At Last A Replacement..

At last.. a replacement for our old age 17 years Proton Saga! We (my wife and I) started our 'hunt' about 3 years ago. What! 3 years! Yes, we never found a car that is 'worth' buying. Cars that we love are usually beyond our budget, those within our range are pretty much lifeless cars.

Buying a car with passion is a 'SIN' in Malaysia. Prices of car is so high that, many put priority in car's re-sale value over Ride & Handling, Safety and Comfort. For the benefit of non-Malaysians, car tax is as high as 70% - 110%, exception for Proton and Perodua. Mind you, our income per capita is estimated about USD8,000, roughly translate to about average earning of RM2,000 - RM2,500 per month for an average Malaysians working in Malaysia.

Lowest priced car would be the Perodua Viva (A-segment), priced at about RM25,000, its a basic car without basic safety features such as ABS, Airbag, car alarm/security or central locking system (I bet it doesn't even come with safety belt pretensioner). It is not even equip with an Audio system and power window. To some, this is shocking! Yes, this is my country, Malaysia.


Lets go to the main dish. After all the test drive cars ranging from Peugeot, Toyota, Ford, etc. We've finally decided to buy the car that we love, "affordable" packed with the statement "Value for Money". Kia Forte 1.6SX, Spicy Red. The price is a hefty RM81,800 (on the road price; OTR).

The objective/purpose of this blog is to provide information about the car, especially to Malaysians. Hope the information will be useful for both current and future Kia Forte car owners.