It’s not often that I get to test drive a prototype vehicle before it is introduced into the Philippine market. The two times I had the chance to do so was in 2002-2003 when I helped evaluate and promote the Yamaha Nouvo and Mio, and in 2005-2006 when I rode the to-be-introduced Yamaha Sniper 135, which I rode for almost ...

Picture this: A pandemic is spreading and chaos is everywhere. People are panic-buying in supermarkets and groceries to hoard basic goods, including… dear God… toilet paper! Traffic is heavy after some people lined their vehicles up to the middle of the road just to run to the stores. The highway out of the city is packed. You can hear police ...

Before the lockdown in Metro Manila was implemented, we had Ford’s Ranger Raptor with us and were scheduled to go on an off-road shoot outside the city. Unfortunately, a few days before the trip, the Philippine government had announced quarantine and our supposed adventure was obviously canceled. The lockdown was yet to take effect in two days so we technically ...

With the current COVID-19 pandemic and the government-mandated lockdown to curb the spread of the Corona virus, we at Power Wheels Magazine initially found it a bit inappropriate to publish our pending test drive reports. But after 36 days in Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), some of our regular readers have been asking us to post stories that they can enjoy ...

A short stint behind the wheel of the 2020 Toyota Supra may not be enough to constitute a comprehensive test drive. But since the new sports car we test drove was lent to us by a supportive private owner and not part of the Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) media test fleet, we eagerly grabbed the opportunity to get a feel ...

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “conquest” as “the act or process of conquering” or as “something conquered especially a territory appropriated in war” or as “a person whose favor or hand has been won”. Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) couldn’t have picked a better name for its top-of-the-line pickup truck, the Toyota Hilux Conquest because it has won the hearts and ...

The January 2019 launch of the all-new Kia Soluto, the Korean automaker’s entry-level model, reminded us of a defining conversation we had a few years ago with the owner of a motorcycle manufacturer who was apprehensive to lend their 100 cc single-cylinder standard motorbike for a test ride and evaluation for our sister publication, MotorCycle Magazine. “After riding high-end super ...

I have to admit that I was quite skeptical when they handed me the keys to the 2019 Audi Q2 1.0 TFSI. After all, it isn’t everyday that I get to drive a compact German crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) finished in a bright and eye-catching hue of Vegas Yellow. But that’s not why I’m skeptic: It’s the one-liter engine ...

It’s hard to believe that the Toyota RAV4 has been around for a quarter of a century already. It debuted in 1994 as the first compact crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) and its name was an amalgamation meaning “Recreational Activity Vehicle 4WD”. Toyota Motor Corporation created the RAV4 in response to their customers’ demands for a vehicle that had the ...

I was asleep and dreaming about driving a yellow Ferrari 458 Spider with my wife Shawie when I heard her voice whispering gently in my ear. “Wake up, sleepy head”, she teased me. “It’s your birthday tomorrow! I’m going to give you what you’ve always been dreaming about ever since we started dating. I’m going to buy you a sports ...