vishkid

Should be interesting to see how this is going to be implemented without adding to the congestion. One option would be to issue a HOV sticker to those who apply and tax those without it annually (tax localization is a problem there).. coupled with a thumping fine for anyone caught with a sticker but less than the stipulated number of people at a spot check. Or something like Fastrak which I've used in SF bay area (where you're being charged by automatic toll if you put the fastrak card up, but you don't put it up if you have at least one passenger). There it mainly applies to HOV lane usage but in Colombo I guess it will apply to all lanes (assuming our drivers drive in the lanes!)

I've had a 2004 Axela (my brother has it now) and haven't had an issue with rust. When I got the car, there was a teeny bit of rust on the spare wheel well, because one of the drain caps (?) were missing and so water could get in and remain there. Once that was fixed, never had anything else to do with rust for the last 5 years. And it was parked regularly within 25 meters of the Marine Drive (thus the coast) for two years when I worked in Colpetty. Again, didn't even have to think of rust. Never met anyone else with an Axela complaining of rust either.

Nexus 6P is the best bang for buck Android phone you can get your hands on right now. Marques Brownlee allegedly said he's getting it as his main phone and that's saying a lot after having reviewed all 2015 flagships. But all the 32GB models of 6P are out of stock right now and personally it's too big of a phone for me. 5X reviews so far has been a disappointment when compared to 2 year old nexus 5. The only reason you'd get 5X seems to be to get immediate stock android updates for two more years at a low cost.

The model year is 2012 and mine's a petrol. I like the car, for it's size it's very nimble and manoverable and the 2.4L engine and 192hp gives me (nearly) sufficient power in any driving condition. So, it's good to drive and that's why it became the first choice car for me. Stiff suspension - cornering is good, ride comfort is relatively bad; definitely less comfortable than a Sportage. It's not an off-road vehicle and it doesn't carry the same ground clearance as Montero Sport. I've taken mine to a few hard corners in Sri Lanka and while you can coax it out of many difficult terrains, it's not built for that. All being said, I can see the car literally (not financially) depreciating faster than a Japanese or an Euro because the plastics are hard and there are a few rough edges here and there. It's definitely well put together and from what I've seen 2014 and 2015 models are even more refined. Most of the options that come with the Sorento are also pretty good but it's time KIA made some of those standard.

Yep I do. A Petrol though - bought as the 2nd vehicle and now has become the defacto primary.

AIA is also rated as one of the best in terms of claims approval and service (albeit with premiums at higher end). The question is now that JI has acquired them, what will happen to AIA? I guess JI's business model does not allow for good service nor easy claims approval.

This is what the Sorento manual says (2012):

Cost me 2000+ for a single plate which I dropped (had the police report for that). Kind of ashamed to say (nah, not really) that I paid a guy 500 bucks and got the plate the same day afternoon!

OT but yes, J*n*sh*kthi AIA (general insurance) deal is all but confirmed. Not sure if JI will change any branding or new policy details of AIA. It's concerning because the approach of the two to motor insurance has been contrasting.

This is the relevant gazette I guess; it lists the process and the documents. Unless there has been amendments to that since, the list of offenses in the original gazette is much longer! I particularly like #7 (on the gazette) if implemented

3rd row seats are really nothing to get excited about. Adults might be able to get on to it but they are not going to last longer than 45 mins or an hour. In most SUV's I've seen, 3rd row seats are only fit for children. Hence if 5+ passengers are the norm, best advise is what is given by Supra.

Banks & Finance companies, Insurance Companies and NGO's regulary do auctions. Most of them are handled by this one auctioneer with office down Havelock road. Banks & Finance companies sell mortgaged or seized vehicles where they're mostly trying to recover the mortgaged value, Insurance companies sell fully or partially damaged vehicles that they have taken over after accidents and NGO's and some diplomatic missions dispose of their (mainly) SUV fleets every once in a while. Most of the patrons at these auctions are (surprise!) car sales guys, who have ready cash to pay the 25% down at the fall of the hammer and the rest a couple of days later. If you have that kind of liquid assets, it might be worth your while to check out some of the local auctions - specially those with NGO fleets.

My old Axela (2004) had auto headlights+leveling, auto wipers, rheostat, full steering wheel controls, auto climate control etc. But if you check the old thread on the same topic I've shared above, it's been mentioned that the full spec also has Bose CD changer and alloy wheels as standard. That was not verified at that point.

235x60 R18 (most korean SUV's) Nexen RO581: 20,630 (Arpico Tyres Nawinna), 21,200 (Amila Col 02) Nexen RU5: 24,350 (Arpico Tyres Nawinna) GT: 22,690 (Tyre Team Kalubowila) Kumho KL51: 26,100 (Amila Col 02) Jun 1, 2015

Don't you dare sit on my car!

My brother changed my old Axela's (2004) front and rear shocks to KYB's. Saved quite a bit apparently. I took it for a spin recently and while there's nothing wrong with the ride in regular traffic, if you push it to the limit its quite apparent that the KYB's are much less stiffer than the Mazda shocks and you don't feel the same confidence of comfort swinging the car around at high speeds. I'm not entirely sure who makes the stock Mazda shocks, in this particular car the original shocks were marked as made in Poland by FoMoCo (Ford, who created the chassis for Axela/3). TL;DR - KYB's should make no difference to the drive, unless you regularly enjoy life by taking your Mazda to the limits.

+1 for debug, my brother goes there for his RX-8. Mazna will take care of rotaries too but I wouldn't call them a specialist

Sony Six, Kix, Six HD from 0630

http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/11821-mazda-grading-system/

More correctly, none of the Canon bodies have a focus motor in them because all the EOS lenses have a built in motor. Nikon started (in late 90's and 2000's) putting motors in their DSLR's and simultaneously started to push out a motor-less range of lenses. As of late they have changed that trend and are following Canon in making all the new lenses with a motor. With Canon, there's nothing to worry about - all EOS system lenses have a focus motor and will AF with all Canon bodies. With Nikon, if you combine the new 5xxxx series or 3xxxx series with some older lenses like the 85mm/1.8D, 50mm/1.8D, then you don't have a motor in the body nor in the lens, thus limited to manual focus (which is not a bad thing at all, I use 50mm/1.8 with D3300 with great results). If you buy these cameras and stick with new lenses, there's nothing amiss.

Nissan is betting heavily on the new Maxima for the US market. I like the contours of the car - will we get some of the styling/platform on the Teana on the local market?

I assumed when you said $, USD and US Thailand and US (when they have deals) seems to be the cheapest places to snag a DSLR.

+1 Hoonigan If you check out the link I posted earlier, you can bag the 70D + 18-55 + the coveted 24-105 f/4 L for $1300++ (or you can get a couple of regular lenses instead of the L - all what you wanted) - a no brainer really.

Just an an aside (not promoting anything, btw); both cameralk and camoron have some sort of avurudhu deals going on, with easy payment schemes on CC.