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In Malaysia, following the Golf is the 308. It has everything the Volkswagen offers, but with a French badge adorning the front and rear instead; and with a price tag that’s significantly cheaper, the 308 also presented a strong case for itself.
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Ford Focus EcoBoost S+ | Hocus Focus

IN Ford, Focus, Hatchback, Sport+, S+, Ford Focus Sport+, 1.5-litre EcoBoost, EcoBoost, Autoconnexion, Malaysia

This is the perfect Focus in the entire range and poses a threat to all its competitors - but why is it not doing as well as it deserve?


The F-Pace, mind you, has no reference point. You want to think it feels just like a taller XE, but from an engineering point of view, that’s akin to asking Gordon Ramsay to have his dinner at, say, McDonalds — it just doesn’t make any sense.
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Jaguar F-Pace S | Keeping The Pace

IN Jaguar, F-Pace, S, Jaguar F-Pace S, F-Pace S, Jag, Wearnes Automotive, SUV, Sports SUV, Supercharged

This is Jaguar's first attempt at the sports SUV segment - does it have what it takes to intimidate the established players?


Mazda MX-5 RF - Want the open-top driving thrills from the world’s best-selling roadster ever, but also want the refinement and insulation of a metal roof? Don’t worry, Mazda’s got you covered. Meet the MX-5 RF, a retractable targa-roof version of the company’s little sports car, and one of BP’s most hotly-anticipated launches of the entire show. The metal roof and origami-like folding mechanism do add 45kg of weight over the standard fabric roof, but with an overall kerbweight of 1125kg, we have no doubt the MX-5 RF will still be an absolute hoot to drive.
Happenings

Singapore Motorshow 2017 — Part 2

IN Singapore, Singapore Motorshow 2017, Motorshow 2017, Motorshow, 2017, Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Motor Traders Association of Singapore, Mediacorp, MTA

The annual Singapore Motorshow returns with a host of new models - we highlight some here!


Toyota CH-R The turbocharged 1.2-litre Toyota CH-R obviously has one task only: To take on the Vezel/HR-V, Qashqai and Vitara and overtake them all in terms of sales when it arrives in March this year. Unsurprisingly, the number of fans eager to sign on the dotted line for this car had already started queuing up. Head over to the Toyota stand to have a closer feel of Singapore’s next best-selling compact SUV.
Happenings

Singapore Motorshow 2017 - Part 1

IN Singapore, Singapore Motorshow 2017, Motorshow 2017, Motorshow, 2017, Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Motor Traders Association of Singapore, Mediacorp, MTA

The annual Singapore Motorshow returns with a host of new models - we highlight some here!


Which got me asking myself: What other car could I buy with that money? Coming out with an extensive list of classic, sports, executive sedan and even JDM heroes, I could easily buy up to fifteen different cars. But if I decided to be practical in land-scarce Singapore, it would only boil down to three: A McLaren 650S, Range Rover Sport V6 and Ford Mustang Convertible EcoBoost. Not forgetting a Subaru Impreza WRX STI as well for, you know, track day duties…Oh no. I’ve just wasted your precious time going into my fantastically detailed fantasy. Please accept my apologies. (Cough… Cough.)
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Driving A (Real) Legend: Rolls-Royce Phantom

IN Rolls-Royce, Phantom, Phantom Series II, RR, Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II, 2016, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, BMW Asia

The last hurrah, we sample one of the most legendary (and expensive) car ever to ply our roads


But it doesn’t seem to do as well though, this latest generation. Perhaps it boils down to an exterior that could come across as ‘too bold’ for the typical Lexus customer; or it could also be due to the fact that the 2.0-litre turbocharged variant the local dealer was pushing lost out a tad in terms of refinement.
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Lexus RX 350 (Luxury) | Any Better?

IN Lexus, RX, 350, V6, Lexus GS 350, Lexus RX, Naturally-aspirated, Lexus Singapore, Borneo Motors, Sedan

The RX 200t was good, but is the bigger-engined RX 350 variant any better?


Now here’s another desirable wagon to add to the list above, and probably in the unlikeliest form too: Meet the Seat Leon ST, in FR-Line guise.
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Quick Bite: Seat Leon ST FR-Line

IN SEAT, Leon, Leon ST, 2.0 TDI, SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI, Turbodiesel, Diesel, Spain, Wagon, Family wagon, Manual, SEAT Centre Singapore

Not exactly the sort of car you would expect to deliver both fun and practicality in one comprehensive package - this Leon ST is admirably full of surprises


So what’s the difference between the two six-cylinder units? Firstly, it gets a bigger displacement; the N55 engine is a 2,979 cc unit, while the B58 is now a 2,998 cc. Secondly, BMW also increased the size of the turbocharger. Ultimately, these two changes leads to more powaaahhh…
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4 Better | BMW 440i Gran Coupe

IN BMW, 4 Series, Gran Coupe, GC, 4 Series Gran Coupe, 440i, 440i Gran Coupe, 4 er, Beemer, Performance Motors Limited, BMW Asia

Now featuring the new B58 engine, has the Gran Coupe become more desirable?


Singaporean’s love for MPVs didn’t end there though. The parallel-imported Edix entered the market and despite having a unique 3+3-seating configuration, was snapped up very quickly. At the same time, there was the wagon Airwave — even that sold like hot cakes.
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When Two Becomes One | Honda Jade RS

IN Honda, Jade, RS, Honda Jade RS, Jade RS, Honda Jade, MPV, Wagon, 2016, Kah Motor, Earth Dreams, Turbocharged, VTEC, VTEC Turbo

One of Singapore's underrated family car, why does Honda's turbocharged Jade deserve attention?


But it all changed when Apple came along and introduced the iPod. It revolutionized how we listen to music on the go, made that little gadget smaller and smaller to the point it fits your skinny jean’s pocket, along with storage space enough to store all of Hillary Clinton’s — ahem — thousands of missing e-mails… and their attachments.
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Almost Sussed Out | Lexus GS 200t

IN Lexus, GS, 200t, Turbocharged, Lexus GS 200t, Lexus GS, Turbocharged, Lexus Singapore, Borneo Motors, Sedan

Now with a turbocharged engine option, can the GS finally send a tough warning to BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz?


The transmission’s adaptive shift strategy monitors acceleration and brake inputs, lateral cornering forces, kickdown requests and even the severity of gradients, before choosing one of 25 pre-determined programmes to seamlessly adapt to driver behaviour and road conditions. Sportier driving triggers more aggressive gearshifts and defers upshifts until higher revs, for instance.
Happenings

SVR Range Rover Has Landed

IN Land Rover, Range Rover, SVR, Special Vehicle Operations, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Sport SVR, Nürburgring Nordschleife

A powerful sports car on stilts? Looking at the numbers, it seems so - you can have one now


But now the Japanese are beginning to get slightly adventurous, going against their conventional norm so to speak. They’re giving us family-friendly cars with — wait for it — powaaah. Gentlemen meet the new turbocharged Honda Civic VTEC Turbo and Subaru Levorg, two cars that would also make the solo drive to and from work more entertaining.Previously we’ve reviewed both the Subaru and then Honda separately, so now just because they’re both the only turbocharged Japanese family sedan with ‘medium-sized’ engines, we decided to bring them together for this story.
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Twin Test: Honda Civic VTEC Turbo, Subaru Levorg GT-S

IN Honda, Civic, VTEC Turbo, Honda Civic VTEC Turbo, Subaru, Levorg, GT-S, Subaru Levorg GT-S, Turbocharged, Sedan, Wagon, Kah Motor, Motor Image, Singapore

We paired these two turbocharged Japanese family cars to see which one is more worthy of your hard-earned moolah


Now revived thanks to a new dealer (the same people who brought in the Chery brand), the Spanish brand’s foothold in the local automotive scenery seems positive. The dealer has gotten it all sorted — they’ve hired a PR agency, the publicity tactic looks (and sounds) properly thought out and most importantly, a good product range.With us today is the 5-door family hatchback.
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Quick Bite: SEAT Leon 1.2 TSI

IN SEAT, Leon, 1.2 TSI, SEAT Leon 1.2 TSI, Spain, Hatchback, Family hatchback, Manual, SEAT Centre Singapore

The Spanish brand is now available locally again, and the aggressive product assault means consumers are the big winners; this Leon is at the forefront


To make it even worst for Honda, the local Mazda dealer then aggressively marketed the 3; this in turn became another success story, and so whenever the general public looked into this segment, the Corolla Altis, Jetta and 3 were the obvious choices. Even the Fit/Jazz audience who wanted an upgrade looked elsewhere - if in the past they would trade it in for a Civic, the parallel-imported Vezel was the model they would go after instead.
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Repeating History | Honda Civic VTEC Turbo

IN Honda Civic, Honda, Civic, Civic sedan, 10th Generation, 10th-gen Civic, VTEC Turbo, VTEC, Turbocharged

Expectations are high with the 10th-gen Civic, so now that it's here, can it regain what its predecessor had lost?


The weight of the NSX project laid mostly on your shoulders. What are the three things that inspired you while engineering this car?Certainly I’m the large project leader, but the nice thing about working on this project is that I work with a group of passionate people around me. So I think the ‘weight’ is nicely distributed, giving me confidence everyday.The three things that inspired me? Well, I think people tend to look at the NSX as ‘just a product’; but actually it’s a concept created by Honda, the brand’s pinnacle sports car at that. I met the original team behind the original NSX, and that meeting alone inspired me to recreate the core essence of the NSX — we needed to bring that back, along with new technology. The second thing that inspired me was meeting certain people within the organization; without the need for any proof, they just jumped into this crazy project, with brand new technologies, and sticking to the timeline. It’s just inspiring to see these people take up that challenge.Lastly it’s meeting the NSX owners group and observing how passionate they are. They’re a diverse bunch — at the same time, very open-minded, encouraging us to make something new and world-class.
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One-to-One: Ted Klaus, Chief Engineer, NSX project

IN Honda, Honda NSX, NSX project, Ted Klaus, Chief Engineer, New NSX

Burnpavement spoke to the man behind the new Honda NSX, finding out the challenges he faced - and we found out he has a Honda S2000 too!


How has development of the car, in terms of both aerodynamics and engine, have been for you this season?It is great. To be honest the position we were in last year, that was not where we wanted to be. I think we’ve worked on a lot of issues over winter and throughout this season, and now we’ve put ourselves in a position where we are ready to fight for points at every race. Definitely, we are a step forward here and that to me is very impressive. The Honda engine has improved a lot — its deployment is giving us an advantage.For the aerodynamics, we have given it a lot of work too, which is why, overall, I’m very happy.
Motorsports

BP Exclusive: 10 Minutes With Alonso

IN Fernando Alonso, Alonso, McLaren-Honda, McLaren, Honda, Formula One, F1, 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore, 2016

A rough 2016 season for the Spaniard so far, is Fernando Alonso losing his spark?


What is this?Meet the new convertible Cooper S. It’s the fourth variant - in the current F56-generation MINI line up - to be introduced here, after the Cooper S, Cooper S 5-door and Cooper S Clubman.
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Quick Bite: MINI Cooper S Convertible

IN MINI, Cooper S, Convertible, BMW, MINI Cooper S Convertible, Cooper, Turbocharged, Eurokars Habitat, BMW Asia

Without a solid metal roof, can the Convertible provide equal driving fun?


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Slimming Pill | Mercedes-Benz C180 Coupe

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes, Merc, C-Class Coupe, C-Class, C180 Coupe, C180, Coupe, Cycle & Carriage Industries

The C-Class Sedan took a slimming pill and the result is rather satisfying


It’s the same with this Lexus IS 200t, particularly in F-Sport guise. I reckon both designers and engineers all had it nice and dandy while working on this car - because everything felt right, more so after you compare it next to the current German offerings.
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So, So Pleasant | Lexus IS 200t F-Sport

IN Lexus, IS, 200t, Turbocharged, Lexus IS 200t, F-Sport, IS 200t F-Sport, Lexus Singapore, Borneo Motors, Sedan

While looking at the A4, 3 Series and C-Class, did you overlook the turbocharged IS?


But between the 207 and the 208, there was a rather long pause for a successful Peugeot model. And during that period, two generations of the Honda Jazz hit our market and succeeded, COE prices went up and 10-year loans are no longer possible.
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Could This Be The Magic? | Peugeot 208 1.2(A)

IN Peugeot, 208, 1.2, Pug, Peugeot 208 1.2, Compact hatchback, Hatchback, 5-doors, French hatch, AutoFrance

The diesel 208 that debuted in 2013 struggled in terms of local sales, but could this updated petrol version change Peugeot's luck?



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