Category: Quick notes

Quick note: next-generation Swift reasserts the classic hatchback’s sporty roots

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The next generation Swift hatchback introduced just last Wednesday by Suzuki Philippines is sleeker, is sensuously curvaceous where its predecessor was clinically angular and faceted, and boasts of a lower center of gravity plus a wider, more planted stance for not only tackling but actually enjoying those hard turns.

The Swift’s K12M gasoline engine with VVT valvetrain delivering peaks of 82hp @ 6000rpm and 113Nm @ 4400rpm

This new, 3rd-generation Swift leverages a more svelte, stronger yet lighter body into an earnest return to her sporty roots. This, despite sticking to the efficient 1.2L VVT gasoline burner that it had first deigned to mount back in 2014.  In fact, with the vehicle’s curb weight that’s now 100kg lighter, the new Swift’s 1.2L K12M is commensurately tuned down from the 2nd-generation’s peak power of 87hp @ 6000rpm to this 3rd -generation hatchback’s 82hp @ 6000rpm.

Clearly, the new Swift has improvements that are subtle in more ways than one, with looks and engineering coming together for an eclectic mix of efficiency and aggressiveness.  Stay tuned for our full feature on the newly introduced Swift hatchback as well as its Dzire sedan offshoot.

First blood

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In this market, back in the early 2000’s, it’s the Isuzu D-Max that mainstreamed the muscle truck. Now, high-riding pickups on big, all-terrain tires are common enough, the profile no longer reserved for 4×4’s.

#IsuzuDMax #isuzuph #isuzuphil #DMax #muscletruck #hirider #pickuptruck

Quick note: Isuzu Philippines’ new Blue Power truck lines keep pace with other markets

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Despite other markets having more (or less) advanced emission standards, Isuzu Philippines keeps their new “Blue Power” line of Euro 4 haulers in synch globally with updated cabinwork such as those on their new N-series models. The cabins are bigger on the light duty trucks, now virtually as large and as roomy as those on their F-series medium-duty haulers.

In neighboring, and bustling, Hong Kong, FedEx favors the new N-Series with the same upsized cabin as we now have here, although powered by a Euro 5 engine

A Ferrari on your back

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Spotted at “Transport & Logistics, Philippines,” the tradeshow at SMX that’s ongoing till Saturday, this is the biggest reddest Ferrari we’ve seen on the back of a truck. Not a Ferrari by way of Enzo, the heavy-lift crane mounted by Hino Philippines on their heavy-duty 700 series tractor head was specified for installation by a machinery trader client.

The Ferrari crane gives independent loading and unloading capabilities to the biggest rig possible for hauling tens of tons of payload. It’s one of the most intelligent uses we’ve seen for the truck’s rear-deck, for that gaping span between truck cabin and cargo trailer.

Tata classic at transport show

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Ongoing at SMX until Saturday is “Transport & Logistics, Philippines,” a true blue tradeshow for the nation’s critical business sector. Spotted here: the classic Tata SFC 407 light duty truck.

She was introduced to this market last year and, until now, we still can’t get over her Unimog-ish good looks, hard-edged ruggedness, and P750k price. Brandishing a GVW of 4.5 tons, the 407 is the first light duty truck introduced by Tata in the 1980’s.

Before the 407, Tata only had the medium and heavy-duty trucks that hinted at their roots in massive train locomotives. They went into trucks when they partnered with Mercedes Benz way back then. (Maybe that’s why the lingering preference for the semi-forward, front-hooded layout of the 407.)

Quick note: BAIC’s new base-model micro-bus

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Meet the BAIC MZ45 Transporter. She seats 11 adults in 4 rows, is powered by a torquey 1.2L Euro 4 petrol engine, and has the high-clearance body-on-frame build that makes her at home on city streets and countryside roads. (The MZ45’s platform is rugged and smooth-riding enough to be also configured as a municipal ambulance.)

This new, P548k base-model rendition is spartan in comparison to the MZ45’s Comfort and Luxury variants but it does have that extra blower array in the rear that ensures the dual AC’s effectiveness up to the rearmost seats.

She’s aptly named and could’ve been badged either as the Transporter or the Commuter–that’s how optimized she is for the people-mover role.

Quick note: Indigo does 11.25km/l in mixed city, highway and RACE mode

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After 190km of several days’ practice in heavy city traffic; 90km on a ferry drive to the Subic staging point that had us in an hour-long traffic jam on NLEX followed by a blistering catch up sprint on SCTEX; and then the 170km STV Auto Rally run between Zambales and Bataan that included a spirited climb up Mt. Samat; those 450km of diverse driving modes burned 40liters of run-of-the-mill diesel fuel.

That’s an average of 11.25km/l and a cost of around P2.50 per kilometer. Not bad for all the use we got out of her.

Quick note: The not so random Indigo

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She was the first car off the starting line on today’s STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge (ARCC). Her turn at rolling off on the timed race was a random thing, but not how she came to be my ride. When asked by Tata Motors which of their cars I would like to drive on my first time at ARCC trials, at their kind invite, my answer was studied and immediate: “the Indigo please, she’s my first choice.” 

Quick note: the Crosswind’s X-factor on the middle-child XUV variant

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The first step up from the Crosswind’s street-dressed X_ variants (the XS, XL and XT), the XUV goes sporty with the addition of protective polymer fender flares and waist panels (for bouncing off rock impacts), big 235/70 R15 tires, a spare tire rear mount, and the option for a robust 4-speed JATCO automatic gearbox.

With no major changes in the interior’s basic vynil upholstery (unlike the leathered top-spec Sportivo X), this variant, more than any, paints you as committing to that armored AUV vibe, and to adventures in hinterland that the Crosswind was originally designed for, bodykit or not.