March 06, 2012

Lamborghini Aventador J - Topless !

The 'J' for the Aventador does not represent an entry level variant like for the Vios 'J'. Instead, it's a revolution of Aventador, where now it comes without a roof. Yes, a roadster! Here's the catch, Lamborghini will only build one Aventador J and is willing to sell it to you!

Eventhough now the Aventador J comes with lesser weight, it gains more character and sportiness while retaining the angular lines all over the exterior. The roof and windscreen received the Sawzall treatment, where small wind reflector is fitted to give it a two-seat sport bike effect.



It's amazing to know how far a supercar manufacturers will go just to reduce the weight of their cars. The seats and interior trim of the Aventador J are fitted with a new carbon fibre fabric called 'Carbonskin'. They are nice to touch and most important of all, reduces the car's overall weight.


The Aventador J comes with the same powertrain found in the standard Aventador. A 700hp 6.5liter 12-cylinder engine is mated with an all-wheel-drive system enables the Aventador J to achieve the speed of over 300kph (186 mph). The driver and passenger better have their helmet ready!

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March 03, 2012

DRIVEN: 2011 Toyota Camry 2.4V

Toyota Camry is no stranger in the D-segment sedan category. It has been one of the longest running and best selling D-segments in the highly competitive market around the world due to its good reliability, quality and comfort. In Malaysia, the Camry is still selling like hot cake despite the Koreans (Kia and Hyundai I mean, not K-Pop) are gaining popularity. Everything happens for reasons.

Those who never drove or sat in a Camry will find that it is as plain as a white A4 size paper. Unadventurous design and certainly not as curvy as its competitors. It does have some road presence, however, which appeals to family man who needs space for his family and travel in class.

Optional bodykits can be fitted to make a sportier looking Camry...


Those who did will find the Camry is something which, like they say, more than meets the eye. A cabin with great built and quality will greet you when you enter the Camry. Everything felt right and classy, and wouldn't disappoint your father and mother-in-law when you are fetching them, knowing their daughter is in good hands.
Upmarket and inviting.


Here comes my favourite part of the Camry. Sorry, it's not about the comfort nor refinement, but it's the instrument panel. Don't get me wrong, Camry has one of the best comfort and refinement around, but like I said, those who are familiar with a Camry wouldn't find this intrigued. Starting the engine will reveal an Optitron instrument panel which glows from dim to bright. This really gave me a sense of classiness and luxury and I'm glad that Toyota put some efforts in designing the instrument panel, which is very important since it's the first thing the driver will look at when they starts the engine.
I'm in love with this...


The one I drove was the facelifted Camry 2.4V variant which tick every box on the equipment list. It has a VVT-i powerplant which churns out 167PS and 224Nm of torque, which I can say the power output is more than enough for the Camry to take on the highway's right lane proudly. Toyota Camry is not a car for spirited driving, where its steering is light but predictable. Body roll was apparent but well controlled when taking the car into a corner at high speed.

However, Toyota Camry has always been a serious contender when it comes to comfort, refinement and smoothness of the car, and glad to tell you that it got better and better after each generation of Camry. Its only contender which comes close to what the Camry offer is the Nissan Teana, which even triumphed Camry in terms of smoothness thanks to its CVT gearbox and smooth engine.

Without any surprise that the Camry isolated noises well and suppressed road imperfection almost perfectly (unless it's a magic carpet, right?). Sitting at the back makes you feel like a 'lou sai', or 'boss' in English. Abundant of space for you to move around (thanks to the absense of the transmission tunnel too) and best of all, buttons at the side the front passenger seat so that you can adjust the seat forward when it's hampering you from enjoying your comfortable journey. Something worth mentioning are the plasmacluster air-conditioning and perforated leather seat, they are there to make you enjoy in your long trips.
Adjustable front passenger seat from the back, cool!


At the end of the day, people will continue to purchase a Camry thanks to its reputation and comfort. The all-new, 7th generation Toyota Camry is on its way to Malaysia, probably sometime from mid to the end of 2012. Buying a good all-rounder like the Camry will never go wrong.

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March 01, 2012

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta - Most Powerful Ferrari Ever !

Meet the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta! Ferrari claimed that the, let's call it the F12 to be simple, is the fastest production Ferrari to date! For your info, the F12 is the replacement model for the 599, which hardly looks obsolete, right?

Featuring some design cues from the Ferrari FF Shooting Brake, the F12 looks sharp but with some curves at the right places to make it look more interesting. Somehow I noticed the front air intake is shaped to a smile, but of course, this is a Ferrari and Ferraris are suppose to be mean, and the F12 ticked the box.


The F12 uses the same 6.3-litre naturally aspirated V12 powerplant as the FF, but with a bump in power output. The horsepower figure increases from 651hp to 730hp, while the torque increases from 683Nm to 690Nm. These figures enable to F12 to sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds! How staggering! Top speed is somewhere around 340km/h.
Typical Ferrari's cabin design, but it does look luxury!

Can't wait to see how it compares to other manufacturers' top-of-the-range supercar!

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February 29, 2012

Honda Insight Facelift - RM99,800 OTR !

After a period of 'huu-haa' with the launch of Toyota Prius C, which is currently Malaysia's cheapest hybrid car, Honda unveiled the facelift version of its Insight, priced at RM99,800 OTR. 5-year or 140,000km warranty is given to the battery, for your information. This is not a mere facelift exercise involving cosmetic changes only, and you'll have to read the below to find out.

We'll start with the design changes. Exterior has new front and rear bumper, blue tinted headlight and new front grille with a hint of blue reflector. Some Insight owners might notice that the size of rear wiper motor has been reduced, resulting in reduction of the tailgate garnish and improving the rearward visibility.


While Honda still stick with the same powertrain, it is said that the 1.3litre IMA system had minor modification in the CVT gearbox and air-conditioning system to make it more efficient. Safety wise, Honda added hill start assist into the Insight. Dual SRS airbags, ABS, EBD, BA and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) as standard.
Besides that, Honda added insulation into the cabin to improve noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) of the Insight. The fabric for the seats are new upholstered, while the rear passenger's headroom is increased by 15mm with some adjustment made to the roof lining and hip point of the rear seats. This is certainly a good news because the rear headroom of the pre-facelift Insight is hampered by the sloping roofline, although I'm not sure how much can the increment of 15mm helps in terms of rear headroom, I guess we have to drop by the showroom to check it out!

In the meantime, Honda is going to launch its Jazz Hybrid soon! It will go head-to-head with Toyota Prius C!

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February 28, 2012

Volvo V40 - S40 Successor !

The Volvo V40's design seriously put its competitors like Audi A3 and BMW 1-Series to shame! From far you'll know that it's a Volvo but it loses the boxiness of a C30. Speaking of C30, the V40 is the replacement model for C30 and S40 sedan. Probably Volvo might release a sedan version of it soon.

Unfortunately there is no information on the V40 other than these pictures released by Volvo. The rear view bears some resemblances of the C30, but it's more well executed and meaner looking, like asking the tailgaters to keep a further distance from the V40!


Interior wise, the cabin has the same theme as the S60. Dark coloured with chrome, lots of it, around the cabin.

As a Volvo, the V40 also comes with dozens of safety feature abbreviations and the highlight will be for pedestrian protection. The bonnet will pop up and airbag will be deployed at the base of the windscreen to reduce head injury of the pedestrian. The V40 certainly looks promising and am looking forward for a sedan version, if there is any.

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