LIFE OF A CAR GUY Medium Sized Family BAIC M50S 1.5 Ultra Luxury M/T

Irecently stumbled across a multi-brand car display at a mall, and was impressed with how many people were there. It shouldn’t be surprising considering the offers — imagine being able to walk away with a brand new car with a downpayment of just P25,000! Of course, you will be incurring a lot of interest over the period of the loan, but despite that, these arrangements have made new car ownership within reach for many middle-income Filipinos.

I thought about how this might affect car buyers, and I did a little but of research (thanks to carguide.ph and autodeal.ph) and number crunching (thanks to my calculator). If you could afford a downpayment of P45,000, and a monthly amortization of P15,000 over

something in the P700,000 range. This seems to be in

are running around. It’s important to note that not all brands give this sort of deal, but banks are heavily promoting their auto loan services as well, which is another avenue for taking home a brand new vehicle with minimal inital outlay.

All this got me thinking. If I had a relatively small budget, what car would I buy? What are my options with a P700,000 budget? That number seems to be a good place to start, as well. It’s roughly the sticker price of the Toyota Vios 1.3J, which is the (non-taxi) base model of the best selling car in the Philippines. It’s a great car, too. Having been a part of the Vios Racing Festival, I can attest to the capabilities of the

for several years now. For this exercise, however, I wanted to explore what else is out there, and I was amazed at the many options I had. So much so that I decided to split the search into several categories, based on our different purposes and stages of life: First Car, Young Family, Medium Sized Family, Workhorse, Toy Car, and Junior Exec Car. And still, I was not lacking for options.

often it’s actually easier to buy something new even if costs more down the line because you don’t have to shell the money out in one blow. If my own child was off to college and I wanted to give him a car, I’d get him the Suzuki Dzire GL+. It has a youthful, sporty look with a handsome front end, which is let down a little by its fairly ordinary rear design. More importantly, it has the safety features you expect from this vehicle class, plus a bonus of having backup sensors — perfect for novice parkers. The automatic gearbox is nice at this price range too. Though I wouldn’t mind having my kid learn how to drive stick.

hands-free phone connectivity, and for a young fam

decent sized boot for grocery shopping and the baby’s stroller. An automatic gear box would have been nice but the safety equipment is worth the trade-off. Having a young child myself, the biggest omission from

which are standard on several other cars in this class. - puted sales leader in this segment. The average Filipino family consists of two adults and 2.5 kids, which basically means we will need room for 6, to include the inevitable yaya. Our choice needs to have enough cargo room for the kid’s things like strollers and such as well. And to keep the kids entertained, it has to

a full-size MPV that seats seven easily. Its got the most complete set of safety features out of the (admittedly few) contenders in this price point too. And it’’s the only

would be the lack of an automatic transmission to tackle however, that’s a small price to pay.

simple, utilitarian machines, which is exactly what you want out of a workhorse. And since there weren’t a whole lot of variables to sort through, this was one of the easier choices. The reason I went with the JMC

cab) and it had air conditioning, which is a must in

an area where that’s not such a big deal), don’t need to seat more than two people and want more cargo room, then the Mahindra isn’t a bad choice.

can’t get even if they tried — the dignity of a European vehicle. The Santana may come from humble roots (as the default taxi in China), but this generation is designed from a global Volkswagen platform, meaning its DNA is German althroughout. It has the standard VW look inside and out, which is handsome, if understated. Whether you took it to the beach or to a dinner party, it wouldn’t feel out of place, which is a tough trick to pull off. More than anything, however, you are

which is like having a steak dinner for the price of a fast food burger. And anytime that happens is a win.

(yes,

it’s owned by SAIC China now, but its success

honest. When you’re talking about cars that Filipino enthusiasts love, Honda has to be on top of the list.

sucessful predecessor. The smaller engine is a slight concern, but you better believe that within a year or two of this new version’s launch, a horde of aftermarket parts are going to be available for the baby Honda. When that happens, excpect to see this as a staple in car club meets around the country.