BELLAMYBUDIMAN

I just don’t know why this seems like a national-wide plague in automotive service centers, but it seems that everyone that is working there doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing. Back when I’m still using the Avanza, when I needed a new synchronizer ring replacement, the Auto 2000 spare parts officer doesn’t seem to know what a synchronizer ring is, and in fact, he asked me, “Itu di bagian mananya ya, Pak?” Awesome.

Today, my friend Taja and I met the same situation in Ford Jaksel with our Fiestas. The story goes like this, Taja’s Fiesta cannot connect to the iPhone and have songs playing in the car without connecting it with this cable:

It has to be connected to the car via USB and the AUX port at the same time, while mine works perfectly with a normal iPod USB cable. Coincidentally, I was there to claim a broken windshield seal rubber, and he was there to make them fix this annoying USB cable problem. On his first attempt, the tech said that every single Fiesta is like that, and people need to purchase this cable from them for 500k. Although it’s a fact that many of the first Fiestas in the country are experiencing this problem, this is just simply bull crap.

We then went comparing our cars side by side, and proved that the normal iPod USB cable connection worked flawlessly in my car. A truly on-your-face moment for the tech, and Mr. Schmuck seems to feel that he’s not the smartest guy anymore, beaten by a couple of customers, and proving that his “cable solution” is in fact, a dumb solution. He then went to ask me on what software did I install in my car. Software? It’s been like that since day one, and it is funny since Taja’s Fiesta is newer than mine, there’s no reason why it has an older firmware. However, even after “diagnosing” my car for “special settings”, the tech can’t seem to answer this.

After a few more minutes without answers from the tech, I decided to leave and told Taja to fix the car himself. I then told the tech to go to this site, download the firmware update, and then he can probably help other customers in the future. Basically a polite version of “You’re an idiot, you should know this. You’re the goddamned tech.” The Ford Mobile Connectivity website has been circulating around in various local and foreign forums and it fixes exactly that problem. The tech even tried applying the settings file he copied from my car to Taja’s. As predicted, it wasn’t really a spectacular result.

The fix is actually easy, and Taja can do this by himself for probably less than an hour (which he did at home and succeeded), but that is not the point. Authorized technicians should know better about the cars they sell, no? This proves that service providers in this country has very little knowledge in the products they sell. This is stupid. Imagine the cost that uninformed customers have to pay just to fix a minuscule problem like this, 500k for a stupid cable that doesn’t fix the actual problem? We can now conclude that if you want to have something fixed, then try fixing it yourself. It actually works better most of the time.

Reviewing cars for reference is one of the hobbies I like to do with Nyonyo, especially in a country where the option on buying cars are rather limited. Yesterday, while waiting for Nyonyo’s bike to complete its assembly, we went to Kia Bintaro to see if we can get a hands-on on the new Kia Sportage. It is a good thing that the only car they have on display was the Sportage, although it’s too bad that they don’t have a test drive unit (which is a problem that almost all car dealers here have), so we can’t exactly know how the car feels on the road. Now on to the pros and cons of the car.

Back in the days, Kia was not actually known for its good build quality. I like to call them crappy, in fact. Now, they’ve come a long way to improve this problem, and the Sportage is not excluded. The body structure is good and was made from first grade materials, I can say that it is better than Protons and in fact, better than some Toyotas. Body linings are well-aligned unlike the Kia Sephia, so you can truly see how far they did to enhance their quality.

Design-wise, the Sportage is probably one of the best looking cars we can have today. Sure, it shared the same platform with the Hyundai Tucson, but these two cars are good cars in different design spectrums. I really like how Kia made all their new cars in tune with the tiger-inspired grill and fascia, in this area, they excelled far than most of their Japanese competitors, which at most times, couldn’t even make two cars to appear like they come from the same brand. However, I’m not too keen on the amount of chrome-plated elements in this car, and while the 18″ rims do give a good stance for the car, I still think that a single-colored rim would look better. Our version of the Sportage doesn’t come with a panoramic roof as well, not that it is a necessity here.

Interior quality is top notch, it is covered with well-made materials, and it does feel expensive for a car in this price range. I haven’t seen how the Tucson’s interior looks like, but Nyonyo said it is better than the Sportage. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Yes, it’s probably below Volkswagen’s quality and craftsmanship, but it does give most Japanese cars a run for their money. They also managed to put a tilt-steering system that doesn’t rattle when adjusted, and a glove box that opens elegantly. Nice little touch.

Driving position is also good, although you cannot compare this with cars like the Innova, which gives you a much better view to the front end of the car. A gripe I have here is that with its sloping roof line, the size of the rear windshield must be sacrificed and therefore, hindering your view. This gets worse when the headrests of the back seats are set fully up, so buyers would really have to adjust to this.

Kia is also kind enough to provide an electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, but it’s quite disappointing that you would still have to adjust the passenger’s seat manually. Other interior equipments are also satisfactory as it includes most of what modern cars should have, including USB, AUX input, ample storage space, as well as dual airbags as a standard.

Going to the back seats, the space this car provides is also impressive. Leg room is adequate even with the front seats fully set to the back, and head room is surprisingly quite large even for a large person.

Kia is selling only two versions of the car, the automatic transmission or the manual. I can tell you that this simplifies your buying options greatly, which is a good thing. But having said that, it’s too bad that they don’t actually provide you with the option of the 2.4L engine.

To conclude the article, the 2011 Kia Sportage is highly impressive, and it certainly gives a nice alternative to Japanese cars, especially with a price that is not even 300 million. I certainly hope that we could get the chance to try the test drive unit sometime in the future.

Image credit: Wikipedia

I have to admit that car prices in Indonesia suck monkey balls, and this is what mainly keeps us from having good cars like Volkswagens or BMWs anywhere near affordable. But in the midst of those horrendously-priced cars (even Avanzas are no longer “that” affordable now), Nyonyo and I have done a small research for the past couple of months. We tried to determine which cars are actually worth buying.

First and foremost, I won’t say that this is a scientific research of any kind. This is a research from a financial, design and an automotive-enthusiast point of view, given the conditions of living in Indonesia. So I’m not going to include cars that are priced more than 400 million into this list. For example, the latest BMW 520d or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class are exceptional cars in terms of performance, design, and usage, but they are so highly priced that most of regular Indonesians would have a hard time buying it.

So, here are the cars in mind, sorted from the cheapest to the most expensive:

Ford Fiesta Sport 1.6L A/T
Here’s why it’s worth buying: Even the Sport model is cheaper than a Honda Jazz, it has a better engine, dual-clutch transmission, and a good gas mileage of around 16 KM/L. On top of that, it sure looks better than its Japanese counterpart, the Mazda 2, or any Japanese hatchbacks of the same class available here, and it gives a bonus of a good interior quality with semi-bucket front seats. Something you won’t find in a Yaris, a Jazz, or a Swift.

Hyundai i20 GL A/T
Surprise, surprise. Hyundai has got it together nowadays. In fact, almost all of its lineup looks better than the Toyota, and some of the cars are engineered better, too. Why is it worth buying? First and foremost, it has a diesel option. Second, it’s still a CBU. Third, it’s still cheaper than even the Fiesta Sport.

Ford Focus 1.8S A/T
Performance of a Corolla with the price of a Honda Freed. It may not be the latest model, but at 241 million, it gives you the bang for the buck for a compact 5-door hatchback. Just don’t buy the TDCi version just yet, as it is 100 million Rupiahs more expensive.

Volkswagen Golf TSI
If you’re looking for the reason to buy this car, it’s easy. This is truly a proof of a good German engineering achievement. First of all, with a cheaper price than the cheapest Corolla Altis, you’ll get a solid German car with exceptional exterior and interior craftsmanship. Second, it has a dual-clutch gearbox, 7-speed, and a whopping 160 BHP power despite of it having a small 1.4 L engine, which also in return, gives you a 16 KM/L gas mileage. So, is it better than a Corolla? Yes. Is it better than a Civic? Most definitely.

There’s also one more car that you might want to consider if you’re looking for a family van. And no, it’s not the Volkswagen Caravelle (which is a shame, because it’s so highly-priced) and no, it’s not the Alphard, the Vellfire, or whatever unimportant iteration that Toyota has to offer. Besides, we have too many Alphards on the road anyway and it’s actually not a van. It is a Camry with a body of a van. The car I’m talking about here is the Hyundai H-1.

Surprising? Yes. Despite the lack of good looks, the Hyundai H-1 is actually engineered better than an Alphard. There are three reasons for this. It’s RWD, it has a diesel version, and if you’re looking for something way cheaper than the cheapest Alphard, this is the car for you.

So, why isn’t there any Japanese car in the list? Is it because I hate them? No. In fact, I’m still using a Japanese car for five years and running now. But I do hate the fact that most Japanese cars drive like crap, they lack the craftsmanship (something that a Japanese product should have), and most of them are simply beige cars. They are no longer exciting to drive and they lack the performance despite the notorious misleading advertisements.

I think it’s time to move on from praising Japanese cars and give them time to get themselves together. I also think that it’s time that we move away from the paradigm of buying a Japanese car solely because of its resale value. This is just pathetic. If we were to invest millions of Rupiahs for a car, we might as well get a good one, and use it until it is no longer useable. But not by selling it and buying a new one every 3 years. I thought we’re trying to become environmentally-friendly people, yet we keep piling up the carbon footprint behind us.

PS: For those asking me if the Toyota Prius is worth buying or not. Well,
FUCK NO.

As impulsive as it may sound, I went to ITC Fatmawati today to buy a new set of wipers and brought home along with me a brand new subwoofer for my car. I figured that it has the right price, it’s reasonable, I’ve owned the car for almost five years now and I think it’s a valid reason to have a simple audio upgrade.

The subwoofer is the Steel Mate SW826. It is an active subwoofer with a class A/B amplifier, meaning that I don’t have to install a new mono channel power amplifier for it. Well, at least for now.

Due to the space arrangements in my car and the fact that the sub itself is a slim model, I decided that the sub should be installed under the driver’s seat for the time being. It may not be the ideal place for it, but it would have to do until I have the time to tinker on where to install it permanently. I’m quite happy with how it sounds and feels for now. The bass is quite responsive and it gives a lighter feel to the existing speakers. Besides, they’ve been working hard to produce the adequate amount of bass for the past four years. This is probably something that I should’ve done years ago.

The Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia are probably Toyota’s and Daihatsu’s cheapest and most popular family MPV available in Indonesia. Their reliability, high resale value, and load capacity have been major key factors of why people chose these cars over the past six years. While I personally not too fond of its now beige interior, and its overly-chromed exterior (one of Toyota and Daihatsu Indonesia’s biggest disease when handling facelifts), the Avanza and the Xenia are still overally good cars if you’re on a budget.

As we know already, even the most expensive car available on Earth is bound to have flaws, the Avanza/Xenia has quite a long list of fixes if you want to have a good, comfortable, and a bit more exciting ride quality. As an Avanza user for four years and counting, I’m going to share the key points on how to turn your Avanza or Xenia into a better overall car. Remember, when you buy a cheap car, expect that you might need to spend more to get it where you want it, and here’s a good example of that.

Before we start, I’m going to base this on my 2005 Toyota Avanza, so if Toyota and Daihatsu are concerned about their customers and they follow good business and manufacturing principles, there’s no reason not to have improvements of the cars’ weaknesses in the newer models.

Major Flaws
There are some major flaws that I immediately encountered when I bought this car:

• The engine often stutters on low gear and RPMs, this is because of somewhat an idiotic approach from Toyota and Daihatsu to create more fuel economy. I believe this symptom no longer exists starting from the VVT-i models and up.
• Overall body roll is almost unacceptable in high speed turns, and the car sways a lot during high speed commuting. This is due to the low quality shock absorbers that Toyota and Daihatsu chose to equip these cars with.
• The tires are too thick and the wheels are too small for the normal dimension of this car. This leads to the previous problem (swaying and unstable) as well as less grip, since the tires’ width are very small on the lowest end model of Daihatsu Xenia.
• The car bounces back vertically in a ridiculous manner when hitting a speed bump or a pothole. This is again because of the stock springs that is way too soft for a car of this dimension

Since most of the cars’ problems revolve around the running gear, I’m going to base my tips on that, and have them presented in tiers that I found most important first, and the ones least important (or even optional based on your preferences) afterwards.

Eliminating the Sway
The ridiculous swaying of the car can actually be cured by using a simple Sway Bar or better known here as Stabilizers. I had mine custom-built, but you can find these easily. Just remember to find one that is prominently thick and that you cannot bend these bars by your bare hands. If you find ones that are easily bendable, they are not Sway Bars. They’re accessories and does nothing to your car.

Once installed, you’ll begin to notice that your car can now cruise in a stable and straight position while driving high speed. Depending on how well you feel your car when driving, you will also find that your car will now have a slightly reduced body roll, especially when cornering.

Eliminating the Bounce
I found that most Indonesians prefer that their cars have soft suspensions. While this is probably comfortable for sedans or with cars that has more sophisticated engineering with automatically-adjustable suspensions, this is not the case for an Avanza or a Xenia. Having your car bouncing up and down continuously when hitting a speed bump or a pot hole is quite annoying, especially for the ones riding on the back.

There are two sequential ways to overcome this problem. First, invest on a better and harder shock absorbers that doesn’t bulge that much when you push your car while standing still. This gives extra stiffness to your ride quality, and as an added bonus, your car would even sway and roll even less on high speeds. While most people are skeptical that having harder shocks means more comfort, trust me, you’ll see the difference when you have this on. My shock absorbers of choice are KYB Excel-G gas shocks for the rear, and Gabriel gas struts for the front. You can also opt for other brands according to your preference, as long as you use the right sizing for your car.

Second, if you feel that you need to go even more stiffer than what the new shocks provide you, you can invest on a lowering kit. What a lowering kit does is that it lowers your car around 2-2.5″ to the ground. This gives a lower center of gravity, which means better handling, and even less roll and sway. Additionally, it eliminates that ugly fender gap and gives your car a better stance to look at. I believe there are several good aftermarket lowering kits that could go with your Avanza or Xenia. My choice is from Eibach, and there’s also another from Espelir, and Jamex (original ones, that is), among others.

Adding the Grip
While most riceboys doesn’t know shit about this and often ends up with rims that are too big and tires that are too thin, you can actually improve your car’s grip and handling if you know how to modify your car’s tires and rims correctly. Since the stock Avanza rims are 14″ in width, and Xenia’s are in 13″ in width, there are two things that you can do with this. First, you could opt for a 15″ rim. They usually go with a 6.5″ width and you can pair them with 195/60/R15 tires. For most people this is enough and it gives you the balance between performance and comfort. Just make sure that you get yourself a good set of tires. I always go with Bridgestone whenever I can, but there are tons of good tire brands in the market for you to choose from.

If this is not enough for you, you can always opt for a 16″ rim, with usually a 7″ width. You can then pair them with 205/50/R16 tires. You’ll get less comfort that the 15″ rims, but it gives you a bit more grip, especially when cornering.

However, I will not recommend going with 17″ rims. Why? Because it adds up the unneeded unsprung weight to your car, resulting in slower accelerations, and you won’t be able to fit a nice and comfortable set of tires on your car. You might be able to get away with 225/35/R17 tires with no problem, but that means sacrificing your ride quality, not to mention that you may need to modify and forcefully shift those front springs to fit the tires and rims in. I don’t recommend this at all.

Firmer Handling
One of the things that I don’t like with most cars is that they have too-light steering wheels. While ladies and elderly drivers might appreciate this, I found that having a firm and a bit heavier steering is better. Again, this is my preference and it doesn’t mean that it is a requirement. I opted for a Issota Meg steering wheel that is slightly smaller in diameter and has a slight bigger steering grip. Please note that I don’t recommend changing your steering wheel if your car is equipped with airbags, as this is probably equal to suicide.

So there you go, several ways to make your Toyota Avanza or Daihatsu Xenia into an overall better car to drive in. I hope you find them useful for a better and safer drive.