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/

Over here unfortunately yes (though I did recently see a Chevrolet wagon with Malaysian plate... at least I believe so. That should be cheaper). Elsewhere even some B segment cars have a station wagon version. Polo used to have one, Clio I believe has one (or until recently at least), Fiesta could have, not sure. Fabia definitely has, been in one, it's a wonderful car that feels stable and comfortable at 200 km/h.

SUVs don't offer a lot of space, they just take up a lot of space. I remember how troublesome it was to get things that would easily fit in my Kangoo into an X-Trail. Or that the X-Trail couldn't take a massage chair. Put it in the boot of the Kangoo, still lots of space for some other luggage and 5 passengers.

Oh. Villages and mountains, sounds like fun. I always love driving through those, if traffic isn't too bad. The area around the Nordschleife... soooo much fun (and soooo many cops trying to ruin it).

Yup, if your kids are satisfied that's good. (Though I believe some of the other D segment choices would have done that too. Especially the Citroen C5, which in terms of comfort is absolutely superior to the Camry. But no place to service it of course, so not a good choice for you.

A Passat isn't a small entry level conti, it is the biggest non SUV/MPV VW apart from the Phaeton. The Skoda Superb (200k) is a huge executive saloon, the biggest car they have (apart from the wagon version). Ford Mondeo is a nice D segment car, not entry level either. Citroen C5, same, second biggest car they have (apart from the presidential limousine C6). You can get proper D segment cars from good brands for around 180k. What you can't get (probably) is a service center nearby.

Teana steering as bad as X-Trail one? Oh my...

The Ford S-Max is not comfortable. It's sporty. It goes around corners like on rails (for a car of it's size), but that comes at a cost. Maybe the ride is acceptable, but comfortable I doubt. The Galaxy however is comfortable, huge, can be luxurious if spec'ed that way. Ford however does not think Malaysians would buy it (and I agree. If you are in that segment you'll probably end up with an Estima or perhaps Alphard, or, more unlikely, a Sharan. Though the Galaxy AFAIK is cheaper than the smaller S-Max).

DVD player I can add, reverse camera too. How about safety features? Auto parking (on such a huge car I'll absolutely want that. I was rather intimidated driving the Ford Galaxy, and I believe it is smaller than the Alphard).

Btw., Citroen Jumper. Air suspension (hm, probably it's a hydropneumatik and not really air suspension), captain seats that can be turned around, seats that can turn into a bed, ... also not bad.

1.4 in D segment? Overseas you can get the Superb (E segment) with a 1.4. Or, if you prefer, 1.6, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0 (4 different 2.0) or 3.6. The Passat again ranges from a 1.4 to a 3.6. Ford Mondeo 1.6 to 2.5. BMW 3 series 1.6 to 3.0. Citroen C5 1.6 to 3.0. Toyota Avensis 1.6 to 2.2. Opel Insignia 1.4 to 2.8. Mercedes C class 1.6 to 6.2. Volvo S60 1.6 to 3.0. Volvo S80 (E segment) also 1.6 to 3.0 (4.4 was discontinued). The 1.6 does 100 in 8.5s and reaches a top speed of 220.

Maybe the engines won't be that reliable though, true. We will have to see.

And the C segment Ford Focus comes with a 3 cylinder 1.0 that has more power than their previous entry level 1.6.

The 1.4 (122 hp) in the Passat does the 100 in 10.3s, 205 top speed, 5.9l/100km. Official figures of course, they tend to be slightly optimistic (that is, the driver is of the slow type). The bigger cc Passats are supposed to consume more fuel. The hotter 1.4 engines (up to 170 or 180 hp I believe) are reserved to smaller VWs. Those engines could probably easily beat the Camry.

150k in 5 years?
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/vw-pa...Features=EXPORT
Passat 1.4 TSI with DSG, 150 hp (running on gas). 312500 km in 1 1/2 years (what the ...). Seems to be quite long lasting (service interval should probably be around 30k, at least the petrol ones). Even the steering wheel seems to look like new... not glossy where the hands were.

The new Merc B class is said to have huge leg room at the rear I believe, the Skoda Superb also offers S class like space at the back.

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Sep 4 2012, 10:52 PM

Why did a Merc would usually has a big "bonggol" in rear middle, whereby toyota manage to reduce it to almost flat?

premium cars like merc, bmw, lexus is running on rear wheel drive. rear wheel drive is a better driving dynamic compare to front wheel. like sports car lambor, ferrari, porche also rear wheel drive(RWD).
thus RWD need a rear wheel shaft to make the rear wheel running as the engine at front. so u can imagine. merely a rear wheel shaft can easily cost RM30-50k. this is why car below 200k do not come with this.

medium class like japanese car all is front wheel drive(FWD). even volkswagen and audi also mostly FWD unless is high spec that come with all wheel drive(AWD)

Perhaps that's why the tech like ESP and TC are more needed in those cars because RWD is harder to control --- very easy to skid.

no wor. my w204 very fun to drive. doesn't hard to control also. seem like regular car only.
AWD is diff only. go in corner need turn fast.

While RWD and high cars may tend to need ESP more than FWD ones, it is useful on _any_ car. TC maybe not so much in Malaysia (IMHO makes most sense on ice and snow, or when the car has just too much power and you love to start like a lunatic).

Also I'd always rather take the hump in the middle than a hump in the middle seat like many cars have. THAT is uncomfortable. Personally my favorite seat in the Kangoo (apart from those in front) is either the center one (despite small hump) or the 3rd row. Most comfortable is the center one, and 3rd row gives the best view (but only 2 point belts). It always depends on the shape of the seats if it is comfortable in the center. Hump in the center... just spread your legs (unless you're a girl in a mini skirt...).

for RWD, is abit diff from FWD, cornering wise can feel the difference, it is much more firm and steady. when acceleration can feel dif also.

in fact for sedan car, it is meant for fetching 4 person. instead of 5-6 person.

Weird.... First buying a Camry is sinful, now buying bigger engine displacement car also become an offense now in F&F? Many probably will agree that most 2.0L D segment is under power ( of course, this can also be twisted to 'power is just adequate' in certain situations), so what's wrong of getting a bigger cc car if one can afford it? Besides, these Jap D-segment don't come with a Turbo engine, so what's the big deal about stressing to Kepala Pening how good a Turbo engine is?

Come on people, don't be such a green eye monster!

there may be a new incentive for locally assembled hybrid car later this year. If UMW decided to CKD Camry 2.5 Hybrid, it's gonna be fantastic.

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Added on September 5, 2012, 6:56 amBro, did you ask permission from forumers here or not before you bought your W204?
Hehe, I hope you have a valid reason to buy this W204 when a Wira/Waja/Preve... whatever.... can also do the same job....

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Added on September 5, 2012, 7:03 amNext time just say you had bought a Camry 1.3, maybe the rest will be happier to hear this. Now their cars have bigger displacement than yours, probably make them feel more satisfied.....

This post has been edited by landlily98: Sep 5 2012, 07:03 AM

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.

U still dont get it do you? Do u understand how mature arguments are made? Read up.

Each have their own views and as with all views, we can argue our individual points. Kepalapening has his reasons and we have ours. We agree with some and we dispute others. If we're gonna start saying 'dont say this, dont say that, his view so dont challenge, my view so accept', then whats the point of discussing anything?? We're free to state our points and he's free to state his. We all accept at the end of the day, to each his own. But this is a mature discussion and much better than some ongoing discussions on other threads so leave us be. If u have something to share, we would gladly listen but lets stop with this blind defences. Kepalapening is a grown man (and probably older than most of us here) and he's more than capable of arguing maturedly. He doesnt need a nanny for sure. Im quite sure he's learnt alot from the discussions on this thread alone and so have i.

We're not enemies here and im sure someday we'll be able to sit down for a teh tarik session in KL when everybody is free.

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Sep 5 2012, 08:05 AM

I still found quite funny as the kepalapening claimed that the Nissan Teana steering is too soft, then if he/she found the Nissan Teana steering too soft, I think the Camry is even worse, I found the Teana steering is tuned to quite balance, not too light and not too heavy, for sure not as responsive as the Ford Mondeo or Accord, but compare to Camry, I think the Teana is much better, now really make me kepalapening!

I too found the Teana steering to be quite good and responsive. Felt better than my Optima even. He must understand that light steering is not a negative point.

Even my Nissan Latio Sport 1.8 also has a light steering.

My wife says OK. But, I said no. It is a matter of self preferences.

BTW, it is not me who drive the Latio everyday.

This post has been edited by kepalapening: Sep 5 2012, 03:38 PM

Taiko, that's is Latio, you can't use Latio as your benchmark and said Teana also the same mar,

I have test drive a Teana also.

2013 accord look promising.so much grown up and mature in overall.much much competitive than before.let the accord and the 6 represent the japanese in our d-segment shootout next year.with the addition of the new ford mondeo with its aston martin face n ecoboost powerplant, aiiyyoo.tkut camry itu byk kalah ooo

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).

Yeah..hopefully UMW will do that

I also noticed something about the cruise control. If u set the cruise at 110kmph, your FC is ok. But if u set at around 140kmph above, then your fuel consumption is really increases as the car will try to maintain the speed by frequently downshifting to 5th gear. So if you wanna maintain high speed, best would be to not use the cruise. Is it the same with your cars as well?