Soundproofing is subjective - Some people drive E class also can say they want the cabin to be even more quiet. My Passat is plenty quiet and I still also wouldn't mind it being even more quiet. This goes in line with Audio, a quieter cabin means you can enjoy better quality music. If you already think the Camry is good enough, then that's good enough.

Tinting - I had the the premium solar and security film on my old Altis and truthfully, the heat rejection plain sucks. If it's good enough for you then great. Otherwise, I'm telling you now, you can do better tints outside.

Body Kit - Subjective, I think the car looks better without but if it looks anything like the Sports version for the Australian Aurion, it will be even better. Most people won't bother with this I know.

Audio System - I always enjoy good music while on the road, it's annoying when you hear the sound crack because of the lame speaker system. If you don't care for it then it don't matter.

I already had the pleasure of driving the 2.4V of last generation and it was a good car. I have no doubt the 2.5V will probably surpass the 2.4V in terms of comfort and power but is the car good enough? Sales will indicate that it is good enough for a lot of people but certainly not for me and I think I'm in the really small group of people who think that way.

No not idiots, just most people (including myself) is highly attracted to the Toyota brand name and its pedigree. There's no denying they have a long and strong history here and that alone is a very strong merit for people to believe and buy their products. Personally, I would also buy a Toyota had it had better specs and pricing but it was not to be.

And Koreans haven't been too active in this region at all. Truthfully as well, Koreans cars are just #%#! until the last few years.

http://paultan.org/2012/08/17/hyundai-aske...ction-in-asean/

Similarly, VW was too busy playing with itself until the last 2 to 3 years when they finally got serious and finally attacked the Malaysian market. And the result is lots of Golf TSI and Golf GTI, Scirocco, Polo etc on the road.

Tell me about it, I sent my wife's Honda Civic FB for 3M tinting over the weekend and I had the pleasure of looking at an actual S-line fully loaded Audi A4 and that freaking B&O sound system almost made me want to drive down to Singapore and retrofit my Passat Audio System with Dynaudio speakers instead.

Bang & Olfusen. Damn!

My previous gen Altis had it. The current Gen Civic has it.

Truthfully, the audio is just bad. No range, no mid-tone, no depth. I pump the audio louder and you can hear the sound cracking. The Camry 2.4V audio is only slightly better IMO. I dunno about the 2.5V but stock audio can't be that great IMO. The Passat audio is decent, not fantastic just decent, but it's still nothing compared to that B&O System which I had the pleasure of listening to.

Sorry, I mean my ex- current gen 2008 Altis, lol. It has ALS system in the Pioneer built-in audio. It doesn't change the fact that the audio is really $hitty.

Don't know, don't care. I no longer drive an Altis anyway.

There's no way I'll buy another Japanese car after the VW. Don't care how well-featured the Japanese/Korean marques are, unless they come with a turbo, I'm not going back to Japanese/Korean.

You trying to be funny is it? Want to kana slap ah? LOL

But the answer is no, I will either maintain the current ride or upgrade to a Luxury C-segment instead when the time comes.

I have no idea, never listen to it long enough to give any solid conclusion and I'm no audiophile either, but it should be pretty decent since the manufacturer is Harman which also supplies the Harmon Kardon logic seven 11 speaker system in my friend's previous gen SLK and that sounds pretty good. Most stock audio won't be good unless it's sold as an option and even if brand names are included in the OTR price, you can be sure that it will not be the top of the line model but it should definitely sound at least above average compare to standard OEM sound system.

Yes I've read. It's not the top of the line Infinity audio system but performance is definitely better than your average stock OEM sound system. It will easily outclass the audio system found in our current crop of Camry, Teana, Accord and maybe even better than some of the default sound system found in the latest crop of continental cars.

However, true audiophiles will still find the range lacking and want to upgrade to more expensive aftermarket audio systems though. You can check out some of the US Optima forums, there are some people who would still change the infinity system for other audio marques because the audio performance is not good enough for them.

The audio is decent, not fantastic. The OEM audio supplier for Volvo and Volkswagen is Dynaudio of Belgium so I guess at least it's of slightly better quality than your run of the mill stock Japanese car audio system but probably not by much though, LOL!

I think in your case, you definitely would have been better off just buying an Estima or Alphard. Both equally comfortable and spacious. Especially if its a full spec Alphard/Vellfire! Power doors, captain seats, DVD entertainment, reverse camera etc all built in. Maybe the Ford S-max also would have been a fine choice but perhaps no Ford service center in your area.

Nothing better than having a mobile living room on the go

They did.

http://content.volkswagen.com.sg/passat-1-4/

Only in Singapore, LOL!

Respectable enough it seems -

Here's some facts according to their brochure

0 to 100 in 10.3s

Usable torque will kick in very fast compared to its larger sized rivals.

200Nm @ 1500RPM - 4000RPM

I think FC can't be that great since the car is so heavy!

No point talking about features because this isn't sold here.

But bigger engine also equal more weight and more weight also equals worse fuel economy. In this case, the 1.4 TSI engine is turbocharged to give it those power and torque figures. If it uses the same Golf TSI engine then it will be supercharged as well but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to tell you if it will have better FC than a 2.5V Camry because there's too many factors involved to consider but if anything, it should at least give the car as good fuel economy as any 2.0L NA D-segment cars.

I dunno, actually I disagree. I sat in the back seat in the Optima and I still find the Camry to be more spacious and comfortable. Yes, it also feels more spacious and comfortable even compared to my Passat in this respect. Surprisingly, when I was in the Teana back seat, I still don't feel like it is as spacious.

Even though internal dimension wise, they are either equal or larger than the Camry but for some odd reason, the rear seating space of the Camry feels enormous to me.

Is this in combination of both front and rear legroom?

Because if it is, the Camry is superior even to the Mercedes Benz E class which only offers a total of 77.1 inches (195.8cm)

If that is the case, no wonder I have friends telling me the Camry feels bigger than the Merc E class on the inside.

But the chart would indicate otherwise, at least for US anyway

http://autos.jdpower.com/content/press-rel...ility-study.htm

As usual Lexus leads the rest of the pack, while Hyundai is also sitting nicely above the industrial average.

But the US Passat is on a different platform compared to the Euro version so that figure isn't accurate.

http://paultan.org/2011/01/10/volkswagen-n...han-euro-model/

Some of the forumers here were merely asking why the need for a bigger engine displacement car if he was merely after space and comfort. I personally thought a MPV like a full spec Alphard would have been a better choice and there's nothing to be green eye monster about, at least not for the current spec and asking price of a 2.5 Camry.

But I do agree that the 2.5V Camry would be the Camry to get if a person decided to get one. The bigger engine and better gearbox would at the very least ensure a more pleasant driving experience compared to the 2.0L variant.

The problem with Ford is they aren't overly aggressive here and their service network is not quite up to par. Fortunately, they have a runaway hit with the Fiesta and the Ford Focus seem to be generating new interest in the Ford brand in Malaysia.

The Mazda 6 suffers from the same problem. The current Mazda 6 didn't even make it into the top 50 sales models in the last 4 years since its introduction. If Bermaz continues this way, I don't think the new model will sell too well either.

While I'm not a fan of how the new Accord looks, it is in a position to do well if they price and spec the new car correctly. If they can find the right balance between comfort and handling for the coming new model, we may just see a Camry killer yet. Aside from the new Civic, Honda has practically shot themselves in the foot with their ridiculous car pricing in the last 2 years (eg. Honda Jazz, Freed).