BATTLE OF THE NEW SUV's - All New Everest vs 2016 Montero vs 2016 Fortuner

[minicarph]

I recently tried out the MU-X BluePower since it was in our shortlist because of the competitive pre-TRAIN prices (1.598M vs 1.539M for the CRV 2.0S).

In a nutshell, the MU-X feels a lot like Pico De Loro - it's a nice place and it has all the right ingredients, but the execution really doesn't feel refined or upscale (very SM-esque).

For starters, it looks very good from outside after the facelift. Whereas it was simply a low-cost option to the other PPVs before, it now looks just as attractive with the subtle changes in its front and rear fascia plus the bigger rims.

The drivetrain is also very impressive. Everyone raves about the linearity and relentlessness of the 3.0 Bluepower, and rightfully so as the 177 hp engine paired with the new 6AT makes accelerating with the 1900 kg truck feel effortless.

What caught me by surprise is how quiet it is from inside - very little diesel clatter than can easily be drowned out by music. This is a big improvement from the old 2.5L MUX and other previous-gen PPVs. Unlike the Korean or German diesels though, Isuzu achieved it by putting a lot of sound deadening rather than having an inherently quiet engine (it still sounds truck-ish from outside) - but it's how it sounds from the interior that really matters so it's all good.

Handling leaves much to be desired with the heavy and slow steering and the combination of soft suspension + tall ride height. It's an inherent PPV problem and not the MUX's fault alone, but then again the Everest is also a PPV but that handles tidily for a 2-ton truck and doesn't nose-dive as vehemently. At least the MU-X feels sure-footed with its braking, something that can't be said with the first gen PPVs. As expected, ride comfort is nowhere as good as a crossover, but it's good enough for PPV standards and you know that should you need to drive on poorly paved (or unpaved) roads frequently, the chassis can take the beating.

The moment you step inside, you'd be happily greeted by a very spacious cabin with good visbility all around. 3rd row space is actually livable (better than a CRV, Fortuner, or Montero) but only just - it's still cramped of course and if you really need the 3rd row often then you might want to look at an MPV instead. The fold-and-tumble feature of the second row helps a lot with third row ingress/egress, but too bad that it doesn't slide forwards and backwards.

The MUX's achilles heel after all these years remains to be its interior design, particularly the dashboard and steering wheel. I applaud Isuzu's efforts of putting leather on every touchpoint - seats, steering wheel, dashboard, door sidings, instrument cluster - but to be honest it still doesn't feel as upscale as my Civic for example even if it doesn't have a single ounce of leather. The interior badly needs a redesign (the Chinese-market model already has a new interior and that looks awesome and they should've brought it here).

Another disappointing feature is the car's head unit. On paper, it seems to have everything covered - Bluetooth, USB, a second LCD, even screen mirroring. But again, the execution feels very cheap - the menus are not intuitive at all and look like they were lifted off a generic Chinese tablet. Honda, Ford, Mazda, and even Toyota and Mitsubishi (with their generic AVT head-units) all have better user interfaces.

One more thing to note is that the post-TRAIN pricing (1.795M) puts it close to the Everest Titanium (1.918M), Honda CR-V 1.6S (1.835M), and Fortuner 2.4V (1.906M). It's still cheaper than the competition but not by much, so it's no longer just a value-for-money choice - you really have to like the overall package if you'll get this over its competitors.

Overall, the MUX has a lot of things going for it - superb drivetrain, improved looks, competitive feature set, a relatively comfortable ride, and the durabuility of a PPV chassis. If you aren't put off by its cheap interior and wallowy handling, then it's a very recommendable car.



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Lam mo juts kimbaket kinuha ko yan, kasi las year parang galet ako sa mundo, sa boss ko, sa family ko, sa social media.

As a refined person and a fit person, ano to sabi ko sa sarile ko, 3 years ago I told myself never na ako magagalit aa mundo. All i have to do is always look good. Yes every party or gathering, I stand out. My friends and relatives hated me dahil magaling ako magdala. They would even post memes in theri facebook, like a dirty knight daw eh kaya dirty kase lumalaban sa buhay as compared to knight in shining armor na lagi makintab ang armor nila. Grabe ang mga hugot sobra, why because I always too care of my wife na naging envy ng wives nila, I bring my wife to every gathering and parties and I post photos of us in FB na naging sibject of envy ng mga wives nila, yes even my sis in laws. F! And then the backstabbing started. Ibang klase talaga mga pinoy, pag di ka matalo titirahin ka sa likod talaga.

And so i found myself watching youtubes videos of Land Rover, Lada Niva, Pajero and LC box types. i wanted to buy those and bring with me wife and take pictures of her and any of these cars in the mountains of tanay. Yun pala laban nyo ah sabi ko, sasabihin nyo malinis ako lagi and parang metro***ual just to justify yun mga pagkukulang nyo sa wives nyo.

So hayun nabili ako ng Bluepower, i know it's the crudest of all the PPVs, pero its like buying a cheap land rover defender, that will retain its value from years to come. So hayun tama ka dyan na medyo backwards ang mux bluepower.

Maybe thats why im viewing these days the 2019 Santa Fe. Kasi yun talaga perosnality ko eh, crossover office guy. Hindi mountain guy, eh kaya lang andyan na yan bluepower ko eh. My poor mans Land Rover Defender

[LancerA174A]

Sino kaya ang supplier nila ng electronic tailgate? Parang similar sa Autolink na soft close, hindi humahampas.

Or baka ito din yung gamit sa Indonesian-spec mu-X.

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[dos2]

One more thing to note is that the post-TRAIN pricing (1.795M) puts it close to the Everest Titanium (1.918M), Honda CR-V 1.6S (1.835M), and Fortuner 2.4V (1.906M). It's still cheaper than the competition but not by much, so it's no longer just a value-for-money choice - you really have to like the overall package if you'll get this over its competitors.

Actually nag take advantage si Isuzu by using TRAIN law to jack up their prices.
For cars with Net Retail price (before taxes and profits) between 1.1M to 1.63M where the MU-X most probably belong, dapat ang maximum increase is 107K lang due to excise tax. Eh anong ginawa ni Isuzu, tinaasan nila ng halos 200K from 1.6M to 1.795M.
Eto dahilan kaya yung dating "value for money" proposition ng MU-X is lumiit. Anyway, even other companies eto rin naman ginawa.

[StockEngine]

Actually nag take advantage si Isuzu by using TRAIN law to jack up their prices.
For cars with Net Retail price (before taxes and profits) between 1.1M to 1.63M where the MU-X most probably belong, dapat ang maximum increase is 107K lang due to excise tax. Eh anong ginawa ni Isuzu, tinaasan nila ng halos 200K from 1.6M to 1.795M.
Eto dahilan kaya yung dating "value for money" proposition ng MU-X is lumiit. Anyway, even other companies eto rin naman ginawa.

with their current price, they wont break 600+ units..

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[Wh1stl3r]

Actually nag take advantage si Isuzu by using TRAIN law to jack up their prices.
For cars with Net Retail price (before taxes and profits) between 1.1M to 1.63M where the MU-X most probably belong, dapat ang maximum increase is 107K lang due to excise tax. Eh anong ginawa ni Isuzu, tinaasan nila ng halos 200K from 1.6M to 1.795M.
Eto dahilan kaya yung dating "value for money" proposition ng MU-X is lumiit. Anyway, even other companies eto rin naman ginawa.

To be fair unfavorable naman yung exchange rate year on year kaya baka sinabay na rin part of the higher cost sa increase.

[dos2]

with their current price, they wont break 600+ units..

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Was a fan of the MU-X's value for money before the bluepower came, or should I say I hate how Isuzu jacked-up the MU-X's price.
Hopefully the incoming Terra will be priced very competitive (similar to the Navara vs competition) while being spec'd closely with the Everest para matauhan si Isuzu.

Per my memory, eto yung history ng price increases ni Isuzu... you be the judge :
2015 : MU-X LS-A 2.5 AT 4x2 - 1.358 M initial price with a lot of dealer incentives - best option for fuel economy
2016 : added 30K because of 3.0 engine option (1.398M) - better option for those wanting more power
2016 : added 30K because of Hills Start Assist, Cruise Control, etc (1.428M) - convenience and safety features
2017 : added 170K because of bluepower euro 4 engine, improved NVH, accessories, new leather seat material, 18" wheels, etc but still retaining 2 airbags (1.598M) - sobrang laki ng iminahal
2018: added 200K because of TRAIN law (1.798M) - mas lalong sobra ang iminahal

[Wh1stl3r]

Here's USD - PHP for the last 5 years:



We can see from this that aside from the upgrades, forex losses also contribute a lot to price increases. As a businessman I look up to used to say: For imports, walang matigas na tinapay sa exchange rate. Pag tumaas yan, magtataas lahat eventually. Unless they are suicidal.

[dos2]

Here's USD - PHP for the last 5 years:



We can see from this that aside from the upgrades, forex losses also contribute a lot to price increases. As a businessman I look up to used to say: For imports, walang matigas na tinapay sa exchange rate. Pag tumaas yan, magtataas lahat eventually. Unless they are suicidal.

Got your point. Mahirap nga yang uncertainty na yan.

[minicarph]

Was a fan of the MU-X's value for money before the bluepower came, or should I say I hate how Isuzu jacked-up the MU-X's price.
Hopefully the incoming Terra will be priced very competitive (similar to the Navara vs competition) while being spec'd closely with the Everest para matauhan si Isuzu.

Per my memory, eto yung history ng price increases ni Isuzu... you be the judge :
2015 : MU-X LS-A 2.5 AT 4x2 - 1.358 M initial price with a lot of dealer incentives - best option for fuel economy
2016 : added 30K because of 3.0 engine option (1.398M) - better option for those wanting more power
2016 : added 30K because of Hills Start Assist, Cruise Control, etc (1.428M) - convenience and safety features
2017 : added 170K because of bluepower euro 4 engine, improved NVH, accessories, new leather seat material, 18" wheels, etc but still retaining 2 airbags (1.598M) - sobrang laki ng iminahal
2018: added 200K because of TRAIN law (1.798M) - mas lalong sobra ang iminahal

labo yan, ang tindeh din magtaas nun Nissan Urvan na 350 nun bago ba yun, parang binawasan lang nila ng 20k-30K compared sa hiace commuter. pero sabi nila mura daw yun Navarra pickup pinakamura sa lahat even sa Strada.

pero dito sa SUV, sana babaan nila coz they have yet to prove the name Terra in the PPV race, just as MUX did in 2015. pero knowing Nissan, how expensive the Patrol and Murano na mas gusto pa nila masira pangalan kaysa magbaba ewan ko

[justin_]

labo yan, ang tindeh din magtaas nun Nissan Urvan na 350 nun bago ba yun, parang binawasan lang nila ng 20k-30K compared sa hiace commuter. pero sabi nila mura daw yun Navarra pickup pinakamura sa lahat even sa Strada.

pero dito sa SUV, sana babaan nila coz they have yet to prove the name Terra in the PPV race, just as MUX did in 2015. pero knowing Nissan, how expensive the Patrol and Murano na mas gusto pa nila masira pangalan kaysa magbaba ewan ko

Nissan will probably have a competitive pricing on the Terra when they release it locally. I'm assuming that because it is based on the Navara, which has been the most affordable pick up in the country even before the TRAIN law.

If you'd also check, the Patrol just got A LOT cheaper, now at 3.749M. Half a million bucks cheaper than the low end LC200. But since it has a gas engine, you might say it's more of a competition to the gas Prado, which is also almost half a million bucks cheaper. Really goes both ways, depending on how you look at it. But I digress.