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In my case, I insisted them not to rev high as this is a new engine. They did up to 2300 for seconds.

Whether one compares apple n apple or apple n wood-apple, comparisons are very easy today. Either goto brand-sites or google. However, when it comes to SL, people even compare apples with coconuts and what not, thanks to the sad affairs of SL. You have put forward 4 points, out of which the resale value is the unique parameter in SL. Suppose that your priority is 'resale value, then anyone would say- go for the Toyota. But then again, my eyes tell that more Audis than Premios on the road, these days. So, who knows, Audis may become 'Premios' in the near future when it comes to resale value factor. If I was to make a decision on this, I would only be asking experts on 3 cyl vs 4 cyl concerns, and if that's ok I would go for Audi A3. As RWD mentioned above, I too prefer s-suspension to a boat-ride feeling suspension system, because then I feel I am driving a real car. My final thought is- if you plan to use it for a short-term, then go for a Toyota, but if it is for long-term go for the car that your heart likes.

the Budget- simply thinking....we see that the government is trying to control vehicle imports (which contributes substantially to money outflow). A prudent government would not adjust policies that can further increase imports. If the presidential election is in 2020 followed by the general election, then it is very unlikely that the government reduce duties/taxes/control measures immediately -for that 2019 is there. $ rate- this depends on US & China/Canada's current trade war and US interest rate movement. If the trend continues, obviously $ impact have a bearing on imports, though technically it has no bearing on used cars if you can negotiate well. On the lighter side... the earlier comments of some are really fun but take it easy.... in fact they show the dire straits of leaders of the country. Can you imagine that we/country is managed and directed by the astrologers by our elected leaders?

Mate, I understand the basic principle of turbo vs NA engines. I also understand that SL car users mainly fall into 2 classes. One (I guess majority) class' main concern is '?km/l' of petrol and other class who enjoy what they drive (my class). Whilst honouring your points in that regard, my inclination is with iRage's balanced (in fact it is the reality) answer to OP's question. By all means, I would suggest C-HR over Premios/Allions, if anyone asks what new car to buy around 8mil. But, if a person wants to go with traditional 'econo'-box (concept of 'econo' depends on many factors) with beige interior and feels great that s/he drives a Premio, go for it. After all one should be happy with one drive. But, I am not for comparing apples with wood-apples.

Not sure what's the 'problem' in 1.2L Turbo engine and with similar engines today. Sure Toyota must have learned lessons from the past, and engineered well to address any issues that early turbo engines had. There are many 1L turbo variants by today's renowned auto-makers, and sure they have done the R&D to overcome early turbo technology issues. Having said that no matter what, machines can have issues, be it auto or anything. Of curse with different technologies can result in different fuel efficiencies, but customers select their options based on what matters to them most. Agree with you on average car users' concern about fuel efficiencies. But, it would be reasonable to compare apple with apple. On a personal note- I have driven, Premio/Allion/C-HR, and my liking is for C-HR, and C-HR is really a fun vehicle to drive in its class.

Truth well said. IMHO, there is no real point for comparing a C-HR & Sedan. C-HR is a radical design and fun-to-drive vehicle, whereas Premio/Allion as iRage put it "a decade old with technology plugged in as a second thought; the Premio.Allion is actually a pretty poor choice."

TheFlyingFox- "The smaller engine (1.2T) will have to do a lot of work compared to the NA 1.5 engine to pull the car quickly. " What does it really mean by "a lot of work" in this scenario (1.2L Turbo vs NA 1.5)? Isn't the turbo engine supposed to get more power with a smaller engine by turbo-technology compared to an NA engine with greater capacity? On a different note, a direct comparison of CH-R vs Premio/Allion petrol consumption is not a correct measurement, isn't it? The latter having an NA engine does what it supposed to do whilst the turbo-engine does what it meant to.

I guess the Civic you refer here is 1L Turbo, whereas Mazda-3 here is 1.6L. Then, it's a comparison between 2018 Civic vs 2015 Mazda-3 in terms of the age/use of the car. If you can make up your mind on that I reckon Mazda-3 design is far superior to the Civic in concern. I used a 2L Mazda-3/6-speed 2015 and I love the car.

You are a good, patient, firm knowledge sharer, iRage. Having driven a few days now, I begin to realise SL needs more stringent/ rigorous emission tests. If possible, it would even be better for every vehicle to display an 'emission test certified' sticker that shows place of emission test performed and a contact number to inform an authority if a vehicle emits visible & unbearable smoke. I keep witnessing that many (I guess) diesel vehicles emit an unbearable amount of black smoke and felt sorry for motor-cycles, pedestrians, policemen and to be honest even for my new car. I am here in SL for about 2 or more years, and I wish I can return sooner than I got to stay here. Initially, I had a sort of anger for having to test my new vehicle as I witnessed few of above cases and also observing the standard and status of equipment that was used to test my new car, but now I feel good that I did a right thing -thanks to you for helping me to ease my anger. I can imagine, if SL had not introduced this test, what would have been the situation on road with this un-concerned mindset most road-users proudly display. Though I felt challenged to my intelligence, when I read 'standards in SL' phrase in your explanation, I also realise if not, what would have been the situation. Yesterday, I was passing an area, where heavily thick smoke spread around 2-3kms, I guess some authority is burning garbage in a highly populated area. Do they think for a moment- little children, people with respiratory issues, aged people? I very well understand that these issues are complex (socio-economic) than we can point the finger at, but I wonder- are we a cursed nation. BTW, Australia has a different approach to the vehicle tests and at least I can assure you for Vic.

Thanks for your concern. I don't have a question in that regard on the vehicle I bought.

I am aware of the conformities required by authorities for good reasons. As the vehicle is used on road, and its age increases, it will certainly require specified standards to be followed. I have no question on that. My concern is, why it is required to go through an emission test on a car that was manufactured in 2018/07 with 11km on ODO. Sure, today's vehicle manufacturers provide detail specs that include standards used and their ratings. Having said that I want to say, people don't ask questions to make a fuss, but it could vary whether to check- is this a right thing, reasonable, fair, valid, why I need to do something etc etc. In your part, you have given more than enough information, and thanks for that.

When first registration is done in Japan it was 4km, when it was brought to SL it was 6km, when I bought, it was 11km.

Thanks, iRage for the clear and logical explanation that which happens in Japan, however, it sounds very illogical to test a vehicle for emission test when it is done only few kms with its age being 1 month from the manufacturing date unless technically a vehicle can become faulty with its emission system within few kms.

Thanks, Davy. I returned from overseas and was trying to understand the logic behind the following scenario- I bought a car from a dealer which was manufactured in 2018/07. It was brought to SL under a government permit as brand new and as per the procedure (I suppose) the first registered date is same as the transfer date to my name (it was 30/08 in this case). At this point, RMV records it as 're-conditioned', which is in actual fact not (no one did any re-conditioning as I inspected the documents, where it was cleared 3 days before I bought it). Since I learned there is a penalty if I do not obtain revenue license within the stipulated time, I went to WP revenue authority and asked the counter person- Japan manufactured car in July 2018, and you government servants under the duty concession permit get down a brand new vehicle, which you sell and when you sell you mark it as re-conditioned, and then ask me to test the brand new vehicle for emission test. The guy at the counter has one answer that he smilingly told me- "rajaya thama ehema karanna kiyala thiyenne... RMV eken re-condition kiyala tibunoth, apita karanna deyak neha". I know he cannot tell anything beyond that. But, I am still trying to understand- how could the very government allow this- government servant buys a brand new vehicle under his/her permit, and sell the permit (I have absolutely no issue with that), and when it is sold without even having to see the vehicle by the permit holder put the label as 're-conditioned' and now tell the buyer to go and get an emission test. Am I missing something here?

Hi, If my car's manufacturing year is 2018, and bought from a car dealer and shipped here as re-conditioned (I guess usual procedure in SL), do I still have to do an emission test? This is to get the first revenue license. Someone who knows about this, please share. Thank you.

Noted &Thanks, Davy.

Valid point mate. Actually, I just wanted to know answers to few straightforward questions that I wanted to clarify. I am not sure whether it is ok to take this convo to politics. However, reckoning that Autolanka is not just a place that only exists to buy/sell vehicles, but it is also a voice for all motoring community, I would like to make one last point. Personally, I have no issue that politicians or gov. officials use even Ferraris, provided they are fair to all citizens. What I cannot comprehend is, one section of the citizens get duty free permits to buy a car, whilst another section (the very people that the former exists to serve) is asked to pay many-fold duty for the same car. Would a country's constitution allow such an injustice?

Got it, thanks, Kush. On another aspect, a bit of searching made me understand that if a Lankan is in Gov. sector s/he is lucky to get special treatment over tax paying private sector.

Thanks for the comment. So, it sounds like, for smaller engines, 1cc has different value and bigger engines have a higher value for that same 1cc. Perhaps it means that the society (who can afford a motor-car) is categorized as low-income & higher-income groups for duty of a motor vehicle, and the duty is based on either Robbin-hood model or sea-pirate model....doesn't make sense. Actually, I intend coming to SL for some period and just got this idea of sending one car from here in Aus, as I happened to see 6 Honda CR-Vs kept parked for shipping from Aus at one of the freight forwarder here. But looking at 'ajm's response, it is absurd to do so.

Thanks for the response. Seems like, it works as 1cc=6000. Kind of funny duty system.

Hi, Hope someone/expert can help me on this. I would like to know: 1. Is it possible to send a car just over 2years, to SL? 2. As per current duty structure, how much would it be for 2.0L SkyActive Mazda-3 + any other charges at destination 3. What is the procedure to send a used car to SL? Appreciate your experience, knowledge and any suggestions on this. Thanks.

Is SL ready with electric charging stations? Can SL provide electricity if demand increases? Doesn’t SL generate electricity mainly from fossil fuels? Shouldn’t authorities understand these before making decisions for the public? Being environment concerned is a great attitude, but does it exist in SL -(start with politicians)? How is ‘luxury’ defined? Is ‘luxury’ different for politicians and government officers than rest of the citizens? What’s the theory behind different custom-duties for ordinary citizens, politicians and government officers? It is good to have a uniform method to derive taxes like based on engine capacity. At the same time, it would have been better to have a reasonable tax on vehicles than current exorbitant mechanism, and have a fund for road development from fuel used- eg. Additional 1 rupee from every liter of fuel.

Mazda3 2L gives you the driving pleasure, handling, stability, and it got the stylish design (in its class). Anyway, Mazda3 2L and Honda Vezel are not comparative vehicles in my understanding. I think both may have a considerable price difference in SL.

If affordable for 4.5mil, I would suggest Mazda 3. It has adequate ground clearance for SL roads (I drive Mazda-3 2.0L SkyActive), and recently I happened to drive a hybrid-Axio for about a month. I would never buy an Axio -sorry for any hurt to anyone. I am still wondering why people in SL pay so much for an Axio.

Seems that fuel economy is one of the key concerns lankans have when owning a car. Whilst each person rightfully can have concerns on fuel economy, it also shows how pathetic it is to own a car and, once owned then worry about how many km it can run for 1ltr of fuel. I think government should seriously give priority to public transport in all possible modes (road, rail and water). In the meantime, it is good to enjoy the car of your choice, and stop worrying about km/ltr mentality. Car pooling with like-minded office colleagues is a good thing to try, who may come from the same direction.