Tag: Driving Notes

MUCH fanfare has surrounded the enthroning of the Q8 as Audi’s preeminent SUV. Supplanting the Q7, the mid-size Q8 is imagined by the Ingolstadt-based premium car maker as “[uniting] the elegance of a four-door luxury coupe with the practical versatility of a large SUV than can be used for both business and leisure.”

INVARIABLY, consumers undeniably luck out with the escalation of competition -- regardless of industry. The SUV/crossover market is one such domain that has seen a spike in players, what with a world so enamored with the format -- to the tune of one vehicle in every three sold globally.

VOLKSWAGEN in the Philippines is currently replacing some models sourced from Latin America and Europe with those made -- and in some cases found only -- in China. The China-built Volkswagens are more affordable as these do not incur hefty freight costs and duties. One such model recently introduced by the German car maker is the Lavida 230 TSI DSG which, by the looks of it, is supplanting the compact sedan spot in the local range occupied by the Jetta -- a global model. If so, the Lavida has big shoes to fill.

IT is not the first time the Honda CR-V is locally available with a third row of seats -- in the early 2000s the...

THE Isuzu Mu-X did improve on the SUV credentials of the model it replaced in 2014 (the Isuzu Alterra, which, however competent, always came...

IN its present cut the VW Beetle is more rakish -- masculine, even -- than the model it replaced (the mostly unmissed New Beetle...