Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) is going strong with the Merdeka celebrations and to make things even better, they are now offering RM2,000 rebates for the Volkswagen Golf R and GTI, two of the hottest hatchbacks here in good ol’ Malaysia. (more…)
Sebagai tanda penghargaan terhadap setiap pengedar, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) telah mengadakan Anugerah Pengedar Volkswagen 2018 di Hotel Hilton, Kuala Lumpur.
Anugerah tersebut bertujuan meraikan pencapaian setiap 25 pengedar daripada rangkaian pengedaran Volkswagen di seluruh negara dalam mendukung jenama Volkswagen sepanjang tahun 2018.
Sementara itu, Pengarah Urusan VPCM, Erik Winter menyifatkan anugerah ini bukan sahaja diadakan untuk mengiktiraf kerja keras semua pengedar Volkswagen malah turut bertujuan untuk meningkatkan mutu pengedar seluruh negara.
“Tahun demi tahun, kami terus memberi galakan dan dorongan kepada rakan-rakan pengedar agar terus melakukan penambahbaikan. Kami membina kepercayaan dan keyakinan dalam kalangan para pemilik kenderaan Volkswagen menerusi para pengedar ini dengan cara meningkatkan pengalaman pemilikan mereka secara keseluruhannya. Justeru, kami rasa bangga kerana dapat mengiktiraf usaha dan kerja keras yang telah mereka sumbangkan untuk perniagaan serta jenama Volkswagen,” katanya.
Sebanyak empat anugerah telah disampaikan bagi kategori pengedaran yang melibatkan pengedar pusat 3S dan 4S dengan skor dinilai dengan mengambil kira aspek jualan dan pemasaran, kepuasan pelanggan, pematuhan standard serta kelayakan tenaga pekerja dari Januari hingga Disember 2018.
MHV Autohaus (Volkswagen Gombak) dinobat sebagai Pengedar Terbaik Keseluruhan 2018 sekaligus mengekalkan anugerah yang dimenangi pada tahun sebelumnya.
Berikut penerima lain untuk Anugerah Pengedar Terbaik bagi kategori lain:
Kategori A – pusat 4S : Wearness Automotive
Kategori B – pengedar di Lembah Klang : MHV Autohaus
Kategori C – pengedar di luar Lembah Klang : Lee Motors Autohaus
Selain daripada pengedar, Volkswagen turut mengiktiraf pencapaian individu dalam menjalankan kewajipan mereka selaku Pengurus Jualan, Penasihat Jualan, Pengurusan Selepas Jualan, Pengurus Alat Ganti, Perunding Servis dan Mekanik.
Enam individu yang menerima anugerah Pencapaian Keseluruhan Terbaik adalah:
Pengurus Jualan Terbaik : James Leong (MHV Autohaus)
Perunding Jualan Terbaik : Yan Mun Ee (Goh Brothers, Ipoh)
Pengurus Selepas Jualan Terbaik: William Loh (MHV Autohaus)
Pengurus Alat Ganti Terbaik: John Leow (MHV Autohaus)
Penasihat Servis Terbaik: Azrul Muzakhir (Wearnes Sg Besi)
Juruteknik Terbaik: Husni Thamrin (Lee Motors)
Volkswagen turut mengiktiraf para pemenang Kejohanan Dunia Kelayakan Jualan Runcit Volkswagen (RQWC) 2018/2019 iaitu:
Penasihat Servis : Lu Weng Jen (MHV Autohaus)
Servis Alat Ganti: John Leow Zhi Kuan (MHV Autohaus)
Ketua Juruteknik: Yeoh Chun Ping (Goh Brother Motors)
Got plans this weekend? Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has announced a nationwide Chinese New Year Open House at all its authorized dealerships. The Chinese New Year nationwide open house will take place on Saturday 16th February, from 11am till 5pm at all authorized Volkswagen dealerships in the country. Visitors will enjoy ongoing CNY savings up to RM20,000 and Volkswagen owners can take advantage of ongoing aftersales offers.
At the open house event, there will be food, “Yee Sang” and mini activities for the whole family. Find out more about your favourite Volkswagen models, get up close and test drive these models. Volkswagen owners will receive a free battery check and if a battery change is recommended, enjoy 20% discount on new batteries starting from RM365 depending on model. Promotion ends 28th February. Additionally, there is also a tyre promotion where Continental tyres are available from as low as RM184 and comes with free installation, balancing and alignment.
All Volkswagen models come with 3 years’ free maintenance, 5 years’ manufacturer’s warranty and 5 years’ roadside assistance. For more information, visit https://www.volkswagen.com.my/volkswagen-events .
Oh boy, this is gonna be a tough one. You see in this line of work, which now spans for half my lifetime (no, really, I started out in my early 20’s and I just turned 50, wow.) I’ve driven a LOT of cars. Some were good, some were wanting, and some were just downright dismal. I’ve seen a lot of changes in the automotive industry, especially from this side of the fence, the biggest one of course being the advent of digital media. Don’t forget when I first started out we were still using print film. What’s ‘film’ you ask? Sheesh, ever heard of ‘proofs’? Very soon, you never will again, mark my words.
Why is this gonna be a tough one? Well, with any car review, there are always pros and cons, good and bad, pretty and pretty ugly. It’s our job to best convey all this in the most presentable and tactful manner, for if it’s one thing I’ve learned in the last quarter century, “it’s not what you say but how you say it”. This old adage still rings true today, digital world and all. Here comes the problem though (finally); after a week with the Golf GTi, I couldn’t find anything I didn’t like about it. I couldn’t find one thing wrong with it. As such, my usual 5-minute in-car review became a whopping 13-minutes! Sorry ya, I lied in the headline. Here it is…
I’ve pretty much covered everything I wanted to say about the Golf GTi in that video, so do take a minute (well, 13 anyway) to watch it, because I even went as far as giving marriage advice and helping you justify to the other half why you ‘needed’ to buy a Golf GTi. And by the way, if you need to know the price and detailed specifications, you can click and download this: VW Golf GTi Price & Specs
One of the things I can never comment about though is long-term ownership of course, but at my last interaction with the folks at VPCM, I was informed that the thorny “DSG issue” had been sorted out a long time ago. And while no specifics were given, I’m quite certain it all boiled down (pun intended) to our climate, traffic conditions, and in particular our heat & humidity, which caused a ruckus in that whole system earlier.
(NB: To ALL car and bike importers here, “tropicalisation” is a must for any vehicle you introduce. I’ve said this countless times)
With that sorted, it’s heartening to know that with 230Ps and 350Nm of torque, the Golf GTi is every bit as fun as you’d expect a hot-hatch to be. There’s oodles of low-end torque on tap, because the GTi makes all of it between 1,500rpm and 4,600rpm. Think of it this way; from just over idle speed, you have 350Nm of torque at your toe-tips. So ferocious is the power delivery in Sport mode that I actually felt torque-steer for the first time since reviewing the Mazda3 MPS.
The true beauty, or rather, the most impressive aspect of the Golf GTi though is that you really don’t need to drive like the devil himself is after you all the time. Yes, there’s Sport mode for that odd occasion you find yourself on your favourite stretch of deserted road, but I would reckon 90% of the time the GTi will be in Normal or Eco mode, and that’s fine too. I kid you not, it’s like having two cars in one.
Come to think of it, that’s the most appealing aspect of the GTi. It allows you to be a teenager all over again, while at the same time, allows you to revert back to your current self, in the here and now. And that way, even after 25-years, and after the 90% Normal & Eco modes are put away, this car will make you feel the way you felt the very first time you got your license and your first car.
It’s exhilarating, it’s intoxicating, it’s a veritable fountain-of-youth. As I said in my video, don’t take my word for it, go drive it for yourself. The Golf GTi made me realise why I’ve been doing this for the last quarter-century, so despite its quarter-million sticker price, to me, it’s priceless. – Chris Wee.
For more details on the VW Golf GTi 2.0 TSI, click this link.
VW Golf GTi Photo Gallery…
The cursor blinks. It awaits manual input because for now at least, thoughts can’t be translated automatically into words. I have a feeling however, it will be thus soon. Anyway, even if it could right now, I doubt anything I’m thinking about the VW Golf 1.4 TSi R-Line would be considered coherent at the moment, and the funny thing is, this was one of the easiest cars from VW that I’ve encountered in recent memory. Allow me to explain…
If you were to trace the lineage of the Golf, back to when it all started in the mid-70’s, it was never intended as a performance car, at all. Iterations of the Golf like the GTi and R were of course the ‘hot’ models in the stable, but in my opinion the regular Golf – like this 1.4 TSi for example – were very much the second ‘people’s car’ from VW, after the Beetle, and thus anyone expecting GTi or R type performance from this car, just because it’s a Golf, are in for surprise. And to me, it was a pleasant one…
Fast-forward more than four decades later and the vanilla-Golf is indeed still staying true to its manifesto, and while the 150Ps may not sound like much, it’s the 250Nm of torque that deserves some mention. It comes in at a low 1,500rpm to 3,500rpm, making it quite excellent for smooth and rapid acceleration as well as roll-on acceleration between 80 – 120kmh, commonly known as the ‘danger zone’ seeing as how that’s the area of speed for overtaking. Here’s how it works…
Again though, this is nowhere near the kind of acceleration and power you’d get from its aforementioned performance siblings, instead it’s smoother and a lot more linear as opposed to fireballs-out-the-flanks frantic. It imparts a more civilized way of driving, and it’s something that’s a lot easier to get used to. Believe me on this, after owning a Golf 1.4 TSi for 30 minutes, you’ll feel it’s been part of your life for years. It’s just that accommodating. Or is it?
Perhaps VW knew this full well, that maybe 90% of those buying this car would use it as a family car, daily-driver and occasional out-of-towner, because they seem to have dialed-in a lot of NVH suppression in this car – in addition to 7-airbags and a host of active and passive safety systems – so apart from superb build-quality, the ride is also amazingly quiet on the inside, and it’s only when you mash the accelerator pedal to the carpet that you can just about hear the intake roar emanating from the engine bay. It’s quite an addictive sound I tell you, and it should please that remaining 10%.
I guess VW also realized that, well, for the aforementioned 10%, a Golf should also be fun, so they equipped this 1.4 TSi with a couple of naughty bits, in the form of ‘drive modes’. Yes, at the touch of a button (suspiciously located hidden from view behind the gear-lever next to the auto engine start/stop override button) ‘Sport’ mode ups the revs, delays the 7-speed DSG shifts and milks that 1.4 TSi engine to an inch of its life. It’s a profound transformation, and while (again) nowhere near its siblings, it still allows this car to be quite a bit of fun, for that occasional solo Sunday drive with the lads.
Born in 1974, and 44 years on, the effervescent Golf is still as fun has it’s always been and always should be. The perfect daily-commuter that won’t burn a hole in your bank account (annual road tax is just RM70!), shod with a wonderful TSi engine that’s both frugal and efficient, yet tractable and energetic, there’s a lot to like about this car, and if you’d like to see the full spec list, click this: VW Golf 1.4 TSi R-Line
Oh yeah, before I forget, here’s that cool digital-analogue instrument cluster I was talking about in the video. It’s quite brilliant actually. And do note, I’d done almost 200km and still had a range of another 390km to go before filling-up. What a car, what a car. I just thought that and it appeared on my screen all by itself. Honest. – Chris Wee.
VW Golf 1.4 TSi R-Line Photo Gallery…
Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) announced that the new Golf R-Line now comes with ‘R-Line’ Vienna leather seats.
“Unmistakable in looks, Golf R-Line comes with the ‘R-Line’ styling package, which includes ‘R-Line’ front and rear bumpers, rear spoiler, ‘R-Line’ badges on its radiator grille and side panels – and now the new ‘R-Line’ leather seats.” – VPCM.
Read more about the Golf R-Line here.
The Golf R-Line’s 1.4TSI turbocharged engine is mated with a 7-speed dry clutch direct shift gearbox (DSG), to give an impressive output of 150PS and a torque of 250Nm between 1,500 to 3,500rpm. The new Golf R-Line with seat upgrade is now RM159,888* or just RM1,669* per month.
For more information, visit any authorized Volkswagen dealership or www.volkswagen.com.my .
*Terms and conditions apply
I hate this goddam car. Ever since the first time I drove it in mid-2016 during its official media drive (below), I knew I’d end up eventually hating it, and sure enough, I did. But before I create any (more) confusion – because sarcasm really doesn’t translate well in text – let me be clear. I hate it because it’s so damn good.
The VW Vento 1.2 TSi is like the baby sedan of the Volkswagen family, and boy is it ever belligerent. Part of my ire comes from the fact that the annual road-tax for this car is a paltry RM55, whereas I’m paying five times more than that yearly, for a car that’s nowhere even close to being this awesome. Seriously, a car paying only RM55 a year for road-tax has no damn business being this good.
And that’s just one of my smaller capacity cars that I’m comparing the Vento to, I’ve not even touched on the 2,800cc monster I also own, for which I’m paying (grabs calculator) 25 times more annual road-tax. And again, it’s nowhere near as good. Let that sink in a bit, and maybe you’ll start to feel my angst.
So you see, why I hate the Vento is because it made me seriously question my lifestyle choice of personal transport. Having always been (or for as long as I can remember, which is not very long) an old-school and classic car kinda guy, I began to consider the possibility of selling all the cars I own and settling once and for all, for a ‘new’ car, like this Vento. Now this wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish on the Vento’s part by any means, but it definitely gave it a go…
The official media drive encompassed a series of switchbacks as well as flat-out bursts on the highway. On the B-roads, the Vento performed very well, darting from corner to curve with uncanny dexterity, while on the highway when we weren’t puttering around and enjoying the elevated levels of comfort and low NVH, it managed to keep-up with much higher capacity sedans. Case in point a popular 2.4 family sedan, not known to be a slouch.
The Vento was able to tail this sedan at speeds exceeding 190kmh (actual photo above) and beyond, and all the while still feel composed and un-stressed. Even my co-driver who was at the wheel at the time (unabashed blame-shift right there), a guy not easily impressed, was impressed. As was I.
105Ps and 175Nm may not seem like a lot, and something tells me these figures are modest. it comes from a 4-cyl, direct-injection, turbocharged engine that’s only a 1,197cc (hence the ridiculously low annual road-tax).
To put that into perspective, my Kawasaki Voyager XII motorcycle has a bigger engine, but yet again, nowhere near as powerful. Oh yeah, while on that matter, that bikes’ annual road-tax also costs five times more than the Ventos’. For the full specifications and price list (the Vento’s, not my bike), click this link.
Well, if you’re tired of reading about it, have a look at this recent in-car video when I got my hands on the little Vento again, while I go off and sulk for a while…
So this time around, for this revisit of sorts, I had the Vento for a whole week, and after all was said and done, this was my final say on the car…
So yeah, the VW Vento, it’s made me question everything I’ve ever held dear to my heart, insofar as my personal thoughts and feelings on the automotive realm are concerned, and for that reason, and that reason alone, and maybe also because it costs less than a hundred grand, I still hate it. Just kidding. – Chris Wee.
VW Vento 1.2 TSi Photo Gallery (photos during official media drive in 2016 by Aaron Lee)
For the full spec sheet, click this: vw-modelspecsheet-vento1-2-wm
It’s quite a mouthful isn’t it? Volkswagen Passat Comfortline Plus 280 TSI 7-speed DSG. Okay, so that last bit with the mention of its gearbox isn’t really in the official name, I just added it in for effect and because I’m silly that way…
But while we’re at it, let’s dissect that “280” badge on the boot shall we? Well, apparently it denotes the torque figure, but this Comfortline Plus 1.8 variant only has 250Nm, so why “280” then? VW says that if the torque figure falls between a certain range, they’ll just take the higher numeric and stick it on the boot. Wait, what?
It’s all part of a new naming nomenclature that began last year, whereby the VW Group has chosen to use the torque figure to denote which variant of the car it is, simple as that.
If you’re still with me, let’s try to forget all that because it really isn’t relevant to the car at hand. Here’s my take on the car, summed up in a short video:
It really is nice actually, and as you can see from the video below, it looks strikingly good as well. Here’s a quick 360-degree external walk-around video, followed by the 5 main things I love about this car:
The Clock…
No joke, wanna know one of the coolest things about the Passat interior? It’s the clock. Seriously, situated smack-dab in the centre of the dashboard sits this wonderful analogue clock. Now I don’t know about you but to me, in this digital-age, digital clocks really cheapen the looks of a car. I don’t care if it cost millions or mere thousands, a digital clock cheapens any car that it’s used in. Period.
Thankfully, the one in this Passat looks glorious. I absolutely love the simplicity of it, and the thought given to where it’s placed deserves mention too; anyone in the car can see it, regardless of where they’re sitting.
The Engine…
Like me, I’m sure anyone test-driving this car will not believe it’s a 1.8-litre 4-pot, especially when ‘Sport’ mode is selected, followed by vigourous fingering of the paddle shifts. I should have worded that better I think, but you get what I mean.
There’s a definite Dr.Jeckyll & Mr.Hyde thing going on under that bonnet because ‘Sport’ mode really does bring out the beast in this car, and while normal cruising rewards the occupants with a smooth and effortless ride, ‘Sport’ mode alters this cars’ personality to the ‘nth degree.
The Design…
It’s a subjective matter of course, but in terms of design and aesthetic appeal, despite being a ‘safe’ choice as I mentioned in the video, there’s still something about how this car looks from the outside that’s uncannily appealing.
It’s not in the least bit ostentatious, however, the Passat manages to pull-off looking sporty and aggressive, and yet stylish at the same time. There’s just something about that front-end that captures your attention and holds it. Double-takes were very prevalent during the time I had the car…
The Ride…
Here’s another trick akin to what the designers pulled-off insofar as looks are concerned, that the engineers accomplished as well. The car runs on 18-inch alloys, but you’d never know it because the suspension manages to soak-up even the worst undulations and asphalt irregularities, which abound in this country.
At the same time, the Passat feels stable and reassuring in twists and turns taken more ‘spiritedly’. It’s not a GTI and shouldn’t be thought of as one, but it will hold its own during the odd occasion you find yourself alone on a stretch of road that would be a sin to not take advantage of. Yes, I know you know what I mean…
The Ownership Experience…
I had a bet the other day with a friend that I could drive a car for 5km and know exactly everything I’d need to know about it for the purposes of a review. I was bullshitting of course, and while reliability and cost of ownership are things that I can’t comment about for this Passat, I can say that having had it for a longer period of time than usual, it’s a brilliant ownership proposition.
This is the kind of car that would be ideal as a company car, daily commuter and weekend family-time car as well. It’s big, spacious, comfortable and very well appointed (FULL specs, click here). That’s my driving position in the photo above and look at the space available at the back. Some carmakers shorten the length of the rear seat for added legroom, this is not the case with the Passat.
So as I said in the video, despite not seeing this car much on the road, it is a definite worthy consideration for anyone seeking a D-segment car in the RM180k range. By all means go test the other multitude of D-segmenters from Germany, Japan, S.Korea, and even the USA. But do yourself a favour… save the VW Passat for last. – Chris Wee.
VW Passat Comfortline Plus Photo Gallery…
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