Since the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely) acquired a 49.9% share in Proton in 2017, the Malaysian carmaker has been steadily regaining its strength in the domestic market. With new models like the X70 and X50, sales have kept rising although the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the trend last year.
Once the dominant brand in the market, Proton has been at No.2 for over 15 years and has been determined to regain its top position. With a strong sales month and more vehicles being available for delivery in September, the volume of 14,872 units (domestic + export) took the cumulative total volume for three quarters of 2022 to 102,353 units.
Although many new models are now having remote connection capabilities, Mercedes-Benz began to offer the feature – known as Mercedes me connect – in 2016, with introduction in the Malaysian market in late 2019. Initially, it was available for only a few models but older ones (up to 2002) could be connected with a Mercedes me adapter that cost RM250.
Since then, Mercedes me connect has become a standard feature on the latest models, providing owners with a constant connection to their vehicle via their smartphone and the Mercedes me app (available for Android and iOS devices). From a distance away – like inside a hotel room or home – the owner can check the current status of the vehicle as well as make service appointments.
The Japanese F1 Grand Prix has always been popular with the drivers, with the great Japanese hospitality and fans giving them a warm welcome at Suzuka after missing the races for two years. Polite as ever, the Japanese fans accord every driver – especially their home hero, Yuki Tsunoda of the Scuderia Alphatauri team – the same enthusiastic cheers.
As with many Japanese GPs in past years, it rained a lot and as the cars went on their formation lap, it was still raining. So Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who could become world champion today, was glad to have received only a reprimand for the incident with McLaren’s Lando Norris during qualifying, allowing him to keep his pole position. Alongside was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who likewise would have a clear view of the track ahead as the cars headed to the first turn.
Behind, the other drivers would have to be super alert as they strained to see through the water spraying up from other cars. In some years, conditions could be really bad – as in 1976 when Niki Lauda chose to retire when he considered the risks caused by the heavy rain to be too great.
PHS Automotive Malaysia (PHSAM), the distributor for Audi in Malaysia, isn’t wasting time drawing attention to the brand. It has plans to offer more variety and in line with this aim, it has added the latest A3 Sedan to the range offered by its authorised dealers.
The A3 line actually started in 1996 as a hatchback model and was later joined by a sedan which sits on the Volkswagen Group MQB platform. While the hatchback has reached its fourth generation, the sedan is only in its second.
The Honda HRV RS is the top of the line model and is RM5,000 more expensive than the second model in the line up – the V-Spec.
Despite only marginally more expensive, buyers seem to prefer the V-Spec.
Over 50% of buyers are said to prefer the V-Spec.
The V-Spec is better suited to performance than fuel economy.
The HRV has been hugely popular and for good reason; the B-Segment crossover SUV offers all the ideals anyone could want.
Young families will appreciate the space and safety features while the elders will appreciate the comfort and driving dynamics.
The newly launched third-generation HRV takes it up a couple of notches and once again is a class leader with new, never before seen features in similar SUVs.
Positioned right below the top-of-the-line Honda HRV RS is the V-Spec. Of the 7,000 HRV’s already delivered to date, about 50% consist of the V-Spec. And it is not difficult to see why it is the model of choice for many.
Around the exterior, the V-Spec is differentiated by its gloss black front grille, matte black finishing around the front and rear bumper, and a red-coloured LED light strip and brake lights.
And finally, the V-Spec features silver tipped dual exhaust-pipes, while the RS has its single exhaust neatly tucked away out of sight.
Inside, the V-Spec loses out on dual-zone air-conditioning in favour of a single-zone system, while the roof-lining is beige in colour as compared to the black in the RS.
Also, the stitching on the seats, gear knob and the steering wheel is in dark grey for the V-Spec and red for the RS. Whether this matters or not is a different story, but to me, the red has a tendency of getting dark over time, which just dulls the ambience.
RS seats shown above, but the V-Spec has the same seats but with different coloured stitching.
The leather seats are firm but comfortable and there’s plenty of space for all occupants. Multi-seats are standard across the HRV range and offer added practicality with three different seat settings to accommodate just about anything wide or long.
Creature comforts include multiple cup holders for all passengers, two USB ports up front and two at the back, and the all-important Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The V-Spec also boasts practicality in the form of adaptive cruise control, a feature also available in the RS. This allows the driver to set a desired speed and distance to the vehicle ahead, and the HRV will brake and accelerate automatically according to the pre-set settings. Handy especially when driving long distances as we found out during a drive back from Terengganu.
But the real fun lays under the bonnet, or hood if you are so inclined. The V-Spec is powered by a 1.5-litre, turbocharged engine that is mated to a CVT gearbox. It is a tried, tested and a robust powertrain that produces 181hp and 240Nm of torque.
That’s not a lot of power if you are into such things, but it is enough to catapult the 1,403kg mini SUV to 100km/h in just 8.8 seconds and onto a top speed of 200km/h.
There also steering mounted pedal shifters if you want to control when the car shifts up or down. And more importantly, there are three driving modes – Eco, Sport and Normal – for added fun. The modes are selected via a switch situated by the gear knob.
The HRV is far from a sports car though it definitely has the spirit. In corners, the tall ride height and suspension that is better suited for comfort result in significant body roll when pushed hard. This is after all this is an SUV designed for comfort and convenience, not corner carving.
Despite putting out decent power figures, the powertrain can be quite noisy during acceleration. But that can be put down to the CVT gearbox, which tends to whine when laying down power.
Running on the same 18-inch Continental tyres as the RS, the V-Spec too suffers from the same fate; there’s a significant amount of tyre noise that creeps back into the cabin at high speed.
Between 100-120km/h is when the HRV is at its most comfortable. Anything more and there’s just too much noise intruding back into the cabin, forcing you to either speak louder or turn up the volume of the music.
The V-Spec is at its finest in traffic or at regular highway speed. The auto hold button works a treat in traffic. The system automatically applies the brakes in traffic even when the gear is in Drive. This lets you rest your right foot, reducing driver fatigue especially during those long hours spent in traffic during seasonal holidays.
It is not difficult to see why the V-Spec is the model of choice for HRV buyers though. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make syncing your phone to the entertainment system nothing more than a simple snap. This is important because the reliance of modern drivers on GPS maps is at an unprecedented level.
Storage is aplenty and the fact that there’s air-conditioning vents and USB ports for every passenger makes long distance drives or even school runs more manageable.
Whether a primary or a secondary car, the HRV V-Spec is understandably the model to have. It is RM5,000 cheaper than the top spec model which means you do not need to fork out as much.
The model positioned below the V-Spec is called the E-Spec and that too is RM5,000 cheaper than the V-Spec, but you don’t get features such as electronically-adjustable leather seats in favour of fabric seats. You also don’t get the Lane Watch camera which makes driving the HRV in traffic a lot more manageable.
All of this makes undoubtedly makes the V-Spec the model to have, money no object of course.
[UPDATED] Max Verstappen is on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix tomorrow, after an incident with Lando Norris was investigated and the Stewards decided to give him only a reprimand rather than any penalty which would affect his qualifying position.
If the Formula 1 teams were looking forward to a more comfortable environment after hot and humid F1 round in Singapore, they have been drenched again at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan where Round 18 of the Formula 1 World Championship is being held this weekend. But at least it’s cooler (low 20s compared to Singapore’s 30s) and certainly less humid (57% in Japan, 88% in Singapore).
Like Singapore, the Japanese Grand Prix could not be run during the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So instead of being the 38th Japanese F1 GP, it is the 36th time since 1976. Other than 2007 and 2008 when the Japanese event was held at the Fuji Raceway, the Suzuka International Racing Course (owned by Honda) has been the venue since 1987.
