Hungry Hippo: Honda CR-V 2.4

A full week with the new Honda CRV 2.4 has been enjoyable, especially with the current bout of rainy days. The car breezes through floods, fjording pools of water effortlessly, leaving bimmers and other family sedans in its wake.

The cabin is airy and visibility is excellent, allowing you to spot congestion and traffic build-ups a mile away (a common occurence during this festive season).



And the combined cabin and cargo area proved most helpful in lugging around a Recaro racing bucket seat and full exhaust system (from the recently de-registered DC2R). it's certainly easy to see the appeal of a soft-roader.



My only bugbear was the fuel consumption. the last time i drove it, i only managed sub-8km/L figures.

This time around, pussy-footing the car around returned 8.9km/L on average! of course it's a 2.4-litre, automatic and 4WD suv to boot, but gosh! the only time i saw 9.2km/L was when i took it all the way to the furthest reaches of Punggol for an early morning breakfast meeting.



But then, there's always the 2-litre CRV variant to look towards if fuel consumption is a major concern. and if you don't happen to live in the punggol/sengkang area... but many people may find the pace too plodding.

In white, it is a most elegant creature and drew positive responses from the lady passengers we ferried around.

The 'double-layered' jut-jaw front chin polarises opinions. it's either love or hate at first sight. i like it and it's distinctive enough to spot on the road.





p.s. excuse picture quality, the trusty SE K800i is undergoing repair work. these were taken using a SE k618i

Oldie but Goodie: mercedes-benz c200 sports edition

Many would consider the C-class something of an old-timer, although the C55 AMG remains a firm favourite among us 'younger' folks. A big shout out to DaimlerChrysler for the last minute loan of a sexy black C200 Sport Edition last Friday.

This 'run-out' spec has been outfitted with sporty niceties like new (and bigger) sports rims, aluminium trim in the cabin, big-bore exhaust (great sonorous note) and assorted garnish.

Revisiting the car has certainly opened our eyes. We'd take this over an entry level BMW 320i any day. The C200 feels nimble and the 163bhp supercharged engine is peppy compared to the sluggish Bimmer. Compact proportions mean it's easy to punt around and the standard equipment list includes electric driver AND passenger seats.

Tail-outs are easily provoked with a prod of the gas pedal, but the traction control quickly cuts in and inhibits holding a drift. Smoke outs are possible though and the footage is NOT from an AMG car, but the C200!

Temple of VTEC

gee whiz, 2 years is coming up really soon and it's about time to give up my trusty steed. After all was said and done, added, modded and de-modded, i've realised that the best way to experience the Honda Integra Type R (DC2 98specR) is as Honda intended. Factory-stock... well, apart from the mugen twin loop exhaust system, of course!

What's ahead for this m0t0rhead? well, all i can say is, it's probably going to be another high-revving Honda. The only question is, Which one? :)

Here's a short vid-clip of me driving the typeR. i know, i know, i hit 'tec for less than a few seconds at a time, but it was the only time i could be arsed to video it.

It's been a real blast.

VW Golf R32: Race seats

Following on the coat-tails of the Subaru Impreza STI S204's SGD$10,000 a piece Recaro seats, VW announces new sports seats co-developed with legendary seat-meisters, Recaro. Embossed with the 'R' logo, these sleek seats are finished in a gorgeous leather-cladding, and are well contoured and padded to ensure the front occupants are kept snug-as-bugs during hard driving. These reclinables are specially designed to complement the R32's cockpit and enhance the pocket-rocket's driving experience.

Too bad these don't look nearly as lightweight as the carbon-fibre backed ones in the S204 though...

Honda: Advanced VTEC Engine

Sick of the recent emphasis on 'clean & green' cars over hardcore performance cars? Well the first fruit of Honda's Advanced VTEC engine in a production car approximately 3 years from now should have worshippers at the Temple of VTEC cheering in anticipation of even more high-powered applications.

Honda's 2.4-litre Advanced VTEC engine combines continuously variable valve lift with timing control with VTC (continuously variable phase control) for maximum power output and exceptional fuel economy. The engine should prove to be a flexible beast, with a broad seam of torque available across the rev band, as well as offer the driver optimum response depending on the driving conditions.

Subaru Impreza WRX STi S204: Feeding on lots of Scooby Snacks

OUT of the box, this HAS to be one of the more potent Scoobys' available, and is rivalled only by the Spec C in terms of desirability (in my eyes at any rate).





320bhp/6400rpm and 432Nm/4400rpm sound good eh? The extras help too: 2 x Recaro dry carbon race seats at a rumoured SGD$8,000 a piece! (reclinable, no less!), 18inch forged alloy rims wrapped in sticky Pirelli Corsa rubbers and a bespoke bodykit form the sticky syrup topping on this yummy dessert.

Moving off, it doesn't feel as torquey as one of those 'green', Euro-friendly 2.5-litre STis', but the moment the needle crosses 4000rpm, hang on to the steering wheel as the full fury of the 1994cc flat-four is unleashed, and charges unabated all the way to its 8000+rpm redline!

The steering has been sharpened up over its 2.5 brethren, but there's still a little vagueness about the straightahead, and it's not as darty as the Evo IX GSR.

Take a listen to the drive-by. Am i the only one who thinks it sounds uncannily like one of Honda's loco VTEC engines?

What i can't get my head around is the marketing strategy for the S204. Pay an extra SGD$1,000 on top of the $160,000 price for each unit sold? I guess that's why only three units have been released into the wild so far.

But considering the mere 600 units produced worldwide, this could already be 3 too many! :)

MotorImage Enterprises has just 30 of these beauties to apportion between its various regional showrooms.

Chrysler 300C SRT8: American Superpower?

YOU know how everybody likes to repeat the mantra, "size doesnt' matter"? well they lied. after all there's only so much u can do with wee willie winky. it probably doesnt help either that every once in awhile, something comes along that really, and i mean, REALLY rocks your world.

with a stonking HUGE 6.1-litre V8 engine at the heart of the already stupendous Chrysler 300C shell, this pimp-mobile now has the 'go' to complement the 'show', which include 20inch rims and a wall-shaped front grille.



And what a show it puts on too, if the reactions at the various kopi tiams we visited were of any indication. and this was with the engine off, mind you...

it's almost hard to believe this beast shares its platform with the earlier merc-benz E-class platform, albeit stretched to a commodious 3048mm. indicator and cruise control stalks are straight out of the daimlerchrysler parts bin as well.



the steering wheel is errrr...urgh, and the multi-function buttons get in the way when you've got the steering wheel in a death grip with the wall on one side, and kerb on the other!



the cabin's bit & pieces feel low-rent and the quality, suspect, but these take a back seat the moment u get a-moving. the things that DO matter are well sorted, including the snug-fit blue suede/leather bucket seats and of course, the 300km/h meters. and it's not there for bai swee purposes either. unfettered, this car is ahem, expected to hit 270km/h. and the mournful yowl the engine emits under pedal-to-metal moments is addictively heart-stopping!



spot a lurking cop? the four-pot (front AND rear) brembo brake callipers work really well in dragging the car to a standstill as well.



0-100km/h? 5 seconds flat. quick enough to embarass more expensive machinery, not to mention the odd bengmobile or two. All it takes is a decisive jab of the 'nuclear sudden death button' in the form of the gas pedal for instant annihilation.

the downside? 6-litres of HEMI-happy power comes at a price. road tax is S$9,000 a year and mixed driving only returned a thirsty average of 23L/100km! that's on top of the S$210,000 asking price of the car. as standard, you enjoy 425bhp/6000rpm and 569Nm/4800rpm.



apart from the kidney crushing straight line acceleration, the other bit of fun is turned on the moment you turn off the 'esp'. wag the tail of the 1.9tonne car like a rally hero (or should that be 'rarely' hero) as just a small squirt of the gas pedal lets u indulge in ur wildest (or bravest) oversteer fantasies! Or pave the asphalt with black streaks of 255/45 goodyear rubber as the car makes a quick getaway in a cloud of gratuitous tyre smoke... or so we've heard... ;)



(*All pictures and videos: Nokia N73)