The Malaysian Autoshow is here, running from tomorrow, Nov 9th till the end of this week Nov 12th. Organized
by the Malaysia Automotive Institute, this year's show is the biggest yet held. Venue wise, it has also been
shifted from previous years, and is now being held at the Malaysia Argo Exposition Park (MAEPS) located in Sepang.
A total of 150 exhibitors (including lifestyle manufacturers) have registered and will be exhibiting in the
Autoshow. Almost all the car manufacturers will be at the show. One key feature of this year's show is the new
venue actually has two test-tracks, one on-road and one off-road. As a result, visitors to this year's show will
be able to test-drive numerous cars at the venue itself. Honda Malaysia for e.g., will be bringing almost their
complete range of models to the show and Honda fans will be able to test-drive most of the models.
This means that the person who is currently shopping for a new car will find the Autoshow the near perfect
event as he or she can check-out all the cars under consideration and possibly also test-drive all of them for
comparison, all in one place. To facilitate the decision and the final buying process (in case the person wants
to complete the purchase there and then as well), MAI has arranged for free valuation for the person's current
car as well as a panel financier (Public Bank Berhad) and a panel insurer (AmInsure). With this, one can literally
shop around, compare, test-drive and buy a new car all in the Autoshow itself.
Other than just enjoying the cars on display, MAI has also arranged for many attractions for the show, one of
them being a free 39 points inspection of their cars. As usual, various lucky draws are also on offer, including
the grand prize of a Peugeot 208 for one lucky visitor to the show.
Unique Experiences
Honda fans will probably know about the newest technology Honda is display which is "Honda Sensing". This is a
collection of technology based features which enhances the driving experience and safety and includes features
such as "lane keep" and Adaptive Auto-cruise. In a normal test-drive on public roads, it's going to be a bit
difficult for one to test out these features. But in the Autoshow, Honda has a special "Honda Sensing Technology
Experience" exhibit where visitors will be shown by trained drivers the various features. In yesterday's Honda
Malaysia "Deepavali" event, media members were given the chance to experience Honda Sensing technology in the
form of a short test-drive of the new Honda Accord 2.4 VTi-L Advanced model. A trained driver took me for a spin
in an old-airfield in Putrajaya and conduct two demonstrations for Lane-Keep and Adaptive Auto-Cruise for me.
I will say that the demo and test-drive was very interesting. For Honda fans, this exhibit should be a must-visit.
A rather unique experience offered in the show is the so-called "Super Car Taxi Ride". Priced at RM30, visitors
can get to experience being driven around the show's test track (which is 3km long) in either a Bentley Bentayga
or a Ford Mustang GT 5.0. This should be a very popular booth to visit indeed.
Other "unique experiences" includes the "(SUV) Sport Utility Vehicle 4x4 Experience" which similar to the above
offers visitors the chance to be driven around the off-road test-track (this one is 200m long) for a fee of RM10.
Note however that this experience is only open from the 10th onwards.
Finally there is the "Karting Slalom" competition where visitors can enter to compete in a special Go-Kart
race with numerous attractive prices (including a first price of RM2,000 worth of fuel vouchers).
Planning Purposes
To help readers interested to visit the Autoshow plan their visit,
below are the layouts of the show venue.
Most of the car exhibits are focussed on two main halls. Hall A is where
the most of the car exhibits are and is
where Honda is located. However, manufacturers BMW, Volvo and Land
Rover/Jaguar will be exhibiting in Hall C.
Hall C is also where the superbikes will be (courtesy of NAZA Bikes) as
well as the special "Classic Cars Collection" exhibit. Mercedes Benz
however decided to have their exhibit under tents on the outside of the
halls.
There is one more exhibit hall, Hall D, and this is where a special car
symposium will take place along with
the "lifestyle" exhibitors (car accessories, as well as non car related
exhibitors). Outside of 'stock' cars,
there will be a modified cars and bikes exhibition as well.
The aerial photo below, obviously taken from Google Earth, has been overlaid with locations of the various
exhibits.
Further below are the actual layout plans of Halls A and C where almost all the main car exhibits are located
(except Mercedes which can be found in the master layout plan above).
