Proton Bags 2 Awards in RAC Future Car Challenge 2011 !

Kudos and congrats to Proton for winning 'The Best Overall Extender Range/Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (E-REV)' and 'The Most Energy Efficient Multi-Purpose Car-Prototype' in the RAC Future Car Challenge! The Best E-REV award was a draw with the Toyota Prius Plug In Hybrid, this shows that Proton technology is on par with some of the top automakers in the world!

The challenge was held in London, where Proton competed with some of the world renowned car manufacturers with our very own Exora (REEV), Saga EV and Persona REEV.


Proton Exora REEV was the winner of the Best E-REV last year, so Exora REEV is the winner in this category for two consecutive years! I'm sure Proton MD, Dato Sri Syed Zainal Abidin will be very proud of their achievement.

Proton is looking forward to put these green vehicles into production, and most probably Proton Exora REEV will be available in Malaysia next year. Fingers crossed!

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Volkswagen Passat CC facelifted !

The sexy Volkswagen Passat CC 4-door coupe has been facelifted, and now it's better than ever! The facelifted Passat CC (above) gained a more upmarket looking front end, resemblance of the Passat Sedan's front end, but only sleeker.



The front and rear lights ditched the round theme and went for a more angular theme. Thus, Volkswagen had successfully made the Passat CC sportier after the facelift exercise. New daytime running LED lights are incorporated into the headlights, something which you can easily find in a Volkswagen.

Look forward to its arrival in Malaysia!

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Honda CR-Z at RM115k !

The long-awaited Honda CR-Z is finally here in Malaysia! Priced at RM115k OTR with insurance, the CR-Z is first of its kind (3-door hybrid) in Malaysia where you can get fuel economy and performance at the same time!



No doubt that the Honda CR-Z is a looker. Sleek styling together with its 3-door design make people forget that it's actually a hybrid when they see it. Thankfully, Malaysia version get daytime running LED lights as standard, which will increase its road presence greatly.



We get the 1.5litre i-VTEC powerplant for the CR-Z. It is able to churn out 124bhp, also similar to a Honda City, and 174Nm at as low as 1000-1500rpm. The CR-Z also comes with a 3-Mode drive system, where drivers can choose between Sport, Normal or ECON mode depending on their needs.



The CR-Z also get a futuristic cabin theme like its siblings, Civic and Insight. Very nice looking cabin it is, but isn't the centre console looks slightly cluttered? Besides the great preformance, the safety equipment list is impressive too. Besides the usual Dual SRS airbags, the CR-Z has side and curtain airbags, Hill Start Assist (even for a manual transmission!) and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) as standard!

Best of all, owners of the CR-Z can enjoy a 5 years/140,000km warranty for the hybrid battery. This is a good move in order to push the sales of hybrid cars and also to instill confidence in its customers.

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Peugeot 208 - Best Looking Peugeot To Date !

Can you believe what you are looking at is the replacement of Peugeot 207, the 208??!! This is one sexy supermini car, better looking than the model it replaces. Although I'm not a fan of Peugeot's new design language, this definitely changed my mind!



Above is the 5-door version of the 208, not as stunning in terms of design compared to the 3-door, but still better than most of its competitors! Take a look at the sharp lines all over the exterior, it should be classified as a hot hatch even without a high performance engine!



The unconventional styling continues to the rear, and it's certainly not boring to look at! It has character and charisma without being cluttered.



The Peugeot 208 has a wheelbase of 2,540mm, similar to its predecessor but 70mm shorter and 10mm lower. This translates a bigger cabin and more generous boot space. The instrument panel has hint of the grille design, which is nice, but the screen at the centre looks like an afterthought.

This little chilli from the French marque is something to look forward to!

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4th Generation Honda CR-V !

Behold! The all-new, fourth generation Honda CR-V was unveiled by Honda Japan in
their website. The overall design of the production version of CR-V doesn't differ much compared to the concept's design, which is a good thing!



As you can see, the concept version in orange looks identical to the production version of CR-V (but I wish the front skid plate remains!). If you thought the current CR-V looks bold, the all-new CR-V will make you think again! The front end looks much better than the 'shark mouth' of the outgoing model. Bold and sleek at the same time!



The quarter glass and taillights design has hints of the outgoing model. However, some might say that now the CR-V's taillights looks similar to Volvo XC60's taillights. I couldn't agree more, but it's not a bad thing too since Volvo XC60 is a sexy car!



The 4th generation Honda CR-V received an all-new cabin design which features a more upmarket dashboard design. The dashboard gear level is still there, along with the centre storage between the front passenger and the driver, perfect for the ladies to stash their handbags. There's a large screen at the centre console and a smaller display above it. I bet the cabin will look great in day time and night too!

More details will be unveiled soon, but we might have to wait until next year (probably end of it) after the launch of the 2012 Honda Civic for this CR-V to come, and the condition of flood in Thailand aren't helping......

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