Sunday, October 31, 2004

Motor Morons' Motoring Weekend


iTunes' party shuffle is playing a copy of: Being With You - Smokey Robinson - Billboard Top Hits: 1981, of which I have the original CD and therefore didn't steal music.
No, I didn't go watch the rugby or the wakeboarding this weekend, because every time I looked out the window, it looked like it was gonna rain chubby rain. What I did instead was a spot of retail therapy with a friend who's looking to buy a car. Because this was the first time either of us were looking at showroom cars (as opposed to caryard ones), we were very excited. We collected half a dozen brochures before we mustered enough courage to ask for a test drive. Yes, me and my friend are what you would call Motor Morons. Very tiring weekend, but here's our Motor Moron Motor Review: Chevrolet Aveo: Not a good feel at all. Horrible interior with plastic trimmings that look like Airfix parts. (In fact, the drinks-holder fell apart because the airfix glue never glue properly). The doors were tinny-sounding when you closed them. Two thumbs down. Mitsubishi Lancer: Looked pretty alright from the outside, though a bit 'Beng/Lian'. The inside was a bit outdated, with the instrument cluster looking like something from the early 90s. The ride was pretty smooth, and we didn't bang anything or what, even if it was our first time driving it. We even went into a road hump pretty hard, and the car still stayed together like a dream. Not a peep from the salesman either. In the lobby of the showroom was a 'Ralliart' version of the Lancer. My brother (who's not a Motor Moron, but likes to make fun of Motor Morons) says I should get it, so I look like I have a sports car, though it won't drive like one. Apparently there's something called the Evil Eight or something version of the Lancer that the Bengs and their molls can't get enough of. Now, that's a sports car, says my brother. My brother also says Mitsubishi is coming up with a 'new shape' for the Lancer, so don't buy a Lancer now. But the Lancer comes with a Sony or Kenwood car stereo that plays MP3 discs leh. One thumb up, one thumb down. Toyota Vios: We didn't get to test drive this car because the showroom was chockers with people looking to buy cars, and the salesman said 'How to test drive, see how crowded it is?'. Minus 20,000 points. But the Vios is pretty neat, with the instrument cluster in the middle of the dashboard, tilted towards the driver so the driver can still see how fast he or she is going. But there's still too much of that fake wood veneer panelling thing going on, and that makes it look a little dated. The doors shut pretty nicely though. One thumb up, one thumb down (for impatient salesman). Mazda 3: We already liked the look of the Mazda 3, and we were attended to by a woman called Rosie, and she could tell at once that we were Motor Morons. (There was that glint in her eye while we had that glaze in ours). Rosie was pretty good at convincing us that the Mazda 3 was the best car in its class, even if it was $10-15K more expensive than other compact sedans. It was pretty crowded at the showroom too, but Rosie managed to get us a yellow Mazda 3 to play around with. The ride was pretty good, and we weren't at all distracted by Rosie talking non-stop while we negotiated the weekend afternoon traffic. The car's interior is very stylo-mylo, and it has one of those nifty steering wheel controlled stereo systems. And when we were done with our test drive, we closed the doors and there was a very satisfying 'clump' sound as they shut. Mmmm. Not tinny. Rosie carried on talking about which model we should buy, as if we were already set on buying one. 'Don't buy the RS! What for? Sports package make the car very heavy! $5,000 more to make the car drink more petrol! No point lah!', she said. Two thumbs up. Next week: Test driving cars I cannot afford.


10 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

It's the cars we can't afford that make us wanna buy cars.. heh.. try the 407!

10/31/2004 10:04:00 PM  
Blogger Jayaxe said...

Interesting review. I'll look back on this when I'm going to shop for one.

Next week: Pagani Zonda? Hehehe.

10/31/2004 10:56:00 PM  
Blogger Cowboy Caleb said...

Vios lah.

The Mazda3 is overpriced IMHO. At that price, a Honda Civic would give you higher ROI.

I agree that the Aveo has a terrible interior. The exterior looks sporty but they had a non-chalant approach on the interior.

11/01/2004 09:13:00 AM  
Blogger Mr Miyagi said...

Pagani wha? Lamborghini? Where can I find those? Got auto or not? I was thinking more like the Mercs and the Lexus (or Lexi? or Lexuses or Lexuseses).

11/01/2004 04:30:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Try the BMW 3 series!
Apparently it's at the end of the line and there's a sale on...

11/01/2004 06:26:00 PM  
Blogger Jayaxe said...

Pagani Zonda - Dubbed as the world's most exclusive supersports car and is in a class of its own. Let me know if you ever get the chance to test drive it!

11/01/2004 11:42:00 PM  
Blogger Mr Miyagi said...

Wait, I find my Armani clothes and dry clean first.

11/02/2004 12:40:00 AM  
Blogger Jayaxe said...

Hahahaha!

11/02/2004 02:14:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

seriously,

the the Corolla Altis or Honda Civic. The rest, including Mazda, pales by comparison.

Mazda o.k but way overpriced

11/03/2004 06:19:00 PM  
Blogger veola said...

Vios is not bad, but also checkout the Honda City, fugly as hell, but many will argue that it's the better car compared to Vios.

11/04/2004 06:09:00 PM  

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