By Aida Sevilla-Mendoza
Inquirer

THE 4TH Car of the Year (Coty) Philippines Awards program, which was held at the Rockwell Tent in Makati last Thursday, established quite a few firsts.

It was the first time that: a European brand won the big trophy. The 2007 Car of the Year, the Volvo C30 (shown in photo) is a sports coupe that aced the Luxury Subcompact category versus the BMW 120i and the Mercedes-Benz B160.

What’s more, the Swedish carmaker outshone its German rivals two more times when the Volvo S60 T5 won the Executive Car of the Year Award and the Volvo S80 2.5L topped the Luxury Car category.

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By Aida Sevilla Mendoza
Inquirer

IF you are shopping for an affordable common rail diesel-powered multipurpose vehicle, the Korean manufacturers make choosing a difficult task. Why? Because Kia Motors and its parent company Hyundai Motor Co. offer not one, not two, but three CRDi (common rail direct injection) MPVs to choose from: the Hyundai Starex, Kia Carnival and Kia Carens.

But when it comes to a compact CRDi MPV, the choice narrows down to the 2007 Kia Carens since the Hyundai Matrix was withdrawn from the Philippine market a year or so ago. The Carens first entered with a 2.0-liter, DOHC, 16-valve gasoline engine. The CRDi variant showed up soon after, completing Kia’s CRDi-powered foursome together with the 4×4 Sorento midsize SUV, the 4×4 Sportage compact SUV and the Carnival midsize MPV (which this column reviewed last August.)

No competition

With no other CRDi seven-seater compact MPV in competition unless you consider the D-4D Toyota Innova a compact MPV, the Carens enjoys a monopoly in this segment. The Toyota Avanza, Mitsubishi Fuzion and soon-to-come Nissan Grand Livina all have gasoline engines.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
Inquirer

WHILE Japanese manufacturers are busy hosting local motoring journalists from the Philippines for the 2007 edition of the Tokyo Motor Show, rival Korean carmakers have been patient and busy reinforcing their product lineups in the local market, slowly eating away at the huge market share the Land of the Rising Sun has traditionally enjoyed in the Pearl of the Orient Seas.

The reinforcements from Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. Philippines are expected to face off with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The Azera (P1.758 million), Sonata 2.4L (P1.238 million) and Sonata 3.3L (P1.318 million) were launched simultaneously just last week. Azera and Sonata are CBUs (completely built up units) from Korea.

People mover

In the other Korean frontline, Kia has revealed what it touts as its version of the Chevy Town and Country with its people-mover 2.9-liter Carnival. Columbian Auto Cars, Kia’s exclusive distributor in the Philippines, now offers its lifestyle-centered eight-seater family vehicle with a common rail direct injection diesel engine versions.

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