MoonRiverOasis

Quick Update for those who were asking..

I spoke to one of my Toyota sources last evening, and apparently the Hilux Vigo 2010 minor change is expected mid-year, and a minor change for the Fortuner towards the end of 2010.

No details on exactly what's changing, but I poked/prodded/suggested a VN Turbo 3.0L engine (to complement the 2.5L VN currently available) - but that was quickly dismissed as "highly unlikely".. So what we'll be seeing is probably just a few minor cosmetic changes and/or some special, limited edition models with some added bling.

Kia Soul launched in Thailand

With a market plan to sell 40 units per month, Kia launches the Soul in Thailand with introductory prices starting from 1,298,000 Baht.

Dubbed a "mini utility", the Soul is powered by a 1.6L DOHC petrol engine providing 124HP @ 6300 rpm and 156Nm @ 4300 rpm and features nicities such as 60/40 split fold seats (which folded down open up 1500L of cargo space), and LCD screen based audio system AUX, iPod and USB support, parking camera and the usual safety features you'd expect at the price. Bookings will start during the 2010 Motor Show, with deliveries starting 2-3 weeks afterwards.

Chevrolet Updates

New minor change for the Colorado pickup revealed:

Chevrolet Colorado 2010 Minor Change

The Colorado has undergone a mid-life refresh, adding new design "crystal" headlights, new spherical fog lights, and a new audio system with LCD screen, MP3/DVD playback and navigation. Top level models also now come with cruise control. No word on updated prices yet.

Captiva LTZ 2.0 VCDi Sport "White Metallic"

A little slow to the party, but better-late-than-never, Chev responds to the current "White Pearl" trend with the launch of the Captiva LTZ 2.0 VCDi Sport. "White Metallic". Major changes include a new body skirt package, 18" alloy wheels and a 7" LCD based audio system with MP3/DVD playback and navigation, and some new design chrome tailights.. and pearl white paint of course! Prices start at 1,634,000 Baht.

I'll hazard a few guesses

I seriously doubt it'll come this year - the dates you've read are more likely to be "unveiling dates", not actual release-to-market dates. All light diesels sold in Thailand must be Euro IV compliant by 2012. The problem is that the Euro IV grade diesel to power them will not be widely available until late 2011. It makes no sense to release an all-new model in the timeframe your source has suggested, as it'd mean turning around an replacing it with a new model almost straight away. Still, stranger things have happened when it comes to GM

So it all boils down to whether this new SUV is going to be a replacement/update fo the Captiva, or something based on the next generation Colorado pickup truck (the latter makes much more sense in the Thai market)

According to my sources, the new model Colorado pickup (codename GMI700) is scheduled for a November 2011 release. It would be very odd to release an SUV variant before the donor pick-up - normally pick-up based SUV's lag their utility brethren by a good 9-12 months.

In summary, this all implies that it'll either be a replacement for the Captiva or not the schedule your source has indicated.

Lexus LFA in Thailand

Lexus's first entry into the supercar club will go on show at this year's Bangkok Motor Show (March 26 to April 6th, 2010), with at total of 2 cars (out of the limited production run of 500) allocated to Thailand - for a cool 40,000,000 Baht each.

Some quick specs on the LFA:

72-degree naturally aspirated V10 with 40 valves and Dual VVT-i producing 550 HP at 8,700 RPM and 480Nm from 6,800 to 9,000 RPM.

0-100 KM/hr in 3.7 seconds

Dual clutch 6-speed transmission with 0.2s change time.

4-wheel carbon-ceramic discs - 390mm 6-pot (front) and 306mm 4-pot (rear).

65% Carbon fiber, 35% Aluminum body

So who will be the lucky two I wonder?

More Ford Fiesta Pics

Lexus LFA

Lexus LFA

Lexus LF-Ch

Lexus LF-Ch

Toyota RiN Concept

Toyota RiN Concept

A few sneak-peek's at what you'll be able to see at the 2010 Bangkok International Motor Show

Ford Fiesta Hatch

Ford Fiesta Hatch

Ford Fiesta Sedan

Ford Fiesta Sedan

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Honda's New Small Car Concept (preview of the upcoming 2011 Honda eco-car)

Honda's New Small Car Concept (preview of the upcoming 2011 Honda eco-car)

Kia Soul

Kia Soul

Peugeot Bipper

Peugeot Bipper

Suzuki Swift

Suzuki Kisashi

Suzuki Kizashi

Suzuki X-Head Concept

Suzuki X-Head Concept

Mazda 2 "Active2"

Mazda 2 "Active2"

BMW Z4 S-Drive announced

BMW's "Effecient Dynamic" Z4 S-Drive will be released at the 2010 Bangkok Motor show, starting tomorrow.

Two variants will be available:

Z4 sDrive 23i at 4,399,000 Baht

Z4 sDrive 23i Highline at 4,799,000 Baht

Both models are powered by an E20 compatible 2.5L 6-cylinder producing 204HP and 250Nm - capable of completing the 0-100km/hr sprint in just 7.3 seconds while managing 11.3L/KM fuel effeciency with 207gm/km CO2.

Some interesting information on this topic. Does anyone own or tested the petrol triton? We like the triton and may buy one later this year, but was thinking about buying the petrol model with the idea of converting it to LPG later. No sure if this is a good idea or not so thought that maybe some experts could shed some light on this.

Thanks

Looks like you may not have to convert yourself - Mitsubishi have just announced two new Triton models with factory fitted NGV - details here

Mitsubishi Triton CNG Models Announced

Mitsubishi has now launched two new Triton models featuring dual-fuel support (E20 and NGV).

The single cab GL version starts at 469,000 Baht, while the extended cab GLS version starts from 611,000 Baht. Both models are powered by Mitsubishi's 2.4L MPI Engine with 128HP and 194Nm and feature special bed liner designs to cover the CNG tank. the Single cab has 120L NGV tank, while the extended cab has a slightly smaller 100L tank. Both models come with a 3 year/100,000KM warranty.

And what's the difference between the Pajero Sport and the normal Pajero?

Isn't the sport version the shorter one?

No, in fact the other way around

The Pajero Sport is a 7-seat SUV built upon the Triton pickup drivetrain. Also known as the "Challenger" in some markets. Prices range from ~970,000 to 1.3M Baht:

Pajero Sport

The Pajero is an entirely different vehicle however. Prices are currently "POA", however when it originally launched it started at 3,950,000 Baht (that's not a typo).

Pajero Exceed

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG to make it's Thai debut at the 2010 Bangkok Motor show

Mercedes Benz (Thailand) will be displaying 16 models at this year's motor show under the theme of "Blue Effeciency" - but the star of the show will no doubt be the 6.3L V8, 571 HP/650Nm SLS AMG Gullwing pictured here. No pricing has been announced, but expect it to go on sale at a price that could buy you a small island resort

The pricing has just been announced: The SLS AMG will start from just 24.99 Million Baht..

having financed 3 cars in my own name, my experince is what they want to see is good cash flow in bank statement. they dont care how you make the money...

That's it, precisely.

Mazda's Motor Show Promotions revealed

As is customary, all Thai manufacturers put on special promotional campaigns for the major motor shows, and details of Mazda's promotions have just been announced:

Mazda 2: Prices from 535,000 Baht (nothing new there) with 1 year's free first-class insurance.

Mazda 3: E20 compatible models starting from 755,000 Baht with interest from 2.19%, 1 year's free first-class insurance, and 3 years/60,000km free servicing.

Mazda BT-50: 1.79% interest with 1 year's free first-class insurance.

Mazda MX-5: 5 years/140,000km warranty, with 3 years/100,000km free servicing and 1 year's free first-class insurance.

Mazda CX-9: 3 years/100,000km free servicing and 1 year's free first-class insurance

Unless otherwise stated, all models come standard with a 3 year/100,000km warranty, and 3-years of free 24-hour roadside assistance.

The Motorshow runs from March 26th to April 4th at Bitec, Bangna.

Our loan application was turned down, no reason given, but it's not rocket science. Neither of us earns a wage. I have assets but foreigners can and do skip the country and use their Thai wives as proxies to do nefarious deeds. I could show them a pile of gold bars and it wouldn't matter. I offered to show them the balance of my foreign trading account but they don't know what a trading account is.

Anyway, plan B. My wife's family has a long relationship with someone at Kasikorn Bank so we've made an appointment to have a chat. We have a piece of property to use as collateral worth at least 2m baht and have been told we could get a 1m baht loan with that, which is far more than we need, unless I decide to do a little speculation with it. So the remaining question is what percent will they give us. Sure wish I could move the cursor back so I could edit my typos. Oh well. Will let you know what I find out. In the meantime, Mitsubishi will hold the truck for a total of 15 days after which time they'll refund my 5,000 baht cash deposit if I can't come up with a loan.

Collateral alone is usually not enough to secure finance in Thailand - while you're correct that it provides security against finance, the reality is that what the finance company wants is your money, not more of your assets (they have plenty of repossesed stock as it is), so you have to provide them with at least anecdotal evidence of income OR have another, 3rd party Thai citizen act as a guarantor for your wife.

I say anecdotal because there are ways of doing this without actually having a regular income, but if you've already submitted an application that states you don't have a regular income, it's a little hard to an about-face on that now

Isn't this just basically just a rebadged Isuzu MU7? Any noticable differences?

and 1.3 mil for that limo isn't all that bad considering what the other options for cars with refrigerators in them must cost over here.

Thw original replyer linked the image for the 7-seat 799K Baht Allroader - not the 4-seat "Exclusive Limousine" 1.3M Baht edition, which has been stretched by an additional 60cm...

Thairung build SUV's using the Isuzu D-Max and Chev Colorado pickups as a base, so yes there's some similarities with the MU-7 - which is Isuzu's own D-Max based SUV.

its done. OZ passanger cars with more than 3000cc has a taxbreak in LOS. winwin. OZ dont make pickups. LOS dont focus on making cars with more than 3000cc.

Precisely. Now where are the 3000+ cc Aussie cars then? I'd almost give my left leg to be able to buy a 6.2L V8 HSV GXP in Thailand at a reasonable price

Thanks for all the suggestions!

That certainly widens my horizon.

The smaller SUVs all have the problem that with a 3rd row seating, theres absolutely zero space for any luggage.

Makes one wonder why they don't just add 50cm length to have a long version.

I guess I will have to go for a tank.

Good suggestions:

Mitsubishi Pajero

Isuzu MU-7

Thairung Adventure

Thairung Allroader

Ford Everest

Unsure:

Toyota Innova - deserves a look, capacity to climb ??

Toyota Wish - deserves a look, capacity to climb ??

Unsuitable:

Mazda CX-9: too small, can't climb

Honda Freed: too small, can't climb

Toyota Avanza: too small, can't climb

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport: too small

Volvo XC90: too small

Chevrolet Captiva: too small

Honda CR: too small, no 3rd row

Hyundai H1: that's a mini-van! - probably high fuel consumption and unable to climb stones

Kia Grand Carnival: same as above

Suzuki APV: same as above

Toyota Commuter: same as above

Toyota Ventury: same as above

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "can't climb" - but I'm assuming you mean you need something that's OK on unsealed/broken surfaces, not a rock climber with 7 seats hehe. Based on that, here's a few changes to the list:

Models available with 4WD (so definitely can 'climb'):

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Isuzu MU-7

Thairung Allroader

Ford Everest

Models available with 2WD but with high'ish ground clearance (can handle unsealed roads well enough):

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Isuzu MU-7

Thairung Adventure

Ford Everest

Toyota Innova (based on the 2WD Toyota Hilux pickup chassis)

If you need lots of seating capacity, the Hyundai H-1 seats 12 and is, IMHO, unbeatable value in Thailand at just 1M Baht. It uses a 174 HP 2.5L Turbo diesel engine, so even though it's shaped like a house on wheels it'll still return reasonable fuel economy (based on $ per person, per KM that is).

yes, the Toyota Kluger seems nice too!

The Kluger is not officially available in Thailand, so scrub that one.

By the way, are the ThaiRung cars good?

Thairung are essentially coachbuilders - they take Isuzu and Chevrolet pickups and massage them into SUV's, so no issues from a drivetrain standpoint. The overall styling they come up with is a matter of personal taste of course, but Baht-for-Baht, they're hard to beat on value.

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG to make it's Thai debut at the 2010 Bangkok Motor show

Mercedes Benz (Thailand) will be displaying 16 models at this year's motor show under the theme of "Blue Effeciency" - but the star of the show will no doubt be the 6.3L V8, 571 HP/650Nm SLS AMG Gullwing pictured here. No pricing has been announced, but expect it to go on sale at a price that could buy you a small island resort

Thairung Allroader minor change

Thairung's staple 7-seat SUV, the Allroader has undergone a minor change adding new projector headlights, new 50/50 split 3rd row seats, and new dash lighting effects. Prices will start from just 799,000 Baht for the 2.5L RWD version at next week's motor show.

Thairung launches new Allroader based "Exclusive Limousine"

Thairung's Allroader goes to new "lengths" - an additional 60cm in fact, with the launch of the new "Exclusive Limousine". Featuring such nicities as a privacy panel between the driver and passengers, and 18.5" LCD TV/DVD system with subwoofer, refrigerator, 8-way power adjustable seats, and a few cow's worth of leather.

Two versions are available - based on the Chevy Colorado or the Isuzu D-Max. Both use the same 3.0L TD engine, and offer lowered, comfort-tuned suspension, 17" alloy wheels and advanced soundproofing for "superior" ride comfort. Prices start at around 1.3M Baht and move upwards depending on the options selected.

Thairung Website (not updated at time of posting)

Which other 7 or 8-seaters compete with the Fortuner in Thailand?

Off the top of my head (ignoring the mega-million Euro brands):

Ford Everest

Honda Freed

Hyundai H1

Kia Grand Carnival

Isuzu MU-7

Mazda CX-9

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Suzuki APV

Thairung Adventure

Thairung Allroader

Toyota Avanza

Toyota Commuter

Toyota Innova

Toyota Fortuner

Toyota Ventury

Toyota Wish

Of course you've also got the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X Series, Audi Q series etc - but they're priced more like sprawling mansions with wheels

Note toyota honda and nissan plus mini and ford. Britain has a massive car making industry all right hand drive and now 35% cheaper then pre GFC the question remains.

Unfortunately Thailand's custom duties, excise taxes and VAT on imported vehicles (which in total range from 188% to 328% on the cost-including-freight value), make it meaningless to try to import most of your list there. Even Australia who have a Free Trade Agreement (and who also manufacture a broad range of vehicles) can't make econonmical sense out of it, so UK manufacturers have no chance

Why when we have seen a devaluation of the pound by almost 35% have british built cars not hit the thai market at sensible prices, and a lot of euro cars are made in britain plus jap motors too.

As far as I'm aware, the only UK sourced vehicles for sale in Thailand are Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover and Lotus - which all combined sell less than 1,500 units per year in Thailand - so not enough to get any economy of scale. Then of course there's the conundrum of alienating loyal customers who would be hit with massive devaluations on their existing (pricey) cars, and then how to recover face all over again when the pound regains some of it's composure and the prices have to go up again.

But all of that is moot - the fact is not one of the UK brands is a value proposition in Thailand, and the few people who do buy them do so for status reasons alone.. The price is expected to remain high to keep the riff-raff out of their exclusive club

Some quick Ford Fiesta news from the rumour mill..

The range will apparently feature the following models:

"Style" - 1.4L 5-door hatch, manual

"Style" - 1.4L 5-door hatch, auto

"Style" - 1.4L 4-door saloon, auto (no manual option for the saloon)

"Trend" - 1.6L 5-door hatch, 6-speed powershift

"Trend" - 1.6L 4-door saloon, 6-speed powershift

"Sport" - 1.6L 5-door hatch, 6-speed powershift

"Sport" 1.6L 4-door saloon, 6-speed powershift

"Style" models include driver's airbag, ABS, immobilizer, power windows, power mirrors, CD/MP3 player and 15" steel wheels. The hatch also gets a rear spoiler.

"Trend" models add folding mirrors, passenger airbag and 15" alloy wheels - along with the larger engine and powershift transmission of course.

"Sport" models add fog lights, reverse parking sensors, steering wheel mounted audio controls, CD/MP3 player with voice control, Bluetooth, USB and ipod connectivity and 16" alloys. The 4-door saloon also gets a black leather interior and automatic climate control, while the hatch gets upgraded "sports" trim.

The 1.4L manages 15KM/L on the city cycle while the 1.6L manages 17KM/L in the same test.

Prices will range from 530,000 Baht for the base Style model, up to 730,000 Baht for the top-spec Sport badge with all the goodies. The initial campaign will start off with finance at 1.99% PA and free 1-year first class insurance. Bookings will start being accepted during the motorshow (starting on the 26th), with delivery timeframes of up to 7 months (depending on model).

Unfortunately that's all I was able to glean so far - I guess we'll know more (and how accurate the mole was) after the official public launch on the 26th!