line at 6,000rpm. This doesn’t mean that you’ll only use less fuel, it also means that you’re now able to experience 500rpm less of engine noise, providing for some audible comfort, especially with the lack of sound proofing that exists in Proton’s ‘budget’ car.

With the inclusion of ABS+EBD as well a 15kg lightened front end, we did note a more sharper response that was dialled in and the rear does feel more planted than usual as we tried entering the bends of speeds between 110 and 130kmh. As we progressed onto higher speeds, it did require a little more steering input that usual, which meant that this car has the usual Proton Lotus tuned handling; predominantly under-steer.

What we’ve experienced thus far indicates quite an amount of promise in terms of fuel economy, reliability and cost effectiveness in owning a CVT equipped SAGA FLX. However, in terms of the SAGA’s next evolution, rumours are afloat that there could be an inclusion of a 1.6L CamPro engine soon to appear for better power-weight ratio which should transpire into even better fuel economy figures, but to expect a hybrid start-stop function to be included may be asking to for far too much, far too soon.

Things just seem to get more complicated as we grow older, as cliché as it may sound, it’s just that as individuals, it’s simply natural for us all to bring complications right to our own doorstep. But, if it weren’t for such complications, we wouldn’t have developed a learning curve of some sort, and we wouldn’t be able to obtain a better understanding of the “hidden nature” of things, and hence attain some form of “insight”.

The Insight was initially launched in December 2010, during the Kuala Lumpur Motor Show 2010 (KLIMS 2010), and Honda Malaysia has decided to market it as The entry hybrid model for the Malaysian market, particularly targeting eco-oriented individuals who believe in saving the Earth for future generations instead of those who seek firm suspensions, loud exhausts, and higher power outputs.

But that’s just it, how do we get people to stop enjoying what they perceive to taste so darn good, with something else that seems so bland in comparison. Well if you haven’t noticed, the price of crude oil has steadily crept up around the USD100 per barrel, but we’re not here to discuss trading strategies for crude oil. The point is, the price of ‘black gold’ seems to be bullish at this point in time and it will affect all who depend on their 2 or 4-wheeled petrol/diesel-dependant contraptions that takes us from point A to point B.

Mention ‘Hybrid’ and we automatically think of Toyota’s Prius and people’s expectation of what a hybrid can do is usually benchmarked to it. With the Prius, being the first of it’s kind, there really hasn’t been any direct competitors till of late. The Honda Insight on the other hand, is a hybrid and though it’s looks does take after the Prius, the Insight’s pricing doesn’t, but does that price point come at a cost?

First we take a look at what the engine has to offer and Honda has decided to provide potential buyers with a 1.3L SOHC i-VTEC engine that pumps out 88bhp and 121Nm of torque that’s supplemented by Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) electric motor, which provides an additional 14bhp and 78Nm of torque. In total, you’re getting about 102bhp and 199Nm of torque for a car that has a kerb weight of about 1,200kg.

We found the Insight’s hybrid engine to be somewhat rudimentary and lacking in terms of power delivery. With a power-to-weight ratio of only 0.085bhp per kilo, and a 0-100kmh time of about 13 seconds. Looking at fuel-economy, we were able to obtain consumption figures of around 6L/100km, which many petrol-powered vehicles can already provide. So where does the savings come? The start/stop function of course, which helps you lessen your carbon foot-print whilst stuck in traffic. But under the mid-day heat of our tropical climate during this time of year; when the engine shuts down in stand-still traffic, so does the air-conditioning compressor, but not the blower. As the climate control detects a significant increase in cabin temperature of about 5 degrees, the engine comes back online, and it does so with a noticeable shudder.

The engine doesn’t really stay off-line for long and we couldn’t help but feel that Honda may need to look into refining their start/stop function, especially with other hybrids already having done so with relatively greater smoothness and in some cases; almost unnoticeable.

With what Honda’s IMA motor has to offer, the Insight really can’t move by itself with just the electric motor (14bhp and 78Nm of torque), especially with it’s 1,200kg heft. With a combined power rating of 102bhp and 199Nm of torque, we felt that the Insight’s engine did provide for good low-end response with it’s 199Nm of torque; however, as speed and revs increased, the Insight’s CVT gearbox cancelled out any feel for abruptness and urgency from the Insight’s motor and the more you pushed the engine to keep it at speed, the greater the intrusion of engine noise was into the cabin, which happens to add to the road noise as well, making the cabin a rather noisy place to be.

Honda is widely known for utilising ‘deceptive-looking’ plastics within it’s cabin in making itself look like some form of rubberised material, and though it wasn’t all that bad, if you’re familiar with the look and feel of a Honda Civic’s cabin, then you’d find the Insight’s cabin a familiar place to be with a dual-tiered dashboard that has a digital speedometer at the top and it’s tachometer and other gauges down low, which takes some getting used to whilst simultaneously adding some uniqueness to it.

However, with unfamiliarity in mind, we felt that the unique location of the climate-controls were rather hard to get to with the steering wheel partially blocking it especially when you’re unfamiliar with your way around the Insight’s cabin, which could leave room for a future revision on cabin design. Overall, we felt that the interior did come together well at the end of the day.

Moving from the front of the cabin and into the rear, we immediately noticed how little rear leg room there was and how low the roof line came to the top of your head, so if you’re pushing 6′ and over, you’d find the rear of the insight to be a rather tight place to be.

Once we took at look at the boot space, it was clear where all that rear leg-room went; with 408L of space that’s expandable with the rear seats folded down to accommodate a whopping 508L.

Look under the floor board of the boot and you’ll find the spare tyre and if you dig deeper, you’ll come to Honda’s Intelligent Power Unit (IPU), which determines when the electric motor is charged/discharged and when to engage the start/stop function of the engine.

Now press that ECON button to the right of the steering and you’ll find that there’s less throttle response, which is supposed to help you get better fuel economy, but we didn’t really notice a large difference during our test.

When driving, the lower section that houses the tachometer will glow from green to blue, with green indicating that you’ve attained the best level efficiency whilst driving.

After arriving at your destination, once the Insight is powered-down, there will be an Eco Score that will be awarded to you, simply to indicate how efficiently you’ve been driving. The score is given to you as the best out of three plants.

All-round visibility is decent, sans the rear, with that split bar in the way, it’s the largest gripe we have about the Insight.

The purpose of having that bar is to basically camouflage the housing of the rear wiper’s mechanicals, which could also potentially hide vehicles.

Moving on to driving dynamics and we were expecting Honda’s usual sporty suspension tuning, but what we got was whole lot of ‘rock and roll’ (not the music), with a strong and apparent lack of tyre grip that’s coupled with little steering feel. The Insight is softly sprung and though this means that it’s been tuned for comfort, there’s a certain amount of nervousness from it’s rear when cruising on highways, almost as if it were working extremely hard to stay connected to the road. The brakes feel rather soft, even though drum brakes of today have come a long way in becoming more effective, the braking of the Insight leaves you wanting. This would mean that the Insight is a definite hand-full when you’re faced with an emergency situation.

Although the Honda Insight does have it’s short comings on being a hybrid vehicle that it should, it’s design was not meant to possess competitive quartremile or 0-100kmh times, but rather, it was designed to provide a cost effective hybrid-like vehicle that performs somewhere along the lines of a naturally aspirated 1.6L petrol engined vehicle, which happens to have some added functionality that can be found in most current hybrids. While you will get some change for your RM100k, you will be able to own what seems to be the most affordable hybrid-like vehicle presently available in the market.

Firstly, for the record, we are not fans nor aspiring fans of the Yuko Shimizu’s Japanese iconic fictional character; ‘Hello Kitty’, because for this review, as you can obviously see from the picture above, it’s cuteness is further personified by the colour pink and we’d like to advise you to don your favourite shades that’s got some decent UV protection.

Our 5-door, seventh generation, Suzuki Alto GLX (also known as the Nissan Pixo in Europe) test K-car came in a very hot-pink colour and while we couldn’t have a say in the choice of colours, Suzuki does offer it in other colours such as blue, but we after having driven it around, we feel that this little ‘pinkie’ should be quite attractive to the younger female demographics and not to males for obvious reasons.

However, this car did pop out like a sore thumb in traffic, and does pull a lot of feminine attention; even a lady in her classy Mercedes-Benz gave me a thumbs-up as she slowly crawled drove, whilst we waited for the traffic-lights to turn green and avoid any more attention.

Coming back to our test vehicle, the Alto provided to us had a 4-speed automatic transmission mated to the K10B mid-revving 12-valved 3-piston petrol engine with 1.0L of displacement that pumps out  67bhp and 90Nm of torque from 3,400rpm onwards. Simplistically translated, it means that low-end torque was lacking till you reach between 3-4,000rpm, and really had to be pushed up to 3,500rpm before you could get up to speed. How do we know this? Load up another 3 ‘papadam-weighing’ girls at the rear and try climbing the hills around Petaling Jaya’s SEA Park area and you’ll find that the Alto, whilst still capable of climbing the hills, really needed a rolling start, but we don’t see how the girls could have clamber in safely if that were the case.

The Alto received a 3-star rating from EuroNCAP, it does possess front driver and passenger airbags, Anti-lock Braking System as well as Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD). But although the Alto does lack in performance figures for most people, the K10B 1.0L engine does the job in ferrying people from point A to B none-the-less, thanks to a low kerb weight of 915kg. Get up to speed and it will top out almost at 170kmh. Engine noise can be rather intrusive when you’re pushing the K10B engine around bends, and the brakes (Floating discs for the front and drums for the rear) do hold up rather well, without the ABS being too intrusive with roll and pitch being rather well-mannered even though the Alto runs on 155/65 tyres on 14″ alloy rims.

The gated-shifter is quite pleasant to use and does provide, in some form or another, a sense of control over ‘this little pinkie’, because the shifter actually goes through all 4 gears (inclusive of Park, Reverse and Neutral), so if you’re capable enough, you could actually bring the Alto to a quicker halt by down-shifting through the gears.

The Alto’s exterior styling is quite uniquely rounded, with very curvaceous body panels that helps the Alto achieve a low drag coefficient of just 0.3, allowing it to reach higher speeds with less difficulty.

Besides the curvy body panels, the bulging “bug-eye’ head lamps greatly adds to the ‘cute’ factor about this K-car and although it has meager offerings to provide, the panels do come together very well and seamlessly, especially where the hood of the car meets the front grills. We found the panels to be rather flush at every joint, which means attention to manufacturing details is quite well thought out.

With the Alto being 915kg and having such a relatively low Cd measurement, it does help to provide the driver with relative nimbleness around town. Parking was a ‘sinch’ and all-round visibility was fantastic, even the seats had some sportiness to it with a relaxing headrest and the 4.5m turning radius made maneuvering the Alto in tight spaces an added bliss, not to mention finding and fitting into tight parking slots.

Unfortunately, we found the rear seats to be rather cramped, for both petite and ‘buffalo’-sized people, with leg-room quite lacking. But this is evident in most K-cars in the Alto’s respect, however the reason for this was that Suzuki decided to provide a slightly more than average boot space.

In terms of storage compartments within the cabin, it was nearly non-existent, with the only usable storage compartment (slot) being found in front of the front passenger, which we preferred it to have some form of closure system. The side slots on the doors were too narrow to be of much functionality, but the rear doors did have large bottle holders for that matter.

Most cars today do come with the electronic functionalities as standard and being perceived as the usual norms these days in Malaysia, and what surprised us were the lack of electronically controlled side-view mirrors. Instead, they possessed prongs for you to perform adjustments to them. But thankfully, the mirrors provided very good coverage both laterally and horizontally and there were electrically controlled front windows, but alas the rear windows were the manual. At least they won’t have the tendency of malfunctioning, something that does plague the electrically powered windows till today on some make.

Though the Alto’s  interior styling is very much bland and plastic with an attempt at providing some form of texture to it, rest assured, it will be lasting in our hot and humid Malaysian weather, there won’t be any bubbling found on leather-clad dashboards for example. What stood out was the obvious tachometre that’s mounted on right (just next to the A-pillar) of the steering wheel in an attempt to provide some sort of spotiness to ‘pinkie’.

All in, the Alto is overall highly simplistic in nature and provides you with the bare-minimum, though lacking no-doubt, but rest assured that this little car is well built and does feel that it will hold together much more solidly than the local competition although there is a hefty price tag to bear for the Alto’s peak price of RM56,501.20 (On The Road). And from a wholistic point of view, you’ve got yourself a car that’s styled in a way that grabs attention with it’s bright paint job, provides you with 400km per RM60 tank and still gets you to your destination in relative style. It was still a little difficult to part with ‘pinkie’ after having it for almost a week, and during that time, it was simply that easy to bond with.

We’ve always come to like Toyota for their simplicity and straight to the point cars, especially their car’s comfort levels for the executive who seek a plush ride, nothing complicated and decent enough power on-tap. Welcome to the tenth generation Toyota Corolla Altis 2.0L Dual VVTi in a very elegant Pearl White. A car that’s a cruiser along the highways, but not the twisty byways.

Based on an entirely new platform, the Altis has received a few slightly more curvaceous body-panels, sleeker front end and revised headlights; all of which allowed it to have a respectable drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.29 . Though there’s some new design cues for the Altis, it still remains rather bland and ordinary looking, except perhaps the rear brake lights which does add a touch of sportiness to its already conservative looks. Ontop of this, the Altis does possess a 5-star crash rating from EuroNCAP, however our ASEAN model only has front driver and passenger airbags.

On the surface, this car is simplistic by nature, the complexities really lies beneath the hood and while Toyota do try their very level best to keep things simple, they decided to add in a little more power into the mix with this year’s 2.0L Altis that has about 150bhp once you’ve reached 6,200 rpm. But these days, it’s really not the horses that do the work, it’s all about the torque; in fact about 187Nm of it that’s found from 3,600rpm onwards.

The engine is highly responsive with Dual VVTi, which basically allows for valve-lift to occur to help put the power down whilst maintaining some form of efficiency. Though the engine’s throttle-body is electronically actuated, response times are adequate at slow driving speeds, but prod the accelerator fully and there’s an obvious half-second delay, while the ECU computes the ambient air temperature, amount of oxygen, determines the air-fuel ratio and then determines the gear ratio to match in order to maximize power output and delivery. That IS a lot to think about.

Toyota’s Super CVT-i transmission with 7 virtual gear ratios is without doubt smooth when you’re trotting around town and has good low-end torque that almost makes you assume it will be consistent all throughout the insinuate that such an experience can be experienced at high speed readings. However, such consistency gets thrown out the window once you’ve passed 4,000rpm, because the gearbox will seemingly pause; as if it’s electronics decided to call for a huddle to engage in a quick “pow-wow” session before deciding which gear ratio to engage and then nudge you forward with each gear change.

The brakes did feel somewhat soft and the ABS did kick-in numerous times, but prod the pedal a little further and you’ll arrive at the firm section of the brakes, which happens to exist somewhere just after your foot travels 1/3  of the way towards the floorboard.

The Altis’ rear-end tends to feel eager to depart if not for the existence of electronics helping the car stay the course. We did feel the rear-end could have been better to remain more planted, especially on high-speed straights, where it felt rather weightless at speed. However, the front-end did have a tinge of under-steer to it, but it is a character norm for most Front-wheel Front-engine (FF) cars and once you’ve gotten used to the degree of pitch and roll, even with the 205/55 Dunlop SP Sport 01 tyres (supposedly stiffer tyres for better road holding) on 16″ rims, you’ll soon settle into what the car is capable of.

The 2.0L 3ZR-FE engine feels rather free, and though you may think the Altis’ Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox would make the experience bland and uninspiring. On the contrary, it will turn you into a heavy footed speed-freak that’s hell-bent on putting the pedal to the metal. To add to this, the steering wheel does feel chunky in your hand and very much sporty, with that flattened section at the bottom of the 3-poke wheel with integrated controls for your head unit and paddle shifters, nicely and unobstructedly, tucked away behind the wheel at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions. Not to mention, it’s steering feel left us rather detached from having much road-feel to it.

We’d go so far to say that this car is quite a confusion; though the GOA chassis, Super CVT-i 7-Speed (K111) gearbox and 3ZR-FE 2.0L 4-cylinder engine, combination seemed rather well matched for each other, the soft MacPherson struts at the front and it’s rear torsion beam combination for ride and handling didn’t. It does have the usual Anti-lock Braking System, Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and of course, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), but all this really helps to keep the car within it’s road-holding limits.

What we did love about the car was the all -round visibility, interior spaciousness, 457L of boot space thats capable of fitting in four golf bags and still have some room for change, cabin lighting, HID Lights, Eco Driving Indicator to tell you how economical your driving style is, electronic seats, both rear and front parking sensors and the ability to insulate you from all sorts of road bumps and cracks.

With The Altis’ suspension, which really should have been slightly more firmer to allow for spirited drives, and because of what the engine has to offer, the only chink to it’s armour is the car’s handling, you’d dare expect some firmess to the ride, but it becomes ever more apparent that this car was never manufactured for such purposes, it really is for those who are willing to pay RM140,000 for a car that possesses a sporty engine response and a cushy, comfortable and a rather sedate ride; until you prod the accelerator pedal that is.

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