Test Drive: Skoda Superb 1.8TSI

Superb in name and superb by nature

The Skoda brand enjoyed one of the best revivals in the last decade or so, thanks, in no small part to its new German parents, Volkswagen which took control of the Czech carmaker in the early 1990s and turned it from a joke into a serious contender for quality motoring

Malaysians are not yet exposed to the Skoda brand and they will need some time to get to grips with what Skoda means and represents but when they do, the brand will start picking up fans the way Audi is doing right now.

Underpinning every Skoda is the mighty engineering resources of the Volkswagen-Audi Group and VAG is known for producing some of the best engineered vehicles in the mass and premium segment.

NAZA KIA MALAYSIA TAKES TEST DRIVE KIA ON TOUR 2011 TO THE CURVE

Naza Kia Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the official distributor of Kia Motors vehicles in Malaysia, will host the final leg of its hugely popular Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow in Petaling Jaya, Selangor this week.

The five-day roadshow will be held from Oct 12 to Oct 16 at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara .

The roadshow at the Curve is the final leg of Naza Kia Malaysia’s Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 which began in May at the One Utama Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur before moving to Penang in August and Johor Bahru in September.

Test Drive: Mazda 8, theZoom zoom MPV

Size does matter but in the case of the Mazda 8, bulk doesn’t mean boring

The boom of the Multi-Purpose Vehicle has continued since the mid 1980s so we can safely say that it is not a passing fad.

With more than two decades of MPV season it is only fair for us to expect carmakers to have figured out how to make the people carrier more fun, after all, when all is done, customers always want more fun.

The sad fact is that to this day there are no MPVs that are fun to drive. Well actually that is not true, the Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG was a mad mad MPV that is a hoot and a half to drive but it also costs a king’s ransom and since my family is unconvinced of my royal lineage they were not willing to cough up the money for one.

Anyway, in the real world, there are no MPVs that are fun to drive.

The rest of the review after the jump

TEST DRIVE: BMW 528i M Sport

Ever since BMW introduced their new tagline, ‘Joy is BMW’ my eyebrows have never quite straightened out properly. I don’t understand why they got rid of ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ which was brilliant, descriptive and accurate representation of their products.

 I wondered if I don’t get the new tagline, would it mean that I would not get their new cars either? It was a genuinely worrying prospect for a car nut, even one that prefers Stuttgart to Munich.

I still do get BMW cars but I still don’t get the tagline, in fact I get the tagline even less after driving their cars.
The 528i Sport that we are featuring this week is a perfect example of my confusion because, the F10 five series is really a much better driver’s car than the model that it replaces and at the same time it is no better than the predecessor as a passenger car.

KIA records 150 orders during Penang Test Drive roadshow

The Kia Forte took the lead in terms of bookings and it is followed by the stunning all-new Kia-Sportage, as customers put their money down on this well-specified compact SUV.

During the week, 855 potential customers took part in the test drive and with 150 orders, they achieved an impressive conversion rate of 16.6 per cent.

Bear in mind that online conversion rate is a tiny fraction of one per cent while brick and mortar showrooms would be lucky to get five per cent conversion rate.

follow the jump for the rest of the detail in the Press Release

Test Drive a Kia in Penang and win a Forte

NAZA KIA MALAYSIA TAKES TEST DRIVE KIA ON TOUR 2011 TO PENANG

Naza Kia Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the official distributor of Kia Motors vehicles in Malaysia, will take its hugely popular Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow to Penang this week.

The five-day roadshow will be held from Aug 17 to Aug 21 at the Queensbay Mall in Penang.

The roadshow in Penang is the second leg of Naza Kia Malaysia’s Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 which began in May at the One Utama Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Following Penang, Naza Kia Malaysia will take the test drive campaign to Johor Bahru before ending with another roadshow in the Klang Valley in October.

Customers who test drive any of the vehicles at the any of these roadshows will be in the running to win a Forte 1.6EX.

At Penang, customers will be given a chance to test drive the multiple-award winning and all-new Sportage as well as the highly popular Forte and Sorento SUV. The all-new Sportage was recently launched by Naza Kia Malaysia to the market in June.