The 1.5M Peso SUV Comparo

[O!lman]

nice meeting you din ser Centum. post ka naman ng pic ng SF mo with stepboard.

OT: OK sir Yuchi, nasa Hyundai Alabang uli dahil may back job pa yun sa passenger side door na nakalimutan yung paint job(scratches) Bukas ko pa makukuha.

[eggman]

Hindi dapat kasama ang Santa Fe rito dahil 1.528M ang price tag nito but maraming SF fanboys dito...

[mazdamazda]

Hindi dapat kasama ang Santa Fe rito dahil 1.528M ang price tag nito but maraming SF fanboys dito...

Errr... I said mean / average price. Wala naman sa mga choices dito ang eksaktong 1.5M :fyi:

[eggman]

I see buti't malinaw na....Makabili na nga ng Santa Fe CRDI VGT 4WD...

[salsaman_60]

panalo sta. fe na test drive ko kanina grabe lakas ng hatak at
comfortable talaga!
kumbinsido tuloy parents ko bumili, hehe
kaya payo ko sa mga bibili TEST DRIVE MUNA para ma-compare
panalo din ang sportsmatic (hehe nagmumuka na akong bias dito a)
nga pala by order daw ang 4x4 CRDi VGT 60-90 days waiting

[niky]

Meron daw? How much ang 4x4 CRDi?

Same here. Finally got my Mom in the back seat of one yesterday... convinced! Sold! Only need to figure out how we're going to do the financing, and she's getting it. Anyone want a 2ndhand Crosswind?

[TsuperDriver]

Meron daw? How much ang 4x4 CRDi?

Same here. Finally got my Mom in the back seat of one yesterday... convinced! Sold! Only need to figure out how we're going to do the financing, and she's getting it. Anyone want a 2ndhand Crosswind?

P1.64 M ser.

[niky]

Agh... just outside the budget... hmmmm... depends on the Crosswind's resale, though. Hehe... time to hit the calculators and the bank.

[oldblue]

congrats sir

[niky]

Haha... kung matuloy ito, sali ako sa Santa Fe EB... dapat may photo-shoot!

[O!lman]

Haha... kung matuloy ito, sali ako sa Santa Fe EB... dapat may photo-shoot!

OO nga...Ang dami na nga ng may Santa Fe dito wla pa ring EB

[niky]

Gayahin niyo na ang Tucson club... actually, dapat merge na... form na kayo ng Hyundai super-group with the Getz owners, too... would be a force to be reckoned with... eh?

[Horsepower]

supergroup... i like the sound of that

[Horsepower]

Anyway, last 27-May-2007, we went to Playa Calatagan for some beach party (sort of) for lot owners.

There, Ford Batangas, set up a booth with their three vehicles, Everest 2.5, Escape and Ranger.

We were greeted by a nice and pretty lass named Joan.

I test drove the Everest 2.5 AT.


Pros:

Suspension is good for a leaf-spring. Drove it over rough roads in parts of Playa not yet developed. I was surprised how composed the vehicle is in fast rough road driving.

Acceleration is acceptable. I got to drive it to 100kmh in the highway in no time. The body felt heavy though.

Steering angle is good since it's RWD.


Cons:

Apparently, All versions of Everest only come with Front-Disc and Rear-Drum brakes. For its price, i expect an all-disc brake system.

Still uses the pull-and-twist parking brake. I had a hard time releasing the darn thing. They should've considered a Foot brake instead.

The AT transmission stick is not a gated-type/sequential.

Space is kind of tight inside for its size. Probably because it's a ladder-on-frame.

Doors are very light. Doesn't have that vault-like thud sound when closed.


I'm curious though, with the same CRDI and VGT, how come Hyundai can produce 150hp/335Nm (ECU chipped: 185hp/395Nm) out of a 2.2L and 240hp/450Nm out of a 3.0L while the DuraTorq only has 2.5: 143hp/330Nm and 3.0: 156hp/380Nm? What did Ford engineers miss?



Then my buddy (future bro-in-law) test drove the facelifted Escape AT with me as his front passenger.


Pros:

Nice facelift though a projector headlight would've been nice.

Suspension is okay.

Dashboard is okay.



Cons:

5-seater only.

Still uses the ancient Hand brake (footbrake please!!!)

AT Shifter is not gated type / sequential.

Darn thing is very slow.

Acceleration from zero is painstakingly long.

Doors are very light. Doesn't have that vault-like thud sound when closed.


My apologies for the spartan writing.

[niky]

Most ladder frame pick-up based SUVs start with 2.5s for the extra torque. They could conceivably put Ford's 140hp 2.0 in there, but that wouldn't suffice for the market. The Santa Fe's market is different, so the smaller plant is perfectly acceptable.

But yes, it is tinny and unrefined... the new Everest was developed on a very tight budget.

[Horsepower]

Indeed it was, I actually expected worse than Fortuner kind of ride but i was surprised with its good suspension and shock absorption.

It's actually fine but with the details it lacks (that i mentioned), i think we might look for something else. i'd gladly recommend it to my friends who likes it but i don't think I'd get one myself.

[Horsepower]

I don't know what's wrong with it, but the Escape AT we've tested was slow as hell. It's brand new though. hehehehe.

We also tried to drift it over rough roads but it's hard to do so because the supervisor riding with us wasn't smiling anymore. hehehehehe.

[mazdamazda]

I'm curious though, with the same CRDI and VGT, how come Hyundai can produce 150hp/335Nm (ECU chipped: 185hp/395Nm) out of a 2.2L and 240hp/450Nm out of a 3.0L while the DuraTorq only has 2.5: 143hp/330Nm and 3.0: 156hp/380Nm? What did Ford engineers miss

The power delivery of the Everest is smoother than the Santa Fe and the throttle response is better when the engine speed is around 1000 rpm. I guess that's the compromise that they made when they developed that engine.

[zxd168pzz]

Toyota Fortuner - Nice looks, but weak brakes (see Thailand forums). BTW, where's the 4.0L V6 version being sold in Middle East? My tip: don't buy the diesel. It requires two times the service than the gas version (every 5k, vs. gas every 10k). Secondly, the diesel fumes gets into the cabin once you open the trunk lid. I bought the 2.5L, and regretted it. Should have gotten the 2.7 gas. Consumption diff is minimal at 7.4km/liter

Hyundai Santa Fe - Nice, but as always, quality and service are questionable. But if I had no choice, I'd get the V6 over the CRDi

Isuzu Alterra - It's overpriced and looks like a pick-up with a camper shell! no way man.

Ford Everest 4x4 - Is it just me or does it not look like an SUV? Again, it's a Ford Ranger with a camper shell. No way.

Kia Sorento - I dunno, but it looks dull to me from the outside. I've driven one - steering is light, brakes are good, overall -good. But I still won't buy Korean

Mitsubishi Outlander - Nice, but I've always had bad experience with Mitsubishi service. Not convinced about the quality of Mitsu cars as well. I dunno about you guys..

Honda CR-V 4x4 - Always a winner for quality. But I'm not happy with the 2.0L I currently have. It really needs a 2.4L engine. Besides, it looks like a girl to me.

Toyota Rav4 4x2 - Nice, but pricey. It still looks like a girl to me.

Subaru Forester XT - I heard it's good. But is this going to be one of those models that will be discontinued eventually? Will it be betamaxed?

Mitsubishi Montero - If it's 1.5M, I take it that it's the Sport version. This is really an old old model with an old technology Pajero engine. I remember when I went to the US back in in 1995, my in-law picked me up with this model, but with a V6 engine. That's a No for me. Maybe 10 years ago.

For me, if it's 1.5M, I'd go for the Fortuner 2.7L Gas version. You can't go wrong. Quality, Looks, Power, Hi-tech engine.

[pup2]

I got a forester XT! What the heck, I got more video hours out of our betamax than our VHS and VCD combined! :-):