By Charles E. Buban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
LET’S face it, those who could afford the 2008 4×4 Isuzu Alterra has to be well-situated financially, able to have at least P1.673 million of spare cash (or won’t mind paying the equivalent monthly obligation).
Indeed, these Alterra buyer has the ability to enjoy a lifestyle a lot of us could only dream of.
Well, this writer was able to taste that sort of lifestyle when Isuzu Philippines organized Isuzu Alterra… Great Drive, Great Life event a couple of weeks ago where invited motoring media participated in an off-road gymkhana, shooting clay targets (with a shotgun), had lunch aboard a yacht (while cruising Subic Bay in Zambales), went sailing, joined in a modified equestrian competition and finally tried Subic Bay Yacht Club’s fabled synchronized head and foot massage.
“Alterra would-be buyers or even those who already own one tend to live a more adventurous life—driving their SUVs over and up and down the sand dunes or taking them to far-off or exotic locations where they could pursue their recreational activities,” explained Keiji Takeda, IPC president.
To make the event even more exciting, IPC divided the participants into groups where each team has to compete to earn points from the various activities lined up that day (except, of course, the massage portion of the program).
“Since the Alterra is IPC’s premium sport utility vehicle model, we decided to let the motoring media get a taste of some of Alterra owner’s recreational activities while at the same time sample the upgraded amenities that is offered in the latest Alterra,” explained Arthur Balmadrid, IPC vice president for Corporate Business.
The most outstanding of these features is the much-improved in-car entertainment system that incorporates a reverse-assist camera that enables the driver to just look at a 3.5-inch monitor in front to view the images captured by the wide-angled camera located at the rear spoiler.
This feature was greatly appreciated during the off-road gymkhana (held at the dry riverbeds of Sacobia inside the Clark Special Economic Zone) where competing Alterra drivers must complete a series of timed maneuvers that included reverse parking and parallel parking.
During the 50-kilometer drive from CSEZ to Subic Bay Freeport Zone — via the soon-to-be-opened Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway — a number of us enjoyed tinkering with the 2008 Alterra’s new JVC entertainment system that boasts, among others, iPod connectivity (the previous as well as the latest iPod nano models were easily detected).
This new entertainment system is also dual-zone ready, meaning that the driver and the front passenger could listen to music while rear passengers could watch a DVD movie.
“The 2008 Alterra, while retaining its 144 horsepower, 294 (Newton-meters) torque, 3.0-liter common-rail direct-injection turbodiesel, is now better equipped to give its occupants a more enjoyable ride no matter how long their drive might be,” Takeda added.
Indeed, while our team failed to earn enough points to land in a much better place (sadly, we finished last), this writer is confident that our team at least enjoyed the day including our stay inside the Alterra.
Photo by Charles E. Buban
