A Facelifting Journey with the 2012 Nissan Sylphy

It was an unusual early morning for me on Saturday but I was more excited than I was sleepy,  especially because I was about to meet with some of the girls from Malaysia’s Hottest Bloggers (MHB) group and take them out on the Nissan Sylphy to Pavilion for a sponsored makeover. I mean, it’s something a single guy could not ask for more kan? 😉

 Anyhow these are the beautiful ladies… Introducing Naomi Tham (www.naomitham.blogspot.com), Isabella Wong (www.isabellakuan.com), the new Nissan Sylphy (yes, she’s a beauty too!) and Valerie Chua (www.princessmiharu.net).

New Nissan Sylphy? Yeap you heard that right – the very same one that got the Overall Car of the Year award by AUTOCAR ASEAN and has been around for roughly 4 years! Except, this 2012 model smells of a new facelift – the Nissan Sylphy 2.0XV Premium!  

Immediately you’ll notice that the exterior (front) of the Sylphy 2.0XV Premium has a more aggressive looking bumper, a new chrome grille, and new headlights which gives it a more modern and sporty stance. Pic credits to Paul Tan.

The back sports a mean looking rear light and shows off quite a number of curves, what a devil!

 Anyhow after a quick briefing on the car and it’s features (scroll below if you want to see it immediately), Valerie, Bell and Tim Chew who invited me headed down to Pavilion KL in one of the Sylphy’s while Naomi, myself and Alfred from Nissan went in the other. This is so that we could test drive the car to and fro, now how cool is that? 😉

Since Naomi had the honor of driving first, I had a good look at the interior of the Nissan Sylphy 2.0XV Premium and this is what stood out immediately:

• cool black interior theme with fine cherry wood trim
• a sporty new silver-ringed combi-meter design incorporating a Multi-Information Display
• a new audio system head-unit with MP3 and Auxiliary input
• new display also doubles up as the screen for the reverse camera

Anyhow the ride was awesome and though Naomi had to get used to the powerful motion when the accelerator is pressed, she adjusted quickly into it and the rest of the journey was great. Also good to note that you can’t really hear loud engine noises from within, quite sound proof. We arrived first so I could take a picture of Valerie and Bell coming out of the car, looking too comfy for their own good and I don’t blame them: the seating style was made to give you maximum comfort, serious!

We drove the cars at Pavilion’s Porte Cochere (the one at the Centre Court) and left them in good hands with the valet service, meeting 2 others who also won a chance to experience a Date with 2012 Nissan Slyphy and headed straight right into the mall!

That was when I took the keys from Naomi and boy did I find the keys super sleek or what?! Anyhow, I digress. We soon made our way up to Groom EXP salon in Tokyo Street (Level 6) for our hair makeover. I was ready as ever to try and look as gorgeous as the girls. Who knows I may attract at least ONE of their attention, right? 😉

And before any makeover, it is imperative that we took a BEFORE shot, right. This is us, BEFORE! Now let the makeover begin!

First they started by wetting our hair and giving it a really good massage. I like the corner of my area, nice right the artwork next to me?

We also had our hair washed. This is Tim Chew letting his stress go as he gets a beautiful wash from a beautiful lady at Groom EXP salon.

Fast forward later, my hair was done and this is how I look! Cool or not?  Does it match my key or not? LOL! By the way, they used high quality Shiseido Professional hair products to give me this new hairstyle. Jeng leh? 😛

In the meantime, while waiting for the girls to be done (you know lah, our (guys) hair already takes 30 minutes but girls
must take minimum of 1 hour one. All guys with girl friends will know this fact to be true :P) I had my Ochado bubble tea and The Load tuna bun to munch on. They really took care of me here!

Oh and while we’re at it, I had the chance to ask some of the chosen new Nissan Sylphy car owners some questions regarding their new purchase. Here they are:

Owner: Miss Teo Chin Shia 

MHB: What is your first impression when you saw the Sylphy?
Miss Teo: I thought it was elegant, just the right size for me and had a spacious interior. I fell in love with it immediately!

MHB: What is your favourite feature of the car?
Miss Teo: The GPS nagivation (NAVTEQ MAPS) and the reverse camera. Also I never thought the parking brake (which is operated by foot rather than a hand lever) can be so convenient. I use the space where the handbrake normally is in other cars to put my handbag and other personal stuff (MHB – with the spate of recent crimes with motorcyclists breaking car windows to steal handbags we encourage all drivers to put your handbags below the car seat or if it’s small enough in a covered compartment out of sight of thieves and robbers).

MHB: How do you maintain your Sylphy?

Miss Teo: I make sure that I send it in for servicing following the schedule.

 

MHB: Where do you normally drive the Sylphy during weekends/holidays?

Miss Teo: We’re planning a trip to JB soon!

 

MHB: How different is your driving experience with the Sylphy compared to other cars?

Miss Teo: I  used to own a MyVi which was so different from my Sylphy. The engine was loud, the boot was small, and while driving on the highway the wind and engine was so loud that I couldn’t even hear the music properly! Not to mention that the car was not that stable at high speeds. My Sylphy is worlds apart with a spacious interior and very low noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).

 

MHB: What do you think about Nissan cars?

Miss Teo: Well before I used to think that it was an uncle car but my perception has definitely changed from the moment I stepped into the showroom! The salesperson was definitely friendlier than other car manufacturers while the Sylphy has a sportier and younger feel to it with the black leather and the curvy back lights.

 Owner number 2, who has a 2 month old kid.

Owner: Miss Nor Hamidah Bte Abdullah Sani

MHB: What is your first impression when you saw the Sylphy?
Miss Nor Hamidah: My husband and I thought it was the perfect car for our lifestyle. We liked the interior, good acceleration, plus it’s very comfortable, and spacious enough to easily fit a baby seat. 

MHB: What is your favourite feature of the car?

Miss Nor Hamidah: There are lots of compartments, while the trunk is big and deep! Very important for a couple with a small child.

 

MHB: How do you maintain your Sylphy?

Miss Nor Hamidah: We make sure that we send it for regular servicing and we also wash it often to preserve the nice coat of paint.

 

MHB: Can you share your experience driving a Sylphy?

Miss Nor Hamidah: We find it pretty good. My husband drives it quite often while I tend to the baby who definitely appreciates the quiet and smooth cruising.

 

MHB: Where do you normally drive the Sylphy during weekends/holidays?

Miss Nor Hamidah: We like to go on road trips. So far we’ve been to Perak and Melaka in the Sylphy. We’re planning to go up to Penang soon.

 

MHB: How different is your driving experience with the Sylphy compared to other cars?

Miss Nor Hamidah: My previous car was a Toyota Vios which I felt was less spacious, and had less features as compared to my Sylphy.

 

MHB: What do you think about Nissan cars?

Miss Nor Hamidah: Nissan cars have a premium and executive feel about them!

 

MHB: How do you find the NAVTEQ MAPS?

Miss Nor Hamidah: I find it pretty accurate and dependable.

 And so there you go!

This is the result of all our makeover. Suddenly everyone looked a lot more younger and rejuvenated. Yes, even Tim Chew himself LOL! I guess you could say that this facelift we have will now match that of the car’s. Hehe.

And of course nothing is ever complete without a group pic with our stylists from Groom EXP salon and the folks from Nissan (Edaran Tan Chong Motors). Thanks guys for this super cool experience!

 But wait, we’re not quite done yet. Lunch is to be served, and guess we headed to?

Yeap, lunch in Kampachi, no less! 

We began with a series of sashimi set. As the girls didn’t eat a lot, I managed to do them a favour by having theirs, too. Hehe 😛

Tim had his awesome looking Bento set. I wish I had this one, but I’ve tried it too many times whenever I go to Kamapachi… and so I opted for this instead.

My Grilled Salmon set 🙂 And yes it was so yummy! Well, it’s Kampachi after all, kan?

 Finally, we’re done, tummy filled, hair beautified, all that’s left to do is to drive home and sleep! < /p>

I drove this time from Pavilion to the Nissan showroom in PJ, and had a very good experience. The only thing I felt uneasy was the seat as it was too comfy, am afraid I’ll fall asleep if I drive long destination. But I guess that’s where I have to get enough rest, ey? Since I couldn’t take any pics, here’s an eye candy for you – Bell driving the Nissan 😛

Oh and since we’re at it, here’s another cool function I didn’t get to share earlier: the bi-xenon projector headlamps which are equipped with an Active Front-lighting System (AFS). Basically, if you turn the steering left, the spotlight on the left (or right spotlight when you turn right) illuminates the road to the left giving you better vision when you make a turn along dark roads. This lighting system comes with manual aiming control, and provides powerful long-range illumination and optimum visibility in all weather conditions and has an auto-light system mode which automatically turns on the headlights when you’re in a dark area (eg. basement/ night).

Didn’t get what I said? Well the best thing to do is to head to your nearest Nissan branch and give it a go yourself!

And that was it! Read on to find out more about the car, if you will. The least I could do is to provide you with more info so you don’t waste your time, kan? Here goes nothing:

Engine

The engine was pretty responsive with the all-aluminium MR20DE 2.0-litre 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve engine equipped with Drive-by-Wire technology for enhanced responsiveness while delivering 133ps of power and 191Nm of torque. It’s also equipped with Electronic Concentrated Control System (ECCS), electronic fuel injection system and continuously variable valve timing control (CVTC), Nissan claims that the engine will deliver superb fuel economy.

Interior

The air-conditioning system now comes with a digital temperature display and has an automatic setting to maintain a consistent desired temperature throughout the cabin while the Masumi seat fabric and the sofa-like rear seat concept provides a high level of comfort.

Safety

The 2012 Nissan Sylphy comes equipped with dual front SRS airbags, front seatbelt pre-tensioners, front seat Active Head Restraints and Zone Body construction with front and rear crushable zones giving it a 6-star JNCAP rating.

Other Features

16-inch 7-spoke alloy wheels, intelligent key (i-Key) keyless entry and engine-start system, and leather steering wheel with audio controls (so your hands don’t need to leave the steering wheel).

Colours

Choose from Bronze Gold, Tungsten Silver, Sapphire Black, Twilight Grey and Brilliant White

Price

The 2012 Nissan SYLPHY is available with an on-the-road price of RM114,880.00 for the 2.0XL and RM124,880.00 for the 2.0XV. The prices are inclusive of insurance, road tax, registration fee and ownership claim fee in Peninsular Malaysia. There’s also a promotion where buyers will get an aerokit free of charge with each new SYLPHY.

ETCM is currently offering a 3-year or 100,000 km warranty (whichever comes first) and interest hire purchase rates starting from 2.50% per annum (subject to terms and conditions).

For more info you can call Nissan’s Customer Service Hotline at 1800-88-8368 (toll-free) or visitwww.nissan.com.my. You can also test drive the Sylphy (and other Nissan models) at authorized Nissan showrooms nationwide.