MOTOR

‘Land Rover Experience’ makes its debut in Hanwella

Man, machine and terrain came together in choreographed synchrony recently, when a group of Land Rover and Range Rover owners put themselves and their legendary off-road vehicles through their paces.

Fifteen drivers were provided an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the rough and tumble capabilities of their super-luxury rides at this first ‘Land Rover Experience’ event organised by Frontier Automotive, the sole agent in Sri Lanka for Land Rover and Range Rover.

Under the watchful guidance of three professional trainers flown down by the company, they mastered a challenging 2.4 kilometre jungle track at Club Ch‚ in Hanwella, deploying the many modes of Land Rover’s ‘Terrain Response’ - a feature that optimises handling on multiple surfaces, from the asphalt and macadam of everyday driving, to grass, gravel, mud, ruts, sand and rock.

“Though usually purchased for its luxury and prestige, off-road capability is the key DNA of the Range Rover and Land Rover Brand. This event was aimed at showcasing the breadth of capability of these vehicles.” said Frontier Automotive CEO Sheran Fernando. “Many users do not often have an opportunity to experience these capabilities and the satisfaction of mastering off-road driving in a way that does not damage the natural habitat. This event was intended to give our customers an opportunity to practise the best driving techniques in managed conditions,” he said.

“We anticipate that after the event, participants will have confidence in their vehicles and in their driving ability to explore the outdoors and experience it with the environmental concern that Land Rover promotes,” he said.

Starting with a classroom session conducted by the three trainers, the drivers progressed to a ‘walk-around’ their vehicles during which the external features that facilitate off-road driving were explained. Thereafter, participants took to the wheel of their respective Land Rovers and Range Rovers to embark on a one-hour drive that negotiated the location’s jungle track.

The expert group of instructors brought down for the programme comprised Dr. Zaini Shaarani, a veteran responsible for the construction and commissioning of the track for the famous Camel Trophy in Desaruin 1997 who has trained the Malaysian National Civil Defence Force in off road driving; Ar. Ghazali Bin Abdullah, a professional with 12 years of experience in the sphere and Rambo Liew Sai Chon, a Camel Trophy finalist in 1993 and an experienced Land Rover Experience instructor.

The event is to be replicated three or four times a year at the Land Rover Experience Centre at Hanwella for the benefit of the many Land Rover and Range Rover users in Sri Lanka.

Land Rover Experience has already been conducted successfully in many countries.

Frontier Automotive (Pvt) Ltd has been the sole representative in Sri Lanka for Land Rover and Range Rover since 2003.

Auto Trophy 2011:

Triple success for BMW

The BMW 5 Series continues its series of victories, while the new BMW 1 Series is just getting started. Both models have now been awarded the “Auto Trophy 2011”.

Readers of the car magazine Auto Zeitung voted the new BMW 1 Series as the clear winner of the compact class and made the BMW 5 Series their clear favourite in the upper-range category. BMW’s outstanding results are rounded off not just with numerous other top-3 placements and but in particular the award of the “Quality Trophy”.

This title is awarded by the editors of Auto Zeitung in collaboration with the technical inspection organisation Gesellschaft f�r Technische šberwachung (GTš). The award ceremony for the “Auto Trophy 2011” was held yesterday at the Meilenwerk in D�sseldorf.

Representing the Munich-based premium automobile manufacture and there to receive the trophies presented by TV host Barbara Sch”neberger and Voerdt Koerdt , editor-in-chief of Auto Zeitung were Board Chairman of BMW AG, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, along with Development Head Dr. Klaus Draeger and Sales and Marketing Head Ian Robertson.

Class victory in the “Auto Trophy” is the second renowned award for the new BMW 1 Series, coming a few weeks after it received the “Golden Steering Wheel” from Bild am Sonntag and Auto Bild.

The powerful impression left both on professional testers and the general public by the compact model launched in September is mainly due to its sporty character. Powerful engines with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology and the car’s rear-wheel drive - still unique in the compact class - guarantee unsurpassed driving pleasure. At the same time, the improvement on the predecessor model is characterised by optimised ride comfort, increased interior space and innovative fittings. 28.2% of “Auto Zeitung” readers voted for the BMW 1 Series as the top-ranking car in the compact class.

The BMW 5 Series achieved an even clearer vote in the upper-range class with a 37% share of the vote cast. The “Auto Trophy” is now added to its already impressive collection of titles. The BMW 5 Series is the world’s best-selling automobile in its segment. Both the Sedan and the Touring model embody elegance and sporty flair in unique harmony. The BMW 5 Series also occupies the leading position in its category in terms of its efficiency ranking. An extensively renewed range of engines and new options have added additional appeal since autumn 2011.

The “Auto Trophy” was awarded for the 24th time this year. Over 100,000 Auto Zeitung readers took part in the vote, choosing their favourites from almost 400 current models in 29 categories.

Four new 'Foton' vehicles by Indra Traders

Indunil Hewage

Indra Traders (Pvt) Ltd, pioneer importers in Japanese vehicles for over 40 years introduced four new 'Foton' models to the Sri Lankan market recently. The newly introduced "Foton" vehicles are a follow up to the good response that greeted the previous Foton models that was introduced to the Sri Lankan market by Indra Traders five years ago.

'Foton' is one of the bestselling vehicles around the world as the engines are made to suit any speed changes, such as road conditions and its full fuel efficiency. Foton boasts on high class quality, outstanding driving performance, user-friendliness, spacious interior and a host of safety measures.

'Foton' vehicles are available at Indra Traders showrooms islandwide through leasing packages introduced by Indra Traders.

Motor tips from the Pits:

Finding a family doctor for your car

We are just coming off a very successful race weekend, where our EZY Racing drivers managed to win their respective events quite comfortably. Having watched the cars perform against many other competitive cars, I couldn't help thinking that our win was predominantly based on how meticulously prepared our cars were, that ensured it's "race worthiness".

Ensuring the road worthiness of your vehicles is the responsibility of every vehicle owner. In most countries it is compulsory that a vehicle goes through a road worthy check, without which the licence of the car would not be renewed. This not only ensures a road car well prepared to run a full year, but also ensures worry free driving as the engine, tyres, brakes and many more critical aspect are well taken care of, in order to eliminate situations of regret.

"A car is no different to a human body", is a sentence that is frequently acquainted by our performance partner, Auto Force. Over many races we have come to realize that it is critical that your performance partner understands everything about our drivers and their cars.

This is no different to your family doctor knowing everything about your health history as well as your family's health history.

Therefore as a motorist, it is vital that you find yourself a "doctor for your car". Many people refer to this as a garage, which in my take is an inappropriate word for a "doctor", as a garage is a place we patronize when our vehicles break down. So this is more like going to the "hospital" when we get sick.

A car doctor is an "Automotive Workshop". Although these workshops are frequently found in other definitely are few places that are professional Automotive Workshops in Sri Lanka. The key difference between the two lies in their professionalism. While a garage will focus on how to repair your broken car, a car doctor would advice you how to maintain your car without breaking it. This in our performance partner, Auto Force's terminology is referred as "Preventive Maintenance", which certainly would help you minimize expenditure on the long run and ensure you perform as it speak every time.

Next week in our segment, we will share with you some essential tips on how to find the correct workshop, which would be the doctor for your car.