it is by far the best value D segment vehicle available for peoples money at the moment

Been burnt once and once is too much IMO. But that aside, I and my wife have been actively scouting a 2nd car for the past month and we both agreed that the KIA Forte represented the best bang for buck. My wife was even impressed during the test drive and we even got a good SA that offered us fantastic discount. My research also showed that the after sales is at an acceptable level, though not as good as the T&H marque but still good enough to be deemed as a problem free purchase. Resale value of the Forte is also surprisingly good after talking to a few 2nd hand dealers...but whenever I asked if she placed her deposit with the car, she would always give some excuse like not free or too busy with work or distracted by some other thing and this went on for the past month. Then came last Sunday, we went to view the new Civic and after taking it for a test drive, she immediately paid the deposit and booked the car, LOL!

At the end of the day, it's what she's comfortable buying la bro. Koreans may have improved but they have a huge perception issue to overcome in the hearts of Malaysians

Another Opinion

Test drove new civic 2.0 over the weekend. Better than expected after all the negative comments heard. Summary is as follows:

Like: Drive, cornering, steering, interior, exterior, fuel economy, not need to press button to unlock car
Dislike: Acceleration, radio design, rims

Although much the same power as previous gen, acceleration even on second gearpaddleshift is not to my expectation, very linear delivery thanks to soch migration. Spoke with owner of 8gen 2.0L civic, he told me acceleration has less roar and surge. With RM90 which is near full tank, the 2.0L will take you 450-460km max with econ mode on according to salesman. Overall i'm generally pleased with quality of car.

Last thing and can others verify this...salesman told me 0-100 is about 13 secs for 2.0L? Too bad i didnt try but this sounds very the sucky. I will test Ford Focus as second choice before i decide to change car. To me, i'll pass on Elantra.

This post has been edited by mysjumblesale: Jul 16 2012, 10:50 PM

Yes that was what i was trying to say. It was the brand that sold. But something which the Koreans will need to work hard to establish.

If ure seriously considering the Civic 2.0L then the current Mazda 6 2.0L would be a much better choice. A D segment for the price of a C segment. The Civic is quite a squeeze inside actually. I think rear legroom is similar to the City. Go test drive the Mazda 6 while waiting for the Focus.

if our car industry was an open market, it would'nt be hard. look at the US, koreans sell remarkably there.

This post has been edited by stix: Jul 16 2012, 09:30 PM

the civic consumption is so high?

its not about the openness of the market i believe. but its more to people here kinda haunted by yesteryears horror stories about korean cars. poor built, back stabbings, mediocre performance. u name it, they are all there. some were poor built beyond rectification. trajets and carnivals owners still haunted by Ria. u would be totally mad to even consider any of these koreans.

the problem is, the horror stories are not long ago. or not long enough for the market to forget. many would NEVER touch a korean make again. new generations or not, for them doesnt matter. u cant blame them for thinking as such. they learnt the hard way.

thats why i keep repeating about how the current owners should be pampered by kia or naza the official people here. these people are those that matter the most if kia is serious about coming back. pampered means no long long time finding parts, sui sui servicing etc etc.

it will take years but the work start now.

as for kia in the US, they are selling good because its darn cheap over there. market in the US is very different compared to here at least in term of good after sales/ good tradition histories. they buy what they want and car makers dont really have traditional/history foot prints over there except for maybe the american and german brands

I was also quite skeptical towards Korean cars but I frequently go to Autocar website and the Elantra/i30 always gets a good review from the site and a few others.

I've also came across on articles where the VW boss, Herr Winterkorn was impressed with the quality of the i30 and his action while viewing the car and asking his team on why they can't do the same thing with their products was caught on video. He was impressed with the little details like how the wipers can't be seen from the driving position.

I would buy the Elantra without any hesitation if it is positioned at a similar price with Forte here. Sadly they put it closer to the Japanese rivals and the fact that it has less airbags compared to Forte has put me off. I really like the design but I guess that I can't have everything, low price, good features and safety. Afterall Hyundai is now charging a premium on the Elantra in the US compared to Civic and Focus.
http://www.cbt.com.my/2012/06/12/us-market...ets-price-hike/

This post has been edited by alg7_munif: Jul 16 2012, 09:57 PM

10liter/100km on econ mode? is econ mode = sport mode?

Econ = ECONomy, means slow acceleration, less power and early upshifts.

civic sound abit thristy with those kind of FC even on Econ mode...

dont think it gets to 10L per km on econ button
but it does then it wud be very scary if NOT on econ button

lucky i saw this

might really reconsider getting one as i prefer a lower consp car


what about the hybrid civic? why less demand?

People who buy hybrid would like others to know that they are different so they will choose a hybrid car which looks different. To most people, it is hard to see the difference between normal Civic and the Hybrid version, not to mention the price is also quite high.

This post has been edited by alg7_munif: Jul 16 2012, 10:13 PM

dont think the figure is correct though.
australian civic which is more or less the same like ours, been quoted 7.5litre per 100km (cbt, 2012)
no mention it was with econ button ON or not

mazda 6 2.0L only 2 airbag right ? big turnoff and no rear ac for D segment....

deep down in the heart of every Malaysian, they wanna get Honda..

unfortunately, Honda price is a bit turn off..so, just buy other cheaper model..

this is based on my experience..others may differ with me

"every Malaysian" sounds exaggerated bro, sound like a Honda die hard fan.. ppl who buy merc n beemer dont think they wan a honda.. there r many other ppl still buy other more expensive brand than honda la..