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21 December 2013

New Perodua Alza Facelift 2014 Specs Leaked


It is the new Perodua Alza 2014 we are after. Many leaked photos of the facelifted Alza SE/AV has found their ways to internet lately. It is hardly surprising as Perodua Alza is one of the most popular MPV in Malaysian market. Nearly every streets has one. It has become a default choice for the household, even when the family size is hardly growing. Newly weds, 1-kid small family all opted for this mini-MPV, especially after its first 2 years of launching. I just don't know why, but I too was one of them.

Perodua launched this sub-MPV late in 2009 and now time has come for Perodua Alza facelift. It will be introduced in January next year as a 2014 Perodua Alza, with a rationalize model line-up from the base to the top-line Perodua Alza Advanced.


Perodua announced yesterday that the new Perodua Alza 2014 will be available from January. Teaser is up too in the websites. Tagged as "The Alza For Everyone", clearly the 2014 Perodua Alza is set to receive a revised cosmetics, enhanced equipment level and more practicality, such as split folded 3rd row seat.

Thanks to the leaked sales material (all sources can be found at the end of the post), we now know that there is going to be 3 version of 2014 Perodua Alza, namely Perodua Alza Standard, Perodua Alza SE and Perodua Alza AV. The Alza S will be discontinued and thus one can expect the new facelifted Perodua Alza Standard to receive a very competitive pricing.

As for the exterior, all variants will receive new bumper design, revised headlight graphic, revised tail gate garnish, new rear bumper and revised rear combi coloring. The version seen above based on leaked photo is the top-line 2014 Perodua Alza Advanced, sporting exclusive new alloy wheels, all around skirting, clear lens rear combi and rear spoiler. Perodua Alza Standard will have none of those, but the chromed front grille will remain.

For the interior, from the earlier leaked photo we already know that Perodua has re-engineered the 2011 Perodua Myvi gearknob to fit into new Perodua Alza gear console. They have revised the paneling surrounding it too, encompassing a garnished surfaced for both gear console and airconditioning control panel. The car seen above is 2014 Perodua Alza AV. The new Perodua Alza SE will feature red-theme fabric upholstery as seen in Perodua official teaser covering both seats and door trims. The new steering wheel from 2011 Myvi introduced earlier will remains, although only Alza AV will feature the steering wheel button.


The new features however is the change of cabin color for 2014 Perodua Alza Standard, the interior will be two-tone, with beige lower portion, including the seats! Seems Perodua has taken the leaf out from its owner in offering beige cabin in the cheaper variant. 2014 Perodua Alza SE and AV will be monotone black cabin. The automatic version will get new armrest with storage space, while the ISOFIX slot, 50/50 split 3rd row seat will be standard across the board. Roof mounted DVD player is Alza AV spesific, so is the leather upholstery. Multimedia touch screen audio system is available on all bar the Alza Standard.


Safety wise, apart from the aforementioned ISOFIX, all variants will get dual SRS as standard. Opting for Alza SE and AV buys your ABS with EBD. The new Perodua Alza can now be booked at your nearest Perodua outlet and will be delivered starting from January.

In case you find the write-up is too long and can't be bothered to read, the leak specification can be found in the following source:
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4

New Lease of Life for Mazda Rotary Engine



The fame rotary engine of Mazda is now part of the electric vehicle with range extender gasoline engine. Displacing mere 330cc, the rotary engine has an advantage of super compact packaging which enable it to be installed beneath the boot floor of the compact car, the Mazda2, or Demio as it is known in Japan.

For the technology demonstrator, Mazda has equipped the car 75kW electric motor powered by lithium-ion battery pack. The electric power unit is mounted at the front of the car engine bay, while the rotary engine is installed at the rear, beneath the boot. This is primarily because the engine flat in nature and can be packaged in a horizontal layout. Other advantage of the rotary engine is its quietness, 87dBA at 3,000rpm instead of up to 96 dBA with other type of engine. Displacing 330cc, the engine is connected to 9L fuel tank and can produce up to 25kW of power.

Photo source: Carwatch

Mazda CX-5 2.5L Now On Sale, From RM165,000



Mazda CX-5 fan rejoice. The popular Mazda SUV with super-long waiting list is now available with 2.5L engine. Mazda CX-5 2.5L can now be have with the Skyactiv 2.5L engine similar to the one powering the similarly sold-out Mazda6. The 2,488cc in-line 4 engine produces 184hp@5,700rpm and 250Nm@3,250rpm of power and torque, channel the drive via Skyactiv Drive 6AT to either the option of front wheel drive or AWD.

Compared to the CKD Mazda CX-5 2.0L, the 2.5L gets Bose sound system with 9 speakers, electrically operated sunroof both of which were previously available on the CBU version of the 2.0L CX-5. Additionally, the CX-5 2.5L is equipped with the I-Stop functionality. These all are on top of the current accessories offered with the top line CKD version currently on sale.

Curiously, the 2.5L Mazda CX-5 is a Japan CBU, although all the series of engine available for this SUV are currently being assembled in Kulim. Indicative pricing is RM165k for the FWD and RM175k for the AWD.

20 December 2013

Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 : 610hp, 3.2s to 100km/h, 12.5L/100km


The Lamborghini Gallardo is finally bowing out after 10 years in production and some 14,022 units has found it home round the globe. The successor, Lamborghini Huracan has been officially unveiled and it is set to bring the "entry-level" Lamborghini to an even greater height. Rumoured to be called Cabrera, and was previously rumoured to be a productionized Sesto Elemento Concept, both bulls are bulls as Huracan takes a complete voluminous shape not unlike its bigger Aventador brother.

Lamborghini Huracan adopts a similar design language to that of the Lamboghini Aventador. But it takes the surface crisp precision to a new height with the line that starts off from the hood leading edge before expanding into the hood line before breaking up into a tear drop shaped glass house opening and merging back post the rear pillar. The shape of the headlight and front bumper intake sets carry the lineage of the current Lamborghini. Headlight inner structure is avantgarde, with its geometric light bars arrangement.


 
The rear end is characterized by slim, inward sloping rear light with distinctive graphic. In tune with the rest of world's supercar, the rear fascia is dominated with air outlet. Sharply creases surface and quad exhaust setup completes the rear end.

The side profile emphasize the compact silhouette. The sharp intertwined surfacing with blistered of surface by the air intakes does lightened the overall visual mass. This is further helped by relatively large glass fraction and slim wheel spokes.

The heart of Lamborghini is the engine. Lamborghini Huracan uses a development of the last unit powering the Gallardo. Retaining the V10 architecture and displacing 5.2L, with the direct and indirect injection system in presence, the engine produces 610hp at 8,250rpm and 560Nm at 6,500 rpm of power and torque. Coupled to 7 speed double clutch transmission, transmitting the traction to all four wheel, this is sufficient to propel the 1,422kg car to 100km/h in 3.2s and top speed of 325km/h. The lightweight figure is achieved thanks to a hybrid structure of aluminum and carbon fibre.

Three drive modes are available; Strada, Sport and Corsa. They alters the setup of engine and gearbox response, exhaust, stability control and four wheel drive power distribution and said to give a distinctive driving experience between them. Carbon ceramic brakes are standard, but the variable steering ratio and magneto rheologic damper system are cost option.


The interior is less rakish than the Aventador, but still contains several innovative touch. Dominating the fascia is 12.3" TFT color screen which acts as a meter binnacle as well as the infotaintment system for the car. Among the trims available include Nappa and Alcantra upholstery.

Lamborghini Huracan will be officially unveiled in Geneva Motorshow, where the pricing will be announced. More photos after the jump.

16 December 2013

Interior Photos of Proton Perdana Limousine


 
The Prime Minister of Malaysia launched the new Proton Perdana last week for the consumption of the government officials and of course, himself and his deputy included. The car comes in both 2.0L and 2.4L version as it is in its previous life as Honda Accord. The exterior styling change is very mild, concentrating on the new front bumper and grille assembly while the trunk lid trimmings has been suitably updated. The detail change of the exterior can be seen in MMN previous post, HERE.

As for the interior, Proton has put its own emblem on the steering wheel while the rest is carried over wholesomely from the Alor Gajah's made Honda Accord. The instrument panel, centre console, gear panel and pretty much everything is familiar. Where Proton works their art is for the limousine version for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Similar in trend with Proton's previous limousine, the rear passenger compartment is isolated from the chauffeur. Proton has inserted the "dashboard panel" to the rear compartment housing the the airconditioning vent and perhaps the sound system too. It looks like the lower part of the dashboard as in the front of the car. There's no fancy gadget and extreme opulence here so perhaps this is just the initial mock-up as it is quite bare.The extended window panel is actually opaque, and it housed the speaker. The legroom is humongous.

The rear seat is strictly for two, and the arm rest panel houses all the controls, presumably for the audio and other comfort item. The seat and door trim are upholstered in two-tone theme. We are still trying to get the details of the extended Proton Perdana such as the detail dimensions and more photos but it does not seem to be possible. 

11 December 2013

New Proton Perdana Revealed, Limo Included


Proton today has handed over the first batch of the new Proton Perdana to the Prime Minister in a special event, and set to replace the ageing outgoing model which has been in service since last decade. As the whole world know, the "new" Proton Perdana is a redevelopment of the previous 8th generation Honda Accord from the year 2008. The Honda Accord has been reinterpreted with Proton design touch which include new front grille, new front bumper with heavily chromed front bumper insert ( a bit like the facelifted large Saab) while the rear end retains the old bumper, but the inner reflector on the trunk lid has been removed (ala pre-facelifted US Accord) with the chrome bar intact and the license plate area has been heavily garnished with chrome too. 

For the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Deputy Prime Minister, Proton has stretched the 8th-gen Honda Accord by significant amount to be a proper limo. However, it is obviously an unseamless stretched job as the the different in height of the front door trailing edge and rear door leading edge can clearly be seen and it is matched with the splintered panel. We don't know how long the wheelbase is extended, but it looks as if it is more than 300mm. The chrome finish on the window surround is removed too.



Also unleashed on the same day is the standard wheelbase version for the new Proton Perdana for other government official use. The standard version is more akin to your cooking Honda Accord although it too receives the similar front and rear end updates. More details after the jump.

05 December 2013

Is this Perodua Alza SE?



There is a new photo of the new version of the ageing Perodua Alza, confirmed to be Perodua Alza SE from the rear badging. This is another leaked from the factory, in addition to the one we've seen before HERE.

From here we can see the new front bumper which features a new bumper with swept up outer edge fog lamp housing. The upper radiator grille is chrome trimmed while the headlight is carried over from the 2009 car. At the back, the rear light is all-clear item instead of partially, while the license plate garnish is all is a full-width item. SE badging can be seen clearly. The rear bumper too is an all-new, and it features a vertical reflector, which is now becoming a design trait of Perodua SE series.

Full photo can be seen here:
http://rahmanheman.blogspot.com/2013/12/perodua-alza-2014_3.html

02 December 2013

BMW Engine Starts Powering Toyota Cars




Remember the deal announced years ago on collaboration between BMW and Toyota in the product development? The agreement covers the adaption of BMW excellent turbo diesel engine to Toyota cars, synergy of hybrid powertrain development which is a forte of Toyota and jointly develop sports car for both marque. Now the first product has hit the production stream.

Starting from January 2014, Toyota Verso MPV can be spesified with the BMW-sourced 1.6L diesel. The mill is currently used in the likes of Mini One D and BMW 114d. In this application, the 1,598cc mill produces 111bhp@4,000rpm and 270Nm of torque from 1,750 - 2,250rpm. 

Packaging the engine in the chassis it was never destinated to go is quite a challenge. The team has developed new gearbox housing to match the RFOB (rear face of block) of BMW engine block, and insert the dual mass fly wheel while on the go. The chassis also has received a modified engine mountings and it was mentioned about the optimization of NVH can only go as far as the chassis allows. Toyota also engineered a new idle-stop system for this new powertrain application.