Away from the city~

Port Dickson, 2009..

Been sick and tired of the hustle and bustle of city. So, when the opportunity came for a break to PD decided to take it straight away. Journey begins right after work. Left PJ at 5.15pm, again jam here jam there to Subang until finally hit the clear roads in Puchong. By then it was already 6.30pm. Thus, the official start time was 6.30pm. Took the LDP which joins to the Lebuhraya Lembah Klang Selatan which eventually ends up in Lebuhraya Utara - Selatan.

Too fast?

Throughout the journey south, maintained at 100KM/h..using the autocruise feature again which is very handy indeed as both legs are free of their usual duty (but of course attention need to be on a high as the brakes are still manually controlled).

Green light means less strain~

The 100KM/h cruise can be achieved because:

the road's clear! Not that many cars travelling since it's not a holiday season. And you get to see those who will take the opportunity to push their car to it's limits;



I did too. Will not write down the speed, but CPS is definitely engaged using high valve lift + short runner VIM and the sound it makes..ooo la la~ ^^ After the adrenalin rush along the Lebuhraya Seremban - Port Dickson, finally got to PD @ 8pm~



In the morning, the was a light drizzle but that didn't dampen the mood~



After the morning activities, hang out at this chinese shop for lunch.

manage to pose under some coconut trees.

And we're on the way back again to KL.



Clear roads is a welcoming sight:



On the way back, I didn't drive..hand the car over to my 'tame' co-driver. Since she's a car addict as well as a speed freak, gave her the chance to satisfy her hunger on the wide open roads of Lebuhraya Seremban - Port Dickson .







Since the road was very clear, did some 'racing' with more seasoned drivers with their 'bigger' cars! First up was Dad in his Hilux. No intercooler turbo there, so it wasn't difficult to pass..also Dad wasn't in the racing mood that day~



Then it was the Camry 2.2 of my Uncle EFC. That's a big steady car, but the driver was a cautious driver who rarely have the need for speed. :P



Next was the Hyundai Elantra 1.8 of my Uncle GS. Caught him by surprise I guess, since we manage to pass him easily.



But after that he fought back. All the way to the toll to Lebuhraya Utara - Selatan. And, my Gen2 CPS, was no match for both the Camry and Elantra (car's still new, need to manja a lil) since fuel's not cheap and we're no pro, but we still manage to leave the Hilux far far away eating our dust! :D

So, it was another enjoying ride in the Gen2 for long distance. Again it's a quiet and comfortable ride with great driving dynamics. It's still very composed at illegal speeds, where the driver must be confident of himself controlling the car more than worry the car can't do it~ At these speeds, the exhaust note is very addicting..VERY indeed. Words can't describe it, and sorry we didn't manage to record it for all to hear. >.< Best of all, it's also very fuel efficient! Only one quarter of the tank used to travel to and fro Port Dickson from KL. And here's the rpm @ 110KM/h;



Quite high I'll say, I wonder if there's anyway of lowering it.. .. ...

3 Days 2 Nights @ Penang

Since Labour day is on a Friday, decided to go for a trip to Penang. It's also a good time to test out the practicallity and reliability of the Gen2 in a long distance drive. Loaded the boot with a small travel bag, 3 sleeping bags, 2 A4 sized containers, and 2 carry bags with lots of space to spare. The plan was to leave home on 1st of May at 8.30am to meet up with aunts and uncles at Petaling Jaya to have breakfast.

(8.23am, and we're ready to go!)

After breakfast, head towards North-South Highway. Smart tag was borrowed from aunt, but Touch n Go card is not loaded. So we stopped at Rawang R&R for fuel, air and restroom break in preparation for the long journey. Pump in RM40.62 worth of Petronas Primax 3 regular RM1.80/L fuel (full tank auto-stop) as there was still fuel left before filling. Wanted to reload Touch n Go, but the Petronas outlet seems to have sold all their credit.

So we had to move on as there's a very long que for fuel that time of day. So, cruising on the highway at a maximum of 110kmph using autocruise as frequent as possible. The autocruise feature was very helpful as it puts less strain on the leg. Just that eyes need to be on the road at all times as the car in front might be slower than they appear.

(All Touch n Go credit sold out! >.<)

Stopped at a couple of rest areas looking for Touch n Go reload but to no avail as every petrol station have sold all their credit. As do normal long north bound journeys, we stopped at Tapah R&R after a long drive and also to freshen up. The petrol stations there had also sold all their Touch n Go credit but luckily there's a Maybank ATM there to reload. It's weird how the Government encourages us to use cashless system but also create such trouble for us to load money (very disappointed)~

After Tapah, we continue our journey hapilly cruising all the way to Taiping where we stopped for lunch. So far, the car's doing well. Tyre noise is quite intrusive but the radio did a good job in keeping the interior comfy. Aircond is doing it's job well in cooling while handling is as good as always. There's no weird (something loose) sounds and also the car shows no signs of overheating or running out of fuel.

Once our bellies are filled, we moved on to Penang. Traffic was heavy on some parts of the stretch. With 4 adults on board and the boot half filled, the car struggled up hill towards Menora Tunnel. The engine needs to be revved up to 4000rpm to keep it moving along at 90kmph. After the tunnel, the Lotus engineered suspension and the all round disc brakes did their job well in making sure the car stays composed and calm all the way downhill.

The drive was normal all the way to Penang, there's no sudden braking or anything out of the ordinary. Just a plain, smooth drive throughout the 360KM drive. Fuel consumption was rated at 6.4L/100KM according to the onboard electronic meter. With 1/4 of the tank left (according to the fuel meter onboard), it's not too long before we need a fill up as the traffic in Penang is similar to that of KL.

(Raining every morning)

Topped up RM50.00 of Shell Regular RM1.80/L of fuel the next morning just in case. Then took a drive throught the coastal roads to visit the Tropical Spice Garden at Tanjong Bunga. Again the handling of the car is just great with very little body roll felt and with the gearbox fixed at '3', the drive was smooth up and down the twisting road. That's the only driving experience worth mentioning in Penang as the others were on normal roads, where bumps are well soaked up by the suspensions. Also, ground clearance was good as it did not scrape the bottom of the front bumper throughout our stay.



Throughout the 3days 2 nights spent in Penang, the car consumed 1/4 tank of fuel. Fuel Consumption was rated at a staggering 10.1L/100KM using the electronic meter. This might be due to the many stop and go traffic (traffic lights) and also short distance trips. So I think it's safe to say that the Gen2 is not really comfortable in city traffic.

(Heavy traffic especially at Gurney area)

Morning of day 3 saw the boot filled with 2 small luggage bags, 2 A4 sized containers, 2 sleeping bags and 2 carry bags as well as biscuits and things bought there. It fills up the boot just nicely. The trip home was through the ferry instead of the bridge. Had breakfast at Butterworth and then top up the tank with RM29.20 of Shell Regular RM1.80/L of petrol. Then we're on our way home using the usual North-South Highway. Again, we stopped at Taiping for lunch and to buy buns. Also, an aunt came over along with her luggage bag. After a small repositioning, everything fits into the boot and we're good to go again.

(A small reminder to drive safe)

When we reached home, it's already 7.30pm. The journey back took 375KM and 3/4 tank of fuel. We travelled 850++KM in the 3days and for the driver and front passenger, it was a nice trip and a less tiring for the driver thanx to the autocruise function. But for the rear passengers, it isn't such a comfortable journey as they complained of the seats being too upright and the headrest made things worst. The rear seats are also said to be a lil too hard. I have no idea as I was the driver, maybe I'll try the rear seats the next time we go for another long distance drive.