Review of the new Mitsubishi EX and the Hyundai Avante

Managed to get the parents to get our lazy butts off the bed on a Saturday morning to test drive the car, fresh after the launch last night.

The name of the saleslady at C&C was Jessie. Probably new to the job, she greeted us with lots of enthusiasm and displayed lots of patience, especially when Mummy asked her those kinda "Why God" questions.

The test drive car was the EX 2.0 Elegance, the equivalent to my current Lancer, right down to the woodgrain finish. (The only diffrence is obviously the engine.) Took the semi-auto transmission to the test - didn't use the paddle shift. The acceleration was excellent, and could feel the engine braking working as I dropped gear. It was almost like driving a real manual car. The only problem was the driver - felt the car jerk a little as I dropped gear and depressed the brake pedal at the same time, and the rpm shooting up sky high, with the "oooo" sound... (is it supposed to be like that, or did i do it wrong???) The interior was huge - there was lots of space between the front passengers.

After the test drive, I was so convinced that the Sports edition (with the body kit, lip spoiler and 17" rims) was enough to satisfy me. But when Jessie showed me the GT model, boy, was I so wrong! The large spoiler (which didn't spoil the car! really!), 18" rims (DROOL!) and the 9-speaker sound system with an integrated bass woofer (DOUBLE DROOL!) really did it for me! The side profile of the car (esp the silver and dark grey ones) reminded me of the BM 5 series, and the back view reminded me of the Mazda 3. The dashboard and the 3-spoke steering wheel (finally!) showed some hint of resemblance to the Mazda 3 as well. After spending 1h in the showroom, I left still drooling over the GT...

Went to the Club for lunch with the parents when Mummy said she wouldn't mind exploring the idea of an OPC. Was trying to sell the Getz to her, so we decided to go down to Komoco Motors after lunch.

Rowan from Komoco was there to serve us. A very friendly and patient salesman as well, but still preferred Jessie. We didn't like the Getz immediately because of the cheap finishing and the fact that it has no ABS and airbags. The lowest model with dual airbags was the Avante, and the parents immediately liked the exterior design! So after some persuasion, the parents agreed to take the Avante out for the test drive. The irony is, I'm still the one driving it, even though I was not interested in it.

The moment I sat in the Avante, I had no affinity with it. Just didn't like it. Acceleration is, like all other VVTI cars, very straining. The steering was too light, but was beneficial for U-turns and parking. I felt I had no control over the Avante - like it was controlling me. But for the EX, I had total control of it, whether in the semi-auto or auto mode. But the parents still preferred the Avante to the GT. I wonder if it's due to the price...

In case you're wondering, the verdict is, be happy with the current Lancer. No new car, and no 2nd car. :(

Went to The Furniture Mart at Toh Guan after the two test drives and picked up a sofa set. Won't elaborate much, as this is not congruent to subject matter.