New Kia Forte - Leading by Design

Kia makes good cars, but for the longest time, it lagged behind its competitors because of its "so-so" Korean design approach.

Then, it decided to do something radical. It hired Audi's former Chief Designer to design a new Kia that would take the world by storm.

Out came the Kia Forte, the first ever Kia designed to compete against European marquees in terms of good looks but still carry a price tag of an average Korean car.

The result was instant success worldwide.

2013 is just around the corner. What has Kia done for the Forte? Make it look even better but without detracting from the current Forte, such that Forte owners old and new can still take pride the good looks of their favourite Kia.

Well done, again, Kia. Well done, indeed.

Goodbye My Darling Forte

Yes, I did it again. After upgrading the car that I love to bits, I went and bought a new car.

So, now, I have to say goodbye to my darling Forte, because it doesn't make sense to keep two good cars and pay almost twice as much as I have to. After all, I'm driving my new car more - yes, that's me being reasonable :P

What car did I buy? The far superior and far more stylish Mazda6 2.5 S-VT (which I've reviewed before).

I should be so lucky, you think? Why not keep both?

Yes, I'd love to keep both the Forte and the Mazda6, but dear wifey won't let me. "Better spend the money on me!" she says and she's right, of course :)

So, here's me saying goodbye and paying tribute to my darling Forte:

I'll always remember
that rainy Monday morning
How much joy I got
going fast in my new red cruiser
Only to hit a deep puddle and go spinning
"Oh! God. My new car" I screamed
as I saw the concrete divider
Rushing in for a devastating front-ender
But my darling Forte
You kept it away
With your fantastic 180 manoeuvre
Thank God
And thank you...

My darling 2.0L beauty is now for sale at RM78,000 ono.

:)

Still on Rims Thingy - I've Done Sleek, Now I Can Live with Cute

Each time I buy a new car, the rims and tyres almost always disappointment me. That's because they tend to be a tad too small for the wheel wells, leaving a disproportionate gap between the tyre and wheel well - check out the Madza 2's rims and tyres for instance.

Of course, I try not to upgrade to larger rims. At the most, I'd put in bigger tyres, at least in the beginning. After a year, I start getting the upgrade-to-bigger-rims itch.

Funny thing is, I don't think there's really anything wrong with just settling for smaller, cute looking rims and tyres.

But the itch just settles in and I just have to upgrade.

Fortunately, now that I've done that with my Kia Forte, I can live with cute. And I like cute. In fact, I can even live with donut-looking tyres, because I've done sleek by getting low profile tyres and larger rims with my Forte.

:P

Don't Trade-in Your Old Rims - Sell Them via Mudah.my

Many car enthusiasts make the mistake of trading in old rims when upgrading to new ones. Most of the time, we get much less than what we feel our old rims are worth.

Sometimes, the offer we get is so low, it's actually insulting.

For instance, the trade-in offer that I got from Eneos for my Kia Forte 17-inch rims was a measly RM500.

Supposedly, there was not much value to the Kia Forte 17-inch rims. My old Nexen ZR tyres fetched a higher value of RM400, which meant that my rims were valued at only RM100 by Eneos.

This is, of course, ridiculous. Yes, my rims are used rims, but they are in good condition - no curb marks/scratches or dents and they've never been reconditioned. With a little buffing, you'd have difficulty telling the difference between newly fitted Kia Forte rims and my old rims.

So, instead of trading them in at Eneos, what I did was advertise my old rims at Mudah.my. RM800 for 4 of them.

Within an hour of my advertisement going up, I received an email from a prospective buyer who expressed interest in buying my old rims.

Fancy that! From RM100 to RM800. That's 800% more than what Eneos was offering.

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Addendum: The rims are sold, thanks to Mudah.my. Goes to show, you don't have to be reliant on second hand cars/parts dealers to get your money's worth.

Getting Larger Rims - I Shall Resist, NOT!

Car buffs have one thing in common - we all love large sporty looking rims. That's because large rims make even ugly looking cars "nice".

But the problem with large rims, especially aftermarket ones, is that they come with problems.

Firstly, larger rims almost always mean thinner profile tyres. Thinner profile tyres mean more problems going over potholes and bumps, e.g. bent rims, ruptured tyre walls, etc.

Secondly, larger rims mean more expensive tyres. And if you're into performance tyres that wear out more quickly than normal tyres, then you'd be spending a heck of a lot more on replacement tyres yearly.

Thirdly, larger rims mean higher fuel consumption, especially when accelerating.

Fourthly, while they look really cool filling the wheel wells, larger rims and tyres mean that you risk scraping your tyres against your car's wheel wells over humps.

Then, there's the issue of vibration. After market rims don't usually fit your wheel pin nicely, which means that there is a lot more "play" before screwing in the wheel bolts to your rims. While you could compensate by using a centre cone, the "play" isn't as minimised as much as how your factory fitted rims are (which have been designed to exact specifications).

Of course, there's the issue of theft. When your care looks nicely "bling-ed" out by your rims, it's going to attract a lot more attention from car thieves.

And what do you do with your nice looking old sports rims? You never really get a good price for them - the trade in offer I got for my original Kia Forte rims and tyres was RM500 and I said, in not so many words, "kiss my behind".

So, it's best to not upgrade to larger, nicer looking rims, yes? No. Come on! Can you honestly expect a car enthusiast not to bling out his or her car? :P

So, after resisting the urge to upgrade for almost two years, I finally bought 18-inch rims for my Kia Forte 2.0SX.

And I FEEL GOOD! Nenenee nenee neneh!

I KNEW THAT I WOULD! Nenenee nenee neneh!

:D
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Addendum: I sold my old, still good tyres, for a measely RM400 and took home my old rims. Anyone who's interested in buying them can contact me by replying to my post. Offer price = RM800 for 4 x 17-inch PCD 114.3 rims.

I Love My Car – Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder

When I ask my wife what she thinks of my Kia Forte, she’ll usually have something not-so-nice to say about it. It would rankle me because I really like the Forte.

But then, there’s always something I say in this blog site about the cars I review that would rankle someone somewhere – like the guys who are so angry with me for rubbishing the Mahindra Scorpio, for instance; or the people who don’t like how I extol Kia while rubbishing Proton (directly or indirectly).

Regardless, folks, there are only two things that matter in the end when it comes to cars. If we’re really honest about the subject, these two things are beauty and affordability.

Reliability? Yes, well, it’s interconnected with affordability pretty much – you can’t afford to lose too much time and money fixing a badly produced car after all.

And between the two, beauty is far more important than affordability – you can afford a whole bunch of cars within a certain price range, but you only go for what you think is the most beautiful among them.

For me, at the time of buying my Forte, I had also considered other cars like the Peugeot 308, Chevrolet Cruze and the Mitsubishi Lancer. But I chose the Forte because, features aside, the tipping factor was its beauty.

That is to say, to me, the Forte had been the most beautiful car I could afford at the time.

I still feel greatly satisfied when I look at my Forte these days. When the light hits it just right, when it’s sitting low and pretty on its 17-inch rims, my Forte – to my eyes - looks far more beautiful than the most fanciful Mercedes or BMW, or Audi or VW.

So, all you guys and gals out there? Don’t feel bad if someone (like yours truly) rubbishes your “beautiful” car. Take pride in your beauty of a car.

It may be a piece of junk to others, but it’s your beautiful “piece of junk”. In the end, that’s all that matters.

Among the cars that I’ve considered beautiful includes the Proton Saga Aeroback, Mazda 626 Hatchback, Volvo 244 GL, Proton Satria, Mercedes 250 (1982), Datsun 120Y, Peugeot 404, Morris Minor, and Proton Waja – cars that have been in my immediate family.

Tailgated by a “Chihuahua” Saga FL

I’ve been meaning to blog about the new Saga FL or, rather, the not so new Saga FL, now that it’s been out for several months already. But I kept putting it off.

I didn’t quite know whether to love it or hate it more than the old “new” Saga.

The Saga FL looks more masculine, what with its sharper, more angular headlights.

And because of that, some people perasan gila (get dreams of grandeur), like the dickhead who souped up his Saga FL and tailgated my Kia Forte 2.0SX.

One upside to that is, I get the motivation to blog about the Saga FL and how it performs when souped up.

In one word? Fast.

I don’t know what the guy did to his Saga FL, but the thing was like a little Chihuahua on steroids. Come to think of it, it looked like one too, what with the sharper, “meanie” looks of the Saga FL.

More importantly, each time my Forte was held up by fast-lane road hoggers, almost in the blink of an eye, the dickhead caught up in his “Chihuahua” Saga FL and tailgated me some more.

Of course, outrunning the thing was not a problem for my 2.0L Forte. Despite under-revving and slowly accelerating, I pulled ahead of the dickhead by as much as 500m or more.

Then, road hoggers would slow me down and, there it was, the “Chihuahua” Saga FL fully in my rear view mirror. It was so close to my Forte’s rear I could almost see the white of the eyes of the dickhead behind its wheel.

So, what did I do? Move aside? No way.

I gunned my Forte’s engine as soon as the fast-lane cleared and left the “Chihuahua” Saga FL behind yet again.

And so, that was how it went, until the dickhead driving the “Chihuahua” Saga FL decided to hang left into a via-duct and tailgated someone else.

One thing’s for sure, I have a newfound respect for the Saga FL. Too bad its manufacturer Proton still has a stinking reputation of producing cars of lesser quality, a reputation it has yet to shed fully because of decades of shoddy workmanship or build-quality of Proton cars.

And let’s not forget, all Proton cars are overpriced.

Also, the Saga FL’s more masculine looks make it less than suitable to girls or women drivers. I can’t seem to reconcile “meanie car” with “cutie behind the wheel”.

Ah, well. Maybe it’s just me, but if girls or women were truly the target market, I think the old “new” Saga’s more feminine looks did a better job at catering to them.

Primax 95 xtra - A Fuel that Even Performance Cars Can Use

If you’re not partial to RON 95 fuel or think that it’s really not very good, then check out PETRONAS’ Primax 95 xtra. It may just change how you feel or think about using RON 95 fuel.

Having driven around at high speeds using the old Primax 95 (yeah, I get into pissing competitions quite a bit), I can personally attest to the fact that the new Primax 95 xtra gives added performance that you can feel.

Specifically, my Kia Forte 2.0SX is punchier at all gears and is actually quite “slippery”. What do I mean by “slippery”? Well, let’s just say, my Forte tends to go faster than I intend it to, thanks to Primax 95 xtra.

In fact, feedback from friends and acquaintances who are owners of BMWs has been largely positive. Most say that the new Primax 95 xtra actually makes BMW engines run smoothly.

While it may not provide the kind of punch that Primax 97 would give, the cost savings that come from using Primax 95 xtra is well worth it.

Still, don’t just take their word for it. Try the new fuel out for yourself and see for sure. It may turn out well for you too.

If it doesn’t, well, you can either go back to using the more expensive RON 97 fuel or buy a new car that can actually make the most of RON 95 fuel.

In any case, the new Primax 95 xtra promises additional savings due to its new and improved detergent additive.

That is to say, with less engine friction, you need less fuel to move your car.

Kia Forte is Debut Model of 2011

Kia Forte has been awarded Debut Model of the Year at the 2011 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Excellence Awards. For Forte enthusiasts, this is quite an ego boost.

It’s like a big “yes” to our purchase decision. It affirms the fact that the Kia Forte is great looking and dependable, two fundamental reasons why it’s so popular with car buyers.

Never mind that the car has poor rear shocks and springs.

Now, if only the hybrid version is available, it may end up being a popular choice as well.

Unfortunately, there are still issues pertaining to Approved Permits for bringing hybrids into the country, and I can’t help but think that it has to do with protecting Proton again.

Goodness, if that’s true, enough already! It’s high time that Proton comes out with it’s hybrids. If it’s slow to do so, then consumers should not be made to suffer.

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.

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.

Challenged by an Old Flame

A couple of days ago, I came across a Ford Focus 2.0L sedan hogging the fast lane. While I didn't tailgate the Focus, the guy behind the wheel must have felt challenged, because he sped off.

It was as though he had something to prove or he just felt good about driving the Focus really fast, or both.

To be honest, I can relate. After all, the Focus is one of the best handling cars I've ever driven. So, I can easily relate to the feel-good factor of the car.

Did I give chase in my Kia Forte 2.0L? No, I didn't. While my Forte has a more powerful engine, I'm determined not to press it too hard.



You see, the one thing I learnt driving my old Focus S2.0 hard is that, while the engine and chassis can take it, the transmission may not. Sure enough, despite being certified as a "sport" model, the Focus S2.0 transmission went kaput even before reaching 100,000km.

So, while I still drive fast, I'm determined not to destroy my Kia Forte's transmission by driving the car too hard.

Which would I prefer to be in, now that I've had a feel for both cars? The Focus or the Forte? Well, of course the Forte.

While my red "Looker" can't handle corners as good as the Focus, it is so much more value for money, especially in terms of spare parts. Being a far more popular car, the Forte won't face the kind of supply chain problems that drive the spare part prices of the Focus up to unreasonable levels - unreasonable because they are comparable to those of luxury marques such as the BMW, Mercedes and VW.

Yes, I kinda miss driving my old Focus S2.0, but I'm not going to be spending on another unreasonably pricey Ford. Not when there are other options around (more of this later).

Toyo-duh! for Show-offs and Fools

Oil prices are going up and up. Yet, some people remain hung-up on big-engine fuel guzzling SUVs, like the Toyota Landcruiser V8.

Why? Oh! Why? They're either show-offs or fools.

"Hey, I can afford it. No matter how high the fuel prices go, I'm rich. See my Toyota V8 and go green with envy!"

Yeah! You wish. All I see is a fool who doesn't know how better to use his money.

Even if you're a millionaire, and especially if you want to remain a millionaire, you're going to have to think more on how best to make your money work harder. This is why it is estimated that 80% of the world's millionaires own and drive second hand cars.

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/energy and you'll see first hand the oil prices' slow but steady march up to and beyond the USD100 per barrel mark.

And if you're really a smart millionaire, not someone who inherited his daddy's riches or became rich overnight because of sheer luck, you'll know to put money in a car with an engine that's been downsized like any of VW's TSI cars that come with small engines and turbo chargers. Alternatively, you'll invest in a hybrid car and, if you're really rich, an electric car.

What you don't do is squander your wealth on a Toyo-duh! V8 that even Americans who are hung up on SUVs with big engines are no longer into much.

Speaking of which, I came across an idiot who recently bought one. The big ugly thing wasn't just fugly, it was also damn slow for a V8 (perhaps because of its inferior power-to-weight ratio).

Yet, the dick behind the wheel must have thought that he had the divine right to hog the fast lane and the middle lane at the same time. So, I flashed him with my high-beam.

He got mad and got into a pissing competition with me. Not surprisingly, his V8 lost to my naturally aspirated 2.0L Kia Forte SX simply because of my Forte's superior power-to-weight ratio.

That makes buying the Toyo-duh! V8 doubly stupid. Not only does it guzzle fuel, it's not very quick on the roads.

Move aside, slow-coach...

Kia Forte - Last of the Straight-Up "People's Choice" Cars

At the recently held 'Car of the Year Carnival' by Cars, Bikes & Trucks (CBT), the Kia Forte was voted as the "People's Choice" by visitors. This was probably due to the Forte's design appeal and affordability.

A close second was the Hyundai Sonata, which missed winning the award by a small but substantial margin, according to CBT.

I predict that, next year, the "People's Choice" would be a hybrid car.

Why? This is because, in Malaysia, hybrid cars are beginning to be priced at the mid-range car level, if not less.

Yes, the cost of replacement batteries for a hybrid car is a factor to be reckoned with, especially when their replacement price could be about the same as that of replacing an automatic transmission (brand new). Nonetheless, with petrol and diesel prices steadily going up, the ability to cut back on the use of transportation fuel would result in tremendous savings - the hybrid car driver would pay far less for fuel, resulting from driving in the city and suburbs in full-electric mode.

And since the Malaysian Government won't have to dish out higher fuel subsidies (in total) due to reduced fuel consumption, the hybrid car driver enjoys substantial tax breaks, thereby making the hybrid car a value-for-money proposition.

That is to say, as a result of tax breaks given by the Malaysian Government, a hybrid car would cost about as much as its non-hybrid equivalent, if not less.

For example, the Honda Civic Hybrid, which reportedly performs like a Honda Civic 1.8L, is being sold for about RM109,000, which is cheaper than the Honda Civic 1.8L, thanks to the tax breaks provided by the Malaysian Government.

What's more, with the launching of the new Honda Insight Hybrid, prices of hybrid cars could go down even more.

Then there's the Proton Exora Extended Range Electric Vehicle, which is expected to go into production soon. When it does, it might be even cheaper than hybrid cars or cheaper than mid-range cars.

These are exciting times for Malaysian motorists. While the steady increase in oil prices is continuing to put pressure on the cost of living, the standard of living of many Malaysians who rely heavily on private transport can be sustained thanks to the timely affordability of hybrid and electric cars.

Dual CVVT Corolla Altis for Toyota Lovers Who Hate being Out-Gunned

I don't know why, but a lot of Toyota Vios drivers appear to have dreams of grandeur. They would do up their under-powered cars and tail-gate my Kia Forte 2.0SX so closely, as though they're racer-boys to be reckoned with.

It's not like I can't get out of the way or that I can't speed up. Traffic up-front won't allow me to go any faster.

So, as soon as I can, I speed off, leaving the Toyota Vios driver behind in my exhaust fumes.

"Come on, catch up then," I would say out loud. But by then, the Vios would be far behind, struggling to close the distance.

Why do these Toyota Vios drivers even bother? Perhaps they don't know that my Forte is the 2.0L, 155Bhp variant and not the underpowered 1.6L variant. Certainly, there are no markings on my car to indicate as such.

Perhaps it's just the way they are. Having spent so much on a Toyota, they can't help but feel the need to push their cars as hard as they can.

I suppose this is why Toyota came up with the Dual CVVT Toyota Corolla Altis, which is mainly for those Toyota racer boys who want a little more power, so that they don't get left behind in other people's exhaust fumes.

But really, even with the improved torque of 187nm at 3,600 RPM, the Dual CVVT Corolla Altis is largely pointless. With only about 145Bhp, the Dual CVVT Altis would still be out-gunned by the Kia Forte 2.0SX and the Honda Civic 2.0, which are among its major rivals.

Worse still, the Dual CVVT Altis is about RM40,000 more expensive than the Forte 2.0SX.

If you really have about RM132,000 to blow on a car, you're better off with a Honda Civic 2.0. Otherwise, save your RM40,000 and settle for a Kia Forte 2.0SX.

What's more, with so many exciting new options to choose from, including hybrid cars, something like the Dual CVVT Altis is so passe - it simply does not give enough bang for your buck.

I won't go into detail on the Dual CVVT Altis' looks, simply because the matter is relative (although if you ask me, the design is not very exciting and somewhat pointless).

On the balance, the Dual CVVT Altis is like a passing blip on the 'new car' radar - unremarkable and forgettable.

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Addendum: Toyota Priuses are being recalled the world over - about 650,000 of them. The problem? faulty water pump that causes bubbles to build up, preventing proper flow of the radiator coolent, which could result in engine overheating.

Hmm... so much for Toyota's vaunted "quality and reliability" image held high by Toyota fans.

Proton's Uninspiring Inspira

Well, it's finally here, the Waja replacement model. It's basically a Mitsubishi Lancer with a face-lift that is less aggressive than the Lancer's looks.

It's about four years old, this model. And as with anything Proton, it's about as good as it gets.

Still struggling with supply chain management issues that keep putting the company on the back foot, Proton now has to ensure that the car's locally manufactured components don't result in the car being as problem riddled as the first generation Waja. Good luck with that.

It's a pity really. All the hard working men and women at Proton are really looking to this car to bolster the company's sales. Yet, all the protectionism that Proton enjoys makes it easy for some of their co-workers and contractors to be complacent about quality.

After all, the domestic car market is a captive market for Proton. It doesn't really have to compete against non-national car players.

So, it's kind of difficult to be enthusiastic about the Proton's Inspira, although a lot of Malaysians who cannot afford to buy non-national cars are looking forward to owning one.

I just hope that in trying to make the car more 'affordable' to Malaysians, Proton hasn't cut too many corners. One corner cutting is obviously the smaller size rims and tyres that makes the Inspira wheel-well gapingly large. Sigh!

Price for price, the high-line Inspira is only about RM4,000 cheaper than the next best thing, which is the Kia Forte 2.0SX. Between the two, I'd go for the Kia Forte any day - the Proton Inspira 2.0 (high-line) is about RM90,000, whereas the Kia Forte 2.0SX is about RM94,000.

With the Forte, the design is far more fresh looking. Plus, with the Forte, you don't have to worry about poor quality issues that many Malaysians have come to expect of Proton cars.

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Addendum: The following was initially a response to a comment, but it's important enough to be placed as part of the main blog entry.

The Proton Inspira is not actually a car whose production is licenced by Mitsubishi. Rather, it is the result of a sale & purchase agreement to buy Mitsubishi parts and put them together with Proton manufactured parts to produce a car that looks like a Mitsubishi Lancer but is actually a Proton Inspira.

It's rather screwy, if you really think about it. Proton is Malaysia's national car company, but the technology behind it is, on the balance, really nothing "national". Initially, Proton was supposed to start off with Mitsubishi technology and graduate to its own technology as a result of technology transfer and know-how.

To a certain degree, it has accomplished that with the Savvy, New Saga and New Persona. But other models still rely heavily on Mitsubishi technology and parts, e.g. Exora and Inspira.

I sympathise with the hardworking men and women of Proton who are trying their level best to make the best of a bad situation.

At the same time, I am enraged by the fact that Proton's lack of competitiveness has caused Malaysians in general to suffer from artificially inflated car prices for more than 25 years, just to keep Proton afloat - the protectionism comes chiefly in the form of steep duties levied on fully imported and locally assembled foreign marquees, all of which is made worse by the Applied Permits for importing cars, which in themselves can be bought and sold.

For all these reasons, I am one of those who have vowed not to buy Proton. While I am patriotic, I believe that, on the balance, protectionism is more harmful than good to Proton and Malaysians in general. And it's high-time that protectionism is removed.

On the upside, Proton appears to be making strides overseas, as it should be, because there lies the larger market. For instance, its Exora hybrid (an electric-cum-gasoline seven seater car) recently won acclaim in the UK. It's not much, relative to the achievements of other international marquees, it's still significant enough to make Malaysians hopeful.

If, like Malaysia's national oil company PETRONAS, Proton is able to make international revenue its largest source, then it would make some (not all) of the suffering it has caused fellow Malaysians justifiable.

Divine Intervention at 130 Kph

I should have been stuck by the roadside this morning or in hospital, or worse, dead. But I'm here, at the office on time, typing away my blog entry.

It had nothing to do with my car's licence plate number, which has 54 in it - in Chinese it sounds like "Never Die". Rather, it has everything to do with Allah's mercy.

It all happened so quickly. One moment, I was cruising along the highway calmly at about 130 Kph and, another moment, my car has done a 180-degree turn and facing the wrong way.

It was raining but it wasn't heavy enough to give my ZR-rated tyres much of a problem. However, it was dark. It was so dark that I couldn't tell the difference between the normal road surface and one which had been flooded with water.

Next thing I new, my car had hit a pool of water on the fast lane. Before I knew it, my car hydroplaned so badly that the rear-end swung out to the left, putting my car on a perpendicular slide.

"Ya! Allah," my inner voice screamed. "This is it! The front of my car is going to smash into the concrete divider," I told myself.

God knows, the divider must have been a hair's breadth away from the front of my car, but for some reason my car didn't smash into the divider. Instead, it completed its 180-degree swing and began to coast backwards down the highway.

Quickly, I jammed on the brakes. The anti-brake locking (ABS) system kicked in and, within moments, my car stopped dead in its tracks.

I needed a few seconds to regain my senses, what with the dashboard flashing with all sorts of safety warnings. But seeing that I was in danger of being rammed by oncoming cars, I quickly stopped and restarted my car's engine, and went on my way unscathed.

Realisation dawned on me then that my good fortune was nothing but Allah's mercy. Never mind that the traction control system (TCS) had kicked in; never mind that the Forte I'm driving is a light and nimble car designed by former Audi engineers; for, in an accident, what it all boils down to in the end is whether or not the Almighty determines that it is your time to wreck your car, get maimed or, worse, get killed - or escape unscathed.

"Say, Alhamdulillah!" I told my two boys who had just gotten the shock of their lives. "Allah has saved us," I added.

"And make sure, when we reach the (other) house, we perform solat Subuh (morning prayer)," I said insistently, and my two boys nodded vigorously.

When we got to the house, the three of us checked out the Forte - not a scratch!

Allahu Akbar! (God is Great!)

As I finish writing this, I half expect to be in a dream state - rather than being here, finishing this blog, I could actually be lying unconscious in hospital.

There, I just pinched myself. I'm really here.

Thank you, Allah. Thank you for the mercy you've shown my kids, my dogs (who were also in the car this morning) and me.

Zoom, Zooming with the New Mazda 6

The new Mazda 6 is not a new car, at least not in terms of launch date. Be that as it may, it's still one of the best looking non-Continental executive saloons in the Malaysian market.

With its Kinetic design approach, the Mazda 6 quickly outshone the Toyota Camry's straight-line, less curvaceous design. Of course, Toyota Camry lovers disagree, but as we can see, the Kinetic design is so compelling that Hyundai has adopted it as a strategy to capture market share from Toyota using its newly designed Sonata.

Hyundai does nothing special to hide its copycat strategy, simply calling its design approach "It flows" (which is another way of describing 'kinetic'). And as a result, many a reviewer have hailed the new Sonata as being better looking than the Camry - and some have hailed it as being better than the Mazda 6 (e.g. Cars, Bikes & Trucks).

Anyway, having owned a Mazda 6 for several months now, I dare say, the car not only looks great, it feels great too. It has a commanding presence on the road, but not too much that every other racer boy or wannabe racer feels compelled to race with it.

That is to say, while it looks sporty, its not a sports car; not like how the previous Mazda 6 was set up to be.

You see, the previous Mazda 6 appeared to have been designed as a sports car first and then tuned down to be a family saloon. As a result, the suspension and handling still had a lot of hard characteristics that you'd find in a sports car - which was why some have described the old Mazda 6 as a sports car trying very hard to be a family saloon.

The new Mazda 6 is more of a luxury saloon, but not of the sort you'd expect to cater to old people. Staying true to Mazda's "Zoom zoom" approach to designing cars, the Mazda 6 feels less like a sports car but still responds well when you need to put peddle-to-the-metal.

The Mazda 6 in Malaysia comes in two variants - 2.5L with 18-inch rims and 2.0L with 16-inch rims, at RM175,000+ and RM150,000+ respectively. The prices are a bit steep for most people, but if you can afford them, I say both variants are worth the price you pay.

This is especially so because you get quality comparable to German marquees like VW, Mercedes, BMW and Audi, but without paying as much. And that is simply great if you share in my belief that you should always get the best value from the money you spend on cars.

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Addendum: Notice that I didn't mention the new Honda Accord. Well, that's because I don't think it's a very good car. Its expensive and tries hard to be in the Camry-Sonata-Mazda 6 league, but doesn't quite make the cut.

The new Honda Accord's seemingly random design approach makes the car hideous (especially the bulbous headlights) and anything but sleek. It's 2.4L engine is under-powered, such that a car far less expensive and less powerful like the Kia Forte 2.0SX can out-accelerate it, which doesn't bode well for the 2.0L version of the Accord.

Perhaps the only major thing the Accord has that's worth considering is the Honda badge.

The quicker the next variant of the Honda Accord comes out, the better.

Big Ass Honda Accord vs Kia Forte

If you are into pissing competitions on the road, here's a bit of advice. Don't buy a big-ass heavy Honda Accord that costs more than RM172,800+.

Why? Because when you meet up with a car like the Kia Forte 2.0SX, you're bound to feel really inadequate.

At slightly more than half the price of the Honda Accord 2.4L, the light-weight Forte 2.0SX has more than enough brake horsepower (BHp) and torque to out-accelerate the Accord 2.4L without really trying so hard.

And how would I know? This morning, on the way to work, an idiot in an Accord 2.4L felt compelled to test his car against my Forte 2.0SX (for whatever reason). Not content with hogging the fast lane, he felt it necessary to cut me off each time I tried to overtake.

"It's ok," I said to myself. "When we reach the toll houses, I'll leave you behind."

As both our cars got through the TAG toll gate, I accelerated my Forte and was overtaking the idiot's Accord. Despite having more BHp under the hood, his Accord was having trouble picking up enough speed to keep my Forte from overtaking.

So, what did the idiot Accord driver do to save his pride, he swerved into my lane and cut me off yet again.

I kept my cool - it's Ramadan or the fasting month after all. And so, I continued to drive at my usual brisk pace, while the idiot Accord driver was doing his level best at zipping in and out of lanes just to keep me from getting ahead.

But you see, when you're driving a big ass Honda Accord 2.4L with inferior acceleration, you're bound to be caught up in traffic. And that's what happened to the idiot in his Accord.

By chance, the lane I was in was relatively clearer than his. And so, I overtook him, finally.

Not content with just letting things be, the idiot did whatever he could to catch up. By then, I was already indicating to get into a via-duct, which clearly meant that the pissing competition was over and that the idiot in his Accord had lost.

Guess what the LOSER did? He blared his honk as he passed, probably out of frustration.

Disgraceful.

And I wasn't even trying so hard in my Forte 2.0SX.