As you all know I own a Honda CRV and I’ve always admired their cars. If I have to put them into 3 words, I’d say the cars emphasizes on comfort, safety and stability! So it’s when I heard that the Freed was their all new model to come to town, I thought to myself, HEY, that’s an MPV model that I wouldn’t mind getting ONLY if the price is right, of course!

After we were served breakfast and briefed by the host of Driven – a Malaysian-based motoring TV program – Harvinder Singh, on how to review a car as we drive it all the way to Putrajaya’s Lakeside and back,  we couldn’t even resist getting straight into the car and formed our team of 4.

Our group – Number 8, the last car of the entourage – consisted of Wilson from PlacesAndFoods.com, Khairul the Lawyer of kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com, the beautiful Esther of YourEsty.com and yours truly. During the journey we were told to:

1. Take photographs of the features of the car

2. Use the Polaroid to capture moments we want remembered – THIS WAS NEAT!! We had so much fun

3. Take note of the handling, the jerks, the stability, the feel and the comfort while driving and also as a passenger.

On a side note, take a look at the picture above: yeap, the gearbox is located on the bottom dashboard and not as part of the steering wheel nor at the bottom. Coupled with the driver’s armrest, it becomes so easy to rest your hands upon it. Thumbs up!

I was a passenger for most of the journey and only drove till the end. So while I was seated, I felt the seats were comfortable as with any Honda cars you’ve seen. One thing to note as well is that you have an empty space in between seats so that you can go from front to back without having to get out of the car!

Also noted was the use of petrol from Mont Kiara to our first stop in between there and Putrajaya – it came up to only 8.5km per litre for a 80kmh journey.

After being seated for about 20 minutes, these are what I noted:

1. Driving through pot holes aren’t as jerky as other MPV cars I’ve used (can’t really compare with sedans can we?)

2. Cornering was solidly stable at decent speeds, while response was firm and quick (as a passenger)

3. Picking up at a slope with 3 heavyweight adults and one slim pretty girl (LOL) was amazingly powerful, even with the 1.5 litre engine :/

One of the only problems I encountered during the journey was the temperature of the car from the back. At first we had the air con set to the minimum to conserve petrol, but then we realised that there was no air slots at the back. We did enquire this to one of the Honda representatives and they said  that since it wasn’t a medium or full-sized MPV, that was not really needed. If we wanted to, they added, we can turn on the feet blower which DOES reach the back. In the end, it wasn’t really bad la, especially when we blasted it away after not being able to take it haha!

The shape I guess is a little different from most MPVs especially at the front. We found out later that the safety ratingfor this car is 6 stars, with the front of the car being able to reduce the energy of collision should an accident happen. This really saves lives of others who may be involved even without their own doing ie carelessness of other drivers. Kudos to that Honda, safety first!

We soon arrived safely at Putrajaya, all 8 Honda Freed cars in a large convoy. It was really fun, especially with us communicating via walkie-talkies and even encountered the BMW convoys while on the way. Thrilling and exciting, I might add

Oh and during the journey I was tweeting live (follow me at @spinzer for more such updated!) and somebody did ask me to check the decibel measurements to show how silent the car is at idle, at 80km/h and at  110km/h. I have the results here with me:

Idle: 40dcb
80 km/h: 50dcb
110km/h: 70dcb

I guess that’s good enough eh, cause that’s Honda engine for you.

Finally we got to rest a little and allow our cameras to go lose. Some did some crazy stuff while others went and tested the Freed’s great turning capabilities!

While I could have showed you awesome pictures in this blog, I’d rather invite you to visit my other fellow test drivers’ blog to view theirs. It’s awesome really!

Advertlets’ – http://www.advertlets.com/weblog/2010/08/02/389/
Paul Tan’s – http://paultan.org/2010/04/22/honda-freed-premium-compact-mpv-launched-rm112980/
Missy Cheerio’s – http://www.missycheerio.com/day-out-with-the-new-honda-freed/

And more to come!

Honda Freed car specifications. Which you all need to know.

4 Seater + Style
– Automatic Dual Sliding Doors with Remote Control for easy access
– Forward Tilting Hinge Front Door to avoid accidental knocks
– Easy Access and Low Tail Gate Opening for easy loading and easy access
– One Step Low Floor with Grip Assist for elderly and handicapped easy access

4 Seater + Technology
– High Rigidity Structure for better handling and stability on the road
– Suspension System with front McPherson Strut & rear H-Shape Torsion Beam
– Small Turning Radius of 5.2m
– Active Lock-Up System
– 5 speed AT and Drive by Wire

4 Seater + Space
– Walkthrough Cabin with a 200mm walkway for easy access
– Big Cargo Capacity
– 3rd Row Foldable Seats that folds up in 3 steps easily
– Flat Roof and Flat Floor creates more head room and cabin space

4 Seater + Observation
– Tilt Steering for different driver’s needs
– Multi Layer Meter Cluster display all necessary information
– Double DIN Stereo System with radio, MP3, CD Player + USB and AUX for iPod and other digital media players
– Foot Parking Brake

4 Seater + Safety
– JNCAP (Japan New Car Assessment Program) Rating at the highest of 6 Stars
– Dual Front SRS Airbags
– ABS: Anti-lock Braking System
– EBD: Electronic Brakeforce Distribution
– BA: Brake Assist
– Fuel Lid Auto Lock Safety System prevents the sliding door from opening fully when the fuel lid is open
– Shift Hold Control + Grade Logic Control
– G-Force Control (G-CON) Technology

4 Seater + Utilities
– Backrest Hook
– Glove Box
– Glove Box Card Holder
– Front Seat Back Pocket
– Illuminated Centre Tray
– Large Door Pockets
– Cup Holders – Total of 7!

4 Seater + Accessories (Optional Items)
– Tail Gate Spoiler
– Fog Lights
– Door Visors
– Cargo Tray
– Child Seat
– GPS Navigation

For more information, visit Honda Malaysia at http://www.honda.com.my or visit their Honda Freed site at http://www.honda.com.my/freed/overview/

So what do you think of the Honda Freed “premium compact MPV” after all that? They were my honest views on it, and while I do not profess to be a professional car reviewer, at least I can say as a lifestyle guy, the MPV is a practical approach especially if I have a family with me, especially with the price tag on it. What is it you ask?

RM112,980

That’s right.

Thanks for reading my first ever car review. Do ask me any further questions in the comments below

The post First Test-drive with the All New Honda Freed! appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Samuel Bayer
Staring: Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara,Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz, Clancy Brown
Released: April 30th, 2010

THE GENERAL IDEA

A remake of the 80s horror classic, this movie follows the lives of a group of highschool students who are tormented in their dreams by the same nightmare. The nightmare is a supernatural serial killer who wears a glove with bladed fingers, out for revenge on the children of the parents who brutally caused his death. I won’t spoil it further for you, but all I can say is that there were many “shocking” scenes, however they don’t last so you won’t get nightmares for nights to come, not to worry

THE GOOD

The character acting in the movie is actually pretty good. There were no outstanding “that person is horrible” kind

of thing. And they all perform scared and tormented really well.

The movie is all about Freddy, so lets go there. He looks GOOD. Its not the same, and the personality is different, but its good. The burns look like burns. Up close you even see gaps in his skin showing charred and severed tendons underneath. He is horrific looking which works. And the voice is good, and he still has the “one liner” snark while he is tormenting and killing his victims. I thought Freddy himself was done EXTREMEMELY well.

The effects for the most part were very well done. Invisible hands throwing people around the room looks effective and not like they were on wires. Most of the time I believed people were getting hurt.

The biggest concern over the remake is that they would demystify Freddy’s past by showing too much of what really happened. I will not spoil how its revealed but it is effective and does not take away from Freddy’s history at all. I wont say what’s changed, but it all works.

There are a lot of nods to the original with scenes like the claw in the bathtub, and it generally follows the same plot and story with some minor changes that don’t ruin everything.

THE BAD

Some of the effects were so poorly thought out that it detracts from the effect. In one scene a boy “stabs himself in the neck” with a knife (Freddy in the dream) and then proceeds to pull the knife across his neck. Physically it cant work the way he does it and it ruined the effectiveness of this shocking scene. That and when someone gets blood splattered on his shirt… the blood shouldnt move around. Honestly, is it that hard to splatter blood on ONE shirt and just wear it?

There are some logic holes in the film. The scene in which Freddy’s death happens is in a dream. Freddy controls the dreams, so it made no sense that he would choose to reveal this to that victim at that time. But maybe you can explain to me if I’ve missed out something? Leave a comment, let’s debate

OVERALL

This is a fitting film in the Nightmare series, however its not IN the Nightmare series. The measuring stick by which this film will be graded is more often than not be set against the original. And I think this was better. Its not perfect, but neither was the original. I’m just an ass when it comes to horror films, prefer those with lasting lingering feeling that follows you home

I give Nightmare on Elm Street a 7 out of 10. Pictures courtesy of theJessicat.com.

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Then I realised one thing: while #unifi ensures we get blazing fast connection, #iTalkWhoa! will ride on its stupendously fast service to provide a VoIP calls, SMS, push e-mails and all your other social media tools with total efficiency as well… Whoa, what a MARRIAGE!

True to my thoughts, the Launch at Borneo Rainforest also proved that iTalkWhoa – the “wonder” portal –  will be an enabler to allow all of us, young and old, regardless of race, religion and background, to better communicate with each other. Why do I say that?

Well, for one thing, we had various bloggers from different networks all meeting up for the first time since having to “choose sides”, and for me it’s an amazing scene! If you were here you’d probably know a lot of these bloggers as they have been around for quite some time

So it’s great to know that you’ll get to see all your friends under one roof, which is essentially the same concept of iTalkWhoa: the portal which is able to connect its users to multiple different websites and networks – including Twitter, GTalk, emails, MSN Messenger, Facebook and a whole lot more… all in the comfort of one platform.

Can it be any easier than this?

Obviously it was also the ripe time to camwhore or to shoot at all the hot girls here, that’s how everyone connects, isn’t it? Especially for the Original Buaya Yatz haha! ;p

Good to see a few others that I haven’t seen for sometime too… For example Suanie here and I, we go long way back. At that time I was supposed to marry her but I couldn’t well afford RM20,000 a month dowry fee haha!

Lots of other funny thing happened but I guess it’s another post for another day, eh? Before I end though, I just want to quote Mr Simon Seow, whom a lot were expecting not to be at this event that day due to another event happening at the same time… so the lot of us were curious, and asked him why. He replied “Of course I come here la, being here a lot of benefits mah!” along with other quotes best not mentioned here

We all laughed so hard cause we think that he’s really here because each of us got a headset as a free gift to use with our iTalkWhoa account, BEST kan?! Faster go get yourself an account at http://italkwhoa.com.my/ and register, cause I’ve already shown you how to do it in my previ0us post, so no more excuses for you

The post iTalkWhoa! Launch unites all under Borneo Rainforest appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

Petrosains at KLCC. They always have pretty quirky stuff but I didn’t know something quite like this existed here! I got pretty excited really, yes, like a little kid :p

Here’s Rebecca belanjaing me a ticket. HAHA ok i’m joking, after all it’s just RM6… small money la :p

I think it was my first time in this place, i really didn’t expect it to be sooooo big. Already I can hear pretty quirky sounds and that perked me up to really observed what they had.

Some of the exhibits are pretty damn weird! In a good way of course… take a look at this: “Who’s imitating whom? Find the original sound and its imitator“, pretty cool eh? I think it’s perfect for those like me, who play music by ear one.. but too easy for those with perfect pitch i guess!

I kinda like this model of the earth. So cute. You can even listen in to the cultural music of the region just by placing the “vacuum” at the heartbeat of the places in white.. Pretty cool if you ask me!

And this is what I get when I place it over Malaysia! See, got mention and even explained the origins of Dikir Barat… Reminds me so much of my performance back in Imperial College London.. Sigh, good ol’ Malaysian Night. If only ppl realise how important our Malaysian culture is to us..

I know you itchy hand die die also wanna play with this, damn cool wei :p

There are towers jutting out of this earth, represented by male jacks here :p Kidding la haha.. This exhibition actually shows the influence and development of different types of music coming from on country to another across the seas.. Pretty amazing stuff really!

Of course, who could resist their inner drummer hiding inside them? LOVED THIS, an experiment on sounds in space! (as in, spatial territory, not Star Trek kind of space. in case you forget, sound cannot travel over vacuum :p)

Some.. well, are REALLY quirky :p Like this piece of original contraption hehe.. Circular pianos for the win!

My personal favourite, the DJ set. Cool stuff wei, you’ve just gotta try it out

Well all in all it was really quite an interesting exhibit – about the history of music, technology,
etc. I felt enlightened at least, and got to play with some interesting toys… Makes me feel like a little boy again

You should really visit the place for some cool musical experience. Even better, try checking out the Muzika Online Quiz and their Send To Friend Contest! Just register to log in where you can either answer 5 quiz questions or submit a friend’s (family also can la) name & email if you feel like spamming them with these cool knowledge above, along with your own personalized slogan and SUBMIT.

But why would you do that?

Nuff’ said, eh? There’s no other cooler reasons to inject some of the world’s music in your life at the Muzika expo @ KLCC!

The post My Muzika Experience @ Petrosains ;) appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

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