Bestari 206, test driven

I got to test drive the 206 today all thanks to Mr Dennis of the Naza distributor in Kalana Jaya (opposite LRT station). Though it was Eddie who suppose to meet me, but Dennis was kind enough to layan me while Eddie wasn't there.

Okay, let me begin.

I took 2 friends together to test drive the car because I want to see how it handles with a full load of 4 adults. The course was pretty simple, down the LDP towards KDU from Kelana Jaya and then making a U turn at KDU back to the show room. Traffic was surprisingly heavy for a Sunday which leaves little room to speed, yet alone weave through traffic.

The most noticible thing about this car is the stability and the stiffness of the suspension. riding over pot holes is no fun at all with this car, but once on the highway, the pot hole encounter is easily fortotten. The stering wheel is very responsive though stiffer as compared to cars like the Savvy. However, there's one encounter when I fish tailed the car no thanks to a Wish over taking from the left when I was changing lane to the left. I was like WTF!?!? A car with ABS fish tailed? I've driven dangerously with a 99' Kembara, 00' AD Resort and 05' Savvy and yet never fish tailed before. Maybe i'm not ready for ABS just yet.

Engine performance wise was horrible. With a load of 4 adults, the car respond dutifully when i drive like any other 40 year old uncle ferrying their children to tution. But i'm not a 40 year old uncle. So, i floored the accelerator and was surprised to the lack of power. The RPM meter climed very slowly and that wasn't even at standstill but at a cruise speed of 60km/h. Maybe it's because i haven't set it to triptronic mode, but for older automatic cars, it would downshift when it registers lack of torque. Also could be due to the wide gear ratio since it's a 4 speed gear box. In short, if you are not planning to race with this car, it's an ok buy for the 70k price tag, but if you wanted more, then it's definitely not worth it.

p.s
As for the interior, it's down to personal preference. I liked most of the part except for the radio display and the big-red-button hazard light. other than that, it's quite comfortable at the driver seat with height adjustable, reclining semi bucket seat and a full black interior for a person who like black like me.a

p.p.s
I've left my name for a second evaluation, this time it's for the manual version. hope that it's better than the current model.