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The ubiquitous 3 Series has been famous worldwide as BMW's primary people-mover since 1975. Currently in it's seventh generation and codenamed G20, it's getting a mid-cycle refresh, or what BMW calls Life Cycle Impulse, or LCI. Outside The LCI G20 is set to come standard with full LED headlights, with adaptive LED headlights optionally available. The latter will feature a cornering light function, non-dazzling matrix high beam, dynamic headlight range control and variable light distribution to make driving at night that much safer for the driver as well as other road u sers. The headlights themselves will be sleeker and sharper-looking than those on the current pre-facelift G20.
Happenings

REFRESHING CORE PRINCIPLES: The BMW 3 Series gets a Life Cycle Impulse

IN BMW, 3 Series, LCI

The BMW 3 Series (or G20) gets a mid-cycle update for its upcoming international launch in July.


BMW is set to expand its footprint in Singapore by appointing a second official dealer. Eurokars Auto Pte Ltd will join Performance Motors Ltd (PML), which has been the sole dealer for the German brand for more than 40 years. Any suggestion that the move stems from any lack of - no pun intended - performance from PML can be put to rest by the fact that BMW overtook longtime rival Mercedes-Benz as the best-selling premium car brand last year, and in the process, clinched second position overall, just 16.6 percent behind the leader, Toyota.
Happenings

EUROKARS AUTO: Second official BMW dealer in Singapore appointed

IN BMW, Singapore dealer, Eurokars Auto

Singapore customers will be able to choose between two dealerships — Eurokars Auto and Performance Motors — where they can buy their BMW cars from 1 October 2022.


The VRS (or RS) has long been the brand's performance hero car. Adopting the VW family's 2.0-litre turbocharged power unit used in the Golf GTi, it was always seen as the
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The Smart Performance Sedan | Skoda Octavia RS 2.0 TSI

As a big fan of the Skoda brand, I was a little let down by the previous-gen VRS. But the latest one has made up for it.


Today, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have taken over as the car of choice and so unsurprisingly, the BMW X3 has become one the brand’s best-selling models. Although the 3 Series/4 Series are still the brand’s best-selling models in 2021 with 490,000 units sold, the X3/X4 range is closing in with 414,000 units finding homes last year.
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BMW X3 xDrive30i M Sport

IN BMW, X3, XDrive30i, M Sport

Some timely updates and upgrades are set to keep one of the brand’s best-sellers at the top of its game.


The pinnacle 7 Series electric vehicle (EV), is called the i7 M70 xDrive. M70, you know, because the familiar M60 designation is now apparently considered too pleb-like to grace the bootlid of BMW's flagship sedan EV. Seven!
Happenings

7th heaven: new BMW 7 Series heads down Electric Avenue

IN BMW, 7 Series, I7, G70, Luxury

Electric drivetrains and 8k displays are just some of the highlights in the all-new flagship BMW 7 Series’ quest to be The Best Car in The World


The Lotus Emira is a 2-seat mid-engined sports car in the same vein as the Evora. Its main competitors are obviously the Porsche Cayman and Alpine A110, although peripherally the BMW M2 and Toyota Supra are there in the mix as well.
Happenings

Lotus Emira order books now open in Singapore

IN Lotus, Emira, Sports car, Launch

Last ever petrol-engined Lotus is set to close a new chapter almost as soon as it begins.


Car manufacturers usually update their models midway through their lifecycle. BMW calls this refresh
Happenings

2023 BMW X7: Getting a Life Cycle Impulse

IN BMW, BMW X7, LCI

BMW X7, the brand's flagship SAV, receives new styling updates and will be launched internationally in August.


Asian cars like the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, Lexus LM and Hyundai Staria have largely had this potentially lucrative sector of the market to themselves thus far, but now Audi wants in on the action too. Say hello to the Audi Urbansphere.
Happenings

The Audi Urbansphere is a self-driving luxury EV MPV for designed for Asia

IN Audi, Urbansphere, Concept car, EV, Autonomous car, MPV

Audi’s new “urban mobility concept” previews a future where cars become a “well-being sphere” for relaxation, leisure or productivity


Porsche has made itself a leader in this space, but there are plenty of other car brands that can benefit from this technology. Has there been any interest from anyone else in the car industry that has reached out to you to potentially partner on this? Or is it only Porsche and the private sector at the moment? There are some talks with other car and motorcycle manufacturers who are interested in such fuel, but in the beginning we will not have the volume to support the world. In principle there is interest, and although we see ourselves as pioneers in this direction, we hope that others will follow.
Happenings

Everything you need to know about how Porsche wants to save combustion engines with eFuels

IN Efuels, Synthetic fuels, Porsche

Porsche has just invested S$100m to produce synthetic fuels in Chile, with additional plants planned for USA and Australia.


Toyota also revived the Supra to much acclaim, but although it’s the flagship of a now thriving Gazoo Racing sub-brand, one thing about it stood out compared to its lesser brethren: it was not available with a manual transmission.
Happenings

Toyota GR Supra to get manual transmission

IN Toyota, Supra, GR Supra, Gazoo Racing, Save The Manuals

Toyota goes doubles down on the #savethemanuals movement, but what does this mean for BMW?


We're not surprised at all. In fact, we'd have been quite disappointed if the e-tron GT didn't win. At what's dubbed the
Happenings

Running Rings Around Everyone Else with Audi e-tron GT's 2022 World Car Awards Win

IN Audi, E-tron GT, World Performance Car Award

e-tron GT's win brings in Audi's fifth World Performance Car Award


With my curiosity seriously piqued, I headed to my two favourite B-roads at night, and this was when my eyebrows nearly joined the pole star (that’s the one in outer space, not the one from Sweden). Firstly, there is the Polestar 2’s seeming incomprehension of the concept of understeer. There were a couple of instances where I was pretty damn sure I’d overcooked my corner entry, but no, the car pretty much sailed into the bend once I lifted off the brakes - not even a moment’s hesitation waiting for the front tyres to regain their grip. Even with deliberately over-aggressive throttle application when exiting corners, the car settles into more of a four-wheel drift instead of washing out at the front end.
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[Opinion] The Polestar 2 completely changed my mind about EVs. Here's why.

IN Polestar, 2, Polestar 2, EV, Sedan, Opinion

For BP’s diehard and handling-obsessed petrolhead, the future of cars in an EV-only world looked bleak; but the Polestar 2 might just be his guiding light


But alas that’s not to be. As we covered recently, the Subaru WRX STI is gone. Dead. Finito. Thankfully however, Toyota has taken that same rally-inspired recipe and - as celebrity chefs like to say - gone and given it its own little twist, and it is as glorious as the STI’s demise is sad. Say hello to the Toyota GR Corolla.
Happenings

The Toyota GR Corolla is the WRX STI that Subaru won’t build

IN Toyota, GR Corolla, Gazoo Racing, Corolla, Hot hatch, Manual

The latest addition to the Gazoo Racing family is the rally-inspired manual hot hatch of our dreams. But will it come to Singapore?


First of all, let’s clarify the biggest detail about the all-new Lexus NX 350 F Sport tested here. Despite the number in its moniker, this Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) DOES NOT have a 3.5-litre V6 under its bonnet. Instead, it is powered by a 2,393cc turbocharged in-line 4-cylinder unit. In case you were wondering if this might be an allusion to its power output, it makes 275hp, 21hp less than the last Lexus to bear the venerable ‘350’ badge. It gets more interesting. The larger, Lexus RX 300 is fitted with a 1,998cc turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. It is not too often that a flagship model gets a smaller engine. So as it is with its German competitors Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, the numbers no longer correspond to the engine capacity. Life used to be simpler…
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Faux-wheel drive: Lexus NX 350 F Sport

IN Lexus, NX 350, F-sport

The second-generation mid-sized SUV from Lexus is stylish and capable. However, not everything is as it seems…


Where the electric dream short-circuits I’m no scientist myself , but it’s highly unlikely that all our mobility needs can be met by electricity alone. Car makers might be diving into electrified vehicles in a big way (spurred on by legislation of course), but it’s far from a catch-all solution. Flaws include its low energy density (by weight/volume), making the technology unsuitable for most heavy duty transport applications. Lorries, planes and ships would require such large battery packs that they’d be essentially useless at hauling cargo.
Happenings

Could synthetic fuels be the carbon-neutral power source we need?

IN Efuels, Synthetic fuels

“Electric power good, internal combustion bad” seems to be the popular thinking now, but electricity alone is very far from ideal. Can carbon-neutral synthetic fuels be the realistic solution the worl


The Lexus ES250 F Sport, it would seem, is one answer: take the historically least sporty Lexus saloon - the FWD Toyota Camry-based ES - and apply a racy garnish to it. And in case you thought this was just some cynical window dressing, there’s some legitimacy to it: a couple years ago I interviewed the ES’s Chief Engineer Yasuhiro Sakakibara, who said the current-gen ES was engineered to be a sharper drive than before to cover some of the ground lost when the RWD Lexus GS was discontinued.
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Lexus ES250 F Sport review: Purpose Undefined

IN Lexus, ES, Lexus ES, ES250, Lexus F, Sports sedans, Luxury sedans, New cars

For decades the Lexus ES has been saddled with something of an old-man image; can racier F Sport mods put the spring of youth in its step?


The new RAV4 Hybrid is an upgrade from the current RAV4 2.0L petrol version in almost every conceivable way. Its electric motor is mated to a 2.5-litre engine which generate a combined 215hp. That’s a significant leg up from the 170hp power output of the petrol model, and so is the acceleration: 8.1 seconds 0-100km/h for the Hybrid, down from 9.8 seconds for the petrol.
Happenings

Toyota RAV4 now available in Singapore with hybrid power

IN Toyota, RAV4, SUV, Hybrid, Borneo Motors

The electrified Toyota RAV4 gains power and fuel economy, but its price stays the same


When it comes to the latter, the entry version known as the i4 eDrive40, when fully-charged, is capable of a range of up to 590km. Timely, considering that Singapore drivers will be able to drive into Malaysia without restrictions again from April 1st. With such a range, the i4 should be able to be driven to Kuala Lumpur without any problems. It is also reassuring to know that Shell has a network of 180kW high-speed chargers along the North-South Expressway in Malaysia just in case the i4 or any other EV needs a quick juice-up. Powered by a 250kW (340hp) and 430Nm electric motor that drives the rear wheels, this enables this EV to accelerate to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.7 seconds.
Happenings

BMW i4 launched in Singapore

IN BMW, I4, EV, 4 Series

The first four-door EV from BMW sets the brand on a direct course with the Tesla Model 3 in its sights


In case you're wondering what a north-easterly Mediterranean wind has to do with anything, fun fact - since 1963, Maserati has taken to naming some of its sports models after wind-names. Mistral - strong, cold, stormy, northwest wind that blows from the south of France to the Mediterranean coast Ghibli - the Libyan Arabic name for the Sirocco, is a wind that can move a huge quantity of sand Bora - a very strong and cold wind that blows from the northeast onto the Adriatic region Khamsin - a hot, violent gust, blowing in the Egyptian desert and Israel for fifty days a year Karif - an incredibly strong, hot wind that blows from the southwest across the Gulf of Aden in Somalia with gale force Shamal - the Arabic word for “north” and is a hot and dry summer wind that blows from the north in Iran, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula Levante - a warm, easterly wind that blows in the western Mediterranean Sea In the same tradition, we now have the Grecale, named after the north-easterly Mediterranean wind; it's a Porsche Macan-rivalling SUV that sits under the Levante in the lineup.
Happenings

The North-Easterly Mediterranean Wind Blows: Maserati Grecale Launched

IN Maserati, Grecale, SUV, Hybrid, EV

Conventional internal combustion engine, mild hybrid and full-electric SUV line-up to come


And now, they’ve made a new one, though sadly, it’s also to be the last V12 Vantage Aston says they’ll make. And you can’t buy one either, because they’ve already sold every single one of the 333 cars they’re making. Still, not like you or I could ever have afforded one anyway, and the fact it’s all snapped up doesn’t detract from this being probably one of the last pure-ICE new cars we’ll ever be celebrating.
Happenings

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage marks the end of an era

IN Aston Martin, Vantage, V12, Supercar, GT

Not only is this the final time we’ll see a V12 in an Aston Vantage, it’ll sadly also be one of the last times we’ll see a car maker cram a bit engine in a small car.



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