Trooping to the rally

They trooped there all right, all 50-plus vehicles. It was the second staging of the Shell Helix-Motoring Today Corporate Motorsport Challenge, a Sampaguita-type road rally. It is a completely safe and affordable form of "racing," and as all motorsports go, fun too. Based on the premise of "on time, all the time," competitors in a Sampaguita rally have to navigate a course (usually on public roads) dotted with checkpoints. Competitors win by arriving at these checkpoints as close as possible to their pre-determined arrival time, which race officials give at the start of each leg. (The entire race is made up of several legs.)

As confusing as it may sound, it is, yes, confusing. That’s why a team is composed of a driver and two navigators, one for route, the other for time. Participants say it’s easy to get the hang of it though. We were among those who trooped there. But being the Pinoys that we are, we came in late and failed to even make it to the starting line at the Shell service station at the north expressway.

Aboard a shiny, new, two-tone maroon and silver 2002 Isuzu Trooper, we were all dressed up with no race to go. However, it gave us a chance to appreciate the Trooper’s characteristics. For starters, the ’02 model’s looks are freshened up with a new grille design and clunky chrome wheels, which works well with the sport-ute’s inherently boxy, sharp lines. We can live without the gold colored decals though, but apparently most DOMs cannot. But then again, how many vehicles out there can don those tacky two-tone paint jobs and actually get away with it?

Tailing the rally participants on their way to Subic, the Trooper had more than enough power on tap to make a disappointing day more interesting. The vehicle’s 3.0-liter turbocharged motor is at the beck of your right foot’s whims, providing the necessary and entertaining oomph for all those daring passing maneuvers. Which is surprising, since the motor is carrying quite a bit of heft, as the Trooper is a full-size, McDonald’s-drive-thru-squeezing sport-ute. The fact that that same motor is bolted on to a four-speed automatic box and is diesel fuel-sipping makes it all the more impressive.

The vehicle’s on-road ride isn’t anything to complain about either. Though it’s easy for one to tell that the Trooper is a real truck underneath–what with all the bouncy, hobbyhorse motions–the vehicle’s suspension has a good enough damping to soften things up, soaking up ruts, holes, pottery shards, assorted fruits, and virtually everything else found on local roads. Yes, it may not be "car-like," but it’s pretty close. Besides, the Trooper is a truck, and it has no qualms about being one.

If being "car-like" means having a dead-cow interior, a premium audio system, fake forestry products, countless cupholders, all the couch potato power-operated gizmos, and a freezer-like air-conditioning unit, the Trooper is one great luxury car then. But one which, obviously, have more space than average sedans can ever hope for.

In the handling department, an older sibling Trooper driven by Manila Bulletin’s helmet-donned Aris Ilagan made mincemeat out of several competitors–snazzy high-performance wannabe cars included–at the racetrack leg of the Sampaguita event.

Held at the Subic International Raceway, the Trooper drifted steadily in and out of corners, precisely weaving its way around the track. This truck can truly run around with the sedans. Eventually, that Trooper plucked the top prize in the rally among the media contingent. Until now, we were confident we could have given them a run for the money–or more precisely, the trophy. But then again, guess we’ll have to learn to be on time at least some of the time.