Facelifted Chevrolet Captiva is here – 2.4 petrol, RM155k

August 23, 2011 at 2:14 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, General Motors, Local News

UPDATE: Full gallery from the launch event added
Naza Quest, distributor of Chevrolet vehicles in Malaysia, launched the facelifted Chevrolet Captiva at its Jalan Ampang showroom this afternoon. This introduction is the start of a busy period for the General Motors brand in Malaysia, which will see the Colorado pick-up truck launched here later this year. There are also a few new models coming our way in 2012.
Back to the main point. This facelifted Captiva was first seen late last year, making its world debut at the Paris Motor Show. It wears a bold new grille that totally dominates the front end; not too all tastes, but it sure does give the Captiva plenty of road presence.

It’s not just the grille, but the entire front end, including bonnet and headlights, is new. The wing mirror indicators are now LEDs, and the 17-inch alloys you see here are standard. The rear end is untouched, however.
The interior ambiance of the original Captiva wasn’t one of its strong points, feeling very old fashioned (green lighting, with Casio style green digits) and cluttered. It’s much improved now with metallic elements and a slightly revised layout. There are additional storage spaces and the redesigned dials and displays now come with Ice Blue illumination, a Chevy trend.

There’s also a new panel between the centre air con vents that quite high-end Nissan/Infiniti in style. It carries a digital clock and buttons for ESP, Hill Descent Control and Rear A/C.
Blank buttons are not in sight – the Captiva comes very well equipped. The steering wheel has controls for the stereo (with Bluetooth and ’3D Sound Stage’), cruise control and air con – the latter is new and very useful.
There’s also an ECO mode button (helps economy) and an electronic parking brake, a class first. Another new feature is Hill Start Assist, which holds the car on gradients (of 3% onwards) for 1.5 seconds after the brake pedal has been released, preventing rollback.

That’s quite a lot of changes for a mid life update, but the Captiva comes with a new drivetrain as well. Still displacing 2.4 litres (it’s actually 2,384 cc now, from 2,405 cc), the new petrol engine makes 165 hp and 225 Nm of torque, 21% and 2% more than the old model, respectively. This DOHC 16v Ecotec unit is now paired to a 6-speed automatic with Tiptronic, one forward ratio more than before. We’re getting only the AWD model.
The results are positive. Fuel consumption for this 1,860 kg seven seater SUV is now 9.1 litres per 100 km, quite a bit better than the old 10.4 litres per 100 km. CO2 emissions is down by 14% as well.

What happened to the diesel variant, you ask? We asked too, and Naza Quest bosses said that that one is coming in the fourth quarter of this year, which is not too far away from now.
Safety kit includes dual front airbags, curtain airbags, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, ESP and ISOFIX mounts for child seats. Imported from Thailand, the new Captiva is priced at RM155,185.20 on the road excluding insurance. Six colours are available, including a new Auburn Brown, which wasn’t on display at the launch.

Full gallery from the event is after the jump.

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Frankfurt preview: Production Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

AUGUST 15, 2011 AT 9:33 AM BY DANNY TAN FILED UNDER CARS, INTERNATIONAL NEWS,TOYOTA

Toyota is finally ready to launch its Prius Plug-in Hybrid, which will make its debut in Frankfurt in production form. The user rechargeable Prius is Toyota’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) to go on sale, and also its first to use a lithium ion battery. In case you’re wondering, this is a Prius that you can plug in to your home’s wall socket to recharge, like a full EV and your mobile phone.

Calling it the “next major milestone in Toyota’s ongoing, 40 year quest for sustainable mobility and the ultimate eco car”, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid features the latest development of the company’s modular Hybrid Synergy Drive full hybrid platform, which has clocked some 200 billion kilometres of driving worldwide.

The new compact lithium-ion battery has been developed to “meet Toyota’s rigorous standards for reliability”. The Prius PHEV’s extended EV cruising range enables it to achieve remarkable fuel efficiency of just 2.2 l/100 km, while CO2 emissions drop to an unprecedented 49 g/km. Other than that, Toyota gives little away than to say that “affordability of its proven HSD technology will make it widely accessible.”

Sharpen your driving skills with BMW Driver Training

AUGUST 13, 2011 AT 1:48 PM BY HARVINDER SIDHU FILED UNDER BMW, CARS, LOCAL NEWS

To us Malaysians, driving is an everyday affair and without cars, you can safely say that our economy would come to a grinding halt. With cars being part of our everyday lives for decades now, many have yet to fully understand safety on the road. Many of us still take driving lightly and disregard the fact that we could harm ourselves, or worse yet, put someone else in danger just by losing our focus when driving.

Having said that, many of us practice the right driving habits but at times, we are forced to be in situations that will put ourselves and the people around us in danger. Personally I have been through these situations plenty of times, such as swerving out of harm’s way when a biker pulls out of a junction suddenly without warning.

Which is why some automakers promote defensive driving which can help reduce accident rates on the roads. BMW has their very own version of this, called the BMW Driver Training which has been around since 1977. Running for several good years in Malaysia, the BMW Driver Training programme teaches its participants various driving techniques that will help prevent accidents on the road. The most recent one was held last weekend at the Sepang International Circuit.

With its certified and highly trained instructors, the programme starts off with a one and a half hour long theory session. Following this, participants get behind the wheel of a BMW 3-Series, which in last weekend’s case, a 325i Sport and drive through various exercises including double-handed slalom which allows you to practice the correct steering technique.

There is also something called emergency braking which enables you to experience a braking situation with the ABS or anti-lock braking system working in the background. Contrary of popular belief, ABS doesn’t give you stronger braking but instead it allows you to steer your car while carrying out emergency braking. Participants will experience this further with the brake, steer and avoid exercise.

This is then followed by emergency lane change which teaches you how to avoid a potential hazard on the road by swerving or “flicking” the steering wheel. Then there is also understeer and oversteer exercises which show you how both scenarios are induced and how they can be prevented with the help of vehicle electronic stability programme or ESP. Participants will then have to combine what they have learned and implement them in a slalom competition which can be quite fun 

The icing on the cake is the track fascination where participants get “chauffeured” around the entire Sepang circuit by the instructors. At the end of the day, participants will go home with a valuable piece of certificate that is valid worldwide, indicating that the bearer has successfully completed the Advance module of the programme. He or she can use this to upgrade to the Intensive level, which will be offered in Malaysia soon.

All in all, it is a good way to spend a weekend and most importantly, improve your driving techniques and the understanding of more safety on the road. For those who are interested in taking part in this recommended training, please call BMW Voice at            1800 88 3000      . Participation fee starts off at RM1,700 for BMW owners and RM1,800 for non-BMW owners. You can also visit the BMW Driver Training website here.

The next BMW Driver Training takes place on 3rd and 4th September 2011. Continue reading to view an image gallery.