New Car In Brunei - Mercedes Benz CLS Gen.3(C257)

What a beautiful car this is!  Just yesterday Jati Transport launched their latest MY2019 CLS.  The Marketing Manager of Jati Transport, Daniel actually gave me a heads-up about the launch a few weeks prior to the actual launch date.  I am glad I came to see this beauty.  Again, Mercedes Benz new design language is growing more and more on me.  This red CLS350 example here is called Cardinal Red Metallic by designo and it will cost you just BND$120K++.  Yes you didn't read it wrong,  the price has dropped from BND$155K++ as compared to Gen.2 CLS350.  The new CLS450 will set you BND$155K++ thou..

The car now also goes from 4 seaters to 5 seaters!  Four seaters is not really popular in Asian market especially on a big sedan.  With the additional seat I am pretty sure it will open up the market for people looking at the new E-Class or BMW 5-Series.

The car at BND$122K is very much loaded with all the options from the catalogue.  My favorite would be the full BURMEISTER sound system!  The car is fitted with full LED technology from the front to the rear lamps.  Engine power is rated around 290hp from Mercedes Benz latest straight 6 engine configuration and coupled with additional power provided by the EQ boost technology similar to those found in Mercedes Benz F1 car.

If you need to know more about this car please visit Jati Transport Autohaus for more details!

Check out the blue color details on the main beam!

Nothing much to see but it does have 290hp+ thanks to the EQ boost technology

Can you see the intake?

The interior in the latest CLS is more or less similar to the new E-Class that I test drove a few months ago

The CLS is fitted with the dual LCD similar to E300 on sale at JATI Transport

Yes for the price you paid you get the awesome BURMEISTER sound system!

Do you fancy the Selenite Grey Metallic color?

New Car In Brunei - Mercedes Benz A-Class (W177)

I was at Jati Transport Autohaus yesterday for the launching of the latest Mercedes Benz CLS350 & CLS450.  Before we get into that lets talk about the latest A-Class that was launched a few weeks ago.  This red example is the latest 2019 A-Class A200.  It is a looker.  I love the new design language from Mercedes Benz, especially on the front.  Its sharper and meaner.  As for the rear, it will be up to individual taste.  I can be honest it looks like a KIA Cerato from the back.  Regardless of how I think, once you step inside the interior all the negative remark will disappear as the front dash will greet you with two large LCD coupled with the latest UI from Mercedes Benz called MBUX.  The dual LCD is one of its kind in the market.  The car will cost you around BND$50K+++(Please check Jati Transport for their latest pricing).

New Car In Brunei - Suzuki Jimny (Gen.4)

The most anticipated mini 4WD of 2018 has landed in Brunei.  This is the latest generation of Suzuki Jimny.  Look at it, so cute and yet so rugged!  It will set you back around BND24K++ for a manual and BND28K++ for an auto.  If you want two tone colors then there is an additional BND$500.00.  It is an all rounder off roader with body on frame. I sat on the driver's seat and for those of you over 6 feet tall, you can forget about buying this car...LOL!   I am pretty sure this model will be a big hit especially for the off-road enthusiast.

Family Rides - 2018 Kia Sportage GT-Line

Another member of my family just took possession of the latest face-lifted KIA Sportage GT-Line.  This is the 2nd KIAs in the family!  Maybe one day I will get a KIA too, if I do it will be the almighty STINGER!

We did look for other car options but this car came up high in the list due to two things. First, the equipment it came with and secondly, the price!  This top spec GT-Line came with pano-roof, e-brake, LED front and rear tail lights, full leather seats and many mores.  At the time of writing, 2 years insurance is also included by the dealer.  The price is BND$38K+++.

My sibling who bought this car is not into cars and all he needed was a small SUV within his price bracket.  So I recommended the KIA Sportage and he was sold. 

I have not driven this car yet but I am loving the interior and the new refresh looks.

 

Project : W210 - Lower Dashboard Panel Carpet

Hello readers!  Today post will be the continuation of my Project:W210.  As you can see from the upper picture, my lower dashboard panel was removed due to the carpet not sticking on the panel.

As you can see from the picture below, the glue is no longer doing its job.  It was quite annoying every time I drive the car as it gets in the way and I was afraid I will make more damages to the carpet.  So I took a few tools and removed the panel in less then 10mins!

The grey bit is made of natural coconut tree material

I went to a hardware store nearby my house and bought this "STICK IT" from Carplan.  I am familiar with using interior glue so this one was a quick and easy fix.  It cost only $11.20 and all you need to do is sprayed the area that you want to glue.  The glue will set in a few minutes!

Here is the final result!  I was planning to have this done professionally by a interior upholstery dealer but they wanted to charge me BND$50.00!!!.  Guess who didn't earn my money~

Projet : NES.II - PORSCHE Side Stripes

G'day readers!  Finally I got something to post for my Porsche Boxster S.  I had always wanted the Porsche side stripes that was first shown on the Porsche Boxster Spyder 987.2 back in 2011.  

I actually ordered once online from Canada back in 2015 but it never arrived.  This time I gave it a go from another online store and it arrived safety.

The parcel I ordered arrived in around two weeks and came with the Porsche side stripes and the seller also threw in extra gifts as well. 

Last month I took the challenge to have it installed by myself.  I never done this before but in this day of age one can just turn to Youtube for help.  Turns out it's pretty easy to apply!  It's a one man job and all you need is patient and water! What do you guys think of the new addition accessories added?

Car Spotting In Singapore

Here are some cars I spotted in Singapore back in June 2018.

Ferrari 458 Speciale

New Aston Martin Vantage

Porsche 911 Carrera Cabrio (997.2)

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S (997.2)

Porsche 911 Carrera Cabrio (993)

The Day I Test Drove A.....Mercedes Benz E200 (W213)

Back in June, Daniel, Marketing Manager of Jati Transport offered me to test drive the E200 (W213) when I bumped into him while picking up our children at school.  I was reluctant at first because I am not planning to purchase anycar at that time.  He told me there is no obligation and offered me to take the car home for 4 days just to test drive!  How can I say no to that!

 

I am a big fan of W210 to W212 because of the quad head lamps design.  The new generation W213 took a different approach by combining them to individual headlamp.  So to speak I am not a very big fan of this new approach.  I had seen the W213 AMG E63 in brochure and damn it is one very aggressive car!  This E200 doesn't come with AMG package.  Its the standard version coming out of the factory so no aggressive AMG bodykit or performance package.

On delivery day I was brief on how to "use" the car.  I am glad they taught me because there was a few features that require first hand information for new driver.  At the point of writing, this particular version was offer for around BND$95K~$98K . Again please check with Jati Transport for their latest update on pricing.

The first thing that caught my attention when I hopped into the driver seat was the beautiful layout of the interior design. Everything inside the cabin felt so modern and yet elegance at the same time.  You will also be greeted by the new LED interior lighting.  I am not new to this because my MINI Countryman was one of the earlier car to approach this type of interior lighting.  The only differences is Mercedes Benz took their E-Class version a step further.  You can control two different part of the interior with different LED lighting!  It can be done with single color, dual color or continuously color changing!

The First drive : Once I am done with adjusting my seating position, I pressed the START button and the half analog/digital instrument came to life(The E300 version gets the dual LCD features). I engaged the gear stalk located behind the steering wheel for Drive (I am still not used to this type of gear stalk as it is similar to my mum CLA200).

Once the car was engaged, I took the car home and during that period of time with the car I can say it is quite an impressive car.  Steering is very light and easy to maneuver for a car this big. The performance for a 2.0(184hp) is actually quite impressive!  I said this because I was so disappointed with my mum CLA200 as it was sluggish.  This E200 felt very fast, as a matter of fact it felt faster then my MINI given they both have the same hp rating only the MINI is 1.6.  I cannot imagine the power of E300 with 245hp on tap.  Handling is more or less a typical Mercedes-Benz sedan.  If you ever engage the Sports+ setting it makes the car performance even more sporty. 

The Tech : This car is loaded with lots of tech.  My favorite was the auto parking assist where the car will search a suitable parking spot and help u parked the car without your input for steer and brake.  All you need is engage the gear for the car!  Is a very simple step and I think all car in the future should have this feature.  And when you want to leave the parking space, the car will reverse out the parking spot like how it was parked in the first place!

The steering wheel has touch sensitive buttons for easy control.  All the buttons are beautifully lay out in the center console.

The LCD also display many 360 angle for your vehicle when parked. 

Here you go, my view on the new E200.  Would I buy it?  Hell yeah if I got the money but I will probably go for the E300 with AMG Line.  I give this E200 a score of  7.5/10 based on my experiences on medium size executive sedan.