Kia Picanto Officially Priced from RM54,888

Naza Kia has officially put a price tag to its newest supermini, the Picanto. Lower than the priced expected earlier, Kia Picanto manual is priced at RM54,888 while the higher specification Kia Picanto AT is RM59,888. The car has been exhibited to the public earlier at Sunway Pyramid and has been launched to the world for quite long time so there's no secret on how it looks.

The all-new Kia Picanto is powered by sole engine option of 1.2L Kappa CVVT producing 87PS@6,000rpm and 120Nm@4,000rpm. The engine is sufficient to get the car to 100km/h in 11s for the 5 speed manual version, while the 4 speed automatic version takes 12.9s. Top speed is 171 and 163 km/h respectively for the manual and automatic. Kia Picanto is in the supermini categorization, measuring 3,595mm (10cm shorter than our beloved Perodua Myvi), 1,595mm wide, 1,480mm tall and sits on 2,385mm wheelbase. Boot volume is 200L which is mere 8L less than Perodua Myvi.

Kia Picanto is suspended McPherson strut for the front, while the rear end is class customary torsion beam while braking is disc all around. Picanto manual rides on smaller 14' wrapped by 165/60 R14 while the pricier automatic version rides on 175/50 R15. Kia Picanto is generously spesified, standard equipment covers 6 airbags, ABS with all host of ESC and TCS, ISOFIX anchor, 3 rear seatbelt with 3 points, rear parking assist, auto headlamp (halogen-projector), LED DRL and electric folding side mirror.

Opting for the highly spesified automatic version will gain additional exterior chrome finish, fog lamp, Supervision meter cluster, 6 speakers, Bluetooth connectivity, steering wheel mounted switches (leather trimmed instead of PU), starter button, keyless entry, sunglass holder and illumination for vanity mirror and cup holder.

How will Kia Picanto fare in Malaysia market? In terms of pricing, Kia Picanto is head to head with Perodua Myvi SE/Extreme which is priced from RM50,900 to RM61,700. Picanto is far superior when it comes to the equipment level especially in terms of convenience and safety.

Small gallery can be found after the jump. 

BMW 2 Series Sleek Coupe Unveiled

BMW has debuted its latest model, the 2 Series ahead of its physical unveiling at Detroit Motor Show in January 2014. It is the latest product with BMW's new naming convention whereby the even number is specified for the niche model derived from the mainstream model. It is what a 4 Series to the 3 Series,so the new 2 Series is a replacement for the outgoing 1 Series Coupe.

BMW 2 Series shares the same 2,690mm wheelbase as per BMW 1 Series F20, and measures 4,432mm long, 1,774mm wide and 1,418mm tall. Compared to the outgoing 1 Series Coupe, BMW 2 Series is 72mm longer, 32mm wide, 5mm lower and has 30mm longer wheelbase. This translates into a more habitable cabin and luggage space, where BMW claims an increase of 19mm more front headroom, 21mm more rear legroom and 390L boot volume up from 370L previously.

Unlike the 1 Series Coupe which carries over wholesomely the previous 1 Series hatchback styling cues, BMW 2 Series is a clear departure from that. The front end is sleeker, with slimmer and sharper headlamp making the case here.The front fascia is an amalgamation of multiple surfaces, with outer and inner bumper having different planes and blended well with the surface drawn from the hood. The base car shown above is complemented by Sport, Modern and customary M Sport. The base, Sport and Modern are differentiated by unique bumper insert, not unlike the one in F30. M Sport meanwhile gets a totally new front bumper set.

The compactness of the car can be seen clearly through the side profile, which retain the stubby look of its forebear. However, the car is not that small at over 4.4m, the size at which the older of the 3 Series used to be. Like BMW 4 Series, the belt line creases is immensely strong, it slids inwards post the front wheel arch underneath the waist line, but sneak out again near the rear wheel arch, giving the proper stance to the rear end.

The rear end is another adaptation of BMW L-shaped rear light, although clearly the constraint of dimension does not allow all the lines to flow and converge gracefully. Read more after the jump.

McLaren P1 Headline Figure Confirmed - 2.8s, 350km/h, 8.3L/100km

As the first customer of McLaren P1 took delivery of the hybrid powered hypercar, McLaren today confirmed all the performance figures for McLaren P1 following the exhaustive testing and development program. Performance is scintillating to say at least, even in relation with LaFerrari. 

These are the acceleration figures. 0-100km/h is doable in 2.8s, 0-200km/h in 6.8s and 0-300km/h in 16.5s. Top speed is electronically limited to just 350 km/h. As opposed to the acceleration, the deceleration from 300 - 0km/h is 6.2s (246m), 200 - 0km/h is 4.5s (116m) and 100 - 0km/h is 2.9s (30m).

The savage braking power is provided by the bespoked Akebono system, fabricated from carbon ceramic coated with silicon carbide. The acceleration meanwhile is thrusted by gasoline-hybrid powertrain churning a combined 916PS thanks to a twin turbo 3.8L V8. The electric drive is sufficient for emission free 11km drive, and returns an impressive 8.3L/100km on European combined cycle. 

This is what we called THE CAR! 

2015 Mercedes-Benz C Class - First Detail

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the first detail of the forthcoming forth generation C Class, due to debut in just two months time. The new C Class is tipped to lead the class with advanced body structure design which offers greater rigidity and weight reduction which in turns enhanced the safety, refinement and fuel efficiency. Constructed in aluminum in greater than ever proportion, the new 2015 Mercedes-Benz Class features 39% of the lightweight material, hybridized with high strength and ultra high strength steel construction. Estimated weight saving is around 100kg less than the current car, with 20% gained in fuel efficiency. This is achieved despite the increased in size, something Mercedes can afford to do since the baton for smallest sedan in the line-up has been passed to the front-wheel-drive CLA.

The interior too has been revealed for the first time, itself a big departure from the existing C Class. The layout has taken a leaf or two from the far more luxurious S Class big brother in terms of opulence, with the detailing in tune with the sportier and smaller Benz such as the recently introduced CLA. The dash top and centre console is swoopy and entirely free of edgy structure. It sports the familiar circular vents and tablet-like display screen smack in the middle of the dashboard.

Mercedes-Benz C Class is set to be introduced in flesh at Detroit Motor Show in January. The entire line-up will consist of the sedan, coupe, convertible and estate. More photos after the jump.

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster

This is Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. Enough said. Bye. Okay, while they build only 3 Lamborghini Veneno, Lamborghini will build the roadster 3 times as much, so you'll have 9 on them roaming around our earth. Key facts: mid mounted 6.5L V12 thrusting 750PS, 2.9s century sprint and 355km/h top speed. And it is permanently open. Drive something else on a wet day. Photos after the jump.