Gents,
My family and I are coming back to Malaysia soon after a few years overseas. So now we need to figure out what kind of car to buy. We had a Nissan Slyphy before that my wife adores and she thinking about continuing the Slyphy saga by buying another one. I had my mistakes with new cars that depreciates like hell after only its 1st year so this time around I'll just go for used ones. Maybe a 2 year old car? I'll get a better bargain and tak sakit hati.

I am looking for a family car that is reliable, fuel efficient, safe and not prone to car jackers with a budget of around RM80k - RM100k. A Nissan Slyphy 2011 cost around RM83k and a 2011 Volvo S40 would cost around RM100k. Only those 2 models caught my eyes. I know what an Slyphy can do in terms of performance, fuel efficiency and safety. Also most importantly not a preferred car by pencuri kereta. So how about the Volvo S40? What can I expect from it? Yes I know the maintenance is much more than the Slyphy (well this is a premium car...duhhh) but whats more important is the peace of mind. So guys, pls educate me.

P/S: This is for the wife, I'm getting myself an Audi TT an a HD Street Bob....hehehehhe

Bro since you can afford de Audi TT and why not get A4 together?

Sylphy is safety car and also cheaper maintenance car.

Nothing worst or less. If you can top up another Rm25k and get brand new Sylphy comes with Xtronic Gearbox for better ride and no more gb issue again.

Not gonna get a new car ever again. I'll just stick to a used car. The car is for my wife, so better not too powerful. Even with our old Slyphy she was already going 180kmh w/o realizing it. Think what she can do with an A4

owh btw, the not enuf money to buy the TT yet. Kene kumpul duit dulu...long term project.

This post has been edited by Xenolth77: Jan 14 2013, 06:50 AM

Sorry what you meant for?

You had own a old sylphy already and wanna replace with sylphy 2011 model?

Sylphy is nobody said that car is not powerful car, my Livina 1.8L can do 190km/h maximum.

If the sylphy put on meter 280km/h and then how fast can go with maximum speed?

Ha ha..

This post has been edited by kimsim: Jan 14 2013, 06:56 AM

the brand is premium..interior is premium..but a bit tight and it's a actually mazda 3/ford focus twin brother. the safest choice is nissan sylphy. regarding the depreciation value, if u gonna use it for short term it's ok to buy 2nd hand. but try to look for cars tht still have proper service record and warranty (max 2 yrs old).

The Sylphy is a safe car?

How about a second hand Focus?

I actually like the newer volvos, but it's not the most reliable cars out there

get the sylphy if u don't want any headaches, it's a very nice car to drive and to be a passenger even with that look.

A Ford? I've never thought about an American brand before. Will I have troubles with parts, maintenance etc as much as a Slyphy? I know the price will drop lower than a Slyphy....but that is a good idea. I'll look into that...thanks!

S40t is good.. just that need to pray hard.. the parts is expensive.. but a 1yo car should not spoil yet...

car parts wise, the reality in malaysia, J cars are way better resourced than conti..

Getting the parts from Singapore I have no problem at all getting anything I could ever want for my Renault. At good prices. In Malaysia itself it is a bit harder, yes.

Ford is a German brand. At least the models on sale in Malaysia are as German as it gets, with the exception of the Ranger.

Volvo has a bad reputation in Malaysia, however it is best to ask owners and to source for parts before deciding to buy it. People also warned me of Renault, but so far it was quite trouble free and cheap to run. I am in the fortunate position to be able to import parts from Europe and Singapore though.

my v0te g0es t0 sylphy

My vote goes to the s40... never miss to have a good look at my neighbour's s40 everytime i passby...

detected fallacies in previous entry..

Slyphy is a safe car? Who said that again? and you comparing it with S40 for safety?

Volvo parts expensive? Driving swift now, found out suzuki parts more unrealistic.

Those statement mislead people like you, do proper research and you homework. Not sure which part of overseas you've been but I reckon it must be ASEAN country thats why 'Nissan' steal one of the options..

Here's my take on it. You are getting the Audi TT. Very nice,love that car. This car will need alot of attention if you want to enjoy it's full driving potential. Need to source around for a good workshop for the service and maintenance.

Having got the Audi,what you need is a reliable workhorse that will never let you down. IMO the Nissan is perfect.

You'll have a car you like and also a car that your wife likes. In reality, the Audi will be a dream to drive and the Nissan a reliable backup!

I know this is an old thread, but one what planet can the Sylphy be considered safe? Or compared to what? A kapcai? The Sylphy is an ASEAN spec Japanese car. It is nowhere near the S40. The Ford Focus may be compared to the S40 (and would probably lose, but not by a large margin). Heck, in an accident I'd rather be in a smaller Fiesta than the Sylphy. Should have much better chances of survival. And less likely to have an accident in the first place.

get teh volvo with powershift gearbox....absolutely lovely

get the s60 5 years service and warranty total peace of mind

STAY AWAY!

Volvo's quality has dropped over the years! You'll be getting a headache if you buy one...

Anyone got any opinion on this car?


This post has been edited by mechanicalKB: Apr 17 2013, 03:12 PM

There is a XV thread somewhere here. Basically it is a slightly lifted Impreza hatchback that doesn't even have a bigger boot. As a car, a Focus is probably better, safer and more affordable. If you need a mild offroader though or want that sitting position...

Is the focus a bigger vehicle than this XV? Also has the focus the 5 star NCAP rating that the XV have?

Can share how is the focus better? Price wise its cheaper youre right otherwise how 'better'?

Thanks for sharing more info

The Focus has 5 stars, and it comes in the spec that has actually achieved 5 stars. The XV only has 3 airbags (having a knee airbag, but no side and curtain airbags is a very odd choice). As such it would have no chance of achieving 5 stars due to a lack of protection from side impacts. Frontal impacts it will be fine. I'd expect the Proton CFE to do better in a side impact than the XV (though it only has 4 airbags, the CFE that is).
http://www.euroncap.com/results/ford/focus/2012/430.aspx
http://www.euroncap.com/results/subaru/xv/2012/470.aspx
The Focus clearly performed better than the XV... and the European XV has side and curtain airbags as standard, and thus was tested with them. Leave them away and it is nowhere near the Focus.

As for space I'm not sure. I've only seen the XV at a shopping center (that boot... wow). It does look quite nice and tough. My only expieriences with the Focus is with the wagon version of it, and those obviously have quite a lot of space. The Focus + is well speced (active city brakes... the car will stop if necessary to avoid an accident, HID (those aftermarket ones are usually not good and don't improve safety (probably making things worse), but factory installed HID is usually excellent and very useful, without blinding others), and the Titanium+ adds a system to warn you if there is something next to you that you can't see in the mirrors.

I'd say if you want/need AWD, the Subaru is a good choice. If not, I can think of few reasons (except for the ugly air intakes) that speak against the Focus and in favor of the Subaru. Safer, probably better handling and comfort, better equipped with useful features, ... and the Subaru SC according to the XV thread is rather expensive and bad.

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Apr 17 2013, 04:20 PM

Well written and commented. Thanks for the detailed sharing.

You made good points for the Focus. You must be an owner of one since you know so much of it. Unfortunately, it's a small car and one for those that have no kids. Great for those that are below 30s.

problem is only 3 years warranty, very very very small parts inventory meaning waiting 3-4 months for parts, extremely expensive parts once warranty over.

i'd avoid like a plauge

Nope, not an owner. I had a rental Focus for a day which had some damage (made a weird noise... wooo-wooo-wooo depending on how fast I drove), but which otherwise was a very fine car... prefered it over the Golfs I drove before (4 and 5+).

As usual my advice is: Get parts from Singapore, especially if you drive a conti (I have a Renault). Usually parts there are immediately available in stock and cost less (for Renault it's usually between 1/3 and 2/3). My SC will install these parts for me, and even gives me part numbers so I can acquire the parts. Not sure how Ford does it, and of course the further you are from Singapore the less attractive this may be.

Any car has problems, but I personally think the overall package from Ford is a good and appealing one. YMMV.

its a known fact SDAC doesn't do anything about the poor parts, i'll be damned if i have to travel to get my own parts, i'll just not buy your car period.

my money still on volvo 5 years warranty and long history of being in malaysia plus their assembly based has been moved here

Well, if the choice is between Volvo and Ford, yeah, the Volvo is quite tempting (but the servicing costs they listed on their website? wow.)

Anyway, I don't mind doing day trips to Singapore. Can go shopping, go for a walk, enjoy good food that you can't get in JB, ... and I think most brands spare parts will be cheaper there, plus you can get OEM parts.

I pity your wife. You are willing to splurge an Audi TT on yourself but you spend pittance on wife car, second hand 2011 Volvo S40?

Come on, man. Spend more, don't be a cheapskate. Give her at least a 3 series beemer.