The 2016 Renault Megane has been revealed ahead of its official preview at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month. It looks good. It is larger. The wheelbase is longer by 28mm and it is also wider as well as longer in body length too. Good news for us car enthusiasts is that the car is 25mm lower. Now why would that be good news then?



Well, the 2016 Megane hatchback looks good. Imagine how the RenaultSport Megane RS will look when it comes out. With that lower roofline it also means an inherently lower center of gravity. Expect an even more rounded Renaultsport product when one gets produced. This is why I am excited in some ways.

As for the point of it looking good, I do think more Renault DNA should be pumped into Nissan's line-up. There is something called the Renault-Nissan Alliance. These days I think Nissan needs more Renault styling tips for its bread and butter models. The line-up looks very uncle like. I may be an uncle as I have a few nieces and nephews toddling around but I wouldn't want to be caught dead in most of the Nissans that are being sold these days.

Not much of the actual specs have been thrown around as regards the new, now fourth generation, Renault Megane. But all in due time. Frankfurt's just around the corner.

The Nissan, no, Datsun 'Sunny' 120Y B310 from 1977 to 1982 was a car that was very relevant in pre-Proton affordable car Malaysia. It sold in large numbers here in Malaysia and was the car that most people who couldn't afford running a Fiat, Ford or other entry level European cars those days. 



It was the last Sunny sold under the "Datsun" brand and was also the final rear-wheel-drive Nissan Sunny The B310 came in different types including a fastback station wagon (not seen here), a normal station wagon (sold here),  a fastback coupé (sold here in 140Y form) , and two (not sold here) and four-door sedans (sold here in Malaysia). Of course, here in Malaysia, the 4 door sedan was popular, followed by the wagon and a smattering of crazy folks who wanted a tin can Japanese underpowered coupe.

The 120Y sedan and wagon sold here came with a 1171cc 4 cylinder carburetor SOHC engine that put out 68hp. It was actually adequate as the car weighed slightly more than 900kg empty. The 120Y was small, but had pretty good space utilization inside as I remember lots of time seeing families of four or fice squeezing into one around town. It wasn't fast. It was a means of affordable transport for the masses. Build quality was all hard plastics, thin cushioned seats and very little soundproofing. But it was adequate as the 1.2liter engine was hardly noisy in its standard form and it came with tiny 13inch wheels and tyres.

I was taught how to drive in an early 1980s Datsun 120Y in 1990. At the time, all driving schools in Malaysia had this model or the much, much earlier B110 series Sunny. So this Datsun 120Y was the first car I spent a lot of time driving. It was actually easy drive. Its steering wasn't power assisted but the narrow 155/165 series tyres that most of these cars used at the time made it easy to turn. I suppose it was also quite highly geared to lessen the effort. Whilst it was a pure, uncorrupted helm, it was somehow still devoid of feel in the truest sense. I suppose this is what you get when you want easy to turn steering, lightness and cost efficiency.

The car had also a long gearshift which by 1990 was a tad bit too loose in my hand. But I think it was not as loose as the 120Y at the Road Transport Department testing grounds when I took my driver's exams. That car also had a clutch that was riding quite high. Yes, the clutch was light too. After all, it was Japanese and at the time, everything Japanese seemed flimsy compared to the European makes. The Fiat 131 from the same era that my dad kept at the time felt like a boulder compared to the 120Y. This was even though the Fiat was a rust bucket made out of cheap Russian imported steel at the time.

But of course the Datsun 120Y had actually stood the test of time. By the mid 1990s you still saw a lot of 120Ys plying the roads of Malaysia. By that time, nearly all Fiat 131 cars had died a rusty death. So it might be actually crappy to drive and seemed all flimsy (go over a deeper than usual pothole and everything felt like it was going to explode) but it actually lasted a heck of a long time.

I also remember in the late 1990s an acquantance had one that had a 1.5liter Nissan Vanette engine in one complete with twin weber 40DCOE carburetors. That car was shocking. Never thought I'd see a Datsun accelerate so fast from the traffic lights and making the driver's of other higher performance cars wonder what the heck passed by their supposedly better rides (this included various Alfa Romeos, Mazda familia turbos at the time). It sounded like an old MBG GT too. High performance camshafts and a whole lot of internal work made the car was it was. The engine looked something like this highly tuned 140Y engine. A beauty ain't it?


But the exterior was a dull beige with just a set of 14 inch alloy wheels on 185/60/15 Yokohamas. Its suspension consisted of the mechanic drilling a hole into stock shocks and filling in harder weight shock oil and then welding the hole up in order to make the piston action stiffer. A simple trick that could still be used in older mineral filled shock absorbers (that isn't gas/oil in its setup). In fact, most racing shocks use this trick without the crudeness. Springs were from another larger Datsun. So they were harder to compensate for the extra performance and the larger engine. What a car it was. A Datsun that was ballistic. Comfort was secondary too. No airconditioning. Not that it was needed in the 1980s and 1990s when temperatures in the Klang Valley was slightly cooler than today (yes, it was by at least a couple of degrees at any time).

Imagine a 120Y doing 220kmh. Boy that Datsun was fast in those days. Come to think about it it still is fast today. That car was more engine than chassis. Ah, those were the days.

I was perusing through some older photos and thought I'd like to discuss about a certain old Nissan that was, or still is quite popular with the car modding and drift scene - the Cefiro A31. This car was produced from 1988 to around 1994. It shared the same platform as the Nissan Skyline R32 and the lesser known Nissan Laurel. It shared its MacPherson strut front suspension with the S13 Silvia with the exception of the 4WD version which shares the same front and rear suspension as the R32 Skyline GT-R.



 It was labeled as a sports sedan but I think the 'sports' was just marketing. The stock 2.0liter Cefiro that sold in Malaysia came with a 4 speed auto gearbox (later 5 speed) driving the rear wheels and had puny 15 inch wheels.  the stock RB20E engine was a smooth straight 6 cylinder engine. It was quite responsive but it didn't really like to rev. The ride on stock tires was firm yet comfortable but due to the stock ride height you'd know that grip levels were pretty low. However, when it came to the looks of the Cefiro A31 it did have sleek body styling but it also suffered from too much overhang front and rear. In short it was a quite an ordinary car to drive with sedate looks. Unless it was wet and then you could do oversteer easily. And since it was rear wheel drive and had interchangeable parts with the R32 Skyline GT and GTR  the car ended up being a favourite of drifters and modders. Even Skyline body parts could be grafted onto it. The A31 was highly tunable and became a favourite.


Now moving closer to home, the car in the picture below was owned by a close friend who then sold it to my brother in-law back in 2002 - Sorry about the pic, I personally don't have more of it in my files. This white Cefiro was nothing like the stock normally aspirated straight Six 2.0 liter RB20. This white car had a Nissan RB20DET 2.0liter turbocharged engine from . I had driven it a couple of times and  I assumed that it had close to 240bhp at the engine in its state of tune based on the boost rating and the mods it was running. One could throw in the RB25 turbo or the top of the line GTR RB26 engine too. It depends on how deep one's pockets are.


The white car  ran on coil over shocks on 225/45/17 tires in front and 235/45/17 at the rear on classic Enkei RP01 rims. It had a custom built bodykit with a modified front GTR type bumper/lip, side skirts and rear Skyline lights. It definitely looked the part, especially with the very aggressive rear camber settings. This was more of a road car than one used to drift, as the rear differential wasn't one that locked easily. So you see, the car had more R32 Skyline parts thrown at it including having Skyline looks too.

While it was fast in a straight line, it was a handful to drive around town. The RB20DET engine is an old school turbocharged engine. You could tell due to the lazy off boost nature of the engine. It refuses to rev freely. This is probably due to the low compression nature of the engine. It comes on boost at around 3,500rpm. Boot it too early in exiting any tight corner, the tail will step out and you had better watch out as the steering may not be as fast as you'd like. It may be easy to hold a drift in the car if you have the space to do so but on the road, you wish the steering was a tad faster. Now add that firm slightly rock hard ride, it somehow becomes a tedious town car. Negotiating traffic tended to be a chore due to this. Off boost it was somehow worse to drive than a stock A31. The differential also contributed to low speed understeer and the ride while avoiding potholes was slightly troublesome. But give it an open road and you have over 200kmh on the speedometer. Close to 240kmh if I was not mistaken.

Anyway, my brother in-law held on to the car till 2005 and sold it off. I believe the car is now a metallic blue in colour and somewhere in the middle of Pahang. I suppose cars like these have a following because it costs around RM25,000 and above to buy one. Even the newer, front wheel drive  Cefiro A32 is actually cheaper to buy.

So there you have it. The cheapest way to own a pseudo Nissan Skyline R32, or in some cases, a R34. But as what my friend used to call his car in Malay rings true. The Nissan R-TERTIPU. Tertipu means 'misled' or 'misguided'. Aptly so wouldn't you agree?

Welcome back folks. This is the first article after a short hiatus due to the recent fasting month. Let's get things started.

Toyota has come up tops in J.D Power's Asia Pacific Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Service among mass market brands in Malaysia for 2014. Note that this means that you will not see Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and those that are obscenely priced. And dear readers note that Volkswagen IS a mass market brand under this survey - I told you earlier that it seems that Malaysians think too highly of the brand.



Anyway, you can tell that Toyota and Nissan come up tops with Isuzu, Mazda and Honda rounding up the top 5 automotive brands whose customers are bloody satisfied with how they and their cars are taken care of during servicing as well as the handling of problems.

JD Power interviewed about 2,610 responses / people in this survey. How conclusive this survey is subjective as if you note that Proton and Perodua alone sell over 200,000 vehicles. Surveys like this are both good and bad. I personally know that a Toyota service center compared to a Nissan service center in terms of outlay as well as the basic amenities are light years apart. For example, Toyota, Honda, Mazda operates an industry standard service centers throughout the Klang Valley and Nissan has only one fabulous center (located in Petaling Jaya) and lots of small centers that are based in shop lots that remind me of those small private owned workshops instead of a fantastic 3S center. It would seem that customers who buy Nissans do not really care if their cars are serviced in centers that look like they are based under a tree or from 1980 compared to those running a Honda or a Toyota.

Of course, the survey includes Service Quality, Vehicle Pick Up, Service Facility, Service Advisor and Service Initiation. So what I harped on above is only one point of the survey. But actually, this is still subjective as it would depend on how one perceives a brand. How would you perceive a Volkswagen over a Nissan? Or a Honda over a Toyota? What do you expect when you go into a service center? Do you expect a red carpet treatment or do you settle for sending you car and heading to the nearest mamak stall located under a tree close to the center? Do you also feel that your car deserves more than what the dealer is giving? There are so many questions that would need  be answered.

I personally do not ask for much when I send in my mum's Suzuki Alto for servicing. I like it that the one in Petaling Jaya has a couch, TV, some magazines and newspaper and unlimited flow of vending machine quality coffee or tea. I find it a bonus when I send in my Mercedes Benz C180 and get to eat nasi lemak, cinnamon rolls, the use of a Mac for surfing, a service advisor who approaches you instead of picking up a number and going to the desk to explain what you want like Suzuki. There are more stuff you could ask the concierge service at Mercedes Benz but that is besides the point. What else is there aside from Service Quality, Facility, Vehicle Pick up?

One must also add the fact is vehicle reliability here in Malaysia. I also noticed that sometimes my friends who happen to work in the service centers usually give the best service they can. But sometimes it is the car which is shitty. Take for example a car with a faulty gearbox or a fault that the center cannot settle on the first time around. I can bet you a Ringgit that if you interviewed that fella he'd say that the service was shitty. And we Malaysians looooove to complain. We love to complain so much that we are actually one of the highest complainers in the world. That is a fact. Go look up on it elsewhere.

And furthermore, does it make sense that everyone keeps buying Perodua even though their service centers or service experience are supposedly bad? Do you hear tons of people complain like the ones that do if their Volkswagen is shitty? It is down to expectation of the brand these people have bought. This is the reason we hear one brand gets the stick and one gets all the beautiful praises. Honestly, how bad can the experience be in a Perodua service center? What do you expect from a brand that sells by the hundreds daily? Do you think service centers would be empty and relaxed? Think again before ticking the forms.

Again, if you like keeping your warranty for your Nissan intact and you went to some of their service centers you'd realise that Nissan service centers are still in the 1980s. But their customers must have a fantastically lower expectation compared to those elsewhere. Why do I say this? Its simple. I've been to most service centers of most of the brands you see here and this has made me (and a friend of mine) realise that expectation plays are very large part in these sort of surveys.

So anyway, according to the survey, you may want to opt for a Toyota or a Nissan if you want the best service experience you can find in Malaysia. But if you want a nice performance oriented car at a mass market price (the GT 86 does not count as it is bloody expensive here), you still need to look at Honda, Mazda, Proton and even Volkswagen. Prepare to pay more for some of their servicing and also do not expect any red carpet treatment most of the time from some of these brands.

NEWS RELEASE:J.D. Power Asia Pacific Reports: 

Well-Informed Customers in Malaysia Have High Expectations for Customer Service 

Toyota Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Service among Mass Market Brands in Malaysia 

SINGAPORE: — Customers in Malaysia are expecting better service when they take their vehicles in for service or repairs, and authorized service centers are not meeting those expectations, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2014 Malaysia

Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM released today. 

The study, now in its 12th year, measures overall service satisfaction among owners who took their vehicle

to an authorized service center for service maintenance and/ or repair work during the first 12 to 24

months of ownership. For the first time, the 2014 study examines service satisfaction exclusively on the

mass market segment.

The study evaluates new-vehicle owner satisfaction with the service experience by examining dealership

performance in five factors: service quality (38%); vehicle pick-up (20%); service initiation (14%); service

advisor (14%); and service facility (14%). Satisfaction among mass market brands averages 754 index

points (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2014, which is a 3-point decline from 2013.

The study identifies 22 service standards that enhance the overall customer service experience. In 2014,

customers expect a minimum of 19 of those 22 standards to be met in order to have a positive service

experience. In comparison, customer expectations in 2013 were for service centers to meet 17 of the 22

service standards. On average, authorized service centers are implementing 18.1 standards per service visit

in 2014.

“Customers have higher expectations, so it’s vital that the automakers’ service centers strive to not only

meet, but also to exceed those expectations to deliver a satisfying experience for their customers,” said

Rajaswaran Tharmalingam, country head, Malaysia, J.D. Power Asia Pacific. “Brands need to focus on the

entire service process—from helping customers secure service appointments, to providing top-quality

services, to faster service turnaround times, to having friendly and knowledgeable service advisors—all of

which contribute to overall customer satisfaction.”

The study also finds there are additional services some service centers provide that also improve customer

satisfaction, such as washing and vacuuming vehicles at the completion of the service and making follow-up

phone calls to customers after service is performed. Currently, only 14 percent of mass market customers

indicate their service center delivered on both of these services, among whom satisfaction is 797,

compared with 729 among customers whose service center did not deliver on both those standards.

KEY FINDINGS 

 Overall satisfaction in the mass market segment averages 754 index points in 2014, which is a 3-

point decline from 2013. Satisfaction for the Malaysian national brands within the mass market

segment averages 744 points, down 5 points from 2013.

 Among the 22 service standards, mass market brands exhibit a double-digit percentage-point

increase in service/ repair forms provided prior to service and cost estimates given before service

is conducted, compared with 2013.

 Among mass market owners who are highly satisfied with their service experience at a dealership

(service satisfaction scores averaging 824 or higher), 53 percent say they “definitely would” revisit

their service dealer for post-warranty service, compared with 37 percent in 2013.

Study Rankings 

Toyota ranks highest in overall customer service satisfaction among mass market brands, with a score of

777. Toyota performs particularly well in the service facility factor. Nissan ranks second with a score of 776,

while Isuzu and Mazda rank third in a tie at 775 each.

The 2014 Malaysia Customer Service Index Study is based on responses from 2,610 new-vehicle owners in

the mass market segment who purchased their vehicle between February 2012 and May 2013 and took

their vehicle for service to an authorized service center between August 2013 and May 2014. The study

was fielded between February and May 2014.

I just noticed that the new Nissan Sylphy and the new Nissan Teana....have the same engine and gearbox. Note that the earlier Sylpillis, er Slyphy...no, Sylphy and the earlier Tena, no, that's an adult diaper were running the same CVT gearbox and different engines. This time, both have four cylinder Nissa-Renault MR Series 2.0liter engines running a slightly modified CVT gearbox. You also get the same engine and transmission in the recently launched Renault Fluence (which I totally forgot was also recently launched - makes you wonder how much I was looking forward to it being around Malaysia).



Anyway, the main difference between the previous CVT gearboxes found in both the Nissans mentioned are that the 'all-new' models have transmission oil coolers fitted to them. This was also mentioned in some of the the Renault Fluence's launch reports by other online automotive portals and magazines. What this means is that you can now safely purchase any of the two Nissan cars mentioned above without much worry of the gearbox disintegrating prematurely.

Remember the previous issues about CVT or gearbox failures in other car makes? We had Proton with the unreliable Perdana V6 gearboxes. By the second revision of the Perdana, Proton installed transmission oil coolers into them and this actually stopped a whole lot of Perdanas dying an early death. We also had the shit ugly second generation in Asia only (2002-2008)  Honda City suffering tons of complaints about its CVT gearbox. Honda reverted to the normal torque convertor gearbox for the third generation model. Then we had Mitsubishi actually retro-fitting and then fitting oil coolers to its newly launched Lancer GT / GLS models only quite recently after there were complaints that it was easy to cook the CVT in that car too. I know a journo friend or two who managed to do just that (but can't really trust those people, they drive cars like they stole them).

So, every time you hear new blurbs that a new model has an oil cooler fitted to them you will usually come up with the assumption that this means that the previous models have gearbox issues. Nissan were lucky in some ways as not many complaints have been aired in Malaysia about this until now. My sources within the car service network tell me that Nissan CVT inside the previous Teana and Sylphy WILL break down. The question is how long it may take to do so.

One other reason why no news is making its rounds is that most Nissan owners are 'Uncles' or people who drive slowly and don't cook their gearboxes faster than Proton, Honda, Mitsubishi and even Volkswagen (who are still stinging a little from the DSG issues) drivers in Malaysia. Or the fact that the sales volume of the previous Sylphy and Teana aren't as large as those buying the other cars mentioned herein. This could be the case too as there were not enough of users out there who complained (especially since those who bought the Nissans were of the senior citizens crowd who may not even know what Twitbook or the internet is).

I personally did some checking and came up with this: from autonewscom -  http://www.autonews.com/article/20131202/OEM10/312029972/nissan-presses-jatco-to-end-cvt-glitches

There is also another one from autoblog.com. Click here. So I am NOT making this stuff up okay. Other people are.....

The article is also pasted below in case the link goes bad or you can't be bothered to head over there.

So it is, or it was, a worldwide Nissan CVT issue. And with that, I have to advise you folks out there as follows:

1. You CAN buy the new TEANA or the SYLPHY as they now come with oil coolers and going by the articles above, the Quality Control of the newer CVT boxes are supposedly much better than before;

2. I DO NOT recommend buying any previous TEANA OR SYLPHY second hand;

3. If you DO OWN A previous model TEANA OR SYLPHY and have not faced any issues, go to a mechanic who knows about installing aftermarket oil coolers and get one installed in your car. An external oil cooler will improve lifespan of the gearbox fluids and keep the box working properly.

4. If you still want to buy one of those previous Sylphy or Teana, then I suggest getting an oil cooler too; and

5. If you have read this and own either the cars mentioned above and do nothing, then that isn't my problem in the first place okay.

There, some Corporate Social Responsibility from Yours Truly.

Nissan presses Jatco to end CVT glitches

You can reach Lindsay Chappell at lchappell@crain.com.

Right now I am watching Ultraman on NTV7, having a nice cuppa tea whilst typing this. The Ultraman episode on TV must be quite new (circa 2008) as cell phones, graphics seem up to date. Ultraman still wears a jumpsuit and still has that blinker on his chest. Some things stay the same. Much like the Nissan Sentra 'Sport' sold over here in Malaysia (see above). Soldiering on since 2000.

Last I checked we are now coming to the middle of the second decade of the 2000s and if you checked the Nissan Malaysia website today, you'd notice that they're still selling a car which was first sold in the year 2000. The Nissan Sentra is still on sale over here in Malaysia!!!! If this were a Proton, Malaysians would say that the local car company is trying to kill us all by selling outdated cars, take our money by not giving us any options, continue to make profit by selling us outdated cars and other stuff. But here we have Nissan still giving us the same piece of dull family transport year after year after year. Of course, some may say that you don't see any on the road and that this is just Nissan wanting to clear stock.



But, I doubt they're serious in doing so. They just want to take your money as there is no word of any huge discounts on the website if you buy the ancient chariot. Nissan Malaysia must have a huge stockpile of Sentras lying around. This is much like the case of the Nissan Sunny B11 of 1981 which was sold in Malaysia from 1983 to 1996. Thirteen years. It looks like the Sentra (which was first sold here sometime in 2001 if I am not mistaken) has overtaken this record.

I can only think of one reason why anyone would buy a Nissan Sentra in 2014. The reason is that if you feel that you are one that does not want anything to do with technology invented since 2005 I would suggest you head to the nearest Nissan showroom and ask them to sell you one. But why on earth would you choose a brand new Nissan Sentra? If you wanted less technology just go ahead and buy a second hand Mercedes Benz w124 from 1995. It is built like a tank and will even outlast a 2014 Sentra. How about another Nissan? A second hand Cefiro from the year 2000 is much cheaper and more comfortable.

I have sat in a friend's Sentra when he bought it new it 2004 and it is a decent small family car. Aside from that there is nothing good to say about it. Does its job well and is as bland as a dish with no spices, sugar or salt. Now if Proton were selling the Wira to this day people would be screaming murder. Just because you don't see many Sentras around why aren't you screaming murder too? I suppose you people don't have to. Just let me do the screaming in here.

Nissan, still selling the Sentra after all these years. And two generations have passed since the G10/N16 Sentra pictured herein. Oh, and whilst it has been two generations of Bluebird Slyphy has passed, we're still getting the G11 (a 2.0liter sedan still sold with DRUM BRAKES) and NOT the current G12 series which Singapore has gotten since early last year. Nissan, you're KILLING us here. Really.

A wikipedia note:  Nissan launched the G10 or N16 series Bluebird Sylphy in 2000 as replacement in the Japanese market for the Nissan Pulsar (N15). The model code of "G10" used in Japan differed from most other markets which retained the legacy N-series (N16) naming scheme inherited from the Pulsar. The change in name from Pulsar to Bluebird Slyphy in Japan came about as Nissan was about to phase out the long-running Bluebird, and this kept the old name alive. Export markets received this same vehicle under a myriad of alternative names: Almera in Europe and Brunei; Pulsar in Australasia; Sentra in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan; plus Sunny in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and the Middle East.

....or was is OMG? This clearly shows the owner's vision and that why bother buying a proper Mercedes AMG CLA45 (which is the smallest AMG sedan these days) when all you need is a Datsun, errr Nissan 130y.

What you don't see in the photo is there was smoke coming from only one of its twin tail pipes. OMG is more like it. And the 'y' in the 130y must now stand for...Why? Misplaced passion is why. Save up and keep this car standard. OMG instead of AMG indeed.

One of the most contested sectors in the Malaysian automotive market is the C segment car category. Now those of you who haven't a clue on what a C segment car is let Yours Truly try to enlighten you. A C segment car is what the European Union calls the British standard sized small family cars or what the Americans call as Compact cars. By 'compact' and 'small', these cars are actually those between 4100mm to about 4700mm depending on whether they are a hatchback or a sedan.

What this means is that this category includes cars like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis, VW Golf/Jetta, Subaru Impreza, Kia Forte, Hyundai Elantra and more. Amazing isn't it? What most of us Malaysians think as an average sized family car is actually a tiny tot in America. Of course, the land of burgers and fries is huge and so are its inhabitants.

In good ol' Malaysia, a C segment car may cost you from around RM80,000 to RM160,000. The lower end of the pricing is usually where you'd find Proton and the Korean car manufacturers. The mid-tier RM100,000 to RM130,000 is the realm of the Japanese cars and above that we usually find the Germans. There are exceptions, like the Mazda 3 MPS or the Golf GTIs. But these are niche cars. What usually happens is that every one looking for an upgrade from their Proton or Perodua, or to an extent, their Hyundai or Kia would end up looking at a Toyota, Honda or a Nissan. The these three brands are coveted as somehow everyone talks about resale value and reliability. If resale value were not taken into account, everyone would be buying the Ford Focus with its good looks and hi-tech gizmos and all wouldn't they.

So they end up buying a Toyota Corolla Altis, which is so uncle-mobile like in dullness that everytime I sit inside one I'd use it as time to fall asleep (and my friend W.T.O did buy one recently. You uncle you). Or the Honda Civic, which is a isn't built like the Honda Civic prior to this and a disappointment to me. Or they end up buying a Nissan Slyphy. This car is what I reckon is the worst C-segment 2.0liter you can buy in Malaysia today and I shall state why.

Now aside from the silly venereal disease-like name, which is also a good enough reason not to buy the car, the car is old. It has been around since the end of 2005 and it is now March 2013. In 2012 Nissan launched the new Bluebird Slyphy. Singapore has this new model (pictured above) and we Malaysians have to get this older car (pictured below). It is basically like the Nissan Sentra that was sold here. I believe they were still selling in prior to the launch of the Almera and was selling right beside the Latio sedan and hatchback which were similarly priced as the very ancient Sentra. There was even an Impul version that they tried to flog to people. And the worse this was that some people bought them even though it was old.

And so the Nissan Sifilis, Syphilis, Simpliciti, Slyphy  is now soldering on in its seventh year in Malaysia. And the new model looks a whole lot better than they one we're getting. It may cost a bomb over in Singapore, but they do get the latest models.

But I don't really mind cars that are slightly old. I mean they're not Ford Model T old and the Nissan Stwoply is actually a very, very comfortable and quiet car to be in. Or drive. The 2.0liter engine is understressed and coupled to a CVT gearbox, quite efficient (slightly droney if you push it as it is a CVT gearbox in the first place). The biggest problem is that the brakes. I have perused through most of the car listings in Malaysia and I cannot find another 2.0liter car with over 130bhp/195Nm of torque with rear drum brakes.

I know that car technology has come a long way and if you couple any sort of disc/drum brake combination with anti lock brakes as well as electronic brake distribution it will work fairly well. Technology allows drum brakes to work decent well but hello, you want to pay a minimum or RM115,000 for a car with drum brakes? If you put your money down for a 1.8liter Honda Civic you'd get all round disc brakes. If you paid a whole lot less for a Kia Forte you'd still get all round disc brakes. Same if you paid for a Chevrolet, or a Toyota or whatever 2.0liter car out there. Nissan Malaysia is doing what they do best - skimping on the specs. And I still see people spending their hard earned money or a Sylphynopolous. Why?

So this is the public service announcement I'd like you readers to make - If you have any friends, relatives or associates who would want to purchase a C segment car. Do not buy this the Sylphlegm. It has a silly name, it is actually an older model (you wouldn't want to buy an Apple Iphone 4S since the 5 is already out would you?) and it still comes with drum brakes like it's a 2.0liter car from the 1980s. If you want a Slyphy so badly. Wait until Nissan decides to bring the new one in (which has all round disc brakes over in Singapore). Hopefully it's soon.