if not mistaken, the car beside elantra is altis. can see the size of elantra really huge comparing to altis.

if want resale value, just go for Toyota and Honda. Not all japanese car has good resale value, and depend on the model too. Somemore, if rare model, than resale value also drop.

i had been waiting for the Honda Civic 2012 for almost a year because of the same reason - resale value. After done months of research in comparison, i found i'll be paying extra just for the brand (resale value) instead of practicality which eventually is not worth value for money.

For RM100k+ spent, i expect the car should provide worthy features. i would list out several things that eventually made me opt for elantra.

1. cabin & trunk space (i have family, space is important for me, civic too small)
2. fuel economy (better than civic)
3. less maintenance (6-speed gearbox is maintenance free, no need to change oil & filter)
4. safety
5. luxury feel (interior inside feel like luxury car compare to civic, your passenger will feel comfortable)
6. fun to drive (keyless entry, push button start, rear view camera, shiftronic, navi option)
7. reliability assured (5years warranty+10years gearbox warranty)
8. ride & handling (not as good as civic but still good & comfortable.)
9. good horsepower for 1.8 engine, same as my current perdana v6 (elantra 148hp, civic 140hp)
10. lower price but better features!
11. fluidic and amazing design (forgot to put this one, this is the prime reason).

i have also been in my friends current gen Honda Civic just want to have the feel, and i was so depressed its so dry.

These are the reasons why people go for other brands like Peugeot, Volkswagen, Mazda, Ford despite knowing the resale value will be bad. Besides, after 7 years resale value wont bother anymore because market price will stabilize and you have already breakeven.

This post has been edited by kekura: Dec 2 2011, 10:31 AM

haha.. of course not. where got test car here in Malaysia yet. I just went through hundred of review websites and youtube. so roughly i got the feel how its going to be like.

---

Added on December 2, 2011, 10:29 amFluidicSculpture may be able to answer. But for Sonata, it is still 5k interval using Semi-Syn. I heard some Honda owner use full synt (supposed 10k interval) but SC insists 5k interval to maintain warranty eligibility.

btw, korean version is the best because got projector light and auto parking assistant (the car parks itself for you like Knight Rider).

This post has been edited by kekura: Dec 2 2011, 10:29 AM

Agree with you, not all points are valid. They are just my personal preference.

As i said, these findings are from review websites (independant reviewer) and youtubes from other countries. I just write back what they stated. I have never drive one, not even see one in actual life.

In fact, malaysia spec will be different, but we do not know yet how different it will be. Thats why we are waiting eagerly for the elantra launch.

hmmm.. maybe I need to stress that my post is about "why i opt for elantra", and not "why you should opt for elantra".

when mention about T & H, some people will just get excited. lol.

need to go through multiple reviews before can make a conclusion.... been there, done that... What i can summarize is, the ride and handling is not as good as civic, but it is not that bad.

Similarly, the new civic was commented very bad by ConsumerReports.org, "2012 Honda Civic scores too low for Consumer Reports to recommend", especially its annoying road noise. But should we depend on that review alone?

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/...-recommend.html

in the end, its up to our own judgement and whether those tiny details really significant to our decision.

Comprehensive walkthrough on Elantra features (US version):

EXTERIOR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhEZr23998o

UNDER THE HOOD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ35MdTxvUY

DRIVER SEAT (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMoj-u7Hh0Y

DRIVER SEAT (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4y_HVHnd0U

REAR PASSENGER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQt4qh9smuk

PASSENGER SEAT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZOA8HbtFJI

TRUNK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsWoUi3vuHA

wow.. got sunroof, GPS, dual air-cond some more.. this is better than i expected! hopefully can play DVD as well....

seems to me, price for sure 11xk for 1.8 now...

This post has been edited by kekura: Dec 6 2011, 01:25 PM

that images are really illustration, its not malaysia spec. Its LHD. interior could be different.

1.6 auto standard and high spec not much different...?

---

Added on December 8, 2011, 10:25 pmsquareballs, you'll cry seeing this one....



This post has been edited by kekura: Dec 8 2011, 10:25 PM

Wait until Eagle Eyes produce HID for Elantra. Currently they have for Sonata (with starline LED) for RM2399. It's Taiwan brand (not China).

http://www.eagleeyes-asia.com

heard that if CKD, will be assembled by Inokom. then the logo will be Inokom logo.

1.8 Nu engine...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AurgwCR64YU

Elantra boot space is 14.8 cubic feet, while Civic is 13.5 cubic feet.

---

Added on December 11, 2011, 7:13 amKia K5 or Optima is D segment car, same class with Sonata, Accord & Camry.

This post has been edited by kekura: Dec 11 2011, 07:13 AM

yeah.. my bro use current gen honda accord also got that kind of problem (rattling sound, broken speaker etc) on 1st year. i'm not worried too much on that. Most important, as long as it's covered under warranty, the reliability is rest assured.

This post has been edited by kekura: Dec 14 2011, 10:06 AM

http://paultan.org/2011/12/19/kia-optima-k...es-reveal-more/

Kia Optima's spec seems marvellous too. With Kia Forte 2.0 at RM98k, i anticipate its price would be a killer too... December 27!

Hyundai in top 3 for pothole resilience.



"After Honda, the most "pothole-proof" manufacturers are Toyota and Hyundai, with less than 2% of their cars suffering axle and suspension damage attributable to potholes and other road defects."

Source: http://star-motoring.com/News/2011/Honda-g...resilience.aspx

bro fluid, will we get TPMS, the tyre pressure thing....?

The Honda CEO admit his mistake on new Honda Civic strategy. They thought the consumers can accept the facts that due to the bad economy in 2008, new car has to be affordable (low cost) hence they stripped off as much feature as possible including the design. That is his big mistake because other car makers (eg. hyundai, ford, chevrolet) were going on the opposite strategy by stuffing in as much values/features as possible and making way of their market without much competition. So now, the CEO wants to re-strategize for improved Civic. He mentioned that the next version of Honda Civic will be carried out sooner as expected, which is in 2013. Because of this, the Civic 2012 buyers are starting to worry their car resale value will drop so much as this 2012 version of civic could be perceived as failed product.

I found this in one of articles in the internet.

---

Added on January 1, 2012, 3:04 amPlease ask him to bring rear bumper LED reflector too....



This post has been edited by kekura: Jan 1 2012, 03:04 AM

Sonata less take up on recent months is probably because of limited supply. SA ask me to wait around 4-6 months if i want to book. He said it is difficult to bring more cbu car here with limited AP.