Post My Rides...

This is a brief recollection of the cars that have been part of my life.

Pre-License

I was in Form 4 when I was first given a taste of driving. It was a Perdana Automatic. Biasalah, forward, reverse, kiri, kanan dalam taman perumahan. Maybe because my family's a bit strict when it comes to discipline and studies that I view driving as a means of escape, because from that moment on, I took every chance I could get to drive.

I had my chance when I was in Form 5 when I got my L license. Now, L means shit, but to me, it meant I am, theoretically, capable of driving. So "my" first car was a Proton Saga Megavalve hatchback.

Registration number CAH 45. It was actually my auntie's car by that time as she bought it over from my mom. Her whole family commutes often between KL and Johor, so this car was left quite often in my porch.


And what did I do with my new-found, albeit illegal and immoral, freedom? Bawak pergi tuisyen Bahasa Malaysia dengan saudara Bharat Joshi. Then to the mamaks, normally Sri Melur USJ 12. Sometimes I would take it a bit further out for a round of Counter-Strike at a CC in SS 15.

At that time I was in no position to pass opinion on handling, or comfort. All I know was that the car had four wheels, can seat four, and can be driven by any idiot - like me.

I guess my auntie suspected me of joy-riding the car because she keeps wondering why her mileage keeps on increasing. I usually answered that I helped her warm up the engine since she left the car for so long, which actually doesn't make sense. Jadi, sempena hari raya, saya mohon ampun.

License

I was actually quite crazy and rebellious enough to insist on taking my license as soon as I could. Since my birthday's in September, it meant that when I took the test at Metro Driving Academy Kg. Subang, it was just a few weeks before SPM. Semangat bawak buku Sure Skor (or one of those small books with summarized notes).

I didn't get a car immediately after getting my license. Lepas SPM, kerja melepak sampai lewat malam aja di pusat snuker dan kafe siber di SS 15. I usually ride the bus, Metrobus. On many occasion, I was fortunate enough to be allowed to drive the 1st-gen Honda CRV that my family had.

At that time, we were all into some form of hip-hop. And driving a 4WD (no matter if it's a Honda), was very urban (in my mind, at least). Official soundtrack: 2Pac & Naughty by Nature on repeat.

Bila fikir balik, memang agak poyo. But I had a lot of fun with this car. It was big, which meant it could fit a whole lot of car-less teenage kids eager for a night out in town. There was a time when I carried 7 people in there, with one kid hanging out in the boot.

My First Car

Despite my rebellious streak in Form 5, I did manage to do well in my SPM. Malas ar cerita berapa nanti ingat aku ni nerd laks. So my parents, being the lovely folks that they are, and probably secretly as a way of thanking me for not insisting on studying overseas, decided to get me a car.

At that time, there weren't that many choices. And for boys, the Proton Satria's usually a pretty safe bet. But I didn't want some lame-ass cockle-doo 1.3 (which was what they have in the showrooms). I found out that there was a 1.6 version of the Satria which has been discontinued.

So I got mine at the 1st second-hand car dealership we stopped along Jalan Ampang, I think. Test drive consisted of me driving the car around the office building. My parents signed the papers, and off I went with my new car.

A few months later, I joined UiTM. Time tuh, kalau bawak kereta dalam kampus, kira cukup gempak la. This is UiTM, remember. I stayed in the hostel for the 1st semester, and there was plenty of riding around town doing nothing moments with a bunch of crazy ass friends.

Budak-budak perempuan pun takder kereta time tuh. So you can be quite a hero (or a deuschbag...) by "helping" them around campus. The Satria 1.6XLI with plate no. WGX 1544 was a familiar sight around campus, I think.

Anyway, the car itself was powerful, but drank petrol like it's nobody's business. It probably didn't help that I pushed the car too often. But I love it. I spent my first PTPTN loan (hah, pengakuan) on getting this car a kick-ass Sony stereo with new speakers and twitters. Time tuh, beli dan pasang dekat Brothers. Manalah kita pandai sangat.

With illegal downloads just starting to mushroom on "broadband", I had a blast playing my compilations. I probably annoyed the hell out of my buddy, Ahmad Faiz (who knew we'd still be riding around until today?), but who cares. Nak naik kereta aku, dengar lah music aku.

My 2nd Car - Honda Jazz 1.4 iDSI

I don't know why, but I was damn enthusiastic about studying law when I first joined the faculty. So I got pretty good results for my pre-law program. At that time, the Satria was starting to cost a bomb to maintain (or so I keep on insisting to my parents...sneaky bastard).

I kept harping on them for a new car. You see, I get bored easily, and it's the same with cars. After 3 semesters, everyone's started driving some variation of the Proton - Wira, Satria etc. So I wanted something else, and the 3 straight Dean's List Award was a strong bargaining chip.

It was funny how we got the Jazz (it wasn't my 1st choice, actually). My father was asleep one afternoon. I cornered my mom while she was reading the newspaper. Without my dad, my mom's a pretty easy target for mental manipulation. She came across the ad for the New Jazz (at that time). She said it looked nice. I saw the opportunity, so I said, why don't we have a look.

At that time, there was a Honda showroom at Taipan USJ. Secara kebetulan rasanya mood mak aku baik, kereta Jazz yang ada berkilat, dan salesgirl (namanya Anita) sangat efektif. Then and there, she booked the car, rationalizing that we're going to share it (muahahaha...).

I managed to get the earlier generation Honda Jazz 1.4 iDSI with a built-in stereo. This was the model that you should get if you wanted to buy Gen 1 Honda Jazz. My sister later got a Jazz too, but hers were plagued with a lot of issues.

I love my Honda. Honestly, I never thought I would. But it was such a competent little monster, and it looked great too (walaupun tak macho...but I was never playing the macho game anyway), especially after I spent a bomb kitting it out in Mugen bodykit and new 17-inch rims.


The stereo was good, and that's important because I love my music in my cars. The handling was neat. And it was very cost-effective too, in terms of fuel consumption and maintenance (since nothing broke throughout my ownership of the car). The power delivery was weird because it was using a CVT gearbox (no actual cogs, just rubber-bands), but I can't praise this car enough.

Maybe I love this car more than I should because it also coincided with some great memories of life as a university student. I started my degree program, I realized it was pretty pointless to be so serious about studies, so I let loose a bit. I was more than happy to trade-off my Dean's List for the experiences I had. Duit PTPTN banyak habis atas kereta ni.

My 3rd Car - BMW E46

Naturally, after close to 3 years of using the Jazz, I got a little bit itchy. At the time, my dad was using an E200 while my mom has a BMW E46 which she didn't use much. They wanted a BMW 5 series E60, and they needed to make a decision soon because the 520i was going to be discontinued soon.

I saw my chance (aku rasa cam aku ni evil dalam cerita ni...muahahah). I offered to give my car to our company's GM, who was looking for a new car to replace her Proton. And I would then "borrow" my mom's BMW. Brilliant, right?

The BMW brought with it a whole new set of dimension to my lifestyle. Suffice to say, it was a bit of an embarrassment to be driving a 3 series to UiTM. Pak Guards would make some snide remarks.

Anyway, the car itself was a gem. It was genuine driving machine. After losing out the Satria and getting the Jazz, I had turned a bit mellow, as a driver. But with the Beemer, I found my mojo. Because my family's not really into performance cars then, the Beemer, despite only being a 2.0, was considered quick by our standard.

The handling was, and still is the best, I've driven to date. I think the E46's cabin was the last great BMW cabin. From the E60 5 series to the E96 series, they seem to have been a bit bland. It was a great car to drive, a great car to have fun in.

But I messed it up. Honestly, I did, although it was an accident that led to the mess. It was just a minor fender bender (not my fault) with a MBSJ lorry who backed up without looking. But I used it as an excuse to go and "PIMP MY RIDE".

I modified the car's exterior with some AC SusahNakEja bodykit and repainting the whole car Ferrari Red. It was the stupidest mistake I've ever made. The job wasn't well executed, and after re-assembly, the car doesn't feel like it's my car. To top it all off, I crashed the car into the deepest pothole along Jalan Maarof after attending Kursus Kahwin, causing damage that was never really fixed until the day I sold it off.

This was the car that thought me never to modify a good thing. Ever. But the 3 series held with it some great memories as it was the car I had during my final year at Law School and which I kept owning for another 9 months after I graduated. That car was my Batmobile then - maklumlah, sewa apartment sendiri (dok sorang ye), so merayau ajalah kerja.

My 4th Car - Nissan Murano 2.5

And then it was time for me to get married. It was 2007. I wasn't quite sure that the E46 would survive married life - it's air-conditioning was broken, there were parts that were literally hanging off the car.

I had made some money from the stock market, selling unit trust, my share in a failed restaurant venture and some other means. So I decided that I would, for the 1st time, decide on my own a car that I would get.

Honestly, when I went to the Naza showroom, I wanted to get the Nizzan 350z. It was at the same price point as the Murano. But then, a new sporty two-seater wouldn't really play well with my in-laws and new family now would it? (See, I'm a chess player when it comes to mind games).

And so I bought the big, white, 2WD Japan Spec Nissan Murano. I didn't realize at that time how many people actually admired the car. I thought I was one of the few who knew about the car and how beautiful it looked on the road. Apparently, no. A lot of chicks seem to dig it, which is kind of weird at the time because I bought it to project the image of a family man.

I had the car about 3-4 months before I got married. It was also the same time I joined Maxis as a graduate trainee/management associate. This car carried with it some great memories too. Like it was the 1st car Dani rode in.

For such a big car, the Murano was pleasantly easy to drive. Typical of Japanes cars then, its steering was a bit light, and dead on high speed, but it was hard to find fault with the overall package of the car. Power wasn't spectacular, but then again, you're driving a mini-truck. Which is why it's one of the most practical cars I've had.

It marries superb build quality, with durability (I tend to find, rather than avoid, potholes before my LASIK), and great presence on the road. I've always had a soft spot for 4WD (remember the Honda CRV story?), so I was very comfortable with the Murano. It was also very practical, and is a great highway cruiser.

I'm going to miss it...

My 5th Car - Suzuki Swift

The Murano was great, but we needed something small and nippy (and more importantly, fuel efficient) to drive around town. At that time, my new wife was still using her Kancil manual. In fact, when we first got married, I would drive the Kancil to the Taman Jaya LRT station to get to KLCC. So if anyone of you claim that I've never driven a Kancil, kiss my arse.

Tapi kesian tengok Rinie bawak manual. Not only that, the car looked like crap. So we went shopping for a car. It was a great moment for us as a couple because it was the first car we bought together.

The Swift is one of those little gems that constantly surprises you. I fell in love with the car as soon as I drove it. The simplicity in its execution, the whole "solid" feel of the black interior, the free-revving engine, and of course, its BMW-like handling made this a preferred mode of transport for us. I still think its a bit overpriced for the room it offers, but anyone who has their hearts set on it, I'd advise them to just go get one.

Rinie had Dani, and she stopped working. Then, we all moved to Shah Alam with my parents. There were basically too many cars in the porch, too little utilization. I was basically paying monthly for an extra run about, so I made the hard decision to sell off the Swift after just one year of having it. It's not a reflection on the car, just a simple economics decision that has to be made.

My 6th Car - ???

I just sold off my Murano, and just finished paying the insurance for a new car. It's nothing spectacular, just a natural evolution of my car ownership experience. Just for the record, we've gotten a Honda Stream RSZ for the family, so I don't need a big 4WD...for now.

Next year, who knows.


Conclusion


I've been very fortunate to have had these cars, and the pleasure of driving a few others as well. As a car nut, I feel very grateful for all these opportunities in life. I just hope that my sharing is not misconstrued as showing-off. I know plenty of people with better rides than me, and I also know a lot (too many) who hasn't had a chance to even drive a car. Insyaallaah, we all have our place in this world.

But anyway, here's my rankings of all the rides based on something beyond speed, handling etc. It's just my ranking of the best driving experience I've had.

1. Honda Jazz 1.4 iDSI - my most complete car at that time
2. Nissan Murano 2.5 - big, stylish and practical
3. Suzuki Swift - brilliant little pocket dynamite
4. BMW E46 - would have been no.1 if it weren't for self-caused issues
5. Satria 1.6 XLi - plenty of flaws mechanically, but thanks for the great memories
6. Proton Saga Megavalve - I love it just like you love your first sexual partner no matter how uncomforable and awkward it was.