Purists might lament the fact that Toyota is developing an 8-speed automatic (8AT) for the GR Yaris but then again, if purists dictated the direction of the automotive industry, we wouldn’t even have power steering. An automatic option increases the appeal to a wider target market, which means more money to be earned and that leads to the possibility of developing more enthusiast-focused cars. Anyway, the development team behind the 8AT GR Yaris invited Japanese publication BestCarWeb to get the

Proton announced yesterday morning that it will be setting up a new subsidiary called Proton New Energy Technology Sdn. Bhd. to sell a new range of electric Smart models. The Smart brand is now part of a joint venture between Geely and Mercedes-Benz, operating under Smart Co. Ltd, based in Ningbo, near Geely’s headquarters in Zhejiang, China. Although Proton has yet to confirm Smart’s model line-up for Malaysia, the company says it aims to sell 800 to 1,000 Smart-branded electric vehicles per ye

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) just took the covers off the VW Tiguan Allspace – a 7-seater variant of the regular Tiguan. Like the regular 5-seater Tiguan, the larger 7-seater Tiguan Allspace is also locally-assembled (CKD) in Pekan, Pahang. Here’s five things we like about the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, more specifically the top-of-the-line Tiguan Allspace R-Line. 1. Seven-seater but there's a catch Compared to the regular 5-seater Tiguan, the Tiguan Allspace has a wheelbase that i

When the 2020 Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic (RM 366,785 OTR 0% SST) was launched it only had one competitor and it is the out-going and no-less fun Volkswagen Golf R. We all know that with the dated features the Golf had to offer, it doesn’t come close to the A35. But come July, with the arrival of F40 2020 BMW M135i (RM 355,646 OTR 0% SST) to our shores, the A35 now has a worthy competitor. So, how do these hot hatches compare in terms of specs? Exterior There is no denying that the BMW M135i cuts th

Mugen is synonymous with Honda, but not quite in the same way Gazoo Racing is with Toyota or STi is with Subaru. This is despite the fact that Mugen has a much longer history – since 1973 - and is the only one who can boast of victories in Formula One (1999, Jordan-Honda). For many people in this part of the world, their first encounter with the Mugen brand is on some tacky stickers on a badly modified Honda, partly because Mugen is independent from Honda, which also means that it doesn't benefi

Toyota Harrier has been in high demand since its introduction in Malaysia in January this year. Up to now, UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) has delivered over 500 units to customers throughout Malaysia, but the need is still very high and the waiting period has reportedly risen to over a year according to sources familiar with the matter. Since been corporated with Toyota Motor Corporation, UMW Toyota aims to increase the supply of the Harrier SUVs from the production lines in Japan. Hence the customers