The moment has finally arrived for this long-awaited small SUV. Honda Malaysia has officially launched the WR-V, which made its global debut in Indonesia in November 2022.
The WR-V marks Honda’s first foray into the small SUV segment in the Malaysian market, making it the first non-national car maker to do so.
There will be four variants available: sitting on top is the RS variant, followed by the V, then the E and finally the S spec.
Exterior
The WR-V has a unique design language but shares a few similarities with the HR-V. For example, the placement of the rear door handle at the side of the door panel rather than on the door panel as with conventional handles.
The WR-V has total dimensions of 4,060mm long, 1,780mm wide, and 1,608mm in height, which makes it slightly smaller albeit wider than the Perodua Ativa.
The RS features the same exterior kit as the one introduced to the Thai market including the chrome chequered grille and 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels. Additional features include automatic LED headlights with sequential turn signals, power-adjustable door mirrors, LED daytime running lights, and LED front fog lights.
The Honda WR-V is set to make its Malaysian debut tomorrow. The highly anticipated small SUV which Honda Malaysia says sits in its own segment and does not compete with any other car maker, was already available for booking at all dealerships nationwide last month.
As of today, the WRV already has 2,500 bookings! And Honda expects to deliver all 2,500 cars in less than two months. With that, it is safe to say that Honda’s small SUV is well received prior to its official debut. Honda also reassures that the WRV is not affected by the global chip shortage and as such deliveries will be on time and spare parts are readily available.
The second-generation WRV (first-generation for Malaysia) made its global debut in Indonesia last November and was launched in Thailand in May of 2023. We took it for a test drive from Bangkok to Pattaya recently and came away impressed, you can read about that hereand watch the video below.
The debate has been raging for years now – which petrol actually takes you further? Some swear by Shell, other say it is BHPetrol or Petronas.
But there has never been a real world test conducted – till now.
The team at PISTON took it upon ourselves to finally put an end to the debate.
The contenders – Petronas, Shell and BHPetrol – were chosen as they are some of the most widely available fuel providers around the Klang Valley and Peninsular Malaysia.
The cars we chose for this comparison are three Honda City RS e:HEV, or otherwise known as the Honda City Hybrid.
Why did we choose the City Hybrid? Well, the objective of the comparison was to see which fuel gives us the most mileage over the most diverse terrain we could find.
We wanted to drive through heavy traffic, uphill and downhill, through highways and back roads. And because the City Hybrid is impressively frugal, we were confident that we would not need to refuel despite driving close to 500km’s in a day.
And we were right, the Honda City proved to be the perfect companion as it offered impressive comfort and features like Apple Carplay and Android Auto to keep us entertained throughout the long, tiring drive.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Honda Malaysia for loaning us the three Honda City’s.
We also took as much care as possible to eliminate all possible variables. First we extended a request to Honda Malaysia to service all three cars with new lubricants to which they generously obliged (thank you Honda!). This was to ensure that the engines of the three cars were working equally as hard and there was not one working harder than the other.
Secondly, we ensured that the tyres of all three cars had the same pressure. This was to ensure equal rolling resistance. Low tyre pressure results in higher rolling resistance which in turn increases fuel consumption. So it was essential to ensure the tyre pressure of all three cars were the same!
And we also ensured all three cars had a lone driver. Vehicle load also increases fuel consumption, and because all three drivers were roundish around the sides, weight was about the same as well.
And finally, we took special care to ensure that residual fuel was minimised. We did not want fuel brands mixing up with one another. So we were sure to empty out the tanks as much as possible (by driving instead of draining) and then refuelling with the competing fuel.
So with this, we hit the road from Kayu Ara towards the Damansara toll. Our journey took us east towards Raub via the Karak Highway, and then off the highway towards Sungai Koyan. From there we headed West towards Cameron Highlands, and then north via the old Tapah road. From there, we hit the highway heading south and ended at the Jejantas Sungai Buloh.
The long awaited small SUV from Honda is just around the corner! For the time being, Honda’s Winsome Runabout Vehicle (WR-V) will be the only small SUV competitor for the Perodua Ativa. We have driven the car before its Malaysian debut, and this is what you need to know about the highly anticipated SUV.
Honda has long offered certified pre-owned vehicles for purchase worldwide but not yet in Malaysia. Due to Honda’s outstanding reputation for dependability, CPO (certified pre-owned) Hondas are for many customers suitable substitutes for new cars.
However, Honda is now selling CPO planes, so you can do the same even if you’re flying through the air.
Honda Aircraft Company, which was established in 2006, has been producing HondaJets for private, professional, and even emergency use. However, Honda is now following Bombardier’s (an aircraft manufacturer) lead and putting its used aircraft through a certification procedure in order to resell them.
The highly anticipated small SUV, the all-new Winsome Runabout Vehicle (WR-V), is now available for booking at all 101 Honda Malaysia dealerships nationwide.
It is set out to compete with the Perodua Ativa. According to the company’s website, the small SUV will be powered by a 1.5-litre DOHC naturally-aspirated engine shared with the City and City Hatchback, producing 121 PS/145 Nm and mated to a CVT automatic gearbox.
Back in March of this year, Honda Malaysia announced that it was pulling the plug from its popular BRV model, to the dismay of some. But at the same time, it also announced that it was going to be introducing an array of new models in 2023, including a small SUV.
The company did not mention which model, but it was obvious that it was going to be the WRV, since it was already introduced for the Indonesian as well as the Thai markets. It was only a matter of time before it was introduced in Malaysia.
Besides, to date, Perodua’s Ativa is the sole contender in the small SUV segment. No other car maker, national or non, has a model for that segment. So why let Perodua have all the fun?
Being able to develop electric vehicles (EVs) is a vital expertise for carmakers as the industry speeds towards electrification of its products. However, just as vehicles with internal combustion engines are useless without liquid fuel, EVs will not run without electricity. The electricity can come from various sources – even the sun – but what’s more important is being able to store the energy.
That’s where batteries come in and currently, there is much focus on the development of batteries for EVs, with the technology advancing very quickly. As we have seen with the shortage of microprocessors disrupting vehicle production globally, a shortage of batteries would also mean EVs cannot leave the factory, even if the vehicle is completed.
For this reason, the major carmakers have looked for ways to secure supply of batteries for coming years as demand for EVs increases rapidly. The biggest companies have established their own subsidiaries to develop and manufacture batteries, setting up factories around the world to ensure that different regions are covered.
Honda’s Type R series of gained legendary status almost immediately each model was introduced. Today, Type R variants of the Integra, Civic, NSX, and even Accord – are much sought-after by enthusiasts and collectors worldwide.
Unusually though, the S2000 was never given a Type R variant in all the 10 years that it was produced. Why Honda never developed a Type R (there were Type V and Type S variants in Japan) has never been clearly explained and some think it may simply have been a case of not having enough potential sales numbers.
Anyway, thanks to Evasive Motorsports, a 21-year old performance tuner in California, there is finally a S2000 Type R. 20 years after the last S2000 was produced, Evasive Motorsports has created its own interpretation of what the S2000 Type R ‘should have been’ with its S2000R resto-mod.
South Korea’s POSCO, the sixth-largest steelmaking company in the world and Japan’s Honda Motor signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday. This partnership is to expand cooperation in the electric vehicle (EV) industry.
Prior to this, Posco was understood to have agreed in principle to a contract last year with a duration of at least five years with Ford. This contract is only for the supply of cathode materials and other key EV battery minerals, including lithium and nickel.
