Honda Malaysia telah mendedahkan rancangannya untuk 2024, bertujuan untuk mengatasi cabaran industri dengan keazaman dan keyakinan. Syarikat menyasarkan matlamat jualan sebanyak 95,000 unit dan menyasarkan penguasaan pasaran sebanyak 12.8% untuk tahun tersebut.
Berdasarkan pencapaiannya pada 2023, di mana ia mengekalkan tempat teratas dalam Segmen Kenderaan Penumpang Bukan Nasional untuk tahun kesepuluh dan mencapai sasaran jualannya sebanyak 80,000 unit, Honda Malaysia kekal fokus pada kejayaan.
Honda Malaysia has revealed its business direction for 2024, expressing optimism and determination to achieve its goals despite challenges in the automotive industry. The company sets its sights on reaching a sales target of 95,000 units and capturing a market share of 12.8% for the year.
Building upon the accomplishments of 2023, which included retaining the No.1 position in the Non-National Passenger Vehicle Segment for the tenth consecutive year and meeting the sales target of 80,000 units, Honda Malaysia remains committed to driving success.
The Blind Spot Monitoring system is arguably one of the must have safety systems in modern cars.
It works by using ultrasonic sensors embedded in the side or at the bottom of a vehicle’s rear bumper to detect other vehicles present in the blind spot. This then alerts the driver either through visual or auditory alerts.
Some systems also use side-mounted cameras which are mounted in the side view mirrors.
The Blind Spot Monitoring system was developed by Volvo who first called it BLIS, and was first shown in the Volvo Safety Concept car (SCC) in 2001 (shown below).
It was later shown again at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan and was available as an option on the XC70 wagon and the S60 sedan of the same year.
These days the Blind Spot Monitoring system (BSM) is available in a number of cars as well as the likes of the Perodua Myvi and the Axia.
Curiously though, Honda cars in Malaysia have been sold with an alternative system to BSM called the Lane Watch System (LWS).
The LWS has the same objective as the BSM system where it alerts the driver of obstacles in the blind spot of the car.
However, it works by using a camera placed on the left side mirror (seen below) and then displays a video image of the left rear quarter of the car.
This only works when the turn signal is used or when a button placed on the turn signal stalk is pressed. There is no other visual nor auditory alert and neither does it alert you of other vehicles on the right side of the car.
And the other problem is that it only works best during the day when the sun is shinning at its brightest, as can be seen in the image below. This is because the camera that is used sends back a grainy image onto the centrally-placed monitor that often also shows the GPS map.
It does not work well in low light conditions, at night, or worse, in the torrential Malaysian monsoon rain where barely anything can be seen at all.
Often times, two motorcycles riding side by side at night can be misinterpreted as a single car.
Curiously though, Honda does offer Blind Spot Monitoring system in other markets, just not in Malaysia. Not yet at least.
We recently got the chance to ask why this is so during a private media interview with Eisuke Sato, the Large Project Leader of the newly launched sixth-generation Honda CRV. Sato-san flew in from Japan for the Malaysian introduction of the new CRV.
When asked by Piston.my on why Malaysian Honda’s still use Lane Watch rather than the Blind Spot Monitoring system, Sato-san said, “In other regions, we do apply BSM and in the CRV globally, we do apply BSM as well.”
“However, specifically in Asian and in Malaysia, we consider how motorcycles are often used and we believe that Lane Watch is more effective.”
“Because Lane Watch can actually visualise where a motorcycle is and how many motorcycles there are, the Lane Watch system can provide for more accurate information for drivers.”
When asked about the grainy image and how the use of a high-definition camera would probably make the system more effective, Sato-san replied, “If we look at competitors, there are those who utilise higher-definition cameras but we did verify and confirm that the current spec used in the CRV is sufficient to capture the presence of motorcycles.”
“We also do understand that in dark situations and when it is raining drivers will need more visibility, so we will continue monitoring the situation and will consider an upgrade for the next models,” he added.
There is no doubt that Blind Spot Monitoring system works better in low light and in bad weather, and it is great that Honda Malaysia has an ear on the ground and listens to feedback.
So will we see the Blind Spot Monitoring system making an appearance in upcoming models. If there’s anything we took away from that interview, we can confidently say yes, it is just a matter of time.
The Malaysian b-segment market is never short of drama. Manufacturers are consistently trying to outdo each other, but amidst all of that outdoing, it is the consumer that always wins. The segment consists of big names like the Honda City, Toyota Vios, Nissan Almera and even the Proton Persona.
But it is fair to say that the most popular are the City and the Vios. While Honda and Toyota are always outdoing each other, we are getting ever better cars.
The Vios is currently in its fourth-generation while the City has been around since the early 80s and is currently in its seventh generation. Over all that time, both have evolved to be mighty fine cars.
UMW Toyota Motors introduced the new Vios earlier this year to much fanfare. Sales have been brisk, but that’s unsurprising considering its popularity.
The City too is the other de facto go to model for those who want practicality and reliability. It is now bigger than ever, and with a recently introduced facelift, it may not be an all-new model like the Vios, but it has everything the Vios has and is arguably better to drive.
In terms of pricing, the Honda City RS petrol costs RM99,900 while the Toyota Vios is priced at RM95,500. However, Honda provides free labour up to five times within 100,00km or five years[NTSF(1] , while Toyota charges an additional RM3,220 for a five-year or 100,000km free service package. If you opt for the service package, that would bring the price of the Toyota close to the City.
So, which should you spend your money on? We dissect the two cars and bring you our opinion on which would be worth your money:
Engine:
Beginning with what matters most, both cars are powered by a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated engine. The Honda has offers its i-VTEC technology to make accessible power, while Toyota has its D-VVTi.
However, the Vios is down on power as compared to the City. The Vios produces 106PS and 138Nm, while the City offers 121PS and 145Nm. The difference may not seem that much but this is felt the most during acceleration where the City feels more eager to get up to speed.
As far as efficiency goes, both cars have 40-litre fuel tanks and are capable of providing about 500km of range on a full tank.
Drive:
Again, both cars ride on identical suspension set ups, MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam at the rear.
Both do excellent jobs at keeping occupants detached from the horrors of the roads underneath them. However, in terms of handling, the City feels more alive and is quicker to oblige every turn of the steering wheel. The steering feel of the Vios feels more muted and heavy. If you are into keen on more agile and responsive handling, you will appreciate the City.
In terms of braking, both also have the same set up – solid discs all around.
Design:
This is always subjective, but it is the Vios that has the freshest design between the two. The City has gone through several facelifts and now offers a bolder grille and sportier bumpers. However, the overall silhouette remains the same.
Toyota was keen to talk about the sportback design of the Vios when it was launched early this year. It adds character to the Toyota whose designs have always been safe and unadventurous (remember the dugong?).
But the sportback design comes at a price. Because the rear of the roofline drops dramatically into the a-pillar, this ultimately sacrifices headroom for rear passengers. Anyone above 180cm will be scrapping the top of his head against the roof liner. This ultimately results in the City having a more spacious interior.
Interior:
Building on the topic of interior spaciousness, the City does it better again. This time, the culprit is the centre console, where the gear lever and handbrake are placed.
The centre console of the Vios is simply too high as compared to the City. This results in narrower foot wells for the driver and front passenger, so you sit with your legs closer together than you would in the City. This may not affect shorter people, but if you’re tall, you may find that this limits legroom.
The taller shoulder line of the Vios also makes the windows smaller, especially at the rear. This means that there is not as much light that is fed back into the cabin, making it seem as if it were smaller than the City.
Both cars offer leather clad interiors while the seats in the Honda offer better padding, making them more comfortable, especially over longer distances.
There are no complaints about quality though as both have impressive interior builds.
Rear passengers will appreciate the fact that they have their own air-conditioning vents, as well as two USB ports.
Tech:
Both cars are also almost identical in terms of the tech and features they have to offer.
Inside, both come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. For audiophiles, there are six speakers in the Vios and eight in the Honda. However, it is the Vios that has a bigger infotainment system, but at nine inches, it is only an inch bigger and not quite a deal breaker.
As for booth space, the Vios has a surprisingly smaller booth. At 470-litres, it is down on the Honda’s 519-litres. Before you begin to think that the difference is minuscule, that 49 litres makes the difference between space for a backpack or none.
Onto the safety front, where both cars are once again nearly identical. The City comes packed with Honda’s SENSING while the Vios features Toyota’s Safety Suite.
Both are essentially a collection of various systems that combine to enhance safety in all situations. Both offer Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Auto High Beam and Lead Car Departure Notification System.
Building on that is the fact that both cars are also evenly matched when it comes to active safety systems as both have six airbags, vehicle stability assist, ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution, brake assist and more.
Conclusion:
The fact that both cars are so evenly matched makes it difficult to choose one or another. At this point, it is just a matter of branding, which brand are you fonder of? But if there is one thing that truly makes a difference, it is interior space.
Hoping from the Vios into the City, the difference is jarring. The interior of the City feels a lot more bigger than the Vios and the seats are more comfortable as well. That point alone would have done it for us, but the City also runs on smaller 16-inch wheels as compared to the 17-inch wheels on the Vios.
A quick check online revealed that cheapest 16-inch tyre from Goodyear costs RM262 per piece, while 17-inch tyres cost RM351. Assuming you will need to change all four tyres, the tyres for the Honda will cost you RM1,048 while the Vios will set you back RM1,404. The savings of RM356 will give you about four full tanks of petrol.
But that aside, the interior spaciousness, comfort, and the fact that it has a bigger booth makes the Honda City our choice between the two.
Honda Malaysia has made an announcement offering buyers the opportunity to drive home the popular Honda City B-segment sedan with a 100% loan option, completely eliminating the need for an initial downpayment. This incredible offer stands in contrast to the typical 90% loan and 10% downpayment arrangement.
Participating Banks: The partner banks facilitating this groundbreaking offer are Maybank and Bank Muamalat. Potential buyers will, of course, need to meet the loan qualifications to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s essential to note that the offer pertains exclusively to the Honda City sedan, and there is no mention of the City Hatchback in this deal.
During the launch of the new facelifted Honda City, one of the messages that Honda was keen to talk about is the new and improved Honda Connect App. It has been around for a while already, but it is not at its most matured form.
You may or may not have heard of the Honda Connect App, but either way, it is one of those applications that is worth having for your Honda these days.
It if offered as standard on selected Honda models, but for those who want to purchase it, it costs RM1,500. But before you dismiss it as exorbitant, it is an application that is worth considering.
The Honda Connect App predominantly focuses on three areas:
Safety
Security
Convenience
Safety
Under the safety part, the application is designed to be able to alert you or a loved in the event of a collision. This is important especially if the driver is unconscious. The app will detect that a collision has happened and a call centre will be alerted. The operators from the call centre will first try to reach out to the driver of the vehicle, and if the person does not answer, the call centre will then try to reach out to a second number provided.
In the event that the second person too does not answer, the call centre will immediately dispatch emergency services to the last known location. This is especially helpful when driving in a remote area.
The app is also able to inform the driver in the event that the alarm goes off. Alarms are great theft deterrents, but chances are the owner of a car will not be able to hear the alarm if the car is parked in a basement car park or somewhere far off. This is where the Honda Connect App is quite good because it alerts the driver when the alarm goes off, giving the owner precious minutes to rush to the car to see why the alarm went off.
Besides that, the owner of the Honda is also able to set a speed limit of the car, and will be alerted if the car goes beyond the set threshold. Perfect for parents who do not want their children or loved ones to be speeding, or even companies who need to implement health and safety policies, thus assisting to promote safety.
Security
Ever wondered around a car park wondering where you parked your car? We have all been there. This is where the Honda Connect App is especially handy because it has a “Find My Car” feature that is able to assist you to find your parked car. This is also great if your child has taken your car without informing you. If you are a parent, you’re welcome on the tip, if you’re a child, you may not like this feature.
One of our favourite features is something called Geo Fencing Alert. This allows you to set a paremeter of a few hundred meters or a maximum of 160km. And if the car goes beyond the set parameter, the application will alert you. This is especially handy for companies that need to keep track on where their cars are going.
But on a personal level, there’s a feature called Emergency Call. This feature connects the phone to the national emergency number – 999 – and when pressed, will immediately call the emergency number. This is great in parking lots, shopping malls or even in dark alleys at night. You don’t even need to be walking to your car but can use it anytime you feel threatened.
Convenience
So the app is more than just safety, security and controlling measures, it also allows incredible ownership convenience. It allows the owner to check on the car’s status, such as fuel level, battery level and everything about the car that an owner needs to know.
One interesting feature though is the Remote Vehicle Control. This allows the owner to remote start or stop a car, which is great if you need to be away for a few weeks and don’t want the battery of your car going flat. Yes, you can start the car and warm it up even if you are in a different country.
Does your wife need to get something from the car, but you accidentally took the keys with you and the spare key is dead? Yes, you can remotely unlock your car and no this does not mean she can start the car and drive away.
These are just some of the many features that the app has to offer, and some of the more notable ones include being able to locate the closet petrol station, ATM and even book a service appointment.
with all of the features on offer, the RM1,500 asking price suddenly seems like a good deal as it is not just an application, but consider it an automotive personal assistant.
Honda Malaysia has just introduced the 2023 Honda City facelift into the Malaysian market with the e:HEV RS being the top-of-the-line variant, priced at RM111,900.00.
Just last month, Honda Malaysia announced that the City facelift was available for reservations at all Honda dealerships in Malaysia. And now, the covers are off, marking the official launching of the facelifted City.
Honda has sold more than 10,000 units in the first half of 2023, while the 5th generation City has sold more than 68,600 copies since its release. These numbers make it clear that Malaysians love the Honda City, and would select it over its competitors.
The City, which is Honda Malaysia’s best-selling model, will be introduced with a facelifted version that is now available for reservations at all Honda dealerships in Malaysia. The new City is anticipated to make its debut in Malaysia in Q3 2023.
Since its release, the 5th generation City has sold more than 68,600 copies, and in the first half of 2023, Honda has sold more than 10,000 units. This iconic Honda model has undoubtedly established itself as Malaysians’ pick in its market class.
The debate has been raging for years now – which petrol actually takes you further? Some swear by Shell, other say it is BHPetrol or Petronas.
But there has never been a real world test conducted – till now.
The team at PISTON took it upon ourselves to finally put an end to the debate.
The contenders – Petronas, Shell and BHPetrol – were chosen as they are some of the most widely available fuel providers around the Klang Valley and Peninsular Malaysia.
The cars we chose for this comparison are three Honda City RS e:HEV, or otherwise known as the Honda City Hybrid.
Why did we choose the City Hybrid? Well, the objective of the comparison was to see which fuel gives us the most mileage over the most diverse terrain we could find.
We wanted to drive through heavy traffic, uphill and downhill, through highways and back roads. And because the City Hybrid is impressively frugal, we were confident that we would not need to refuel despite driving close to 500km’s in a day.
And we were right, the Honda City proved to be the perfect companion as it offered impressive comfort and features like Apple Carplay and Android Auto to keep us entertained throughout the long, tiring drive.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Honda Malaysia for loaning us the three Honda City’s.
We also took as much care as possible to eliminate all possible variables. First we extended a request to Honda Malaysia to service all three cars with new lubricants to which they generously obliged (thank you Honda!). This was to ensure that the engines of the three cars were working equally as hard and there was not one working harder than the other.
Secondly, we ensured that the tyres of all three cars had the same pressure. This was to ensure equal rolling resistance. Low tyre pressure results in higher rolling resistance which in turn increases fuel consumption. So it was essential to ensure the tyre pressure of all three cars were the same!
And we also ensured all three cars had a lone driver. Vehicle load also increases fuel consumption, and because all three drivers were roundish around the sides, weight was about the same as well.
And finally, we took special care to ensure that residual fuel was minimised. We did not want fuel brands mixing up with one another. So we were sure to empty out the tanks as much as possible (by driving instead of draining) and then refuelling with the competing fuel.
So with this, we hit the road from Kayu Ara towards the Damansara toll. Our journey took us east towards Raub via the Karak Highway, and then off the highway towards Sungai Koyan. From there we headed West towards Cameron Highlands, and then north via the old Tapah road. From there, we hit the highway heading south and ended at the Jejantas Sungai Buloh.
