Serene ride

ET different seating configurations, passengers are sure to have a generous amount of leg room.

I’m especially impressed by the handsfree dual power sliding door where a simple “kick” below the door will enable it to open or close. As a mother of a two-year-old, getting her into a vehicle is no easy task when your arms are fully occupied. With a smart door like that, I won’t have to struggle to get a squeamish toddler into her child seat with bags of groceries and her diaper bag in tow.

Also, the Isofix child seat restraint system allows the parent in me to drive assured.

While on the topic of children, the Premium Highway Star variant offers a 10.1-inch roof-mounted LCD panel which I think will come in handy in keeping the little ones entertained on long journeys. And if one child wants to watch something else, the premium variant also comes with the tech-on tray mat with dedicated cut-outs for mobile devices so the other child can be engaged with his or her choice.

I was really looking forward to listening to the audio system (a 6.75-inch Clarion Advanced Touchscreen Display Audio which supports Apple Carplay and Android Auto seamlessly), however the volume control on the panel is not very visible on sunny days and the volume cannot be controlled on the steering wheel.

Nonetheless, Edaran Tan Chong Motor sales and marketing director, Christopher Tan, has confirmed that the feature on the steering wheel will be introduced very soon.

Taking the new Serena by its wheels, I was rather intimidated by its size but once I got the hang of it, its proportion becomes second nature.

Oddly, after spending some time with it, I thought it looked more slender and sleek. Having no exposure to car surround view monitors, I found the Intelligent View Monitor challenging to decipher, however with four cameras giving a 360-degree bird’seye view around the vehicle, it definitely provided assistance when parking.

Some of the other features which I found to have really amped up the MPV are the split-opening tailgate enabling items to be effortlessly loaded in tight parking spaces, the variable-assist electric power steering which greatly gives a lighter steering wheel feel, huge windows for improved visibility, the large sun blinds on the second-row that effectively keeps the cabin cool, and the sound-absorbing liner in the wheelhouse which truly improves cabin quietness. All of this, at a worthy price tag.

It was hard to say goodbye to the new Serena at the end of the trip as it has grown so much on me that I could see myself driving it day-to-day to send my daughter to my mum’s place and then head to work, and even taking it on holidays knowing that it will provide my family great comfort.

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