If It Ain't a Turbo, Anything Less than 2.0L Ain't Hot-Rodding

When I was driving my Waja 1.6L (M), I thought I was among the fastest on the road. Generally, I was. But each time I came up against cars with bigger engines, I found my car severely wanting.

I'd heard of port & polish and engine blue-printing as means for ramping up the engine's horsepower, but they were just too costly and time consuming.

That's when I realised, if I wanted more power, I needed a bigger engine right off. Nothing less than a 2.0L engine would do, and if I had extra money, I could always ramp up the horsepower later.

Sure enough, these days, anything less than a 2.0L car poses little challenge for my Kia Forte 2.0SX.

This is why I can't help feel a little sorry for all those racer boys who drive sporty looking hatchbacks mated to 1.6L engines that are not equipped with turbo, like Satria Neo CPS and Ford Fiesta. They spend so much and get so little.

Of course, most people spend only on what they can afford when it comes to fast cars. I know because I'm still like that - if I had more money, I'd always choose to buy a faster car.

Nonetheless, I've learnt that there's not point in sporting fast looks on a car that won't go as fast as you'd like, which is why I fail to see the point in garish looking spoilers and skirting for cars that are actually quite slow, like the Neo CPS, Ford Fiesta and Honda City.

For me, understated beauty speaks volumes when it comes to speed, like the VW Golf and Scirocco - these cars are anything but garish, and just by looking at them, you know they're fast.

If you want to go with a small engine car and you're into speed, be sure to choose something with turbo in it, like the Peugeot 308 Turbo. It may look a little weird but it really is fast. Otherwise, you'll just be dreaming of hot-rodding, instead of doing it for real.

Car manufacturers will peddle you all sorts of gizmos like gasoline direct injected (GDI), dual CVVT and even dual clutch. At the end of the day, your 1.6L car would still be slower than most 2.0L cars, unless you go down the port & polish, engine blue-printing, slap-on turbo path.

So, don’t be easily taken in by cars like the Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Veloster.

Ford Fiesta, Stay Away-Ya!

My auntie in the UK swears by them.

Cars, Bikes & Trucks (NST/Maybank) presented them with the Compact Car Award 2010.

But here I am saying bad things about them.

That's right. I'm saying stay away from Ford Fiestas.

Am I biased? Has my rotten experience with the Ford Focus coloured my judgment?

Well, consider this.

In the UK, Fords go on and on, and on.

I even drove a couple during the holidays, in between university semester breaks in the UK.

In fact, I loved the Fiesta so much, I really looked forward to owning a Ford Focus.

But the one thing I overlooked before buying my Focus had been the poor supply chain management in Malaysia when it comes to Ford cars, such that parts that are reasonably priced in the UK are not so reasonably priced in Malaysia (see my earlier posting http://grinnerscarsmalaysiablog.blogspot.com/2011/01/dont-let-your-car-make-you-poorer.html).

Didn't it strike anyone as odd how Ford cars lost their popularity in Malaysia? Well, it's not because they don't have what it takes to have a following, as much as the fact that they're more expensive to own and operate than most cars.

To boost the popularity of Ford Fiesta in Malaysia, Ford has thrown in a 3+3 package deal, i.e. 3 years warranty plus 3 years free maintenance. This is to make the car more appealing to discerning buyers.

Well, don't be fooled. For the first three years, everything will be hunky dory. But what about after the first three years when major problems need repairing?

You might think that you'd be able to afford the repairs. Well, God bless and good luck.

Many people get comfortable with not having to foot the service and repair bills during the first 3 three years, such that they don't really account for the need to cut back on other expenditures after the first 3 years.

The point of the matter is, if you're going to be saddled with expensive maintenance bills you should get a far better car.

Yes, the Fiesta has won accolades for first-in-class technology and safety features - yada yada yada. In the end, it's just a glorified looking, underpowered 1.6L hatchback that can easily be outgunned by the Proton Inspira 1.8L - Oh! the shame!

If you're going to be spending money on an expensive-to-maintain car, you'd be better off with a better car.

In short, don't waste your time and money on the Ford Fiesta when, on the balance, there are other cars that give you better value for money.

Don't Let Your Car Make You Poorer

This post is written at the request of my old FoMec (Ford Malaysia Enthusiast Club) buddy Nagai, on whether buying the Kia Forte is really a step-down from the Ford Focus. The following are my thoughts on the matter.

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Back in the late 80s, when Malaysia was experiencing a severe economic recession, my family was struck by poverty. My father's business failed because of the recession and we were forced to make ends meet by scraping by - including eating rice with only soy-sauce.

One thing we didn't do, however, was sell off my dad's old Volvo 244GL. Why? Well, it was mainly because of sentimental value - my dad bought that car for my mom. While we sold almost everything else, my dad couldn't bring himself to sell the car.

The result was that the Volvo became an unreasonable burden, as it ate into my dad's tiny income severely. The car needed expensive repairs almost on a monthly basis. And with so much debt to clear, it made my poor family even poorer.

From that experience, I've grown to hate any car that makes me poorer, including my old Ford Focus S2.0. With expensive spare part prices, the Focus made me decidedly poorer, with the last repair being a whopping RM14,000 transmission overhaul (for which I had to take a bank loan with oppressive repayment terms - I was desperate).

While I miss my Focus sometimes, I don't miss paying off its repair bills, thanks to my Kia Forte 2.0SX. Yes, I sold off the Focus and made next to nothing for all my troubles, but at least I don't have to worry about repair bills.

And it's not because my Forte is still under warranty. It's because the Forte is turning out to be the reliable car I expected it to be - it's been six months since I bought the Forte and nothing needs repairing.

By contrast, my Focus started having problems within the first six months of owning it. Nothing serious at first, but then, later, things like faulty brake calipers and burnt out headlight dishes came to the fore.

While my Focus was still under warranty, expensive repairs like these were covered (whether fully or in part). But once the three year warranty was over, the bills really started taking a toll.

So, is the Forte a step-down from the Focus? Well, the Focus takes corners better than the Forte and the Focus' shocks are especially good for racing about.

But compared to the Forte, the Focus is a little under-powered. No way could I keep up, let alone overtake, a Honda Civic 2.0 with my old Focus.

With my Forte 2.0SX, the Honda Civic 2.0 is surprisingly easy to catch up with and even overtake. At 3rd gear, my Forte would do 170Km/h at 5,500RPM and could still accelerate with vigour.

But that's not why I bought the Forte. Apart from a better engine and reliability, it has many contemporary features that the Focus lacks, like push-button ignition, cruise control, traction control system, six airbags (driver, front passenger, rear passengers and side-curtains), and a bass-thumping sound system.

Above all, from the very important aspect of spar parts, the Forte being a much more popular car than the Focus means that spare parts will be cheaper due to economies of scale. At the same time, since the Forte is being assembled in Malaysia, the supply chain for spare parts should be better than that of the Focus, hence reducing the cost of spare parts further.

Add that to the Forte's overall reliability and the Focus appears to me like a wrong purchase from the start.

In short, I need a car that won't make me poorer and, in most respects, is better than my old Focus. And I found it in the Forte.

Some of my old FoMec buddies may not be happy with my views and may have been luckier with the Focus than I had been. Well, God bless and may their luck hold out.