Penang: Nosing around in June

July 8, 2025 14 Min Read

Car shenanigans and outstanding matters in the small island of Penang again.

I’ve returned in Penang, more for personal reasons than outstanding things to settle there.

Outside of other personal meets and laughs with family, there was some time for me to clown around Penang for some time.

Mostly, lots of what I wanted to do here was unboxing several shipments that arrived at my place here. Many of which are parts for Feriko, others more nonsense that I spent more than I should have on.

One of a few “prized” possessions that I managed to secure for cheap

Updates on Feriko will come about via another article that will be linked accordingly in this page, but this entry will be a more general entry.

Great car! Saw him starting to poke forward a bit more when he saw Trek, our Turbo-R. He and I exchanged thumbs up – wholesome!

Even with a “Fat Evo” or a yacht, it still turns heads every now and then with people who know what it is. Its a comforting emotion to notice it when it happens. Still, a Toyota Caldina GT-Four seems evermore tempting, but so far, Trek has been perfect for ferrying people, especially older folk.

The onslaught of Chinese cars making their way into Singapore and Malaysia markets is quite disconcerting, many of these roadshows continously pop up with more and more Chinese makes. My bias aside, I hope these manufacturers and their quality will suffice ten years on, if not their warranty being valid for long enough!

Queensbay Mall tends to sometimes have some nice things, although not often. This is an interesting car. It is a Mercedes-Benz W123, with a SEC-Class C126 front end. Only looking at it now did I realize the front swap. The wine-red paint is a nice option for this car.

As per mentioned, I will spin off another entry about Feriko at a later date, but these were the parts I’d been waiting for for the Honda. I actually have another set, seen below.

Not this though, what some of my money went to was buying brochures for random cars!

I’ll drop another entry at a later date of whatever I had bought. The acquisition of these brochures will be led on as an initiative by me and my other writers for archival, which you can read more on our other website where we post scans of magazines and brochures. More to come!

How’s this for an enthusiast-favorite that hasn’t been “bastardized”? A few more photos and more trivia in another article here: MYS Archives: Honda Civic SO4 (EJ)

I cannot affirm if this is a real Volvo 850R, but if it isn’t, its a really good conversion. This was for sure a really good spot for this trip, I’m surprised to have seen one out of the blue.

More of this EG Civic in my update with Feriko

Lot of this particular day was getting Feriko fixed, included not limited to fixing the VTEC actuation and some cosmetic changes to better improve the standard of driving.

I can affirm, the food is good.

Good luck for the day!

The absolute balls (intentional) to have chosen my car out of the several parked here.

Some updates for Trek are here! Trek: Minor update, still standing

As part of work being done on Feriko, I needed to leave it in the shops for a day. I loaned this, a Suzuki SX4 from a relative to use for the day.

I will say, the automatic box is alright. Reacts pretty slow, but will drop gears if you absolutely rag on the 1.6-litre engine. It shares the same M16A engine as the Swift Sport, but a different variant that makes slightly lower horsepower.

Handling is actually quite nimble, it takes corners well, and thus far it is the best contender I have sat in for going over bumps. The pedal position is truck-like – the accelerator being essentially the same exact design as one.

Interior features is very basic and less nice to sit in compared to the other cars I have sat in – It feels more plastic-y, and the steering wheel has an interesting texture, but overall it is a very fun car. Swift Sport next, please!

Tidy Toyota Corolla SE-G (to the younger folks, that is indeed the trim name). There are many of these Corollas still around in Malaysia, many being in good or serviceable condition like the their Civic rivals.

Two in one trip? I should play 4D.

I don’t know if this car is also a real 850R, but searching online there are a few photos of it here and there, plus one from a server member of a group I am in. It certainly looks the part – quad tailpipes, 850R wheels and bumpers. Quite a fast brick.

I do wonder who owns it as I saw this car next to what I am aware is a Volvo specialist workshop. Whoever owns it, is super cool.

Additionally, when I was heading back, he was actually following close for about 500 metres on the Penang highway. He and I certainly gave good effort in following one another.

So, another semi-uncommon car to spot. The Mercedes C-Class (W204) isn’t a super rare find. After all, the W204 was a very successful car globally, but the Avantgarde AMG package is a slightly lesser common specification.

These AMG packages are more common to find than in Singapore, even the V6s are easier to find. Although, not the C350 – The C230 would be the easier-to-find V6.

Brought along to a beach here, it was a great view with awful parking.

One of a few Singaporean cars that managed to leg their way up to Penang, and the only one
I had the time to photograph. Not bad!

How’s this for a car you don’t see in Singapore? A Smart ForFour – based on the Mitsubishi Colt
(which granted the Ralliart & Version-R), its a car with super unique styling, and an eye-opener
for those not familiar with the Smart nameplate.

Somewhere along the way was I brought to a Cat Cafe by my family, photos will be placed here if you for some cats: Penang: Cat Cafe

Next to the cat cafe was this establishment with a lightly tinted window. Lots of sleeping huskies in here.

Seems I am winning the classic Volvo bingo, with another Volvo V70 T5 appearing on a commute back home. I would entertain the idea of owning one of these in the future.

Caught my eye – a Honda Civic hatchback. More photos and some nonsensical trivia here: MYS Archives: Bullet – Honda Civic (EG) hatchback

Having seen two of these move during the trip, I must be really lucky.

Its a Proton Juara, a Suzuki APV-like minivan that was produced from 2001 to 2004. It is still a rebadge, very interestingly rebadging the Mitsubishi Town Box. Heard of it? I didn’t too.

If I get to see another one and have the time for much more photos, I will have another entry dedicated to the Juara.

Apart from several hiccups with Feriko, she’s been doing sufficiently well over the course of the trip, but my wallet won’t be. Ah, all the things I have to give up for this interest.

Final few spots before I left Penang to return back after a week there. Back to work!