Well said. Malaysian some I will say tend to be pretty 'protective' of their own mindset plus the additional invisible shell surrounding the mindset. Clearly some are unable to accept the facts that Korean cars are catching up among their Japanese competitors in terms of quality, tech, engineering and design expecially on higher segment cars. Clearly some can't accept the fact that one can afford to buy a car while disregard it's resale value. And clearly some may want others to think alike and accept their mentality as the one and only. I've seen this debate over and over again being raised. Just a note, if u can't afford, don't buy new cars, if u worry so much about resale value, don't buy new cars, as the matter in fact don't buy any vehicles as all will depreciate in time. Walk your talk out. Period.

Got some info bout the upcoming Toyota Camry 2.0L. 146Hp and 190Nm torque. The new Optima churns out 163Hp and 198Nm torque. The Optima is also 19mm longer with 20mm longer wheelbase compared to the Camry.

Pretty pathetic figures for a new generation Camry. Almost no difference from current model. Aiya!

Btw, just noticed that the Optima and Forte 2.0L have different engines. Thought they were the same. The Forte 2.0L churns out 154Hp and 194Nm torque only but with a lighter body.

I went for a test drive on the 2.0L Teana Luxury and found the Teana to have marginally better low range acceleration than the Optima. Dont know how thats possible with lower horsepower and torque figures and just marginally lighter than the Optima. Based on specs on paper, the Optima should have better fuel consumption.

But generally the Teana absorbs bumps better which is expected since its designed for comfort rather than handling. Its 16 inch rims are also suited for a more comfort based drive compared to the 18 inch rims on the Optima. Felt the leather seats on the Teana were better than the Optima but im really amazed how anybody could ever like the interior of the Teana. Its really bland and the worst has gotta be the dashboard.

No bad intent here but i really felt 10 yrs older in the Teana. The Sylphy was the worst. The dash has gotta be among the worst in its class. But the Sylphy has better legroom compared to the Teana. The Optima's legroom is similar to the Teana.

But i really wanna know how the dual CVVT 163HP and 198Nm torque Optima could possibly be sluggish on low range revs. Anybody care to provide some insight?

Look at the torque curve of the engine and you will know why.
You don't get 198nm at low rev range. It's only at medium to high rev that you get your torque. So the sylphy engine produces more power at low rev range say from 1-4k rpm and loses only at high rev range. In fact the sylphy engine is more powerful than civic 2.0 engine up to 4.5k rpm. You can take their brochure, plot out the torque graph and you'll see why.

This is also why max torque and max hp is misleading. Nobody revs their engine up to 4000 or 6000 rpm to accelerate in normal situation.