Ford, Mazda & Innova Test Drive at the Fort (July 9 & 16)

**mazdamazda** · July 7th, 2005 09:01 AM

Just heard on the radio, there's two separate test drive events for Ford, Mazda & the Toyota Innova (at the Fort on July 9 - Saturday).

**the_wildthing** · July 7th, 2005 09:11 AM

8th is a Friday, isn't it?

**mazdamazda** · July 7th, 2005 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by the_wildthing

8th is a Friday, isn't it?

Noted & already corrected.

**carlocaraddict** · July 7th, 2005 02:05 PM

aba! 3 events sabaya sabay! sana walang job interview na matapat sa saturday.

**ale828** · July 9th, 2005 05:44 PM

may ford focus ba na for test drive?

**number001** · July 9th, 2005 06:20 PM

When I got there, I think I saw some tsikoteers test driving a black Mazda3 around 1pm+ awhile ago.

***
Ford

Ok I have to admit this is my first time to go off-roading, so when I saw the temporary off-road track they made I was readily impressed. For hardcore off-roader, this is probably just a speck of dust on their shoulders. Beeboy Bargas, the off-road expert was there conducting the event and shooting a show while driving the Ford Everest. Their entire SUV line-up (Escape, Everest, Explorer, Expedition, No rangers in sight, however) were all available for testing. The Expedition is limited for serious buyers only.

First part of the course, was a rough road littered with some large chunks of rocks. Second part was a small round mud rotonda, which made the vehicle tilt at a very frightening angle. Third part was some wet/muddy flat surface. Fourth part, was the same wet/muddy surface but there are some bigger bolders to conquer. For this part of the track, you really need to floor the gas otherwise you will get stuck. The last part is a really large mound of dirt that seems really intimidating at the approach. The approach is a very steep incline followed almost immediately by a steep decline.

Ford provided food and drinks, even gave a mug as give-ways to those who test drove any of their test vehicles. Overall, I rate Ford highly with their customer service and PR. Ford, with a weaker market presence and share, does not have the arrogance of Toyota after the Hilux's, Innova, and most especially the Fortuner's recent spate of success.

They got some good deals like the Escape 4x2 going for P999K (nice marketing price), less than 100k off the sticker price.

***
Mazda

Wow, Mazda had improved tremendously from the dark ages of the Familia 323! The instrumental gauges seems to be the best I have ever seen in this class of vehicle. It gives you the feeling that you are driving a Ferrari with the speedometer resting at 6' 0 clock instead of the usual 8' 0 clock that we see on normal sedans. Radio seems to be proprietary as it seems integrated seamlessly into the dashboard. The "3" has an automatic transmission with tiptronic like shifter, you know the "+" and "-" for manual upshift and downshift, respectively. Center console has the darth vader look just like the Ford Focus.

The 2.0 model's build seems very close to that of BMW's, at least that's the impression I got. The interior appeared a little monotonous with an almost black color scheme, save for the gray panels here and there. Leather seating materials seem very comfortable and bods the car well since it gives it a more upscale feel inside. I don't like the grille on the 2.0 while the grill on the 1.6 looks much better despite being just an unpainted black. The rear bumper of the 2.0 seem to extend outward more, compared to the 1.6 hatch's bumper.

The 1.6 hatch also seems nice but I'm no fan of the rear hatch model to start with. I liked the regular model better. Inside although it is practically the same as the 2.0 sans the leather, the interior felt really cheap, almost so different from the feeling I get when inside the 2.0. It all boiled down to the downscale fabric material they used for the seats and door panels, which does not seem attractive at all due to its monotonous gray shade.

For my needs, the 1.6 is sufficient in terms of power and budget-wise but the interior appointment is a major downer with the materials they used. So in the end, I would rather get the 2.0 instead, certainly not for the bigger engine since I'm no speed racer, but rather for its better interior appointments, bigger rims/tires (looks really good), and generally the impression of a better built that it gives, at least to me that is.

Moving on, I looked at the Tribute and it seems to be a major disappointment. First impressions inside, the gauges seems so last generation, make me feel that I'm still in 1995 instead of 2005. After that the experience inside, I walked away having a negative impression of this car.

***

Toyota

Last stop is Toyota's display. No one seems to be motivated in this place to sell, the salespeople seems so somber as if they had an overdose of valium. I guess this is what happens when the arrogance of selling years worth of Fortuner well in advance in a span of a few months, gets into one's head. Tsk, tsk, tsk! Toyota always remember this: The customer is always the king. You may not need them now, but FORTUNEs change. Right now, you are at the top of your game, but soon will be down again, scraping the ground. That would be an unFORTUNate situation to be in. Ooopss, just letting off some steam after a bad episode of recent Fortuner dealer racket. To tell the truth, the whole Fortuner racket with the dealers, in the past months, has really left a sour aftertaste in my mouth that I would never forget.

Innovas seems so interesting to me, since they serve their purpose well of being a versatile people carrier and can readily double as a cargo truck for the occassional hauling of things. Looking at the "J", whose interior seems better despite appearing very bland due to the monotonous gray vinyl upholstery. In the long run however, the vinyl and gray scheme would be much easier to maintain compared to the "G"'s beige interior, which is exhibiting dirt stains all over. The "J" D4D would have been good buy already if they just included a rear wiper and a rear window defogger as well as the central locking system, at the very least.

But in the end, the "J" D4D price is very close to the Mazda3's. I rather get the Mazda. Mazda's sportiness seem so much more appealing compared to the delivery van looks of the Innova J.