The cutesy Ora brand has grown up with its first SUV model for Singapore, and the Ora 5 offers practical usability with its own unique charm. There are some cars where I wished I had more time to test drive sometimes. Typically these are either mind-blowing high-performance models that I don’t get to experience often, or extremely fun to drive cars that just make me reluctant to hand the keys back. The ...
Read More
It may be a minor technological update, but new hardware in the XPeng X9 Pro gives the car a significant bump in software usability. It seems now that every modern carmaker now talks about software, artificial intelligence and “ecosystems” with the enthusiasm of people who have just discovered Silicon Valley. Cars are essentially moving computers now, and you can’t go anywhere without some virtual assistant analysing your every move. None is more ...
Read More
The Ferrari Amalfi may be the least powerful and least expensive Ferrari you can buy today, but it could also be one of the easiest to genuinely enjoy. It's weird to call any Ferrari an entry-level model. Entry-level suggests sensible shoes, base-spec infotainment and perhaps a monthly instalment plan you can discuss without first contacting your private banker. The Ferrari Amalfi, meanwhile, comes with 631bhp, a twin-turbocharged V8 and a price ...
Read More
Hyundai adds a large electric seven-seater SUV to its lineup, and the Ioniq 9 delivers a remarkably refined and tech-laden experience for the family. It seems like if you want a large electric six- or seven-seater car here, there’s simply no escaping the number 9. Aside from the numerous Chinese MPVs that all feature the digit in their names, even the SUV options all have ‘9’ in their nomenclature. There’s the versatile ...
Read More
Somewhere along the way, SUVs started looking less and less like SUVs. Walk through a carpark today, and you’ll see plenty of smooth noses, curving rooflines, flush door handles and full-width light bars. BYDs, Teslas and the growing wave of Chinese EVs have certainly moved automotive design forward. After a while though, quite a few of them start blending into one another. Not the RAV4 though. It's been a crowd favourite for ...
Read More
The Denza B5 is one of those cars that makes you reconsider what constitutes luxury, while simultaneously being knee-deep in gravel and mud. Back then, a proper luxury off-roader had to come from somewhere very specific. If you wanted toughness, you looked to a Land Cruiser. If you wanted elegance, perhaps a Lexus. And if you wanted both, you generally prepared yourself for a rather painful conversation with your bank manager. ...
Read More
The Deepal S05 does not feel like a newcomer demanding your attention, but rather a mature product that simply gets on with the job. It would be amusing to describe Changan as one of China’s older carmakers, because in the context of the current automotive gold rush, “old” can mean a company that existed before TikTok. Still, Changan has proper history. It has been building vehicles for roughly 45 years; beginning with ...
Read More
Mercedes-Benz’s sleek CLA goes all-electric for the first time, and in CLA250 guise it could prove to be the best version of the new CLA yet. When the first Mercedes-Benz CLA arrived in Singapore over a decade ago, it immediately proved to be a huge hit. The appeal of the Three-Pointed Star on a compact sedan was hard to resist for many, but crucially, its attractive price point opened up the ...
Read More
Mercedes-Benz’s popular GLB compact seven-seater goes fully electric, and it returns bearing more style, tech, space and efficiency. One of the best-selling Mercedes-Benz models in Singapore in recent years was the first-generation GLB, and its popularity here was no surprise really. After all, it has all the elements that many Singaporeans desire, being a practical family-oriented compact SUV with seating for seven, along with a premium badge while retailing at a ...
Read More
Style over space? That's what the people yearn for, and why the Mercedes-Benz GLC200 Coupe has had great success here. SUVs used to be purely functional. You bought one because you needed the space, and the commanding driving position was a welcome bonus. While the boxy silhouette was simply part of the package, nobody really cared how stylish an SUV looked. Fast forward to today, and things have changed rather dramatically. SUVs ...
Read More
The Proton e.MAS 5 is billed as “Malaysia’s first affordable EV”, and despite its compact size, it packs quite a punch. An affordable national car does not need to produce supercar figures, arrive dripping in carbon fibre or promise technology borrowed from a spacecraft. To benefit a country, it simply needs to be attainable, useful and good enough to make everyday commuters sit up and pay attention. This is what the ...
Read More
There is something rather poetic about Proton finally building a plug-in hybrid, and the Proton e.MAS 7 PHEV is certainly ready to step up to the challenge. For decades, Proton has been synonymous with providing Malaysians with honest, accessible motoring. It has weathered changing consumer tastes, embraced partnerships with some of the industry's biggest names, and most recently, accelerated headlong into the electrified era. And it has done so rather quickly. Since ...
Read More
The MG 4 returns with a completely revamped design inside and out, but does the now-renamed MG 4 Urban deliver the same joyful experience as the car it replaces? One of the most surprising cars that I’ve driven in recent years was the first-generation MG 4. It was a sharp-looking electric hatchback seemingly designed to function as a mundane everyday runabout, but it turned out to be one of the most ...
Read More
School was back in session, although this particular classroom looked rather different from the ones I remembered. There were no desks, whiteboards or stern-looking teachers. Instead, there was a fleet of BMW iX3s waiting at Pathum Thani Speedway, just outside Bangkok, and a driving programme that involved a closed circuit, public roads and rather more horsepower than the average lesson plan. BMW called it the iX3 Masterclass, bringing together more than 60 ...
Read More
I have always had a soft spot for Honda. But does the pint-sized Honda Super-ONE EV make me love the brand more? Or less? Over the years, I have owned two Honda Civic EK4 SiRs and a Honda Odyssey, so I would consider myself more than just a casual admirer of the brand. Honda, to me, has always been one of those manufacturers that understands how a car should feel. There is ...
Read More