Mitsubishi Grandis — No pushover of a van

I had the Mitsubishi Grandis for a week’s test drive allowing me to drive it and be driven in it in different weather conditions and in varied traffic and road scenarios.

Our friends from Mitsubishi Motors Philippines from Mel Dizon to Froy Dytianquin and Arlan Reyes made sure that I had enough time with the Grandis so I could really test drive it to the fullest to arm me better in making an assessment of the vehicle.

Its first notable feature is it roominess. Although a given for a van, the Grandis sits seven people comfortably, which is apt for the Pinoy’s penchant of bringing the whole Barangay in any trip, but it can actually still accommodate up to eight or nine especially when there are kids in the trip.

How comfortable is its ride? Its "all-coil" suspension system tells the whole story. Up front it has McPherson Strut while at the rear it has semi-Trailing Arm both with coil spring providing the ease and convenience while traveling.

Now what really surprised me was when I decided to take the wheel myself to find out its maneuverability. Aside from it being very nimble in weaving in and out of traffic and casually taking those curves even at a faster clip than what’s quite normally accepted, the Grandis can hold its own as far as power under its hood is concerned. The Grandis can zoom!

So, looking under the hood we discovered that the Grandis is equipped with what’s dubbed as MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing and lift Electronic Control. This is a technology that can adjust the valve timing for optimal performance for all driving conditions. This enables it to produce higher torque at low rpm ranges (22.1 kg-m @ 4,000 rpm) for quick clean starts and higher outputs in the high ranges for better passing ability (165 ps @ 6,000 rpm).

After having the Grandis for enough time to experience it as home-to-office-and-back vehicle and also for within the Metro business chores, I also learned that its entertainment package can make you less harassed when you are running late for an appointment. At the push of a button you can have either visual or audio entertainment to take away the stress while at a standstill during a gridlock.

Check out the Mitsubishi Grandis. It sits silently unbecoming of a winner.

Pit Lane Notes

Everything in the script that was prepared by McLaren-Mercedes for the British Grand Prix seemed to have been played to the letter. Hastily prepared though right after Kimi Raikkonen automatically received a ten position grid penalty for changing an engine after posting the second fastest time, next to pole sitter Fernando Alonzo in qualifying, everything seemed to have fallen into their proper places with Juan Pablo Montoya playing the lead.

Juan Pablo’s role was most critical at the start of the race and that was to squeeze through the front runners to take the lead and slow down the pack to allow his team-mate to catch up. The role fitted the Colombian to a "T" and had the top podium position as a bonus with the Icy Finn coming in third after starting from 12th.

Silverstone proved to be the setting for Juan Pablo’s first success for the McLaren-Mercedes team since bolting from the now trouble-soaked Williams-BMW Team — no more tennis in between races I guess.

Meanwhile, as we mentioned in the past, the US Grand Prix Fiasco in Indianapolis, would be re-told over and over again and in the midst of all opinions expressed and all the fingers pointed in several directions may I just reprint in part a press info from the FIA regarding the racing debacle.

To refresh your memories, the core of the problem was the refusal of one of the two major tire suppliers of the race, namely Michelin, to allow the race cars using their tires to run unless a chicane would be put up in turn 13 within the Indy Circuit in order to reduce the cars’ speed and prevent a possible tire failure. Here in part is the press info…

"A chicane would have forced all cars, including those with tires optimized for high-speed, to run on a circuit whose characteristics had changed fundamentally — from ultra high speed (because of turn 13) to very slow and twisting. It would also have involved changing the circuit without following any of the modern safety procedures, possibly with implications for the cars and their brakes. It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of an American court had there been an accident (whatever its cause) with the FIA having to admit it had failed to follow its own rules and safety procedures.

The reason for this debacle is clear. Each team is allowed to bring two types of tire: one an on-the-limit-potential race winner, the other a back-up which, although slower, is absolutely reliable. Apparently, none of the Michelin teams brought a back-up to Indianapolis. They subsequently announced they were flying in new tires from France but then claimed that these too were unsafe.

What about the American fans? What about Formula One fans world-wide? Rather than boycott the race the Michelin teams should have agreed to run at reduced speed in turn 13. The rules would have been kept, they would have earned Championship points and the fans would have had a race. As it is, by refusing to run unless the FIA broke the rules and handicapped the Bridgestone runners, they have damaged themselves and the sport.

It should also be made clear that Formula One Management and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as commercial entities, can have no role in the enforcement of the rules."

And the saga of the US Grand Prix Fiasco continues.

SPMJ Forum gets on a roll

On spotlight were three top executives of Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) when the SPMJ Forum went on its second outing. The first time around we had Engr. Serafin Pantaleon of Toyota Motor Philippines and Mr. Arnel Doria of Honda Cars Philippines answering questions from the members of the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists about the possible effects of the then revised excise tax law.

The 2nd SPMJ Forum, which will be aired next week on Auto Focus (10 pm, Tuesday, Channel 4 Manila and nationwide via satellite on the National Broadcasting Network), had Mr. Art Balmadrid, vice president-corporate business division, Mr. Ken Takashima, vice president — dealer network and Mr. Kazuhiko Sho, executive vice president answering questions about their newly launched SUV, the Isuzu Alterra, the effects of the continued importation of used vehicles, the local and global positioning of Isuzu, the new business horizons being pursed by IPC locally and other issues in the automotive industry.

In the panel were Pinky Colmenares, editor of the Bulletin’s Cruising magazine and motoring section, Vernon Sarne, motoring editor of the Manila Times, Ron delos Reyes, producer/host of Auto Review and myself.

You might have the time to check it out next week, not unless we get pre-empted to give way to important broadcast programs related to the present political crisis.

Motoring Tip of the Week

With the rains inevitably come the floods in many parts of the Metro. In the most likely event that you would at one time find yourself driving through flooded streets, the thing to do find out if your vehicle could still manage to maneuver through the flood is to check the water level on similarly sized vehicles to yours. If the water is still below that of the level of tail pipe you are safe to proceed. If it’s higher, then it’s time to consider other options like waiting it out for the waters to recede or to take a detour. Should you decide to brave it just make sure that you keep your engine’s rpm at a sustained high level so as to prevent water to rush to your exhaust manifold and into your engine. It would also be prudent to keep your speed to a minimum to avoid water from getting into your electrical system. Both scenarios would definitely make your engine cease and get your feet wet.

Happy Motoring!!!

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