Testing the Touareg
Atty. Jerome G. Neri
The Scrutineer
I WAS given the opportunity to test the all-new Volkswagen Touareg TDI. It is an awesome car with amazing technology that has been built with German precision. Its 240-horsepower turbodiesel engine was surprisingly quiet and smooth for a diesel. Power delivery is instantaneous – there is absolutely no turbo lag.
The claimed 240 horsepower feels more like 300 horsepower because of its 406 foot pounds of torque at 2,000 RPM. The automatic gearbox feels aggressive and yet shifts seamlessly from one gear to another in both up-shifts and downshifts.
The suspension has three settings: sport, normal and comfort. Ride height is also electronically adjustable thanks to its sophisticated airbag technology. Thus, on slow traffic on our bumpy Cebu roads you get luxury-car comfort; on twisty mountain roads such as the Transcentral Highway, you get that sports car handling with very minimal body roll. The car is also capable of going off-road when ride height is set high.
The cabin is roomy and simple. I like simple and I know of some who think that the dashboard looked so monotonous and boring. One thing though that the car lacks are power seats – for a car of this caliber, power seats should be standard, as there are a lot of cars at half the price of the Touareg that have power seats.
One thing that goes against this car is the price tag. The Touareg sells at P4.290 million. For that amount of money, I know I will be much happier with a Subaru Forester XT or a Mazda CX-5 and a Subaru WRX STI or a Mini Cooper S or a Toyota 86.
FORD ECOSPORT. I saw in a mall display for the first time the new Ford Ecosport. Although the looks did not really appeal to me, I totally like the concept of this small SUV. It brings me back to 1994 when Toyota first introduced the RAV 4. The RAV 4 was the first practical small SUV introduced in the Philippine market and it was just perfect for driving around in the normal flood prone, pothole filled roads while maintaining reasonable passenger comfort. As the years went by, Toyota has made the RAV 4 bigger and bigger that, to me, it has strayed away from its original concept.
The Ecosport seems to be just the right size for a personal SUV, especially with the kind of traffic we have to deal with nowadays, and best of all it is very well priced with the lowest variant at P775,000 and the top of the line at P975,000.
This car will definitely be a threat to the Toyota Vios, Honda City, Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris and the Ford Fiesta because it is more versatile due to its SUV-ride height and capability of going through flooded streets, which is common in the rainy season.
SUZUKI ERTIGA. Congratulations to Suzuki on the opening of their brand new showroom and service center on A.S. Fortuna St. It is now bigger and better. Apart from the new showroom and service center, Suzuki is also introducing a new car called the Ertiga. Suzuki describes this new car as a Life Utility Vehicle (LUV) as it combines the compactness and maneuverability of a hatchback, the style and comfort of a sedan and the space and stature of a sports utiliy vehicle.
To me, a simpler description of this new car would be a seven-seater compact station wagon. My first impression of this car is that it is a very practical car for the school run and family outings. Price starts at P618,000 and the top of the line at P812,000. Looks like this will be another car that will give you a lot for what you pay for.
CREDIBILITY WOES OF LTO. In the wake of Joint Administrative Order 2014-01 issued by the DOTC and LTO, which lot of private motorists believe is another weapon in the arsenal of corrupt LTO enforcers, the netizens have been posting in social media pictures and or videos of LTO enforcers who are either abusing their power or breaking the law themselves.
I hope the LTO will look into this and identify the bad eggs and remove these bad eggs from their post, because right now the LTO has a big credibility problem with the motoring public.
