Malaysiaminilover

Author: Angelina Soul

Toyota Aqua launched in Japan as the smallest Toyota’s hybrid

The Toyota Aqua launched in Japan on Monday after its first debut at the Tokyo Motor Show about one month ago. The Aqua is also known as Toyota Prius C outside Japan and it will be available in the U.S in 2013. It is a four-door hatchback that is seems to be the biggest competitor for the Honda Fit. The Aqua is currently the smallest Toyota hybrid car in the market.

What about the performance? The Aqua is powered by a 1.5 liter engine rated at 72 hp and a 45 kW electric motor. It consists of two driving mode – ECO Mode and EV Mode. Under Japan’s JC08 test cycle, the Aqua has the fuel efficiency of 83 mpg and achieves 0 to 100 km/h in 10.7 seconds. As what we see, the 83 mpg is one big selling point for the car because it has an extra 32 miles compared to the best selling Toyota Prius.

What we say about the look? No other words, we “Wowed!!” It looks really nice like the son of Toyota Prius. A little bit similar to the Prius but also a little bit feel like the Toyota Vios. The most attractive part with the rear view is the rear lamp. This time, Toyota designed it in a different way. It looks silky smooth and alert the drivers who follow the car at the back.

What we say about the interior? The interior makes car lovers really want to sit in and have the grip on the steering wheel. There are several buttons on both left and right side of the steering. Driver can control the stereo volume and air-condition temperature. A standard double din stereo is fitted in the middle. The stereo design looks little bit outdate to match with the hybrid system. There is also an auxiliary port and USB port in front of front passenger seats.

At the dashboard, it also features a digital speed meter where most of the people always wanted. The meter look nice with all the important dashboard symbols. A digital speed meter always makes a car look a little bit “high technology” than others. This could be one reason why the Honda Civic is the best selling cars because it was the only few cars with digital speed meter when it was launched. Another thing in a plain sight is the gear knob. It was designed with really nice blue interior lights. The interior is available in four colors – Earth brown, fresh green, cool blue and natural gray.

Price range? Currently the Aqua is available in Japan from 1.69 million yen to 1.85 million yen in three grades – L, S and G.

What is not so good about the car? Definitely is the car name. Aqua means water in Latin, but it means transsexual in Hokkien language which widely used in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and some other Hokkien villages. Luckily, Toyota named it Prius C for market outside Japan. Now we need to add the name Aqua to the list of car names.

Safety features in the car include ABS brake assist and Toyota’s famous VSC hill-start assist. Overall, we love the car and we look forward to see Toyota hit the sales at 12,000 Aquas a month in Japan as what they wish.

January 4, 2012
Simple ways to take care of your tire

Except car engine, tires are the second parts in the car that works very hard during the run. However, most of the people always assume that they are the parts that require least or nearly no maintenance needed. This is definitely a bad thinking. If every tire is well-maintained, it could last longer than you can imagine. This includes the spare tire at the boot that most of the people even forget that they actually have five wheels in the car. These are the simple ways to take care of the tires to make it last longer.

Tire pressure

Tire pressures are fluctuated a little bit when the weather changed. The pressure is lower during cold day and it is higher during hot day. The best time to check the pressure is during morning when the car hasn’t goes for the war for the day or the car has been parked for few hours. Inadequate tire pressure could cause the tire tread wear out faster than what it should be. It also will bring down the car performance and lowered the expected fuel consumption. A set of new tires suppose can last for two years but due to poor pressure, you have to change it in just a year, which will cost extra money. In other words, poor tire pressure make you lost money on both extra mileage and fuel.

Check it at least once a week especially if the car is being used seven days a week. Most of the original valve caps are plastic made. It often has cracks because of water and heat. It is recommended to change the valve cap to better quality especially those made of stainless steel. Make sure the valve caps are tightening every time the air pressure is refill.

The correct way to check the tire pressure is using a good quality pressure gauge. Many weird and funny ways to check the tire pressure is actually incorrect including pressing the car body, kick the tires, or press the tire. Nowadays most of the tire pumps at petrol station will show the current pressure once you plug the pumps to the valve. Make sure you select the correct pressure according to the owner’s manual but not accord to what other people said. If you have lost the owner’s manual, try to check the labels on each door of the car, some model has labeled the recommended pressure on the driver’s door.

It is important to have the same pressure for both left and right tires. Different tire pressure will affect the grip and braking stability. Some mechanics recommend putting more air in the front tire if the car is front-wheel drive and more in the back if it is rear-wheel drive. However, it has no wrong to put the same pressure for all wheels. Do not forget about the spare tire at the back, it needs to be maintained at the good pressure too.

General passenger cars should in between 30 to 33 psi in the tires when they are cold. However, you can have a little bit more air than what car manufacturers recommend at the maximum of 10% extra. More air to the tire is recommended if you are leaving the car for a certain period to work oversea or holidays. DO NOT inflate the tire based on the maximum reading on the tire, that is MAXIMUM, but the recommended pressure. If you feel the ride is bouncy, try to reduce the pressure, it may be over-inflated.

Tire Rotation

Although four tires are on the road, front tire often wear out faster because they steer to left and right when the car turns. The rubbing is with the road is more compare to rear tire. Car manufacturer and tire specialist often recommend regular tire rotation every 6,000 to 7,000 miles but most of the consumers do not do the rotation because they do not want to pay the extra cost for it. They prefer to wait until the front tire wear out, then change the front tire. If the rear tires wear out, then change only the rear tire.

Balancing and Alignment

Balancing and alignment cost $10 to $15, but most of the drivers overlook for this. Not all the road is even. Common reasons why wheels go out of alignment are when drivers go through a bumpy road in high speed or hit a hole by mistake. Imbalance on the wheel cause vibration and this could affect the car performance. In worst case, driver could feel the steering is shaking. A good way to test if the car wheel is imbalance is to drive it on a straight road in LOW SPEED and leave the steering wheel alone. Imbalance will make the car go one side either to left or right.

Tire misalignment can be seen easily by our eyes. Part of the misalignment tire will wear out faster than other part, either inner or outer. If there is, bring it to tire specialist to adjust the alignment. If the performance is affected by imbalance, fuel consumption will become higher than normal. In long term, it is bad for tire, bad for fuel, and bad for you. So, at least check it every six months.

When to change new tire?

If the tire tread is wear out, if the tires are obviously bold, if the tires are bold until it blows itself, or wait until you have a flat tire? It is too late and you are too stingy! Follow the tread wear indicator and it will tell when to change it. Usually, if the tire is no longer able to hold the grip especially on wet road or channel water out from the tread, it is recommended to change a new one. Sometimes, it has to be replaced if there are many crack lines on the tire. It could be the tire kept too long in the store, fit to your car and get crack throughout the time although the car is seldom use.

If you ever walk into any tire shop or Walmart tire zone, you will see new tires are shining because they are protected with a layer of coating. This is also the reason why new tires feel a little bit slippery. But no worry, it will be gone after 30 to 40 miles.

Tire punctures

Tire punctures are inevitable. Some tire shops has bad business, they place needles few miles away from their shop with an obvious advertisement, this does happen. However, do not panic, it can be repaired with just few dollars if the cut is not deep. Some cars like the MINI Cooper has run-flat tire where the car can still travel up to 100 to 200 miles at low speed. If there is a puncture and you are with run-flat tire, run to the nearest tire shop.

Driving Habits

Sometimes you may ask why the same car model will have different gas mileage. The answer is driving habits. Do not always break the car in sudden or apply the e-brake before the car comes to stop completely. Do not accelerate the car too fast. Try to slow down when there is a bump in front, try to avoid imbalance road or huge hole on the road, and also, try NOT TO have a heavy pedal!

January 4, 2012
The doorless MINI Moke is reborn with MINI Beachcomber concept

When look at MINI Beachcomber concept, it is very obvious that it has the characteristic of the 1960’s Mini Moke. The front slotted grill, the headlights, signal lights, hang-over side-mirror, and the overall feeling. The Beachcomber concept is like a re-imagined design for the four-seater, roof-less, and open body car.

Sir Alec Issigonis was smoking when he designed the first Mini car. That is the reason why the classic Mini has an ashtray in the middle of the dashboard. (more…)

January 2, 2012
Cost to own a car vs. Cost to take taxi
Most of the people who depend on public transport in their daily life may think about getting a car for their own. Anyone can purchase a cheap car with low maintenance cost, low monthly car payment, as well as low cost car insurance. However, does one really need an own car when the public transport is so convenience at such low cost? Here we did a calculation based on a case study in Thailand.

In Thailand, the taxi is 35 baht once you get on it, every km after the first km is charged 10 baht accordingly. Let’s say you are going to travel 10 km from home to work everyday, it will cost 125 baht one day, and return will be 250 baht. In a month, we roughly work 22 days, the total cost of using taxi to work will be 22 x 250 baht = 5500 baht a month.

So, what about getting one cheap new car for 508,500 baht? Now we do a calculation if you get a Honda Brio for work. Honda Brio gives 47 mpg, which is roughly 19.8 km per liter of petrol. A liter of petrol cost 34 baht and the cost to travel 20 km a day in a Honda Brio will be (34/19.8) * 20 = 34.34 baht a day. In 22 work days, it will be 686.8 baht. Other than the petrol, there is a monthly car installment of 9746.25 baht. The total cost for a month is now 10,433 baht. So, owning a car may anytime cost you double compared to using taxi for work.

The true cost to own the car in 5 years time

In long term, the calculation will be different compared to what we showed above. There is something else is excluded, the value of the car. If you spend 5500 baht a month for public transport to go for work, in 5 years it will be 330,000 baht. You get nothing because the money you paid goes for the service. Well, you have someone drive you to work.

On the other hand, if you bought a Honda Brio 5-year ago, now you can probably sell it for 300,000 baht. In 5-year time, you paid a total of 584,775 baht for the car price including car loan interest. The cost for petrol in 5 years is 686.8 * 60 = 41,208 baht. The total cost to use the car for work in 5 years without including the maintenance fee will be 625,983 – 300,000 = 325,983 baht.

Here is the conclusion of having an own car to go for work and using taxi to go for wok.

Using car to go for work
- Pros to own a car: Flexible in time, convenience, and can use the car on weekend for other purposes.
- Cons to own a car: Extra monthly car payment compared to taxi, having extra cost like car insurance, car park fee, car maintenance, and some intangible cost like car wash as well as anti-theft accessories.
- True cost to own the car over 5 years: 325,983 baht excluded car insurance and maintenance cost.
Using taxi to work
- Pros to use taxi: Just sit and relax in the car and need no tired to drive alone. Taxis are almost everywhere in the town.
- Cons to use car: Extra cost may occur during weekend when you are going to somewhere else.
- True cost to use taxi over 5 years: 330,000 baht excluded extra cost during other day.
From the comparison we made here, the cost to own a car and cost to use taxi to go for work is more or less the same. The only different is that owning a car will have higher cost for every month. It is up to individual and which way you prefer. What will be your choice?
December 30, 2011
Honda Civic: It still smells new after runs for one hundred thousand km in five years
Thanks to Ashley who invited us to check on her car, here we got a chance to write a detail used car reviews on her 2007 Honda Civic. Ashley bought the Honda Civic back in February 2007. It is just about a year after the eighth generation of the Civic has been introduced. The model year is 2007 and it is an Asian model which also known as Civic FD.

The reason why Ashley invited us to review on her car is because the mileage is going to hit 99999 km today. And yes, we are the lucky one who rides in the car with her from 99999 km to 100000 km. We drive the car up hill, down hill and also try some corners with higher speed. We also test the car at speedway up to 170 km/h and the result is really impressive. The car feels stable at 165 km/h and started to feel a little “windy” when the speed hit 170 km/h. Boy, don’t try this at normal way.

How the car was taken care? The car we are reviewing is owned by a single lady at 30 years old. She bought the car when she was 26 years old. 100,000 km for 5 years is quite an average based on our study. Each year runs 20,000 km is somehow average for a car that travel roughly 50 km a day. The owner maintains the car follow the basic car maintenance schedule as suggested in the owner’s manual. Engine oil get changed every 5,000 to 10,000 depending on the oil grade. Brake fluid, auto transmission fluid, and oil filter was changed on time too. According to the owner, spark plug only changed twice since new and the brake pad was replaced when the car hit 70,000 km. Four tires were replaced when 80,000 km when the thread almost finish. We noticed that the only thing didn’t change on time is the air filter. It is dirty and not really in good condition. The car also went to car wash every two weeks and interior gets polished every three months with cheap polish kits purchased from Tesco.

Total maintenance cost over ~5 years

For the first few times, Ashley brought the car back to Honda for maintenance and services because it is free and under warranty. After that she feels it is unnecessary to have a nice café to sit while waiting for the car so she brought to a trusted mechanic for cheaper labor cost. This is the rough estimation of what she has spent for the car over ~5 years.
- Engine oil, oil filter, and services: RM220 x 10 times = RM2,200. Each time for 10,000 km.
- Car Tires: RM1,200 for four
- Spark plug: RM60
- Transmission fluid: RM80
- Brake Fluid: RM50
- Air-cond fan and AC gas: RM380
- Total: RM3,970. The amount is really amazing.
Update: At the ninth years, the owner, Ashley contacted us saying the car has reached 117,000 km (72,700 miles) and she has replaced the engine motor mount.

What is good about this car? It tastes like a new car. The 1.8-liter 16 valve chain-driven SOHC i-VTEC engine gives the maximum 140 hp @ 6,300 rpm and maximum torque 174 Nm @ 4,300 rpm. As we mentioned above, the car is still stable at 160 km/h after putting 100,000 km on it. Cornering, up hill, and braking is pretty good too. The 1.8-liter has enough power for us although there are rumors said that it is under power. May be the rumors were compared to the 2.0S model.

What isn’t so good about this car? The color of the rubber surrounding the car window at four doors is faded and need replacement. It has never been changed before. According to the owner, the air-condition start giving problems when the car runs 80,000 km. The air-condition fan was spoilt and it was replaced. At the moment we test drive the car, the AC pulley is seems not in good condition too. It causes the AC not cold enough when the car stuck in traffic jam.

What about the look? As for the exterior, the car still looks brand new. The headlights didn’t become yellow like some of the cheap cars do. The rear lights, exterior logo, grill, bumper, and windscreen are still in good condition. For the interior, dashboard did not have any crack although it often park under hot sun. The only thing spoilt is the Honda logo at the steering wheel which is a little odd.

What about the safety features? The car has a good braking system with ABS assisted. Front is using ventilated disc and rear is using solid disc. It also comes with dual SRS airbags, security alarm system.

Any extra point for it? Yes the car boot is big enough for few large luggages and the fuel consumption is low.

Price: There are three models available from Honda, the Civic 1.8S, Civic 1.8S-L, and the hotter model Civic 2.0S. 1.8S is basic model without leather seat from the price of RM114,980, 1.8S-L is RM119,980 and the hotter 2.0S is from RM130,980.

Honda Civic’s competitor or similar car: Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sylphy, Mazda3, Peugeot 308, Kia Forte, Chevrolet Cruze, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Focus, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Proton Inspira.

In conclusion, the Honda Civic is definitely still smells as good as new car after almost 5 years of driving with 100,000 km run.
December 28, 2011