JMC Vigus Pro

The official subsidiary of Tan Chong Group, Angka-Tan Motor, has finally launched the JMC Vigus Pro pickup in Malaysia. This locally assembled Chinese truck is offered in a single variant.

It is priced at RM 98,888 in Peninsular Malaysia (on-the-road without insurance, with SST exemption) and RM 100,888 in East Malaysia. Included in the price is a three-year or 100,000 km warranty. Its competitors include Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, and Nissan Navara.

The dashboard is made of high-quality materials and an intuitive ergonomic design. The layout is user friendly, with buttons and switches easily accessible.

It has analogue dials flanking a non-colour multi-info display fitted between two analogue meters.

The JMC Vigus Pro is equipped with black fabric seats.  

The car has ample headroom, legroom and shoulder room to fit any regular size, Asian adults.

The JMC Vigus Pro comes with a regular size glove compartment that can fit in your service booklet and a few packets of wet tissues with extra space left for other items. It also has a small armrest storage compartment that is spacious enough to hide your handphones and smart tag. Additionally, both front seats come with organisers at the back.

The two-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel is leather-wrapped and features two buttons (audio and cruise control) and paddle shifters.

A cup holder is available in the JMC Vigus Pro, located at the front centre console. There are also bottle holders at each of its door panels.

It has one USB port and one 12-volt power socket.

The JMC Vigus Pro is finished with high-quality hard plastic and soft touch for its dashboard. It feels solid.

The square bed is on the smaller side, 1,475 mm long and wide. The payload is 850 kg.

Dimensions for Length, Width, Height in (mm) are 5,305 x 1,905 x 1,835. Wheelbase is 3,085 mm.

The truck's front-end styling is highlighted by the large hexagonal grille with chrome inserts, slim headlamps, and distinctive C-shape LED daytime running lights which also accentuate the profile of the front bumper, finished off with a lower bumper guard.

A lower tailgate complements the rear bumper with distinctive moulding to ease access to the spacious cargo bed. It also has a rigid axle with leaf springs at the back.

Some might have guessed from the JMC’s wide mouth and chunky bumpers that it’s pretty wide – at 1,905 mm, the Vigus Pro is 35 mm wider than the latest D-Max, the widest of the current bunch.

The JMC Vigus Pro has halogen projector “tiger eye” headlamps with manual levelling, C-shaped LED daytime running lamps that frame the fog lamps.

The car is equipped with 3D tail lamps. It is a halogen unit.

The JMC Vigus Pro has power-adjustable and auto-folding side mirrors with LED turn-signal indicators and heaters.

There are also ventilated disc brakes at every corner.

The JMC Vigus Pro is fitted with 16-inch two-tone alloys wrapped with 265/70 Maxxis A/T tyres.

The JMC Vigus Pro comes with Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist, ABS with Electronic Brake-Force Distribution, and Electronic Stability Program with Traction Control also come standard.

This car has two airbags, seatbelts and Isofix child seat mounts. 

The JMC Vigus Pro comes with a standard cruise control and speed limiter to assist drivers during drives.

It consists of an 8-inch TFT display.

It comes with a 4-speaker audio system. 

It comes with an advanced 2.0-litre turbocharged Puma diesel engine featuring a high-pressure common-rail fuel injection system, variable geometry turbocharger, intercooler and EGR cooler bypass valve to produce an output of 139 hp at 3,600rpm and 340 Nm from 1,500rpm to 2,600rpm.

The JMC Vigus Pro is paired with an 8-speed ZF automatic operated through an electronic gear selector with a manual shift mode function.

Power is sent to all four wheels.

Additionally, it is also equipped with Hill Descent Control, which automatically modulates the vehicle’s braking when going downhill on steep slopes (up to 8km/h), thus allowing the driver to focus on manoeuvring the truck. It also incorporates a 4WD system developed by BorgWarner. Users can switch between 2WD, 4WD and low-range 4WD modes via a rotary dial to cater to changing surface conditions.

One of the main highlights of the cabin of the Vigus Pro is the electronic gearshift selector, a feature normally found in premium cars. Compared to traditional automatic gear levers, the electronic gear selector sits on the centre console, requiring less effort when selecting "Drive" or engaging "Park".

The JMC Vigus Pro seats are surprisingly comfortable. The cabin is spacious and practical. The acceleration of the pickup is smooth and it doesn't feel jerky when it changes gears. However, the suspension is tuned to become a workhorse, as it is stiff and steady.  This may affect the comfortability during long distance driving.

At most speeds, the engine and wind noise were muted. However, the tyre noise penetrates the cabin in most driving conditions.

The JMC Vigus Pro has a handsome and rugged design pickup truck. If you intend to get a pure twin-cab workhorse and can’t care less about the fancy amenities, the JMC should suffice.

For everyday drive, the engine is sufficiently torquey and responsive at low to medium loads. It pulls strongly and has enough in reserve to easily sustain cruising speeds, plus it’s surprisingly refined as well. Almost as good as its Japanese rivals, only short of safety features.