Malaysia Motoring News - new article for today

4th generation Renault Clio revealed - first detail & photo galleries

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT



The fourth generation Renault Clio is set to battle it out with the likes of Ford Fiesta and Fiat Punto with a stylish new body, upmarket interior ambiance and a set of economical new engine. This generation of Renault Clio is designed under the supervision of Laurens van den Acker, Renault new design chief, the new Clio is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor. In terms of chassis architecture, Clio Mk4 retains the McPhersons struts/Torsion Beam setup of the current model.


However, it is the exterior styling that takes the centre stage this time around. The front end is dominated by new corporate face with integrated headlamps and grille with prominent Renault badge takes the central attention. The headlamps is particular is not only intricate in its housing and internal graphics, but it also has a darkened lower surrounding that runs all the way right from the grille. The long and simple lower intake in adorned with circular fog lamps with chromed surround that flanks the horizontal slats.

The side profile is far from being slab sided prominent belt line that launches into the powerful rear haunches, the crisp detailing in the lower sills with contrasting insert and most importantly the rear door has been "eliminated" with the inclusion of Alfa-like hidden door outside handle.

The rear end meanwhile is no less interesting. Firstly the rear glass is well blended with the curvy flaring of rear haunch and the tailgate panel features a crisp protruding fascia that stands proud from being homogenous with the rest of the rear end panel. Chrome strip complete the rear end garnishing. Consistent with the theme set at the front end, the rear combi is installed within the darkened insert and the lower valence has the same outline as the front bumper lower intake.

Inside the cabin,the dashboard adopts a more upmarket design than before, with prominent centre console wrapped in piano black material. Together with the steering wheel, meter binnacle and door trim, these items features a rich interplay of plastic texturing, coloured insert and chromed lining. 7' touch screen is also part of the package from mid-range model onwards. Other than that, Renault is also offering interior personalisation program with several trim color selection.

In the powertrain department, the engine line-up for Clio Mk4 include the 900cc 3-cylinder turbocharged Energy Tce engine kicking out 89bhp and 135Nm, 1.5L turbodiesel Energy dCi punching out 89hp and 220Nm. The claimed fuel consumption figure for both are 4.3L/100km and 3.2L/100km respectively, mega economical MMN would say! A turbocharged 1.2L gasoline engine also is available, and hooked to a 6spd dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Some gallery of the Renault Clio Mk4 can be found after the jump.
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Mazda MX-5 gains a new lease of life with updated looks

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 07:44 AM PDT



The new Mazda MX-5 might be on its way, but the current model won't be bowing out anytime soon as Mazda has given the NC model a second facelift. Initially introduced back in 2005, Mazda MX-5 has been facelifted in 2008 when the sharper Nagare "Zoom-zoom" front end design replaced the bulbous looking originals. For 2012, the front bumper has been redesigned again with the latest "Kodo" element, where the fog lamp housing for example is clearly CX-5 inspired in its look. The headlight too has been given a customary enhancement with black inner housing.


The interior too has gained some mild makeover. The revised item includes blackened meter binnacles. It is not yet clear if Mazda has tweaked the suspension or enhanced the engine settings at this stage. More photos of the updated Mazda MX-5 can be found after the jump.
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Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake - crossover sedan+coupe+wagon

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 06:03 AM PDT


 First it was the cross breed between sedan and coupe, giving birth to the low slung four door with sloping roofline. Then the German start jacking-up the coupe (or compressing the roof of their SUV, whichever angle you look at) to create the coupe-SUV, now they have pumped up the back end of a wagon to their low-slung sedan. Enter the CLS Shooting Brake. Independence at its most beautiful, or so according to Mercedes speak.


The CLS Shooting Brake carries all the distinctive styling features of the normal CLS right up to the B-pillar when the roof line starts not to drop too drastically, but instead continues to run a bit longer before sloping downwards a steeply raked rear screen on the tailgate. Dimensions of this latest cross-breed is 4,956mm long, 1,881mm wide and 1,413mm tall. Inside the exquisitely crafted cabin, 5 passengers can be accommodated, together with their sum of 590L of luggage. The Shooting Brake body styles is 16mm longer and 3mm lower than its sibling. Carrying similar intricately-styled interplay of leather, wooden and metal texturing and amalgamation, the boot of the CLS Shooting Brake is suited to LV bags more than the dog as it is lined with the optional designo wooden floor. Folding down the rear seat, CLS can housed some 1,550L.
The newly introduced CLS Shooting Brake comes in four variants where all versions are mated to 7G-Tronic gearbox and equipped with Start/Stop function. The line-up is kick start with CLS 250 CDI (2,143cc turbocharged diesel) punching out 204hp@4,200rpm and 500Nm of torque between 1,600-1,800rpm while sipping only 53.3mpg. Performance figures for this version include 7.8s century sprint and 233km/h of top speed. The other diesel version is CLS 350 CDI (2,987cc, 265hp@3,800, 620Nm@1,600-2,400, 6.6s & 250km/h). The gasoline models are CLS 350 (3.5L V6 with 302hp) and CLS 500 (4.7L V8 turbo with 402hp).

The gallery of the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake can be found after the jump.
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