COEs Remain Stable In First Bidding Exercise of May

With more buyers turning to SUVs today, car manufacturers have been keen to meet their demands. The market of late has seen the introduction of even more people-carrying variants of these off-roading-inspired vehicles, which also does threaten the rationale behind fielding an MPV within your product range. Korean automobile manufacturer, KIA has just launched their all new MPV… or GUV (Grand Utility Vehicle) in KIA talk. There is no mistaking that their largest MPV GUV is lightly disguised as an SUV, especially with its frontal styling. I mean, who says you can’t have your cake and eat it right? You get the best of both worlds… a car that has the street and in this case off-the-street cred of an SUV, with all the good trappings of an MPV; or maybe just the main advantage of lower ground clearance for easier entry and a more “glam” exit. I believe that there is no way you can make a dignified exit from the third row of a people-moving SUV in a kilt.

On 26 April 2021, Bentley launched the leaner V8 variant of their Flying Spur grand touring sedan, over a year after the full flavoured variant fitted their crème de la crème W12 reached our shores. The “easier-on-the-pocket” V8 retails from $919,000, sans all your bespoke options and COE.  At the heart of the car is the same four-point-zero litre twin-turbocharged V8 that powers their Bentayga SUV. According to Bentley, the Flying Spur V8 is one-hundred kilograms lighter than the W12 version (most of this we are quite certain, is at the northern-end of the vehicle. Bentley claims that this equates to a more agile and responsive drive. The 4.0 produces 542bhp and 770Nm, from just under 2,000rpm, and is married to a fast-shifting 8-speed dual clutch transmission.

The much-anticipated new Suzuki Swift Sport comes to town, and we get treated to an afternoon on a go-karting track.  The new Suzuki Swift sport is powered by a 1.4 litre Boosterjet turbocharged engine, and unlike its Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) twin, it also gets help with 48V hybrid technology.  Suzuki’s small hot hatch here delivers 127hp and 235Nm, meaning that it still qualifies as a category A COE car, and retails at $109,900. For those with a class 3A, unfortunately the Swift Sport will only be sold with a 6-speed manual here, though we do know that elsewhere around the world, there is an automatic variant. Lab-tested fuel economy figures are already impressive, delivering 21.2km/l in combined cycle, and it clocks 100km/h in 9.1 seconds.