Over-rated JBL Green edge sound system on Camry Hybrid

Dear Toyota Camry Hybrid friends

So far I've really enjoyed the TCH as my main ride. It's wonderfully boring but satisfying. People buy the hybrid not just because it's economical but also reasonably fun to drive. Fuel wise , the car can go as miserly as  16.5 to 17 kilometers per litre or around 40 miles per gallon. You don't really have to be light on your foot , just press hard and burst out and the funny thing is that  it will still save fuel. In some conventional cars a slight press on the accelerator will result in heavy fuel consumption but not the TCH. It will be fuel saving no matter how hard  you drive. Thus, another reason people by the car is because of its performance. The performance of TCH is just fantastic considering that its a squarish and uninviting family car that is also a hybrid.

Did you know  the biggest problem that I recently discovered about the TCH? It's the worst sound system ever at least based on my so called not to high standard. The sound system in the hybrid is really a let down and really a total dismay for such an upmarket car in Malaysia. Remember in this country it costs around US 40,000  for the full specs.The 2008 Honda Civic that I owned had a better sound system  than this hybrid. Even the sound system in the 2015 Accord which I dont really enjoy sounds good. One of the reasons that  I realized is that there is only one big speaker in the boot of the car  . Please look at the photo that I've enclosed. There is no big white circle on the second speaker. Another thing that I just learned is that a 3-way speaker is considered as 3 speakers. I learned this from Toyota Malaysia. It seems that the consumers in the United States are very well treated than their counterparts in Malaysia. Here they charge you a lot but give you a little.The attached photo is taken from Toyota Malaysia official website,

Worst JBL green edge sound system on Camry Hybrid 2015 Malaysia

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS

10 Speaker System

Enjoy a beautiful, clear audio experience with the 5.1 channel surround system and 10 JBL Green Edge speakers.

Camry Hybrid price 2016 Malaysia

Hi everyone

Today is Monday  (28/12.2015) and Malaysians are still celebrating the Xmas holidays and some are finishing up their well deserved end of the year holidays. Some of the workshops are still closed taking advantage of the long holidays.

Toyota Camry 2016

Come next year year-2016 - the price of Toyota Camry Hybrid will be raised to nearly RM 200,000. I dont have the specific details but I've heard from some of the members in the group (Chocom) that the price will hover around RM 190,000. The reason given is that the the value of the Malaysian currency has gone down. Hence, the need to increase the price of the car by RM 10,000.

Pearl white Camry Hybrid 2016

 Furthermore the discount that is given to prospective customers has been withdrawn and new customers would have to fork out  the full  amount for the car. Toyota Malaysia does not like to give discounts for cars like Toyota Camry Hybrid because of the high demand of the hybrid cars in the country. I've received lot of inquiries from people that I do not know  via the club asking if they can still get the TCH based on the old price

Another possibility is that the price of the Camry will be around RM 220,00 - 230,000 if the government decided to do away with the tax break that hybrid cars are enjoying in 2015. They might do it in 2016 and if that happens there will be a drastic price increase of the vehicle to the same price as in Thailand. The drastic price increase will definitely stifle the growth of hybrid cars in the country. At the moment less that 5 % of the cars sold in Malaysia of hybrid in nature. But I doubt the government will withdraw the incentive  because of their unpopularity. 

Honda Accord vs Toyota Camry: Which one is better?

Which one do I buy -Honda Accord or Toyota Camry? I have to say that the Honda Accord is really a good car. There are too many good attributes that I can talk about the car. 

Toyota Camry

#First is the handling. With its 18 inch  tires, the handling of the car is much better. I feel driving the Accord in twisted roads is much easier  than in Toyota Camry although the latter is no slouch either, The steering wheel of the Accord is much sharper and easy to handle. It's more of a driver's car than the Camry. The Camry is nice for chauffeur driven.  Around the sharp corners of Putrajaya , capital of Malaysia, I would rather be driving the Accord  than in the Camry .

Honda Accord

# Second,  the Accord looks very much prettier than the Camry . The Accord looks like your polished girlfriend with nice sexy attire complete with beautiful and matching accessories. The body of the Accord is very well proportioned  with the right curves at the right places. The front end  of the Accord is so nicely protruding in the right directions and and so curvaceous and give the shade of a understated luxury. The Camry however looks very mature with a very flat back with no right curves and oozes nothing special. She could look like you wife of 30 years. You don't give a second look at  the Camry and it just blends well with cars of previous generations.You would not want any  association  with the looks of the Camry. It's so boring and sometimes irritating.

# Third -the sense of a sturdy body of the Accord. I feel that body the structure  of the Accord is more sturdy and durable. I don't get that  sense of solidity in the Camry, The Camry only gives a smooth ride but without the feeling of sturdiness that you would associate with Toyota in general and Camry specifically. You can hear the "thud" sound when you drive the Accord but the Camry just feel a bit flimsy. The doors in the Accord also are quite heavy and they shut with German or teutonic like sound unlike in the Camry, Only the rear doors sound a little solid in the Camry. The Accord has improved much in terms of solidity. I think the engineers at Toyota are shedding the weight of their cars like the Mazda and thus lacking in structural rigidity and solidity.

Despite all these my heart is still with the Camry because of the hybrid engine.

Toyota maintenance service Malaysia/ Are we being shortchanged?

Dear Friends and owners of Camry Hybrid

I just want to highlight the maintenance service of Toyota Camry hybrid in Malaysia. For one, the regular maintenance service in Malaysia is every 10,000 kilometers . As the owner , you have to send your car for the regular service every 10,000 kilometers.And you will need to spend around RM 250 to 350 (US 50 to US 70)  for the regular service which includes oil filter , drain plug gasket and the fully synthetic oil. The premium oil 5W-40  will cost the owner slightly more.  The sad thing is that in the US their regular service is very 10,000 miles or 16,000 km. They drive  more miles before servicing compared to the practice in  Malaysia.

The point is that are we being shortchanged by Toyota Malaysia? Why is the service interval for Toyota cars in Malaysia is just every 6,000 miles and not every 10,000 miles as practiced in the US? Is the synthetic oil in Malaysia is of less quality? Or do we let  Toyota Malaysia make so much easy money. I believe the service interval should be the same as in the US and in Malaysia.