Today is the last day of the year 2008. So many things happened this year, some brings joy & some are not. Whatever it is, I must cherish those moments as I’m glad it’s already passed. So, now I’m looking forward for a new challenge in 2009.
I called this 2008 year as my Travelling Year and hoping the year 2009 will be much more than that!
So, Salam Awal Muharram 1430 Hijrah & Happy New Year 2009!
First and foremost, before I go on with my views, I’m not a Honda or even a Toyota fan. I’m neutral. So, I just wanna write something about what I have in mind with some little experience on cars. I’m not going into the technical details but I can give some opinions & views as a normal car owner/buyer/user with what we need, wants, hopes & dreams. What I’ve said in this entry has nothing to do with anybody. Just to share some of my opinions. So, here we go.
I went for a quick look at Honda Kosmokars showroom in Glenmarie Shah Alam during my lunch on the launch date. And I did manage to have a test drive on the new Honda City. My first impression when I looked at the car, I said to myself, “Toyota Vios gonna lose big time…this new Honda City will definitely outclass Toyota Vios..” .. why? Just take a quick look at the above picture and what’s on your mind compared to the Toyota Vios? So, you knew the answer already just by looking at it, am I right?
Okay, lets talk about this new Honda City. It comes with two models, S spec & E spec, where the E spec is the high spec version and it costs you RM89,980 on the road while the S spec is RM84,980.
The new design of its exterior is great. I couldn’t ask for more. The front is excellent, while the back is okay, but not so great. Whatever it is, the design is definitely will be the talk of the town when comparing it to the Toyota Vios.
Interior wise, great cool design but slightly a bit lower quality compared to the previous Honda City. It looks expensive though. What I like about the interior is the steering with paddle shift and some controls on the steering. As for the meter panel, it has a feature where you will know how far can you go in kilometre with the petrol load you have on the car. So, it’s kinda unreasonable if you stuck somewhere with an empty tank. Hehehe…
The new Honda City comes with the new 1.5 litre i-VTEC SOHC engine (120PS/145nM torque) with Drive-By-Wire technology. It is a new engine with higher power to boost up the performance of the car. Another great feature is the 5 speed automatic transmission gearbox with Paddle Shift (E spec only). This is what I hoped for. Why?
Someone asked me, why is it so important to have a 5 speed automatic gearbox? Well, in each car, there is RPM speedometer with usual numbers 7 – 9 is in the redline. The numbers are represented as thousand of RPM (Rotations Per Minute). Whenever the gear changed from first to second and so on, the RPM needle meter lowers also changed to a lower RPM. It is a simple concept and everybody knows that if we use higher RPM, the engine will get heat and if we sustain on higher RPM for too long, the engine can get overheat. What does this gotta do with the transmission?
The transmission lets the engine running smoothly by changing to a higher gear with lower RPM. Thus, it will make the engine can be use for a longer life time by not making the engine to overwork. The conventional 4 speed automatic gearbox runs at 110km/h with 3,500 – 4,000 RPM. That means the engine is working 3,500 – 4000 rotations per minute. And at these RPM for some cars, you can hear the loud sound of the engine like it is working hard. This is not so good for running the engine for long term.
So, the 5 speed automatic gearbox lets you run the engine at 110km/h with 2,200 – 2,500 RPM which makes the engine running smoothly without loud engine sound. So, what can you conclude by noticing the RPM differences between 4 & 5 speed automatic gearbox? Yeah, 5 speed automatic gearbox can save more petrol because it’s running on lower RPM. Easy concept isn’t it? So, the 5 speed automatic trasmission will not only save your engine for long-term, but also saves you petrol usage. Some other car brands like BMW & Mercedes, they have 6 & 7 speed automatic transmission gearbox as standard.
It also has Shift Hold Control which enables you to reduce unnecessary gear changes in cornering and supplies acceleration immediately after making a turn. And there are also some new highlights in this new Honda City but it’s not that important to explain it about.
The suspension is nice too as I didn’t feel any swerve on hard corners. Some people doesn’t like a mild hard suspension setup, some people like soft suspension setup. As for me, I like a combination of soft & hard suspension setup as it gives me higher confidence to drive in any conditions especially on corners. The antiroll bar is quite big and it does have a huge impact to lessen the body roll. It also comes with 16 inch rims for E spec while the S spec with 15 inch rims.
So, if you ask me about the comparison between this new Honda City with Toyota Vios, the answer is simple. I will choose the new Honda City anytime. It’s not that I’m a fan of Honda or something. But for me, Honda Malaysia has pull themself away from the conventional UMW Toyota. Don’t mad at me as I’m working with UMW too but not UMW Toyota. I can get discounts anytime if I were to purchase any Toyota cars but I will not buy any Toyota cars unless they bring in the new design with good and expensive look interior, rather than a cheapskate interior just like in Toyota Vios. And after all, Toyota Vios is still using the old technology engine with the old 4 speed automatic gearbox. Not much of new features like the new Honda City. At least Honda knows what the consumer needs.
Well, some people told me that even Honda comes with attractive design & features, it still cannot beat Toyota sales because our people described Toyota as a reliable car. Yes, it is true. But I’m a Honda owner too. I haven’t had a problem with my car at all. My car is reliable too. For me, reliability is one thing, and looks is another thing. Sometimes, you can’t have both. But Honda managed to hear what the car enthusiast wants & needs and they did it. But my point here is not the Toyota as overall, I only pointed it to UMW Toyota in Malaysia. Toyota in Japan & USA did a very good job with their cool designs & features that meet customers need. They are selling very well and always on top of the list of car makers in those countries. While Toyota in Malaysia, maybe they just want to get higher profits by minimized the car features by using some cheap items and sell it at high prices. I’m not assuming or condemning but this is fact and all car enthusiasts know about this very well. So, don’t blame me as I’m not the only one who said this…hehehe. The only way for Toyota to bring in new car designs and great features is by parting with UMW and be on its own, just like Honda Malaysia.
So, as a conclusion, as I said, with the whole new car design and attractive features, I will pick Honda City anytime over Toyota Vios. Full Stop. Go and have a test drive at your nearest showroom. The car has great design, great interior, save more petrol, smooth engine, more power and so much more. No wonder upon launching, there are almost 5000 bookings all over Malaysia.
More pics at http://www.flickr.com/irwandy
More info at http://www.honda.com.my
“Hi Mr CEO. U tak segan ke lunch dgn org biasa mcm i ni? 
“
Ariel hanya mampu gelak ketawa. Pandai Lisa perli Ariel. Lalu Ariel membalas SMS Lisa.
“CEO tu jawatan bila bekerja. Bila luar kerja dan jumpa dgn u, i jadi org biasa gak. Kita ni sama je ok? So, boleh ke lunch esok? Kat mana?”
Lisa dengan pantas membalas SMS Ariel.
“Baiklah Mr CEO. I kat memana pun boleh. I takut u je nak jumpa kat tempat yg mahal2. I ni kat mamak pun boleh :p”
Sekali lagi Ariel gelak ketawa. Rasa mengantuknya serta merta hilang. Sungguh tajam Lisa perli Ariel, lalu Ariel pun cepat-cepat membalas SMS…
“Haha, kuat perli gak u ni. I pun tak kisah kat memana. Mamak pun mamak la. Tapi sebagai tanda maaf, i nak belanja u makan kat Chili’s One Utama esok kul 1pm. Ok?”
Dan Lisa pun membalas…
“Ok. As you wish Mr CEO. C U there at 1pm. Gudnite..”
Ariel tersenyum melihat SMS balas Lisa. Tetapi Ariel mula terfikir bagaimana dan apa yang dia hendak jelaskan kepada Lisa. Ariel sudah menguap kembali. Dia malas hendak memikirkan sangat. Lalu Ariel pun baring di atas katil dan tertidur.
*********************************************************************************
Pukul 12.50 tengahari, Ariel menunggu di depan Chili’s One Utama. Ariel masih menantikan Lisa yang belum muncul lagi. Ariel sengaja muncul awal kerana dia mahu membuat kejutan untuk Lisa. Segala perancangan untuk kejutan itu sudah diatur Ariel dengan krew Restoran Chili’s. 1 minit sebelum pukul 1.00 tengahari, Lisa muncul dengan senyumannya yang manis.
“Hi Ariel, dah lama tunggu?” sapa Lisa.
“Hi Lisa, thanks for coming. I baru je sampai. Jom masuk..” jawab Ariel sambil berjalan seiringan dengan Lisa memasuki restoran Chili’s. Lalu mereka pun duduk di tempat yang disediakan.
Mereka pun duduk di sudut yang selesa dan tidak bising seperti yang diminta oleh Ariel sebelum Lisa tiba tadi. Mereka berdua memesan makanan masing-masing dan setelah pelayan Chili’s beredar, Ariel memulakan perbualannya.
“Lisa, dari tadi senyap je…macam tak selesa je…”
“Takde ape. I’m okay. Tapi memang la tak selesa sebab I makan dengan CEO…” jawab Lisa secara sinis.
“Hahaha. Sampai camtu sekali you perli I eh? Dahsyat juga you ni. I boleh bayangkan kalau you merajuk. Hehehe…” Ariel hanya mampu tergelak. Kemudian Ariel menyambung lagi.
“Lisa, I rasa I tak tipu you kan. I cuma belum berterus terang je. Bila kita keluar sebelum ni, segala perangai, cara I berpakaian dan cara I tu semua, that’s me. Apa yang you lihat selama kita kenal, itulah diri I. Itu I langsung tak tipu. I hanya menjadi diri sendiri seadanya…” Ariel menjelaskan keadaan sebenar lalu menyambung lagi.
“Ok, sekarang I nak terus terang semua dengan you. Yes, I’m the CEO of that multinational company. I took over the company from my father last 2 years. I pun masih merangkak lagi. Kawan baik ayah yang banyak tolong I dalam pengurusan syarikat selama 2 tahun ni. I banyak belajar dengan dia dan ayah yang jadi penasihat I di rumah…”
Ariel terus menceritakan mengenai dirinya dan lisa mendengar dengan penuh minat sambil memandang mata Ariel. Ternyata Ariel tidak berbohong. Betul juga kata Ariel. Ariel tidak pernah menipu Lisa. Cuma dia belum berterus terang mengenai statusnya. Cuma Lisa memikirkan tentang Ariel yang sangat sempurna kehidupannya sebagai seorang lelaki muda yang berjaya.
“Lisa, tu semua jawatan I bila di pejabat je. Bila luar pejabat, this is how you see me. Inilah diri I. Takde beza pun. Dari awal you kenal I sampai sekarang, I masih macam tu je. I tak tipu you kan? Hehehe. Cuma I tak suka sangkut pautkan hal kerja dengan personal life. Bila kat office, diorang panggil I ‘boss’. Tapi bila kat luar, I minta diorang panggil I Ariel. Lagipun I suka anggap diorang macam kawan I bila luar office. Lebih senang dan takde rasa awkward…”
“Hmm, okay. I appreciate you terus terang dengan I. At least I dapat tau siapa diri you yang sebenar. Dan I harap lepas ni you tak selindung apa-apa dari I lagi. I memang tak suka perkenalan kita ni bermula dengan penipuan. Nanti dah lama berkawan, asyik tipu je. Tak boleh la macam tu kan.” jawab Lisa dengan tenang.
“I faham. Seratus persen I faham. I pun tak suka menipu bila berkawan. Kalau kita tipu sekali, nanti segala apa yg berlaku lepas tu pun boleh jadi tipu. So, biarlah I terus terang je selalu. Senang sikit kan…” Ariel pula menjawab dan menyatakan pendapatnya.
Ariel memberi isyarat kepada krew restoran Chili’s dan salah seorang daripada mereka mengangguk lalu mula membawa makanan yang mereka pesan diiringi dengan sejambak bunga ros berwarna pink. Ariel mengambil sejambak bunga itu lalu diberikannya kepada Lisa dengan senyuman penuh makna.
“Ehh..untuk apa ni Ariel?” tanya Lisa dengan nada terkejut.
“Sebagai tanda minta maaf daripada I…” jawab Ariel dengan senyumannya yang manis.
“Takkan sampai camni sekali…terima kasih banyak-banyak Ariel! I really appreciate it!..” jawab Lisa dengan perasaan gembira sambil menerima sejambak bunga pink yang cantik itu daripada Ariel. Lisa terus membau bunganya itu.
“Pandai you pilih bunga ni. It’s my favourite!” jelas Lisa.
“Oh ya?..kebetulan pulak ye. I main belasah je beli tadi. But it’s good that you liked it. Lega!..hehe..” jawab Ariel dengan nada bergurau.
Mereka pun mula menjamah hidangan yang dipesan sambil berbual-bual mesra. Hampir sejam setengah mereka duduk di situ dan masih tidak lagi jemu berbual. Jam sudah menunjukkan jam 2.30pm. Terlalu banyak perkara yang mereka bualkan. Mereka berdua ingin mengetahui dan mengenali diri masing-masing.
“Lisa, duduk lama-lama kat sini nanti bosan pulak. Boleh you temankan I window shopping? Itupun kalau you free.” Ariel memecah kesunyian dengan pertanyaannya.
“Boleh sangat Ariel. I memang free. Takde buat apa-apa pun hari ni. Jom!” jawab Lisa dengan girang.
Mereka pun keluar daripada restoran Chili’s untuk berjalan-jalan sekeliling One Utama. Ariel ingin mencari sepasang kasut Hush Puppies kesukaannya. Bagi Ariel, ianya murah dan selesa untuk dipakai. Mereka pun menuju ke butik Hush Puppies yang berdekatan di situ.
Ariel sedang membelek kasut untuk dibelinya sambil meminta pendapat daripada Lisa. Tiba-tiba ada satu suara yang cukup dia kenal menyapanya…
“Hi Ariel!..What a coincidence!..”
To be continued…
As you noticed my name on the poster, I’ll be performing. Jom!