say what you like guys..korean cars are a lot better than they were before..they're on par if not better than the japanese makes already.

even cybermaster98 is going for a korean make. for those who don't know cybermaster98 is a big fan of toyota in the past..appearing almost everywhere in those korean car threads here and in paultan

But now...look - he's gone korean because they've changed a lot since the old days. Yeah I'm driving a korean car too. Love every bit of it, don't have any regrets. Can't say the same for those who bought the Vios - similarly priced but badly specced.

First of all, let me share that i have been a loyal toyota supporter since 10 yrs ago. my family has 4 toyota cars. i am a Merit privilaged member. I was offered rm1k rebate just to book the Camry(before any discounts). Those who are in the Merit member will know what I'm talking about. So, no blind bashing here.

Now, in my opinion, it is sooo ironic that the people in this thread is trying to defend Toyota's greed by discussing if VSC is important or not...

Focus at the problem: Highest spec Camry, increased price by 10k(compared to previous model), removed the most important feature that even Altis have - VSC.

what is there to explain except T's pure greed, and the continuous reliance on Malaysian's blind Toyota fans to keep buying T cars just by brand alone?

so after this u will go book a camry for yourself, knowing it is a rip off because you are a merit member ya.

what the heck, we talk so much here, in the end most of us go book one for ourselves.

and i believe you guys who bought the camry will definately have this ego and face issue to protect because if it ever the non camry car you bought breaks down, or have any slightest of problems, your closest friend, your busy body neighbor, and your unsupportive relatives will say: " see, i told you buy camry dont want to listen, now your car has this squeaking sound. "

where as, when there is a problem in a Camry,: " never mind lah, not all toyota has this problem, dont know why u get this problem. i am sure they will fix it in toyota service center. "

so the senario is not about the car you buy, it is because of your surrounding people that will somehow say something u dont want to hear when you dont buy a camry. Because they bought one, they feel that you should get one, i never met someone who will say, Toyota sucks big time, get the korean lah, accept for ppl in F&F.

somehow when you buy a K5, or anything other than Toyota, those ppl will wait and pray for the opportunity to say that uncomfortable words out from their mouth to your ears. Then they will feel happy,

dont believe what i said, just sit back and watch the making movie played life infront of you.

This post has been edited by sonyman: Jul 2 2012, 10:51 PM

yup fully agree with sonyman. LoL!

that is the issue we have in Bolehland now.
We will say how fugly new Civic is , or how suck blood Toyota is, in the end still end up with T & H

smack your head harder when you ended up buying any one of those. mr devil666

anyway what ever car u buy is your money your ride, here is just a keyboard advise only, and you can follow, or not, but in the end you probably buy what others buy. Why because we Malaysians are followers and never the leaders, because leader always suffers. And toyota is also a follower, but never a leader, accept for their so called hybrid technology.

on the other hand, nissan, and honda are also some sort of followers but in a different pattern, somehow now the standards are being set by Koreans, look at it and take some time to ponder.

1) best handphone Samsung
2) best TV, Samsung
3) best performing overall car, Kia K5
4) best value for money car Kia Forte.
5) most viewed pop singers by teenagers Korean pop chicks and guys.
6) best drama, Korean Drama.
7) Astro has 1 NHK channel Japan, but about 4 to 5 Korean Channels.
8) best hottest gals on TV, probably a Korean Gal.
9) The fastest growing company Samsung
10) most played back drama on free TV, Korean series.
11) why you are saying japanese is still better?

good question, probably Japanese were here first, so they had set the gold standard in the mid RM 80K to Below 200K region for cars.

But you see, Japanese are Followers, and will always be follower from now, cause they are tired and run out of ideas.
So Koreans are bypassing Japanese and going for Conti attack now.

Heck they probably killed the TV Japanese, The Handphone like sony erricson and kyocera, was once seen in malaysia shores, are now gone, its the battle between Samsung and the Iphones.

Now Cars are Kia and Hyundai Vs Toyota, Nissan and Honda.

Maybe i am wrong. Show me friends, but somehow we love to follow so we follow where other ppl put their money loh.

so go out there and buy yourself a camry where everyone puts the money in, you will never regret it.

But from a business standpoint, it makes sense to do what they do. Because safety regulations are not as strict in our part of the world as they are in Europe or the US, there is no reason for them to offer anything beyond the bare minimal and still charging a pretty penny for it. Until our government change the automotive safety policy, you can't really blame them from taking advantage of the situation. Unethical? Maybe... but certainly not illegal.

Here we go again. Useless government policy is 1 thing. Buying a car for YOURSELF is another. We as the customer hold the utmost power in buying WHAT we want. You are not a robot, u think, select and buy. It is your car in the end of the day not the government. Stop picking grasses from other field while your own grass are greener.

This post has been edited by kirakun: Jul 3 2012, 12:12 AM

Sure, you don't like what they offer then don't buy it. But it's up to our government to enforce better car safety regulations so companies like Toyota can't get away with profiteering. That was the whole point in my previous statement in the first place genius, lol.

And what's with the grass picking? Is that supposed to mean something coz I sure as hell don't get what you are trying to say here, lol

Yes same old story based on old generation models. Typical mindset. For your info, if u check my previous posts on other threads, i had 2 Korean makes in my family before and i myself was a hardcore Toyota supporter for the past 9 years (those who frequent LYN and Paultan forums would know me well). But i too ended up with the Optima now and believe me it had nothing to do with the price. It was value for money, quality, design, specs and warranty which got me sold.

Btw, u only got the 2.5L because u knew the 2.0L was much worse off with its 10 year old gearbox and engine. You know darn well u dont need a 2.5L car but u still went ahead probably to add on the status factor. So let's not talk about pricing or affordability here.

You are not a fortune teller that can read what is inside my heart. BTW, I actually placed order for this car before UMW announce the spec or even the price, except that the 2.4L will be replaced with the 2.5L engine. That's why I received the car on the day they launched it.

This post has been edited by kepalapening: Jul 3 2012, 10:17 AM

Kia Optima K5 is highly rated cuz of gadgets only? Do u know whats the meaning of 'gadgets'? Gadgets refer to add on's not major mechanical or electrical components.

The K5 is not just rated high for gadgets but also for its safety standards which were non existent for Korean cars in the past but now they have surpassed even the Japanese. The K5 is also rated more favorably compared to the Japs cuz of their higher safety ratings. Go check the NHTSA website and do a comparison between the Camry and K5 and ull see the difference. Mind you this comparison is using the US spec Camry not the Malaysian underspecced version. Kia also has better warranty terms compared to Toyota both in Malaysia and also overseas.

Kia also has more powerful engines than comparable Toyota cars. The K5 has got 2 better engine variants (which sadly can't be brought in due to our lower fuel quality). It has the 2.4L GDI with 200hp, 252Nm torque and the 2.0L Turbo with 274Hp, 365Nm torque. The new Camry 2.5L only churns out 179Hp, 231Nm torque.

Yes the Kia Optima K5 is far from perfect but the fact remains that the Korean revival has been so abrupt that even the Japs were caught napping. This competition will only be good for us the consumers.

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Added on July 3, 2012, 10:32 amNo hard feelings bro, but ure actually proud of that? Ure actually proud of blindly placing an order for a RM 180K car without knowing the spec? I believe you mentioned in one of your earlier posts that u didnt even do a comparison with other makes before placing your order right? So what does this show? If it doesnt prove that you only went for the 2.5L for the status and brand, what else does it show? I may be wrong but it surely doesnt sound that way.

Anyway, uve already bought the car so ull have to stick with it. But please dont defend the Camry because many ppl know (even Paultan himself) that the Camry is a rip-off and a poor deal. Its mainly those who dont bother to check out the competition or have no knowledge about cars or who are brand conscious, who will go for the Camry.

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Jul 3 2012, 10:35 AM

You know at the end of the day, unless you're paying his car installments, why does it matter what car he choose? He's happy with his choice then can already la.

We all know the K5 is definitely the best value for money D-segment out there and it's also one of the safest but those factors alone aren't enough to topple the sheer amount of sales Toyota enjoys in the US for the Camry. And price wise, the Camry base model is still more expensive than the Accords, the Altimas, the Sonatas and even your Optima, so does that mean Americans are stupid in this respect?

There are a lot of people out there in Malaysia who want something that's fuss free and hassle free. I'd reckon there's a couple out there who are quite technically knowledgeable as well. Both the Accord and the Camry can give you that. Good brand image, relatively cheap to maintain, lots of service center throughout the country and also damn easy to sell off when time to let go. They both have a long history in Malaysia and many people including myself grew up being a passenger in one of these marques, so can you blame them for going with what they are familiar with compared to an up and coming brand like KIA? I myself also struggled between this car and other marques for a long time as well.

Rip-off price or not, there's no denying those are still compelling reasons for a lot of people to choose the Japanese over the Koreans. If I had to do it all over again and could only choose between the Camry and the K5, I would still go for the Camry because I'm already very familiar with the brand and also because I prefer the look of the Camry over the K5. Poor choice? Maybe, but not all decisions are made based on logic and common sense what.

we must say majority will agree with your words, but we can't purely ignore his "words of wisdom", but heck, most of his posts also are so convincing that you must get korean made. We know you have your points, but people have their own choice, you can't make everybody here to 100% agree with you.

How much is the Camry base model in US? I thought the starting price was US$22K?

22k base model, the others all start at 21k and 20k. Go look at the websites yourself la, the information all there what.

Accord: USD21,480
Sonata: USD20,895
Camry: USD22,055

An interesting read posted by another forumer (not everything applies though):

http://carsort.com/compare/2011-BMW-3-Seri...EX-Leather-2.4L

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Added on July 3, 2012, 12:41 pmYes i made alot of enemies among the Korean fan boys on Paultan.

And yes it took alot of online research/analysis, 9 test drives and careful evaluation of all aspects to push myself to jump ship. But no regrets so far.

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Jul 3 2012, 12:41 PM

Unrelevant posting here..

Pls back off with ur so called wonderful kia k5...

This thread for potential new camry buyers to seek more info on this car....

If u enjoy so much ur k5, pls don come to this thread n go back to ur k5 thread..!

Acting like a stupid n show off tat u have chosen the best car more than any other ppl here...

Show some respect on ur words to other bros...here..

1) best handphone Samsung -

Where U got this? Apple still hold the best smartphone till now, even latest S3 on par with 4S..

2) best TV, Samsung

When this happen? So far none Samsung TV can beat Sony TV, can google it...

3) best performing overall car, Kia K5

Best performing overall car due to price KIA offer cheaper than Luxury Brand, so far never heard KIA/Hyundai get best engine awards...

4) best value for money car Kia Forte.

No doubt about it.. based on $$$$$$

5) most viewed pop singers by teenagers Korean pop chicks and guys.

Haa haaa... Troll of the year... Where Justin Bieber & etc..

6) best drama, Korean Drama.

haa haaa... Do not know what 2 say... In Asia, Taiwan & Hong Kong Drama always on top...

7) Astro has 1 NHK channel Japan, but about 4 to 5 Korean Channels.

Cause Korean Drama price was cheaper than Taiwan & Hong Kong Drama, somemore free to HD subscriber....

8) best hottest gals on TV, probably a Korean Gal.

Depends on everybody own eyes (Subjective)

9) The fastest growing company Samsung

Due to Copycats practice.. This always happen to any industry when they ask Korean Company make some part for their product, korean Co. will claim that their product cause manufacturing by them & they also know the part use for what purposed.. Apple vs Samsung, Osram vs LG, TRU Technologies Vs Abyss/Zealous & etc..

10) most played back drama on free TV, Korean series.

If I not mistaken, Indonesia, Taiwan & Hong Kong Drama....

11) why you are saying japanese is still better?

To me, depend on your own pocket big or small... Small- Local car, Mid- Korean Car & Japanes Car, Big- Conti Car & super Big- Super Car....

This post has been edited by Oldskolboyz: Jul 3 2012, 03:10 PM

1st fact already wrong by miles...S3 on quad core dude, how wud u even wanna pit 4S(duo core) with it?

Doesn't mean anything what. I got money, I happy I buy 5 series or I buy the E class is totally up to me. If I rich, I buy a couple of Toyota IQs to trash around then donate to charity when I am done also can. Who's to say what I can or cannot do?

Value for money, those luxury cars sure lose cau cau, but at that stage, who even cares man?

Eh, don't argue for the sake of arguing la. No matter how much research and test drive you have done, I'm sure it must be a good car or else you wouldn't buy it, but trying to impose your will onto other people, that's just not right man. Unless you are paying for their cars, you got no right to criticize their decisions either, no matter how good or bad it is.