Italian car brands have been well-known in the Philippines for long occupying the zenith of automotive aspiration. Even the biggest ignoramus will perk up when he or she hears words like Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. These brands not only produce some of the fastest supercars and hypercars on Earth, but also represent a lifestyle brimming with the trappings of immense wealth and cosmopolitan sophistication. But when supercar owners need a more practical car that remains eye-wateringly brisk

It’s Sunday again, which means it’s time for the AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup! You read this the day before Independence Day, which is the date when the Philippines was freed from the shackles of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule (that was then followed by decades of additional colonial rule under the Americans and the Japanese). It’s also the rainy season now – strong showers are now hitting various parts of the country as a counterbalance to the searing heat in the first ha

The current-generation Kia Picanto hatchback has always had a cuddly and cute appearance. From its pert rear end to its beady headlights, it looks more like a bunny than a small city car. But with the latest leaked photos from South Korea, this rabbit’s got a mean new face. South Korean automotive forum Autospy has released what appears to be official photos of the facelifted Picanto, now sporting a front end reminiscent of the Kia EV9 battery-electric sport-utility vehicle. Much more aggressive

The Hyundai i10 has a relatively short history in the Philippines. It was initially brought in to fight the likes of the Kia Picanto, Toyota Wigo and Honda Brio. However, its time in the Philippine market was short-lived as no new generation arrived. In other markets, the i10 nameplate is still alive and well, as the Hyundai hatchback has recently received a minor update. While the facelift doesn’t bring anything revolutionary to the vehicle's design, it does get a few tweaks to its styling, esp

Test-driving a car for a living sure sounds like a lot of fun instead of moping around in a gloomy-drab corners of an empty room. But excitement levels do churn up a notch especially when a person is onboard an avant-garde Geely Coolray but maybe it's way better to keep a sharp eye on those grubby meat-hooks er, fingers of yours as they entangle themselves to ah, one Ford Ecosport’s blunt-sized joystick? Well, Kool (Kool and the Gang) is cool but Coolray was way much cooler than the name (its na

It all started with a glorious bang but coldly petered out in an untriumphant finish. Once hailed as the cream of the crop, Ford Ecosport has been a phenomenal success during its initial run in the Brazilian car marketplace in 2003. The stream of revenue was so good in fact, that the former had eventually reached cumulative sales of 700,000 units in 2011; with profits also streaming in from other neighboring countries like Venezuela, Argentina, and Mexico all this as part of Ford Motors’s largel