Mauritius adopts CO2 Emissions Green Tax, Nissan NV200, New Micra K13, Mitsubishi Colt

It’s good to see the award winning NV 200 (the new Nissan Vanette) reaching our shores for about Rs 600,000. Now the Peugeot Bipper/Partner has a contender. Although the Bipper is more affordable and comes in more economical diesel engine, hardcore Japanese fans.

Good to see as well is the new Micra with a 1.2 L 3-cylinder new engine that’s going to be able to compete with peers for fuel economy. Coupled with a 7-year 100,000 km warranty, ABC Motors knows its business. I guess many Mauritians won’t see the a-bit-dull looks and lower quality (according to foreign journalists).

The Mitsubishi Colt is finally here, abeit the older model. I hope they advertise that it has SIX (6) seats as opposed to 5 for all other hatchbacks in its category (Vitz, Fit, Demio, 207, Fiesta).

Finally the introduction of the green tax soon will be a good thing. It’ll be a system similar to France with bonus and mallus applied depending on your car’s CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission. To be honest, I think the bonus is way too little. It should have been read more

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End of Second Hand Sales Division for Toyota Mauritius

While local competitors are increasing their second-hand vehicle sales, it’s not surprising that the local dealer of Toyota (ex Beechand) is closing its Toyota Sure, used car division. Why it’s  not surprising, it’s because of their bad service, excessive prices, and incorrect models sold…

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New 1200hp Veyron Super Sport Sets World Record Again 431kph!

A few years ago, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 broke the world record for the fastest production car at 407 kph. The Americans Ford wanted to take the record from the VW owned French manufacturer. They made the Shelby SuperCars (SSC) Aero Ultimate, which set the record at a mere 412 kph.

This time Bugatti is back with the same engine boosted to 1200hp read more

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Great Wall Voleex C10/Phenom i7 – A Vitz/Yaris Clone that Looks Better than the Original

You might already know about the GWM Florid in sale in Mauritius since last year. At first look it’s a copied Toyota Vitz 1st Gen (front) mingled with the Toyota IST (rear and interior). These two are basically built on the same platform by Toyota. I was always thinking what it’d be if they had made a car inspired by the new Vitz/Yaris. Great Wall Motors finally did it – it was code named CH031. It’s on sale now as the Voleex C10 and Voleex C30 (saloon between the Belta/Yaris and the Corolla).

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Honda Fit 1.3 More Economical than Toyota Vitz 1.0

Honda L13A i-DSI engine

A friend was asking me the economy of the Honda Fit/Jazz. I remembered that I read about Fit being more economical than the March/Micra and Vitz despite having a bigger 1.3 engine. I decided to confirm it from their respective websites. read more

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Iframac Overtakes ABC Motors – When is Axess Bringing the Mazda 2 Demio

News from Motormag says that for the first 3 months of 2010, Iframac has totalled more vehicle sales than ABC motors. Can it become the No.1 this year. ABC has been leading for the past 10 years or so.

Another group that has potential I’d say is Axess. My suggestion would be to bring in the World Car of the Year 2008. That’s the Mazda 2/Demio that won against reputed cars like the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A5, Nissan Qashqai and Ford Mondeo! It’s a direct competitor of Toyota Vitz/Yaris and Honda Fit/Jazz/City. Fifth Gear has a review of the Mazda2:

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Automatics vs Manual – How CVT Automatic is More Economical Than Manual

People in Mauritius have for long said that automatic gearbox is slower, heavier and drinks a lot of fuel. This is changing now and people need to learn about the new types of automatics. For many girls, the comfort given by the automatic takes over the fact that they use more fuel but that’s changed now with more economical CVT gearbox – all hybrid vehicles have them, and you bet, they’re better than manual!

Let’s start by listing the different types of gearboxes available: read more

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5 Reasons of Choosing Diesel over Petrol Cars

Checking the increase in the price of petrol this month left me in regret of the 2.0 turbo diesel Toyota car I just sold for a 2 years newer 1.5L petrol car. Yes I’m paying less road tax, it’s supposed to be smaller and more economical engine but… it’s not as powerful… not as economical… and not as torquy…

Here are 5 Reasons why Mauritians should buy diesel cars instead of petrol: read more

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Perodua from UMW Toyota?

A few Perodua models have recently entered the Mauritian market. These inexpensive models (about Rs 400,000 new!) from Malaysia have started to gain a rather good reputation especially the Mivy. Some driving tutors are even considering using them.

So I said, let me read about the company… and tada, it’s 58% owned by UMW Toyota and Daihatsu (which is a subsidiary of Toyota!). They even share the factory that buids the Toyota Avanza!

No wonder that Daihatsu models are the basis of Perodua cars:

Daihatsu Mira -> Perodua Viva

Daihatsu Sirion -> Toyota Passo/Duet -> Perodua Mivy

Daihatsu Trevis -> Perodua Kelisa

and some more like the Toyota Rush/Daihatsu Terios… Nek manque the Toyota Camry/Daihatsu Altis to come next

What about your views? How do you find Perodua vehicles?

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Why Toyota Mauritius Is Lagging Behind In Sales

Recent figures from MotorMag magazine shows that although the Corolla is still their best selling model – for Toyota Mauritius (also known as Beechand previously) market share is falling. The total sales have also fallen for the group for the first quarter of 2009. Now this trend is not due to recession, it’s the relative market share on the local market and the reason to me, is obvious…

There has been a clear lack of 1. correct models and options for Mauritius; 2. inaccurate and incomplete marketing campaigns. Let’s take them one by one. Anyone who wants to critic me is open to do so.

Let’s consider the E150 Corolla that they’ve been bringing for about 2 years only as a 4-speed automatic 1.5L. Now come on, everyone knows that Mauritians who buy Japanese prefer manual gearbox. Simply offering only that (in ads) was a deterrant to many Toyota-lovers. Ah, it’s only now, after so many months that they’ve started to offer the 1.6L 5-speed manual… Late I’d say, when the market has been taken by Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer (Iframac claims the Lancer to be no 1 in sales for mid-size vehicles for 2007 and 2008 although the Lancer is more a compact sedan rather than a mid-size -MotorMag, June 2009).
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