When the opportunity for a long weekend presents itself, you take it as a break from your busy work week. It's a great time to go on a road trip or catch up with friends. That’s precisely what I did with my recent Hyundai Stargazer test unit on loan. It was the perfect opportunity to test if the South Korean 7-seater had what it took to be the ultimate “barkada” mobile and if it had what it took to be a proper multi-purpose vehicle. The road trip we would embark on would start in Quezon City and

The Geely Okavango (Specs | News), when it first launched, took the market by storm thanks to its affordable pricing, space, style, and features. It was a good mix of SUV-like looks, MPV-like versatility, and crossover dynamics all rolled into one with its competitive feature set. After all, it was the follow-up model after the Geely Coolray (Specs | News), so the automaker had to come up with something big. The automaker even bumped up the power from the 1.5-liter motor of the Coolray and added

The 2023 Toyota Innova is one of the most-awaited multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) in the Philippines. Debuting in Indonesia on November 2022, one of the headlines for the newest iteration of Toyota’s popular MPV is the dropping of the venerable 2.8-liter turbodiesel engine in favor of a hybrid drivetrain. Although there is no word yet on when the all-new Innova will arrive in the Philippines, it will face another large seven-seater with a mild-hybrid powerplant – the Geely Okavango. For this electr

As seven-seater MPVs become increasingly popular, it becomes harder and harder to tell which is a worthwhile purchase. What’s a fad and forever can take a long time, but comparing two of the most popular models is a good idea – say the Mitsubishi Xpander against a worthy adversary. Something that appeals to the market at the same level as the Xpander does and costs about as much as the Xpander does, too, like the Suzuki Ertiga. With both nameplates releasing updates to their lineups - the Suzuki

When people say that the modern automotive popularity lies in crossover vehicles, I believe them and I understand why as I prefer crossovers too. Not because the hype is in crossovers, but I prefer it over other car types because of its versatility. It gives you the comfortability of a sedan with the functionalities of an SUV. It comes with more space than the sedan without having the responsibility to maneuver a massive regular-size sport utility vehicle. It just compensates for what you need o

A lot were impressed when the 2022 version of the Toyota Avanza came to the Philippines, as the model has been enormously improved by its Japanese automaker - Toyota. However, it was noticeable that its top-of-the-line variant – Toyota Avanza Veloz wasn’t a part of the lineup. Little did we know, Toyota Motor Corporation was in the process of developing the Veloz to stand up on its nameplate. A few months later, Toyota Motor Philippines launched a more premium version of the subcompact MPV Avanz