Wheels

BEN’S

COLUMN

Ben’s

Thoughts:

1

I remember sitting in a previous

generation Kia Rio at a road

show once. This was just before I

had gotten my licence, so I suppose

it was one of cars I’d always thought

I’d like to try. Well, turns out I had to

wait for quite a while, because this

current one you see here made it

to Singapore rather belatedly. Four

years late in fact. Was it worth the

wait? Well, maybe, not really. You

see, a lot can happen in four years,

and the Rio’s late arrival means

that it feels, well, four years old. It

comes with a 4-speed automatic,

and just 107bhp from its 1.4-litre

petrol engine. Which means it’s not

exactly the fastest or most exciting

car to drive around in. To its credit it

does try to feel modern inside, like

most Kias of today, and its interior

is quite a nice and impressive place

to be in. No matter though, because

it seems that Kia has taken the Rio

off their price lists as I write this, for

the time being at least. Shame. To

think we’ve waited so long for it too,

only for it to disappear so quickly.

2

The Ford Mondeo is one of

those cars that has a storied

reputation, built upon years of years

of being lauded as the ‘best-driving

car in its class’. So it brings with it

plenty of baggage and expectation.

I didn’t quite feel the spark though

when I drove the new Mondeo in

2.0-litre guise earlier in 2015, so

perhaps the new, smaller-engined

1.5-litre version could be better?

Mmm, not quite. While the engine

itself is pretty smooth-shifting, it

just doesn’t feel like there’s enough

to move the car along at a decent

pace. It’s not turtle-slow by any

means, with 0-100km/h coming up

in 9.1 seconds, but it just doesn’t

feel urgent. Worse of all, for a small

engine, it does drink quite a fair

bit, as evidenced by the 8.4km/litre

average I clocked over three days

with the car. Yes the car does handle

quite nicely in the corners, and yes

it is quite well-equipped, but they’re

not quite enough to make up for the

engine’s shortfalls. Pity too that the

2.0-litre version is also no longer

available on Ford’s price lists, so

if you want a Mondeo, you’ll have

to settle for this lesser version.

3

I like diesel cars. I like the idea

of being able to drive many

hundreds of kilometres before

refuelling, as well as the fact that

diesel fuel costs less at the kiosk

than petrol. If I had my way, I would

drive a diesel car, despite the fact

that I would have to pay more road

tax to the Government, something

which I detest. (I mean, who likes

paying money to the Government?)

And when you pair a diesel engine

to a small car like the Renault Clio,

the combination is nothing short of

magical. Small car frugality paired

with diesel miserliness means you

get incredible fuel economy, and

over a weekend with the Clio, after

over 400km of driving, I averaged an

impressive 18.3km/litre, easily my best

result ever in a test car. And the best

part is, the Clio is fun to drive too. It’s

nippy, chuckable, and an all-round

delight to play with in the corners.

The plentiful torque from the diesel

powerplant means that the car has a

slightly excitable nature off the lights,

which only adds to the overall. And

just look at its cheeky face, and clever

little details like the hidden rear door

handles. You just can’t help but love it.

4

Ordinarily, I don’t usually like

SUVs. But the BMW X1 is not

quite an SUV in a traditional sense. It

may look like one, but it actually leans

more towards that modern genre

of automobiles that we’d like to call

‘crossovers’. For one, it is front-wheel-

drive, just the second BMW in history

to built as such (the first being the 2

Series Active Tourer). Which means

that it will likely be troubled by some

severe flooding, despite its mini-off-

roader looks. But if you’re very sure

that you’ll never take your X1 off the

beaten track, then it does make for

a rather pleasing car indeed. The

2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine

is smooth, has adequate power (and

then some), and feels surprisingly

brisk, with 0-100km/h coming up in

7.7 seconds. For a front-wheel-drive

car it drives reasonably okay, if not

quite on par with regular rear-wheel-

driven BMWs. The interior is also

well-made, and generally quite a

nice place to sit and be in. If you’re

the unfussy type, and simply want

a competent and well-rounded

premium compact crossover SUV

thingy, then the X1 makes for a great

choice. I wouldn’t mind one really.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BEN CHIA

BEN CHIA’S ROUNDUP OF CARS

Busy man Ben rounds up some of the cars he’s driven recently, in his own unique personable style

46 // March 2016