Ssangyong C200 Aero and C200 Eco Concepts.

    This is the new Ssangyong C200 Aero and Eco concepts, I think you can guess which is Aero and which is Eco, just look at the more “Eco” colour for the Eco. Ssangyong calls this Audi-like machine tyled by Giugiaro ItalDesign a “CUV” or Compact Urban Vehicle when in reality it’s a compact SUV, but if BMW can call their X6 a coupe I suppose anything goes.

    The new CUV has a 2,650mm wheelbase and a length of 4,400mm, which is actually smaller than the BMW X3. It’s more of the length of the short wheelbase latest generation RAV4 with the wheelbase of the long wheelbase RAV4.

    The Ssangyong C200 Aero uses a turbocharged 1.8 liter engine while the C200 Eco uses a 2.0 liter turbodiesel. Both are mated to a 6-speed automatic by default but Ssangyong says they will also make available a manual for those who prefer to do their own cog-shifting.

    Source URL: http://danger-radioactive.blogspot.com/2009/04/
    Visit danger-radioactive for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

2010 Kia Sorento.

    The all-new monocoque Kia Sorento XM is here, unveiled at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show.

    The new Sorento is longer, with the A-pillar and dash moved forwards and tailgate moved rearwards (70mm) to increase cabin room in the interior. It seats 7 in 3 rows. It is 10mm lower and thanks to the new unibody chassis its center of gravity is 54mm lower. Headroom is up by 64mm, legroom by 102mm. It measures 4,685mm long, 1,885mm wide, 1,710mm tall with a wheelbsae of 2,700mm (equal to the Santa Fe).

    The MacPherson strut and multi-link design has been carried over from the outgoing model (I’m really surprised they admit this, could have easily said new) but with improvements including a more direct steering requiring less turns lock-to-lock.

    A choice of 3 engines are available - a 2.7 liter V6 petrol from the Mu family (165 PS and 244Nm of torque, also supports LPI liquid natural gas), a 2.4 liter petrol (from the Mitsubishi-Hyundai-Daimler GEMA engine family) and a 2.2 liter inline-4 turbodiesel from the new R family. which makes a peak of 197 PS and 435Nm of torque. Of course the power hungry American market will get one more engine option likely to be the most popular there, a 3.5 liter V6 petrol with 277 PS and 335Nm of torque.

    There is an all-new 6-speed automatic available, and Kia says the unit is more compact and lighter because it uses a new “flat” torque converter which allows it to be 54mm shorter with 62 fewer parts, 12kg lighter and boost economy by 12%.

    The new XM Sorento is available in either 2WD or 4WD configurations. Naturally the 2WD version will be lighter and offer better fuel consumption, but 4WD will be avaliable for those who need it. The Sorento also has Down-hill Brake Control which can limit vehicle speed to 5 mph on steep decline. Front approach angle is 25.1 degrees and departure angle is 23.1 degrees.Source URL: http://danger-radioactive.blogspot.com/2009/04/
    Visit danger-radioactive for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

New Mazdaspeed 3.

    The hot hatch version of the facelifted smiley Mazda 3 has been unveiled at the NYIAS, joining the many many other cars that have been unveiled there by other manufacturers. While Ford chose to go with Volvo inline-5 engines for the hot hatch versions of the technically similiar Focus, Mazda developed their own turbocharged 2.3 liter direct injection online-4 engine for the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6.

    The new Mazdaspeed 3 (also called the Mazda 3 MPS) comes in the 5-door body, and its engine puts out 263 horses at 5,500rpm and 380Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, not quite up there with the ultra-quick spooling ability of Volkswagen and BMW turbo engines but somehow only the European marques seem to be able to achieve that.


    The 6-speed transmission’s gear ratios (gear 2 to 5) have also been revised to be slightly taller to take advantage of all 380 Newton meters of torque. There is a torque management system which tries to rein in the torque steer based on which gear the car is in and the steering angle.

    It’s got a Mazdaspeed bodykit of course. and 18 inch alloys based on the RX-8 design. The interior also has Mazdaspeed logos here and there with a predominantly black-based theme, and there is also an LED turbo boost gauge between the instrument panel gauges.

    Source URL: http://danger-radioactive.blogspot.com/2009/04/
    Visit danger-radioactive for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

    Hot on the tail of the new F01 is an updated S-Class, it’s still the W221 but with a mid-life facelift that adds a few aesthetic changes including a more prominent grille up front, a revised bumper, the LED daytime driving lights that we also saw on the new E-Class, LED tail lights at the rear, and an integrated exhaust.

    With the facelift also comes the new S 400 HYBRID, which unlike the hybrid-diesel version shown in 2007, is powered by a petrol engine, the 3.5 liter V6 to be exact from the S 350. The 279hp generated by the V6 is complemented by a 20 horsepower electric motor that has 160Nm of torque, integrated with the 7G-Tronic transmission.


    The motor acts as a dynamo during braking to recover kinetic energy, recharging the lithium ion batteries with them. The result is an economical 7.9 liters per 100km of combined consumption, impressive for such a large car. I wonder if Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will introduce this here. Companies might just go for it as a company car in their efforts to look green, perhaps as part of their social responsibility programs, plus there is that tax-free period for hybrids. In Germany, the S 400 is less than 10,000 Euros more expensive than the S 350.

    Source URL: http://danger-radioactive.blogspot.com/2009/04/
    Visit danger-radioactive for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection