28 March 2011

Persona R (P3-21A) – what we know for now?

Undoubtedly this is one of the most eagerly waited car for Malaysian, aside from new Perodua Myvi. Persona is the “made for the market need” kind of sedan, rather than a compromised Proton model of an old. Thus, typical family man will be interested in this kind of car, a mid-sized sedan with proper 400+ litres of boot space with comfortable, spacious and yet eye-pleasing interior. Good handling will be bonus. If rumours about Proton new engine are to be believed, we are up to a newer engine as well, potentially cleaner, more efficient and better tractability. 
Current Persona model

Various spy shots has been spot lately as opposed to “Exora Penyet” mule which is believed disguised the underfloor of Persona R, with cut and welded Exora body pasted on the top. The clearest spy photos was one snapped by darylloy, published in paultan and funtastickodesign.

Front View

Heavily disguised front end reveals a short, stubby nose, the same concept as Kia Forte, Honda City and the likes. Headlamps and grilles are taped, although their shape and silhouette conform to Proton Tuah concept car. The allegedly leaked headlamps and grill published in funtastickodesign conform to Tuah outline, with difference in inner graphic. While the headlamp looks 2011 enough, the grill harks back to original Waja design, a throwback to last millennium design. All in all, Tuah front design could be representative of Persona R, as can be seen at the meeting point of hood+fender+A-pillar, these two cars are virtually identical.
Two front angle shot of P3-21A

Proton Tuah concept
More after the jump.

25 March 2011

Mini Countryman launched in Malaysia

Mini Countryman series has now arrived in Malaysia. As usual, the model range has been rationalized for Malaysian market where only the Cooper and Cooper S variants are available, whereas there are also One, One D and Cooper SD variants available else where.
This model is easily the biggest Mini model ever at 4.1m length. Previous longest Mini is Clubman version which sat at 3.9m. Should we called this car Maxi now? Countryman is also the first Mini with 4-door and 4-wheel drive, denoted by ALL4, available only for Cooper S version over here while both version featured 6 spd auto transmission as standard.





The vital stats of Mini Cooper Countryman is as follow:

Power Output: 90 kw (122 hp) @ 6,000 rpm
Max. torque: 160 Nm @ 4,250 rpm
0-100 km/h: 10.5 s
Top speed: 190 km/h
Fuel consumption (combined): 6 l/100 km
Boot space (min.-max.): 350 / 450 -1,170 liter
Tank capacity: 47 liter
Dimensions LxBxH: 4,097 / 1,798 / 1,561 mm
Price: RM 248,888


Specs for Mini Cooper S Countryman is as below:

Power Output: 135 kW (184 hp) @ 5,500 rpm
Max. torque: 240 Nm @ 1,600 - 5,000 rpm
0-100 km/h: 7.6 s
Top speed: 215 km/h
Fuel consumption (combined): 6.1 l/100 km
Boot space (min.-max.): 350 / 450 -1,170 liter
Tank capacity: 47 liter
Dimensions LxBxH: 4,110 / 1,789 / 1,561 mm
Price: RM 285,888


23 March 2011

Live photo Myvi 2011

Hours after compiling all available 2011 Myvi spyshots, live photos are now found on funtastickodesign. Looks like in-factory photos of non-SE version.

Perodua Myvi 2011 Spyshots

There's a continous stream of new photos for Perodua Myvi 2011 lately. Seems that the cars are extensively tested recently, with spyshots ranging from at Bukit Beruntung to as far as Terengganu.

From the shots we have seen so far in many car blog ( paultan, funtasticko, arenakereta etc..), there is at least two variants currently going for production. The first of is "standard" looking car, with cooking wheel and plain non-kitted body, while the other one is fiery looking "sports" version, probably succeeding Myvi SE. Standard one is rumoured to be called " Elegance" ( inpired by Persona elegance??) while SE one is "Extreme". Two engine are said to be available, 1.3 and 1.5.

Below are the collection of photos for body-kitted version



Perodua testing group is notably bad in their skills in camouflaging the car. Seems that they just wrap the body with black canvas and that's they did. Usually people put cardboard, fake lamp and misleading body section to deceive the spy shooters, but no effort was noted here.

There's a shot of interior, with Optitron style meter combi, a somehow touch-screen look ICE.

The cooking version is less spied however there's a few available on the net

Based on these shots, it is clear that Perodua have gone a great length to differentiate the design of new Myvi from its Passo/Boon sibling. While previously only front portion was changed in current Myvi, looks like both from and rear styling are different now. Only the side profile is recognizable as Passo family. Spartan Passo interior are also a no-go, replaced by more expensive- looking IP design.