Road Test: Geely CK

This car targets younger families who wish to ‘upgrade’ their lifestyle with a private vehicle to bring the spouse and kids around town

Text by Andy Hum / Photos by Adrian Wong

CARS in Singapore don’t come cheap these days. Not that they were ever cheap anyway, but the costs of ownership have become so prohibitive. With constant rises at the fuel pumps and the population of ERP gantries threatening to outnumber traffic lights, is it still possible to own a car without having a seven-digit bank balance?

When the Chinese first introduced their home-made cars to the world, it wasn’t met with open arms. Reports on the web and even on YouTube showed clearly how poorly their cars performed in crash tests.

And that was on top of the endless criticisms they faced for copying designs.

Read more about this car review on the Geely CK.

Nomadic aspirations of the urban kind

Road Test – Nissan Qashqai 2.0 (A)

Text and photos by Amery Reuben

Nissan Qashqai

SAY hello to the Qashqai, Nissan’s latest in-breeding effort to develop the once elusive “mini sport utility” vehicle. Nissan hopes that this car’s demographic will be itinerants, sparking a sense of adventure in everyone.

This smaller, European being exists to complement the Murano, and yes, it is European. Despite being conceived in Japan back in 2003, the Nissan Qashqai is really about as European as a Japanese-made entity can exist today. It was penned down by Nissan Design Europe, which is based in Paddington, London. Then, it was engineered and developed at Nissan’s Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK, and for the British market, is built alongside the Note and Micra in Sunderland.

While we’re most likely to receive stocks from Nissan’s assembly line in Japan, differences are negligible. That aside, Nissan realises that not everyone needs such a big car, especially here in Singapore. And for many here, being who they are, would rather live with just the image of owning an SUV, without the associated gadgetry, complications or costs for that matter. It’s a car all right.

Read more about this car review on Nissan Qashqai.

Comparison – Honda Accord 2.0 and Toyota Camry 2.0

Executive Orders…
By Jegan Das Haridas of SGCarMart.com, photos by Amery Reuben

Upon introduction of the redesigned and chassis-stretched 6th Generation Camry in 2006, Toyota showed why it was the benchmark in the mid-sized sedan category by offering superior levels of comfort, drive and fuel economy.

Facelift after facelift, the car has received much kudos from automotive critics and consumers alike. Their repeated record sales figures stand testament to their success. Honda on the other hand, have found themselves struggling over time to keep up with the momentum the Camry has built in this highly competitive market. The 7th Generation, US Accord garnered bad reception, most resorted to parallel imported, JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) solutions. Has Honda lost its plot? Well, it did, but not anymore.

Read more on this comparison car review.

Road Test – MINI Cooper S 1.6 JCW

By Amery Reuben
Photos by Darren Huang

You know that saying that goes something like “the top speed and 0-100 timings of your car correlates to the size of your wallet?” We can’t find a more fitting car than your John Cooper Works (JCW) tuned Mini Cooper S.

Currently an in-house signature at MINI, the JCW phenomenon originated from the late John Cooper, a race-driver who turned the seemingly sedate, original Mini into the scorching Cooper S that we know of today.

Obviously, aside from bigger exhaust cowlings, John Cooper Works decals have been plastered all over the car, from the front grille to the boot lid, and on top of the air filter – unmistakable signs that differentiate you from “normal” MINI Cooper S-es (pun intended).

Read more on this MINI Cooper car review.

Road Test – Ford S Max 2.3

S for Sporty. Or sloppy…
Article and photos by Amery Reuben of SGCarMart.com

Ford’s “New Edge” design certainly gives it the edge. A very blunt one. The 2007 S-Max came too little, too late, and it looks more like a Japanese puffer fish more than your average soccer mom’s mode of transport.

Although the front end of this car is relatively boring, you can’t help but feel this is one of Ford’s better designs, crammed with upbeat details like a heavily raked windscreen that lets in way too much sunlight, wide fenders with impressions of gills behind the front wheels, skewed windows and much more.

Despite all that, our younger, “gen-Xers” didn’t seem too violently opposed towards this vehicle, and our materialistic, Ferrari worshipping girlfriends didn’t wretch in its presence either, so we take that to be a good thing.

Read more on this Ford car review.

Road Test – Suzuki SX4 1.6 (A)

A winner perhaps?
Article and photos by Fandy of SGCarMart.com

When I set out to review this car, I imagined myself as a family oriented, budget conscious and practicality-over-style kind of man. I imagined myself to be of average financial status with a family of four. I need a car that is able to fit my family. I need a car that will give me the most mileage on a single tank of petrol. I need a car with a boot that can take my child’s tricycle, my wife’s shopping bags and more. I need a car that is comfortable. I need a car that is safe. I need a car that is not too much of a hassle to drive and maintain. I need a car that is not too expensive. I need a car.

Going by that checklist, there are a couple of options for the man like me. There are a couple of Toyotas, a few Hondas, a Mitsubishi or two and a couple more from other car makers. This market is one of the most competitive markets in the automotive sector with car makers constantly producing cars with a lot more for the same price range.

Enter the Suzuki SX4 sedan.

Read more on this Suzuki car review.

Used cars vs New cars

Let us weigh the pros and cons for you
by Xpert, powered by SG Car Mart

Advantages of New Car

Perhaps the most attractive advantage of buying a new car is its warranty. Usually, the car warranty comes with free car servicing. A new car is equip with new paintwork, new tyres, new engine and the likes. Considering that the car is brand new, you can rest assure that the car is accident-free. The owner is at liberty to customise the accessories for the car, such as its car bodykit and car spoiler. Psychologically, the owner of a new car will probably experience a euphoria high from purchasing a brand new item. Lastly, new car interest rate is relatively lower, translating to lower interest paid for a new car loan compared to a used car loan.

Advantages of Used Car

Purchasing a used car means that you are paying much less as compared to a new car of similar model. Furthermore, a used car depreciates less as the first owner has already absorbed most of the loss. More often than not, additional car accessories do not raise the price of the car. You probably be able to get a fully-equipped used car with super stereos and racing add-ons at a greatly discounted price. For some models that are no longer in production, they can still be found in the used car market. If the previous owner takes good care of the car, you may be buying a used car at almost new condition, but at a much lower price.

When buying a used car, LTA will impose a transfer fee of $10 + 2% of the value of the vehicle. Buyer to borne the transfer fee.

Learn more about the differences between used and new car.

Buying A Car? Consider These Points

Make sure you’ve done your research and thought out how much you can afford. Your cost should include the downpayment and monthly installments, COE, insurance, road tax, maintenance and petrol costs
By Samuel Ng

To buy a new car is always a major investment that should merit serious financial consideration, especially if it’s your first time. We can all be somewhat idealistic when thinking of driving around in our dream set of wheels. But one really has to face the reality that a vehicle is a very big purchase. So don’t just go to the showroom or walk into that car dealership blindly.

Make sure you’ve done your research and thought out in terms of dollars and cents just how much you can afford to buy a new car. Your cost should include the downpayment and monthly installments, COE, insurance, road tax, maintenance and petrol costs.

From there you can strike off certain models and, having narrowed down your search, you can now deduce which car best suits your needs and fits well within your budget.

Read more on tips on how to buy a car.

Groovy, Baby!

If it isn’t broke, why fix it? To make it better, perhaps? This was apparently the case for the second generation MINI. 88DB took the new top-of-the-line MINI Cooper S for a spin and gives you the low down of this feature-rich automobile.

Taking its cue from the legendary MINI designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, the new MINI was an instant hit when it first hit the roads in 2001. It was not quite the fuel-sipper its predecessor was but it quickly became a fashion icon.

Hopping in the car quickly changed our personality. We were suddenly morphed into attention-grabbing, fun-loving people. And we were glad that it hasn’t changed much from the first generation MINI. So what exactly has changed?

Cosmetically, changes can be easily missed to the undiscerning eye. BMW (the owner of MINI) claims that the entire body is brand-new and nothing can be swapped with the first generation MINI.

If you look hard enough (side by side, no less), you will notice that the new MINI is slightly taller, wider and longer. A dead giveaway could be the addition of the rear fog lamps.

Under the hood, the engine is completely new. The whiney Cooper S supercharger power plant makes way for the more efficient turbocharger unit. Now for it’s interiors, it’s as plush as you would expect from a BMW car (and a car of this price) but the MINI adds a tinge of fun to it. To name just a few: the driver-controllable ambient lights has 5 colours to choose from, it sports old-style toggle switches and a humongous speedometer that would work against you if you were ever caught speeding. While we were content with the earlier model, we are certainly not complaining about having a better car around the block. The new MINI Cooper S has swung us around and we are in love, baby.

The engine put out 175bhp and some 240Nm of torque starting at 1,600rpm, bringing the MINI Cooper S to 100km/h in a fraction of over 7 seconds. But you would be missing the point if you were expecting faster numbers. The Cooper S isn’t about raw speed or power. We found this out quickly (no pun intended!) when we tossed it into the back-roads and turns. Calling it a plush go-kart on steroids is apt.