AutoFun PH Rearview Roundup: The hottest stories you liked the most in the past week

This is the AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup – a compilation of the five hottest stories that we published over the last week.

These are the news, features and reviews that you, our dear readers, found to be the ones worth clicking and reading.

Check out our top five for Dec. 12 to 16, 2022:

1. Nissan’s adorable Sakura electric kei car

You were all intrigued by the Nissan Sakura, a battery-electric kei car that is also the cheapest electric vehicle in Japan, as of press time.

The Sakura and its Mitsubishi ek X sibling beat out the likes of the Honda Civic Type R and the ultra-luxurious Range Rover to clinch the 2022-2023 Japan Car of the Year Award. 

It was also named 2022-2023 Kei Car of Year, which is awarded to vehicles that comply with Japan’s unique keijidosha or light automobile regulations.

Do you think the Nissan Sakura was worthy of its groundbreaking title?

2. Segway eScooters for the Philippines?

When the Autohub Group inaugurated its all-new showroom in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, our ever-eagle-eyed motorcycle editor Gilbert Chao found some rather interesting two-wheelers in the storage room.

A pair of Segway eScooters were among the company’s collection. Although there are no official plans yet, Autohub said it wants to offer the electric Segways locally at under ₱100,000.

Given the growing interest in electric vehicles in the Philippines, would these Segways sell well here?

3. No more wheels-up for the Toyota Hilux

The current-generation Toyota Hilux is undoubtedly one of the toughest pick-ups in the market.

But it’s also saddled with the rather terrifying reputation of being one of the most rollover-prone trucks in its class. 

We investigated how Toyota Motor Corporation, along with Swedish car magazine Teknikens Varld, managed to fix the Hilux’s handling issues.

Perhaps it’s time to move on from the Toyota Hilux’s rollover problem?

4. ₱350k reservation for the Hyundai IONIQ 5

With the official prices of the upcoming Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric crossover now up, you can walk into a Hyundai Motor Philippines dealer and put ₱350,000 down to reserve one.

The World Car of the Year winner is expected to be officially launched in the Philippines on January 2023, with deliveries slated by March next year.

With a base price above the ₱3 million mark, would you get a premium, non-electric, seven-seat sport-utility vehicle or this Korean global sensation?

5. Rumored Toyota MR-S revival

Sports cars aren’t dead, at least if rumors from Japan are to be believed.

Japanese car publication BestCarWeb reported that Toyota has teamed up with Suzuki and Daihatsu to develop an all-new, mid-engined sports car that is expected to launch by 2025.

This would be the latest collaboration that Toyota has done to develop a sports car, much like what it did with the GR86 and the GR Supra.

Would you like to see the return of Toyota MR2 and Toyota MR-S?