Cars that are good value for money
By Naveen Victor | Motor Trader Malaysia – Mon, Feb 24, 2014RELATED CONTENT
- Value for money cars
If you are in the market for a new car, here are four of them that are worth considering especially when you are looking for the best bang for your buck.
It’s the beginning of the year and if you’ve been holding off on buying a new car because you couldn’t decide what was worth your money, Motor Trader is here to help shine some light on what’s worth considering. When you’ve settled on what you want, remember that just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean you will be able to maintain it. On top of the car’s monthly installments, you also have to factor in petrol expenses as well as insurance and road tax.
Many automakers offer 3-5 years warranty on a wide range of its vehicles to make the prospect of owning one of their models just that much more enticing. But what they don’t tell you is that that applies for only certain components such as the engine and gearbox. The warranty period for the entire car is usually for only one or two years. After that should something go wrong, you are on your own!
Even when it comes to the engine and gearbox, if it involves leaky hoses of the gearbox, clogged injectors or engine cooling issues due to a problem with the radiator, the 5 year warranty usually does not cover these issues as they are considered wear and tear problems. If you think buying a vehicle with 5 years warranty would provide you with 5 years of trouble free motoring, think again.
So buying a new car isn’t always a good idea for those struggling to make ends meet. But if you are sure you will be able to afford the monthly installments as well as the fuel and servicing costs then we have four cars that we consider good value for money.
Kia PicantoKia’s latest Picanto was launched sometime in the third quarter of last year and despite its good value for money, has gone relatively unnoticed. The base car retails for RM54,888 and with that you get a compact hatchback with funky exterior styling and a very premium looking interior. Under the hood is a peppy 1.2-litre MPI CVVT Kappa engine that is either mated to a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. The car comes equipped with reverse sensors, 6-airbags, ABS, EBD, Traction Control, Speed sensing door locks and electronic stability control among others. It’s a darn good alternative to a Perodua Myvi.
Proton Suprima SYes, it’s a Proton and we all know that when it comes to quality control, the national automaker has yet prove that it can offer well built machines. That being said, things have been steadily improving and proof of that is the Proton Suprima S. It’s the first mild hatch offered by Proton since the Satria GTI. Prices for the car start at RM76,338 and with that you get a turbocharged 1.6-litre CamPro engine that puts out 138bhp and 205Nm of torque. It’s mated to a CVT transmission, which may not be to everyone’s liking but it does improve efficiency. The kit offered with the car includes six airbags, touchscreen infotainment system and a slew of electronic tech such as ABS and traction control.
Be warned, since this is Proton’s first turbocharged engine, its reliability is still in question as some early adopters have reportedly run into a few mechanical issues with it. If you drive the car sensibly and service it at regular servicing intervals, then you will find that it offers good acceleration, decent handling through corners and the same create comforts of a car twice its price.
Proton InspiraMany may consider it a Lancer rip-off but if you can look past the copycat image, what you will eventually see is a vehicle that is incredibly good value for money. The Inspira is offered in three different trim levels, namely, the 1.8 MT, 1.8E and the 2.0P. All three come with Mitsubishi sourced MIVEC engines, as such reliability and efficiency is going to be respectable. Though all three variants are good value for money, the base car, the 1.8 MT is probably one of the best bargains in the first half of 2014. Prices starts at RM78,504 but due to the current demands of the public, the manual transmission car isn’t favoured. As such this 1.8-litre model is being pushed off dealers’ lots for as little as RM65,000.00. That has to be one of the best bargains around considering what you are getting.
For that money you get a Mitsubishi equipped with front airbags, ABS, EBD as well as a properly sorted chassis that will offer good driving enjoyment.
Kia CeratoThe Korean automaker has perfected the art of making relatively affordable cars look very expensive. Through clever design and solid build quality, modern day Kia vehicles are fairly reliable and robust, which have won the favour of many Malaysian car buyers. The recently launched Cerato is a testament to that. Offered with either a 1.6 or 2.0-litre engine, the Cerato is the most premium C-segment car you can buy with B-segment money. For under RM100,000 you get a decent 1.6-litre Gamma engine, robust gearbox, and an elegant interior packed with goodies never seen before at this price point. As for features, the car has keyless entry, illuminated door handle and side mirror, reverse camera, rear air vents, dual zone climate control, 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, traction control and so on.
Driving enjoyment isn’t that great but as a regular sedan to get you from point A to B, very few cars in its price range that can actually measure up to it.
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