Editor’s Note: April 2023 – Not A 'Slow' Ramadhan

I write this fresh from attending the Proton Rahmah Service package launch that saw Minister of International Trade & Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz launching said programme. There’s been a lot of talk by the Government of late with initiatives to ease the burden of lower income groups (B40) through the PAYUNG RAHMAH Programme, and I firmly believe this is what many amongst our Rakyat needs.

Are we on target towards having 10,000 EV chargers by 2025?

While I personally laud this effort by the current government, I firmly believe that there’s more that could be done too, especially on the burgeoning electrified mobility front. Though the number of electric vehicle (EV) chargers coming online is increasing as days go by, I am not so sure if things are moving rapid enough to meet the Government’s ambitious target of having 10,000 of which online by 2025.

However, we’re still in the early stages and, as the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day…” Lets hope the pace of development on that front shifts into overdrive once the upcoming Hari Raya Aidil Fitri holidays are done and dusted.  Speaking of which, I should also remind all of you, our readers, to have your vehicles checked and serviced immediately before embarking on your annual Balik Kampung trips.

Jaguar i-Pace EV and the BMW XM PHEV super-SUV are amongst the latest launches.

Officially revealed this month too is the Proton X90!

While the holy month of Ramadhan is still in full effect, it has proven not to be a road block to slow the industry down in general. In fact, we’re still seeing product launches taking place during the holiest month of the Islamic calendar. Three of which stands out, those being the BMW XM, the Jaguar i-Pace, as well as the highly anticipated new Proton X90.

You can take my word on this: This electrified Jag is much prettier in person.

Eagle-eyed readers would already guessed by now that all three happen to share one common theme – all are electrified, either partially or fully. In the case of the i-Pace, its late arrival into our market is perhaps forgiven on the grounds of our EV charging infrastructure’s development status. Nevertheless, it’s finally here and, should you have the means but not be keen on the usual German flavours, it’s worth a look.

Franky, I'm still not a fan of the grille on the XM, which now dons a red 'lipstick' in its latest Label Red form.

As for the M-badged PHEV super-SUV from Bavaria, its arrival perhaps signals plenty of Malaysian M fans are receptive towards such a car. Rewind the clocks back five years and the situation might have been different. Perhaps the arrival of things like the X3 M and X4 M have paved the way for the XM to find homes here. Frankly, I am still not keen on that grille still, but I guess some see it as a pretty thing.

Alright, I’ve skirted away from it long enough, it’s time to address perhaps the most significant launch amongst the trio mentioned – THAT new Proton SUV. Yes, it’s yet another badge-engineering effort based on an existing Geely product, and yes, it promises to bear a very attractive price tag when launched. I’ll address the latter first by saying that your guess is as good as ours. We’ll have to wait a little for that.

The X90 will come in both 7- and 6-seat options, the latter being the most up-market version available.

Having sized the car up in person during its initial preview, I am certain the X90 will find homes amongst plenty of Malaysians who need a crossover SUV with such space and seat count. Lessons from the X70 and X50 have prompted Proton to ensure proper localisation for the model, not just in terms of aesthetics – it has a totally different suspension assembly from its Geely base car, thus promising a better ride too.

Well, we won’t have long to wait considering a press preview drive for the X90 is taking place this week, and yours truly will get the privilege to sample it first along with other journos. We’ll have more on the X90 from its preview drive soon enough, so stay tuned to both our website, as well as all our social platforms for updates.

We've revisited both the Hyundai Kona Electric and the 'sporty' Nissan Almera recently.

Speaking of test drives, we’ve spent the early part of our Ramadhan by revisiting two rather overlooked contenders from two different segments, those being the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Nissan Almera. You can read my thoughts of the electrified Korean crossover by clicking these blue words and, should my colleague Mukhlis be up to speed, he will also soon share his thoughts on the Almera too.

Apart from test-drives, our team is also hard at work in our think tank towards developing even more content, especially with our rebooted “CariCarz.com Guide To…” series. We will cover more topics through here in due time, but feel free to drop any suggestions through the comment sections both here on our website, as well as our social media pages.

Other exciting launches that took place this month include the Bentley Continental GT Speed and the new Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4Matic AMG Line.

On that note, I also urge all of you, our loyal readers and followers, to share your thoughts and feedback of our efforts via the same method and channels. Alternatively, you’re also welcomed to reach me directly via the email address in my sign-off below. These comments and feedback will be highly appreciated, and I’d also like to thank those of you who have shared with us thus far.

Well, this is as far as this month’s Editor’s Note goes. As always, stay tuned for more, and please drive safely. Lastly, from all of us at CariCarz.com, we wish all our Muslim readers and followers Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Maaf Zahir Dan Batin in advanced.

Sincerely,

Thoriq Azmi

Senior Editor, CariCarz.com

E: thoriq@caricarz.com