Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by SportyHandling

Your Favourite Malaysian Car Reviewer On YouTube

SportyHandling — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:51:24 +0800

NOTE : I have to reduce selection of the poll as the system doesn't allow the poll due to excessive choices. Hence, some reviewers have been omitted from the list.

I've been watching some car reviews on Youtube lately. Each reviewer has their own style and way of reviewing. Some would test the vehicles by driving up Genting Highlands or on Sepang race track fast and furious style, some would drive in normal driving conditions on the highways while one would carry a measuring tape along to do some measurements.

Some reviewers would leave positive remarks only, no negative remarks or bad comments (to me not a good reviewer)

Just curious who are your favourite reviewer(s) and why. For me, some of the good reviewers are Keshy Dillion, Aiman Abdullah and Sim (iGarage) with English audio dubbing as they cover most of the important aspects of the vehicle during everyday driving such as acceleration power in normal driving conditions, ride and handling, space and legroom of rear passenger, comfort of the suspension etc. and not only evaluating if the vehicle has enough power to tackle the bends during fast and furious drives up Genting Highlands or on the Sepang race tracks.

Bro Wong is also quite interesting as his reviews are pretty honest and different from other reviewers. His most recent review of the Mitsubishi XForce was rather amusing, driving up Genting Highlands in a sedate style and praising on its ride and handling and the absence of 'puke feeling' when tackling the bends. To him, if the driver and passengers feel like vomiting then the car's performance is no good. He also included his kids in his review by getting them to sit in the rear seat. A rather fresh style of reviewing.

1.5L Engine Delivering Higher Output Than 1.6L

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

1.5L Engine Delivering Higher Output Than 1.6L

SportyHandling — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:28:47 +0800

There are differences between the XForce 1.5L sold in Malaysia and XForce 1.6L HEV sold in Thailand. Some of the differences listed below are rather surprising and I am curious if anyone here has some knowledge about the discrepancies especially on the engine output of the 1.5L which seems to be delivering higher output in the torque than the 1.6L engine.

NOTE : The spec and numbers below are from the brochure or website of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia and Thailand.

1. MAX OUTPUT & TORQUE OF THE ENGINE

1.5L Mivec DOHC 16 valve engine:
Displacement (cc) = 1499cc
Max Output kw(PS)/rpm = 77(105)/6,000
Max torque Nm/rpm = 141(4,000)

1.6L Mivec DOHC 16 valve engine:
Displacement (cc) = 1590
Max Output kw(PS)/rpm = 79(107)/6,000
Max torque Nm/rpm = 134(4,500)

Question : Why does the higher capacity 1.6L engine have a lower torque and almost similar max output when compared to the smaller 1.5L engine? I would expect the 1.6L engine to have higher max output and torque than the 1.5L engine.

2. FRONT SUSPENSION

1.5L model = Macpherson Strut
1.6L HEV model = Macpherson Strut coil springs with stabilizer bar and built-in strut bar

Question : Is the suspension of the 1.5L model the same as the 1.6L model with the missing description in the brochure?

3. STEERING

1.5L model = Electronic power steering
1.6L HEV model = Rack & Pinion type with Electronic power steering

Question : Is the steering of the 1.5L model the same as the 1.6L model?

4. GROUND CLEARANCE AND HEIGHT

Ground clearance and height of 1.5L model (mm)= 222/1660
Ground clearance and height of 1.6L HEV model (mm) = 183/1650

Question : The numbers don't add up. The difference in ground clearance is 39mm but the difference in height is 10mm. Any thoughts?

Spec of Mitsubishi XForce HEV in Thailand :

Spec of Mitsubishi XForce in Malaysia:

Mitsubishi XForce HEV Hybrid - When Launching?

SportyHandling — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 10:31:04 +0800

Does anyone who have close contact with Mitsubishi top management know if there are an plans to bring in the Mitsubishi XForce HEV in to Malaysia? If yes, will it be CKD or CBU from Thailand, and roughly when? End of this year or next year?

New Proton S70- Throttle Response & Quality

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

New Proton S70- Throttle Response & Quality

SportyHandling — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 09:23:24 +0800

Would like to seek experiences from both current owners of the old Proton S70 3-cylinder and new S70 4-cylinder if anyone has test-driven or taken delivery of the car.

For owners who have lived with the S70 3-cyclinder for more than 1 year, is there any audible rattling sound inside the cabin after 1 year of ownership? Rattling sound means any audible noises made by loose fittings anywhere inside the car such as dashboard, air-cond vents, door panels etc. when the car is going over poor uneven road surfaces. Are there any other quality issues such as broken plastic parts inside the car?

For owners or people who have test driven the S70 4-cylinder, is the throttle response good without much or any lag just like most Japanese cars? Good throttle response means a light tap on the pedal and the car will move forward instantly. Poor throttle response means the car won't move forward with a light tap, and you need to step on the pedal considerably more, say 50% or higher combined with a 0.5s to 1.0s lag then only the car will move forward. One example of a car with poor throttle response is the Proton Preve Turbo.

Lastly, how is the steering feel or response of the S70? Is it more to light and loose just like most Japanese cars such as Toyota Corolla and Nissan Almera, or it's to the heavier side like most Proton cars such as the Preve Turbo? Does the steering have good feedback or it lacks feel?

Is There Rattling Sound Inside Cabin of Proton S70

SportyHandling — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:48:19 +0800

Would like to seek experiences from current owners of the Proton S70 after living with it for more than 1 year. Is there any audible rattling sound inside the cabin after 1 year of ownership?

Nissan Kicks with Updated Door Panel In Thailand

SportyHandling — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 10:01:39 +0800

I just found this Youtube video showing the updated Nissan Kicks in Thailand with the revised door panel with a nicer design. This video is more than 2 years ago and I'm not sure if this minor facelift model will make its way to Malaysia since the Kicks sold over here in Malaysia is CBU from Thailand. Everything looks the same, and it's just this interior door panel which looks different. To me it looks a lot better than the current one we have here.

Any thoughts or inside news if this minor facelift model will make its way here to Malaysia in due time? The Youtube video and screenshot showing the updated design of the interior door panels are as below.

[YOUTUBE]1M9IHagM_tE[/YOUTUBE]

Front door panel:

Rear door panel:

Kia Sportage and Carnival Big Price Slash, Others?

SportyHandling — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 15:50:06 +0800

https://www.carsifu.my/news/kia-sportage-an...lly-in-malaysia

It has been quite a while since I last looked at the car market. Just read this news on Carsifu today. Apparently it's a big price slash for Kia Sportage and Carnival, about RM20k for all variants of Sportage and RM40k-50k for Carnival. I was just wondering how are other car distributors/dealers doing particularly the Japanese and Koreans with the Chinese cars taking a huge chunk off their sales? It's not that I"m getting a new car anytime too soon but am just curious. Are there big discounts offered for other Jap/Korean cars other than Kia?

Proton EMas 7 Safety

SportyHandling — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 09:51:09 +0800

Just received this photo via Whatsapp this morning. Looks scary. Is this an isolated case? Hopefully we won't see another case such as this one again.

Michelin Primacy 4 vs Pilot Sport 4 vs Competitors

SportyHandling — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:41:58 +0800

Seeking experiences on tyres which have a combined strengths of quietness and handling although both usually don't really go together. Quietness takes precedence over handling, although I"m not really looking for super F1 race car handling, just decent accurate or good steering feedback would do. The tyres are for a family car Nissan Almera.

I only have experience with the old Michelin Primacy 3ST if I'm not mistaken as it came together with the Ford Focus as standard back in 2013. It's rather quiet and handling was pretty top-notch even though it's not a Pilot Sport version. I was just wondering how would the current Primacy 4 and Pilot Sport 4 compare.

I briefly tried Toyo CR1 and although it's a soft, comfortable and cheap tyre, steering accuracy was slightly poor as it was loose and not as precise. The current car came with Continental UC6 and although handling was decent, my main complaint was it's quite noisy and there is a subtle "wooong wooong" sound when the vehicle is going over old or worn-out road surfaces ie. poor and old condition roads.

Can't Connect Phone to Head Unit with USB Cable

SportyHandling — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:37:39 +0800

Has anyone encountered any difficulty connecting your phone to the head unit of the vehicle using a USB Type C cable via Android Auto? During the first year it works fine but after that the Head Unit can't seem to detect the phone after it's connected with the cable. I brought up the issue at the service centre and the service advisor advised to use the original USB cable. It worked fine after that but only for few months. Now the Head Unit can't detect any phone with all USB cables that are connected to it.

I hope the service centre can fix the issue when I bring the car for the scheduled service next month. Nevertheless, does anyone here know what might contribute to this issue and the solution? Perhaps a software issue which might need a reflash or something else.

205/55 R17 to 225/45 R18 What Are The Differences

SportyHandling — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 10:06:58 +0800

For those who have experience changing sizes of rims and tyres, would like to seek your experiences.

What would be the expected differences or changes when going from 205/55 R17 to 225/45 R18? I'm basically interested to know the differences in these 3 aspects.

1. Ride and handling. If there is a difference, what would be the expected change.
2. Acceleration. I would expect a slight impact in acceleration as the 225 wider tyres might cause a slightly reduced acceleration when compared to 205 wide tyres. Say 0-100km/h with 205/55 R17 tyres is 9.5s while the 225/45 R18 might register a slower 10s?
3. Noise. Possibly slightly louder tyre noise will be heard in the cabin due to the wider tyres.

Possibly slightly higher fuel consumption though it could be negligible.

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Honda Malaysia Recall for Fuel Pump Issue

SportyHandling — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:20:24 +0800

Just spotted this news and thought of posting this. https://autobuzz.my/2025/06/10/honda-malays...-cr-v-affected/

Apparently, Honda Malaysia is recalling a lot of models affected and the potential failure sounds rather serious.

"The first issue relates to the fuel pump impeller, which may swell after prolonged fuel immersion that can result in the vehicle failing to start or stalling while driving.

This particular recall affects a total of 84,073 units of the Honda Jazz, City, Civic, Accord, BR-V, HR-V, CR-V, and Odyssey. The details of the affected models are as follows:"

Honda Jazz – 2015 to 2020 model year
Honda Jazz Hybrid – 2018 model year
Honda City – 2014 to 2019 model year
Honda City Hybrid – 2018 to 2019 model year
Honda Civic – 2017 to 2018 model year
Honda Accord – 2013 to 2017 model year
Honda BR-V – 2017 to 2018 model year
Honda HR-V – 2015 to 2018 model year
Honda CR-V – 2018 to 2020 model year
Honda Odyssey – 2017 to 2019 model year

Nissan Kicks

SportyHandling — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 09:09:05 +0800

Are there any Nissan Kicks owners yet? I noticed the Impul aerokit, active package and black leather/nappa seats are now available as an option for the Nissan Kicks.

There's also the optional 18" Impul alloy wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres at RM3.5k as below.

The Active package priced at RM8.5k. This one looks rather similar to the previous Black edition Kuro package offered for the Nissan Almera. Best to wait and see if Tan Chong will give this Active package for the Kicks as free in the near future, as what they did to the ALmera.

Lastly, some accessories such as carpet mat and leather seats. Black leather seats with blue stitching is now offered as an option for the VL, whereas black nappa leather is offered for the VLT. Personally these 2 options are quite necessary to me.

Vehicle Sales Data 2025 / 2024

SportyHandling — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 16:20:53 +0800

Just found this website showing the vehicle sales data for all models in 2025 and 2024. I'm not sure if it's accurate. Any ideas? https://www.pcauto.com/my/sales-ranking

Anyway it's rather useful as the details are rather comprehensive as users are able to select the Month to see the number of sales for each model. Anyway here is the sales for April 2025 for the top 125 vehicles. For other months, please select from the website.

April 2025
1. Perodua Bezza – 7527 units
2. Perodua Axia – 6615 units
3. Perodua Myvi – 5567 units
4. Proton Saga – 5069 units
5. Perodua Alza – 3606 units
6. Perodua Ativa – 2751 units
7. Toyota Vios – 2398 units
8. Proton X50 – 2106 units
9. Toyota Hilux – 2015 units
10. Proton S70 – 1702 units
11. Honda City – 1595 units
12. Toyota Alphard – 1379 units
13. Proton Persona – 1328 units
14. Perodua Aruz – 1305 units
15. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1224 units
16. Honda HRV – 1043 units
17. Jaecoo J7 – 891 units
18. Proton eMas 7 – 799 units
19. Mitsubishi Xpander – 696 units
20. Honda Civic – 688 units
21. Proton X70 – 679 units
22. Chery Omoda C9 – 654 units
23. Toyota Yaris – 652 units
24. Honda CRV – 634 units
25. Toyota Veloz – 570 units
26. Isuzu D-max – 465 units
27. Toyota Harrier – 444 units
28. BYD Sealion 7 – 393 units
29. Lexus RX – 358 units
30. Honda WRV – 355 units
31. Ford Ranger – 344 units
32. BYD Atto 3 – 321 units
33. Chery Omoda 5 – 307 units
34. Mitsubishi Triton -301 units
35. Toyota Vellfire – 295 units
36. Proton Iriz – 290 units
37. Mazda CX-30 – 285 units
38. Haval H6 – 282 units
39. Nissan Serena – 252 units
40. Cherry Tiggo 7 Pro – 233 units
41. Mazda CX-5 – 205 units
42. MG 5 – 202 units
43. Cherry Tiggo 8 Pro – 200 units
44. BYD M6 – 190 units
45. Proton X90 – 182 units
46. Toyota Fortuner – 176 units
47. Denza D9 – 157 units
48. Toyota Hiace – 151 units
49. Mercedes Benz A-Class – 143 units
50. Nissan Kicks – 142 units
51. BYD Seal – 134 units
52. Toyota Land Cruiser – 130 units
53. Toyota Innova – 128 units
54. Toyota Camry – 127 units
55. Suzuki Jimny – 119 units
56. Lexus NX – 119 units
57. Toyota Voxy – 118 units
58. BMW 5-series – 118 units
59. BMW 3-series – 114 units
60. Mercedes Benz C-Class – 113 units
61. Mercedes Benz E-Class – 112 units
62. Mercedes Benz GLC – 111 units
63. Nissan Almera – 93 units
64. Tesla Model 3 – 90 units
65. Toyota Corolla – 90 units
66. Nissan Navarra – 79 units
67. Hyundai Santa Fe – 79 units
68. Zeekr 009 – 77 units
69. Xpeng X9 – 77 units
70. Xpeng G6 – 76 units
71. Volkswagen Tiguan – 69 units
72. BMW X1 – 69 units
73. Mercedes Benz CLA – 65 units
74. Mini Countryman – 62 units
75. Mazda CX-8 – 59 units
76. Lexus LBX – 55 units
77. Toyota GR86 – 55 units
78. Porche Macan – 50 units
79. Porche Cayenne – 45 units
80. Mercedes Benz GLA – 44 units
81. Nissan X-Trail – 42 units
82. Kia Carnival – 41 units
83. Land Rover Defender – 41 units
84. Tank 300 – 40 units
85. Mazda 3 sedan – 40 units
86. GAC GS3 – 40 units
87. Subaru Forester – 38 units
88. Hyundai Creta – 37 units
89. Mazda 3 hatchback – 36 units
90. Toyota GR Supra – 34 units
91. Mazda MX5 – 34 units
92. Porche 911 – 33 units
93. Lexus IS – 33 units
94. Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 32 units
95. Volvo XC60 – 32 units
96. Suzuki Swift – 32 units
97. Peugeot 408 – 31 units
98. Volvo XC90 – 31 units
99. BMW iX1 – 31 units
100. BMW iX2 – 30 units
101. Subaru XV – 29 units
102. MG4 – 27 units
103. Porsche Taycan – 27 units
104. Toyota Crown – 27 units
105. Kia Sportage – 25 units
106. Lexus LX -24 units
107. Hyundai Staria – 24 units
108. BMW X3 – 24 units
109. Mercedes Benz GLE – 23 units
110. Volkswagen Arteon – 22 units
111. Ora Good Cat – 22 units
112. Ora 07 – 22 units
113. DFSK Box – 22 units
114. Mini 3 Door – 22 units
115. BMW 7 series – 20 units
116. BMW X5 – 19 units
117. BMW i5 – 19 units
118. BMW X4 – 18 units
119. Tesla Model Y – 18 units
120. Mercedes Benz EQA – 18 units
121. Mini 5 Door – 18 units
122. Mini Aceman – 18 units
123. Mazda CX-3 – 17 units
124. Volkswagen Golf – 17 units
125. Peugeot 3008 – 16 units

Nissan Almera and Kicks sales as below.

Nissan Almera
April 2025 – 93 units
March 2025 – 126 units
February 2025 – 83 units
January 2025 – 80 units
December 2024 – 114 units
November 2024 – 119 units

Nissan Kicks
April 2025 – 142 units
March 2025 – 129 units
February 2025 – 166 units
January 2025 – 216 units

Vehicles with Good NVH and Soundproofing <RM160k

SportyHandling — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 08:38:14 +0800

I am just curious and would like to seek experiences from people on current NEW vehicles which you feel are quiet, with good NVH and minimal rattling sound inside the cabin when travelling at highway speeds along the North-South highway or poor quality roads ie. uneven, old or worn-out surface. It doesn't matter if it's a sedan, SUV, NA, turbo or electric but the focus is on combustion engine instead of electric. When the car goes over these roads with old worn-out surface or unevenness, if the soundproofing is lacking or the quality of fitting is poor you will not only hear loud noises from the roads, suspension, tyres or traffic noises intruding into the cabin but also rattling sound from loose fittings inside the vehicle such as sound of loose panels or screws from the dashboard, air-cond vents or door panels vibrating alongside the noises from the road, suspension, tyres and engine.

Benchmark of a decently quiet vehicle with good NVH is the Nissan Teana. Ideally vehicles around RM160k or lower, new vehicles.

Kia Sportage & Hyundai Tucson

SportyHandling — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 10:42:29 +0800

Just curious, are there any owners of the latest Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson here? There seems to be very little interest on these vehicles as nobody seems to be talking about them.

I've watched a Youtube review on the Kia Sportage and the reviewer found that the ride and NVH of the vehicle to be exceptional in its class and a class above all Japanese equivalent SUVs. I presume the major downside of the Koreans is the low resale value which deters most people from considering them, apart from the slightly higher price when compared to the common Honda CRV/HRV and Toyota Corolla Cross.

If there are no owners lurking around on this forum, has anyone test driven the Sportage and compared the 2.0 to 1.6 turbo versions? Is the Nakamichi sound system in the highest spec 1.6 turbo a significant improvement to the audio system of the cheaper spec models?

Checking on Polis Saman via SMS

SportyHandling — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 08:27:42 +0800

Does anyone know if checking on polis summons via sms still work? It worked previously but now when I tried, it doesn't seem to work anymore when sent to numbers 15888 and 32728.

Apart from the MyBayar PDRM app, is there any other online service to check on police summons via sms or online by just inserting the car number plate?

Latest Upgraded AES System, Speed Trap Enforcement

SportyHandling — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:23:32 +0800

I was having a chat with a friend recently and he told me the latest upgraded AES system has several cameras installed along the highways which are capable of recording the details of the vehicle when it passed the AES camera such as the car number plate and the exact time of the recording. When the vehicle passed the 2nd AES camera located further ahead of the highway, the traveling speed of the vehicle can be determined based on the time taken to travel between the 1st and 2nd AES cameras.

Is this true and if yes, has the authorities (police) started to enforce the law to nab motorists who break the speed limit on the highways by using the upgraded AES system (instead of employing manpower such as getting a policeman sit under bridges on the divider in the middle of the road and shooting the speed trap cameras on passing vehicles?)