Episodes
It's double trouble on the show this week as Daniel and Ali steer us through the latest in the automotive world. Starting things off with a couple of luxury new additions hitting our showrooms, the gorgeous, all-new Aston Martin Vantage model that's straight off the silver screen, and the elegant and athletic Mercedes-Benz CLE 300 Coupé. Then, a pick of the headlines in the auto world: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint in Malaysia, and the announcement of...
Published 05/15/24
This week, Daniel is back from China to regale us with the latest from the 2024 Beijing Auto Show. But first, some news from the auto world. We get a peek at the newest cars hitting our roads: the Peugeot 408 that inspires comparisons to a Lamborghini in Malaysia and Kia's all-new big, bold, beautiful EV9. Next, switching over to two wheels, the all new lighter, more powerful Harley-Davidson Street Glide that's the size of a car, and the Triumph's new T-series roadster, the Speed 400, the...
Published 05/08/24
Our Cruise Control trio returns this week bearing news, views and reviews of the local and regional automotive market. First, we look at the Jaecoo J7, China's long-awaited luxury off-roader SUV, currently available in our local markets, then turn to electronics manufacturer Xiaomi, which debuted the SU7 this month, an all-electric sedan that's unfortunately already plagued with accounts of crashes and delays. We find out why we probably won't be seeing the award-winning Geely Yinhe E8 as a...
Published 04/17/24
This week on Cruise Control, we're talking car launches, a shocking MotoGP deal, and a gorgeous brand new Ferrari. First up, we discuss Chinese manufacturers GAC Motors, the company behind the love-it-or-hate-it GAC EMZOOM, who have announced their partnership with CKD to assemble their vehicles in Malaysia. Then, we look at the new kid on our block, MG, whose award-winning MG4 is making a big splash as it finally enters our markets and is set to intensify the Chinese EV price war. Next,...
Published 04/03/24
This week on Cruise Control, Ali and Daniel take us through the latest in the automotive world. First up, we get the gears going with news of the latest car launches in Malaysia: from the surprising Chery Tiggo 7 Pro and Isuzu Motors' recently revealed electric 1-ton D-Max pickup truck, to the brand new Audi Q6 e-tron and a first look at BMW's all-electric offering, the Neue Klasse X concept SUV. We also find out when we can expect to see them in our showrooms so we can test drive them for...
Published 03/27/24
Cruise Control returns with Rich and Daniel this week previewing some exciting new entries into the local market, mainly from China. It's not long until we see brands like Jetour, GAC and Leapmotor grace Malaysian roads, the new players are keen to offer local car buyers alternatives to what's currently available in the market.  Our discussion this week is an interesting one; pitting an EV with a hybrid compact crossover. Both are around the same price, we consider its multi purpose,...
Published 03/20/24
Cruise Control returns this week with exciting news on a brand new Maserati, and possibly Malaysia's first EV! Naza Italia announced the Maserati Gran Turismo, a high performance sports car that is also great for long distance travels. On a sombre note, we got word that iconic tire company Goodyear will be closing down their factory in Shah Alam, which had been in operation since 1972. The big news this week is Daniel's commentary on the prospects of a Perodua EV, based on Sime Darby's...
Published 03/13/24
Cruise Control zooms in again with news of car launches involving Mercedes, BYD and surprise, surprise, MG! MG returns to our shores with an EV in the form of MG4. This sleek car gains the attention of Daniel Fernandez and we end up comparing this car to another stellar release from Build Your Dreams, the BYD Seal. It's more news in the second part of the show, as the Volvo C4 Recharge received an update, while Triumph releases their latest Scrambler models, the Scrambler 400 X and the...
Published 03/06/24
Cruise Control returns this week with news of the brand new SUVs that have finally hit Malaysian showrooms: Range Rover's Evoque 2024 and the 2024 Kia Carnival. We also discuss what we can expect from the recently announced Tank 300 from GWM that will be entering the local market soon, and share our speculations on the Mitsubishi Xforce now that the model has been put into production in Indonesia. Then, we shift gears to electric cars as we take a look at the top 10 most searched EVs in...
Published 02/21/24
It's a two-man show this week on Cruise Control, as Ali and Daniel go through the news in the automotive world. Peugeot 408 will be released in Malaysia, according to Daniel's "investigation", while Thailand will be a hub for Japanese manufacturers to start producing EVs for the South East Asian region. On the global front, Audi announced the 2024 edition of Q7, which is gorgeous, while Alfa Romeo will be releasing an urban SUV called Alfa Romeo Milano soon. Speaking of SUVs, Daniel shares...
Published 02/14/24
Our Cruise Control trio are back this week previewing the latest car launches in the local market. Hot off the factory line is the 2024 edition of Mazda's CX-5, a brand best-seller that's been upgraded with new styling, technologies and features. Elsewhere, Mitsubishi are going on a road tour to promote a limited edition variant of the Triton pick up truck, now improved with a host of cosmetic upgrades. We also look forward to the arrival of GAC's GS3, the Chinese automakers arriving straight...
Published 01/31/24
Cruise Control returns this week with a couple of new luxury SUVs from continental giants, as Mercedes, BMW and Audi launched the GLA 200, the X5 PHEV and the SQ8 e-Tron respectively. We also look ahead to an electrified version of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, which has just been confirmed for production. Fresh off Perodua's visit to Italy recently, we discuss the prospects of Perodua's electrification plans, given our current EV infrastructure. We round off this episode with a used car guide,...
Published 01/24/24
The Cruise Control guys regroup this week to take you through another week of local automotive news. The arrival of the new Honda CR-V has sent tongues wagging, and this week Honda revealed a hybrid variant of the popular SUV, costing just below the sweet spot of RM200k mark. With Chinese New Year on the horizon, Great Wall Motors are offering a discount on any purchase of the ORA Good Cat, with cash rebates and wall charger thrown in to sweeten the deal. In China, Tesla made the headlines...
Published 01/17/24
Cruise Control is back this week with news from in and around the Asean automotive sector. Daniel and Ali look ahead to a couple of new players entering the Malaysian market, as Chery's subsidiary Jaecoo gave an exclusive preview of the Jaecoo J7, a luxurious SUV vying in the same segment as Chery's own Omoda 5. Elsewhere, new EV company XPENG are also in talks with a Malaysian distributor, as are another EV proponent Zeekr, who just set up shop in Singapore. With these exciting movements to...
Published 01/10/24
Cruise Control is back in 2024 promising the latest coverage in the local and global automotive industry. Our trio of petrolheads kick off the new year following the launch of the PADU Database, which is intended for targeted petrol and diesel subsidies; Honda's big EV move in Thailand, which we hope to spill over to our market sooner rather than later; plus an exclusive look at Xiaomi's impending launch of their EV supercar! We also discuss the legitimacy of vehicle testing procedures, in...
Published 01/03/24
Our Cruise Control trio returns this week bearing news, views and reviews of the local and regional automotive market. First off, we saw the launch of the Mercedes Benz EQE 500 4Matic, in all its SUV glory. This variant accompanies its luxury sedan sibling for more family oriented uses. Speaking of family, we also hear that Honda are preparing a hybrid powertrain for its once popular Odyssey. The new gen family wagon now comes with 7 seater configurations, and should be fully imported from...
Published 12/13/23
The Cruise Control trio are back this week with some very good news from the recently concluded Thai Motor Expo in Bangkok. We focus on seven vehicles with a high likelihood of arriving in Malaysian markets soon. Great Wall Motors are keen to add another EV in Malaysia, following the encouraging response to the ORA Good Cat, and the Chinese manufacturers unveiled a sleek electric sedan dubbed as the ORA Lightning Cat, their smartest electric car to date. Volvo also gave a taste of what's to...
Published 12/06/23
Our Cruise Control trio returns this week with a slew of new launches in the local market; a discussion on the future of EVs based on a Rowan Atkinson article as well as a drive review of Toyota's newly minted people mover. Proton have unveiled their new C-segment sedan, as the highly anticipated S70 makes its debut with price points that rival Japanese sedans in the B-segment! Honda also got in on the action, taking bookings for a 6th generation CR-V, which comes complete with a hybrid...
Published 11/29/23
Cruise Control is back this week previewing new car launches in the local and regional markets. Locally, our Prime Minister launched a new electric MPV, as the Maxus MIFA 9 makes its debut. Chinese carmakers continue to create a ripple in the Asean market, after Changan announced their arrival in the Thai market with a new basecamp located in the Rayong province. Globally, Volvo continues to blaze the EV trail, this time with a beautiful family MPV dubbed the EM90. We also discuss the...
Published 11/15/23
Our Cruise Control trio are back this week with reports from the local automotive industry, previewing new releases in the market, discussing local EV discounts plus a compare and contrast between three new seven-seater SUVs currently in the market. News-wise, it's the Germans that are dominating the headlines again. First Mercedes Benz launched the latest GLC and GLE Coupe with some glorious upgrades from the previous editions. BMW are also in on the action with the announcement of the i5...
Published 11/08/23
Cruise Control returns this week with previews of what's new in the local automotive market, plus a quick glance at the recently concluded Tokyo Mobility Show and a discussion on EV production in the Western markets. Locally, BYD is making big moves with the opening of two new showrooms, following plans to open up in eight Malaysian cities in the coming year. Maserati announced a high performance race car dubbed as the Cielo; and German giants BMW also bring back their top-end SUV, the...
Published 11/01/23
Cruise Control is back this week bringing you the latest in the local automotive headlines, plus a recap of Daniel's visit to Chery's headquarters in China. We also review the new facelift edition of the Porsche Cayenne. Locally, Toyota continue their productive year with updates to two of their popular MPVs, announcing the new and improved Alphard and Vellfire, both are set to arrive fully imported, replete with luxury refinements in the cabin. Jaguar Land Rover also announced a new Range...
Published 10/25/23
This week on Cruise Control, Ali and Daniel go through the headlines in the automotive world both locally and globally. After months of speculation, the Geely Mercedes-Benz electrifying collaboration finally arrive on our shores, with the unveiling of Smart #1 Brabus edition. We also saw a facelift edition of Porsche Cayenne, now locally assembled with tons of new bells and whistles. We round off the show with an illuminating discussion on the state of local journalism with regards to...
Published 10/18/23
Cruise Control returns this week for a review of the latest headlines in the automotive industry, plus a glowing review of a beautiful Audi EV. Tesla rocked the local headlines yet again, this week with the opening of their showroom in Cyberjaya, which is not quite a 3S Centre just yet. We also saw the arrival of the ultra-limited Honda Civic Type R - only 19 units available in Malaysia! In the two wheels arena, Triumph and Ducati both announced updated models of their superbikes, some of...
Published 10/04/23
Cruise Control is back with the week's roundup of automotive news, a discussion about factory warranty periods as well as a review of Kia's beautiful new EV, the Niro. It's a quiet week as far as new car launches go in Malaysia, but there's plenty to be excited about in the two-wheels arena when Ducati and Royal Enfield made announcements of their latest models respectively. The mighty Italian outfit launched their new and powerful touring motorbike, the Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour,...
Published 09/27/23