One of the oldest Automotive blogs in Malaysia. Since 2006 and going strong.
Motoring-Malaysia.blogspot.my is an award winning Malaysian motoring / automotive / car news & reviews website or auto blog. It is where we rant and rave about cars, trucks, buses, motoring, motor vehicles and any interesting automotive industry related stuff. Unswayed in our point of view and darn proud of it! It's not about the numbers...it's about passion.
Sometime in early November 2023 we were invited by PROTON to try out their new C segment sedan, the 2024 Proton S70 1.5T sedan. This is their first all-new sedan since Geely came into the picture. Based on their BMA platform, this B/C segment car is based on the Geely Emgrand but we now think of this as a full C segment sedan as the car is actually nothing like a B segment sized car. It is as wide, and as long as a C segment sedan (think Toyota Corolla size – Corolla has an overall length of 4,630mm while the S70 is 4,638mm on a slightly shorter wheelbase).
Anyway, this video presentation is divided into four videos - Parts 1 to 4
Recently, Sime Darby Auto Performance, the chaps who are the authorised Porsche distributors her in Malaysia held the Porsche Taycan Experience at the Sepang International Circuit. The event was held to showcase what the fully electric Porsche Taycan 4 door sports sedan/coupe can do. This is quite a good thing as there would still be some of us petrolheads over in this part of the world who still have second thoughts on fully electric vehicles, even more so an electric Porsche.
Below is the video review / test drive of the 2020 Isuzu D-Max Double Cab 1.9L AT-Premium. It was put up on the Motoring Malaysia YouTube channel last week and I have not put a link to it here. I must have forgotten about it actually. Anyway, another video review for you guys to watch, especially since most of Malaysia and certain parts of the world are on a semi-lockdown due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Watch it if you have nothing else to do folks!
The New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) recently crash tested the newly launched, in Thailand, latest (7th) generation Honda City. This is the third assessment that ASEAN NCAP performed on the model in which the first was conducted in 2012 whilst the second in 2014. But note these were the earlier generation models and ASEAN NCAP has new active safety categories added this time around.
PROTON has launched the upgraded 2020 Proton X70. There have been quite a few changes to one of Malaysia's most popular SUVs in recent times, notably the 7 speed wet clutch DCT gearbox and extra 15Nm torque (300Nm) as well as some suspension tuning which makes the SUV more driveable than ever. Fuel economy seems to have been improved a touch...not by much as it is still a SUV on the heavy side.but makes it feel darn solid when you are inside it. Yes, we know because we have already driven it as prior to the launch today, a bunch of us automotive hacks had the opportunity to take it for a spin. Have a look at our YouTube Channel's video below.
The All-New 12th generation Toyota Corolla was successfully launched on 9th October 2019 at the Genting Sky Avenue. Here, they have just started calling it the Toyota Corolla again, but it still has that Altis badging at the rear. It actually makes sense as we actually don't have a Corolla as well as a Corolla Altis variant running around at the same time. Anyway, this new 2019 (2020 Model year) C-segment sedan is now here in Malaysia and it is impressive - You can view our first drive impressions review here as we have already published it on YouTube.
As we said in our earlier article with regards to the new 2019 Toyota GR Supra, we had driven Toyota's newest flagship sports car and it was bloody good fun. You can see the drive was just a short one but super memorable as we did a high speed run and some handling exercises which still allows us to have some pretty good initial impressions on this Euro-Japan hybrid sports car.
There is a new video by Motoring Malaysia out over on the YouTube Channel folks! If you haven't subscribed there you should as this video, where we test drove the 2019 Mercedes-Benz E350 AMG Line (W213 E-Class) has been out since Monday. Now, it's linked here and you get to watch it here or read a bit more of what I haven't covered about this premium sedan.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI is an icon. It brought out the first ever successful formula for what a hot hatch should be. Some argued that it may not have been the first ever hot hatch, but whatever the case, the Golf GTI perfected that formula. That formula you see today is basically a mass production hatchback, most likely front wheel driven that was upgraded with a very powerful engine and suspension to suit. This is what the Golf GTI is to this day. And today's article (and video you see here) is about the latest model - the 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk 7.5.
So I recently got to try out the All-New 2019 4th generation Hyundai Santa Fe recently. The try out happened during the recent media drive of the 7 seater SUV which took a bunch of media type folks from Batu 3 in Shah Alam and into the Malaysian countryside where we did a spot of off-roading in both the 2.4liter Petrol and 2.2liter CDRi turbodiesel variants. The Santa Fe performed quite admirably for what is essentially a 'soft-roader' as I would call it. Do note that this time I only drove both the 2.4 Petrol and the 2.2 Diesel Executive variants and not the more Premium variants. The time factor was also in play here as it was quite a short trip to Negeri Sembilan and back this time.
VIDEO REVIEW - HYUNDAI SANTA FE 2.4 & 2.2 EXECUTIVE
Hello folks. This is our first drive in the new 2019 Mercedes-Benz S560e Plug-in Hybrid S-Class. A short drive around a circuit that was set up at an airstrip, but we managed some fun, high speed driving nonetheless. [Launch article and specs are HERE]
Videos - 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe preview - 2019 Proton Iriz Facelift Test Drive - 2019 Proton Persona Facelift Test Drive- 2019 Proton Exora Launch, Prices & Details
Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri...Maaf Zahir & Batin. No updates here but we have not been quiet during this month of Ramadhan. We did quite a few videos over on YouTube folks so while we have been taking a break from writing, we have not been stopping doing videos, which is why I do suggest you people subscribe to the Motoring Malaysia channel over on YouTube.
I have to say that YouTube is the future as more and more people like moving pictures. It isn't as easy to produce compared to writing but both have their challenges. Personally, writing is nice as it allows your poetic side to use words to convey a picture within one's mind. As for video, it is easier to record, but on a personal note, I prefer to make our videos have better production values rather than just doing one long take and talking about a certain vehicle.
Note that I do like editing my videos so that it becomes somewhat like a mini documentary with a lot of B-Roll showing the vehicles rather than just a hand doing a walkaround.
Anyway, here are some of the videos which I have not updated here as yet. There is one on the facelifted Proton Iriz & Persona and on the newly available for sale here in Malaysia, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. Not forgetting we have the launch video of the slightly revised 2019 Proton Exora 1.6 Turbo
We should be active again after hibernating during this fasting month!!! Stay tuned for more videos!
The 2019 Proton Persona facelift was officially unveiled to the Malaysian media yesterday and we also managed a test drive of the Persona 1.6 Premium CVT. This comes about eleven days after PROTON unveiled the 2019 Proton Iriz facelift. The whole preview process was held at PROTON’s Malaysia Design Centre and test track in Shah Alam. It was deja vu. Except this time the Iriz had become a Persona, which is essentially an Iriz with a boot. Since this is a facelift, the changes were down to the exterior styling, the addition of the voice command GKUI Infotainment system and some minor changes or quality improvements to 303 parts inside the facelifted Persona.
This is our test drive review of the 2019 Mercedes-Benz C300 AMG-Line (W205) Facelift. We had tried this out at the Malaysian media launch of the facelifted C-Class last November 2018 and we loved it!
Now aside from the 2019 Proton Iriz facelift media unveiling article which I linked here, I also have a video review made on the recently unveiled facelifted 2019 Proton Iriz! Yes, I managed to put together a video review of the test drive I had with the soon to be launched Iriz 1.6 Premium CVT. Watch the video below folks!
The 2019 range of Ford Ranger here in Malaysia is super extensive. There is a variant for everyone and that is absolutely necessary for a brand that is now essentially one that only sells pickup trucks and SUVs here in Malaysia, and for most of South East Asia too. We recently tried the 2019 Ford Ranger Wildtrak 2.0 4X2 during its Malaysia launch at the ned of last year, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now, we managed to test out the similar engined Ford Ranger XLT+ 4X4 2.0.
Today is the day where I finally write about the facelifted W205 Mercedes-Benz C 200 Avantgarde variant which I managed to try out last November during the media drive in conjunction with its Malaysian launch. This is the current entry level model in the Malaysian C-Class range, which goes up to the C300 AMG-Line, the AMG C43 and the AMG C63 S. No C180 variant in the current line-up for now but usually the C180 has been sold here in small numbers annually on a batch by batch basis.
The first drive video on the Proton X70 is out. I must say that the X70 is quite an impressive piece of machinery. It is the first car that has come out of the Geely-Proton partnership and if you take a look at the video you'd know that I came home from Langkawi pretty impressed with the car, which is also Proton's first ever SUV. I tried out the Proton X70 1.8 TGDi 2WD Premium variant. The one on top is the X70 2WD Executive - which comes with smaller 18inch wheels as seen above - the pic just looks so good that I wanted to share it here.
We were invited by UMW Toyota for a short trip to Desaru, Johor to try out the all-new 2019 Toyota Vios. This is the fourth generation Toyota Vios and according to Toyota, it is almost all new with only a small percentage of carry over parts in terms of its overall platform and styling. The Vios you see here is also sold as a Yaris ATIV in certain markets. Quite confusing but no need to get worked up over it. We all tried out the Vios 1.5 G spec to see how well it performed and we made a video review about it as you can see below.
I was one of the few lucky motoring media who was invited to try out the 2019 Perodua Aruz prior to its announcement and teaser photos you see in this other article. The 7 seater SUV is production ready and we managed a go with it at the Perodua Test Track near Rawang, Selangor. No photographs were taken by any of us and they even gave us a locker each to store our camera taking gear. I felt naked without my smartphone. Finger also itchy without it. Anyway, just take a look at the Toyota Rush photos and imagine slightly different trim with a Perodua badge and logo instead. Here I have updated this article with product photographs as the Aruz has been launched.
