Exploring the north is swag with Toyota and Lexus

MANILA, Philippines - Two weeks ago, Toyota Motor Philippines and Lexus Manila Inc. jointly organized an awesome media ride-and-drive that took us on a pampered northbound journey aboard a convoy of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. As both brands offer a wide array of vehicle types—from the sporty Toyota 86 to the luxurious Lexus GS 450h to the hardy Toyota Hilux, and more—we had to raffle out who drove what vehicle, and  switch at key points along the journey, in order to maximize our experience of the various cars. Delightful as fate had it, The Star’s motoring editor Manny de los Reyes (my travel partner) and I were awarded with indulging ourselves in the new Toyota Fortuner, the Lexus CT200h and the Toyota Prius C during this 3-day/2-night trip. Needless to say, we had a very satisfying and comfortable ride alongside bragging rights of probably having dealt the least impact to the environment, on this voyage.

Our drive from Manila all the way up to our lunch stop in Matutina, Pangasinan was aboard the new Toyota Fortuner. Appreciating the cabin size for our out-of-town luggage and peripherals, we zipped through NLEX with highway brawn and appreciated the model’s newfound power. The next drive segment turned out to be a switch point, and we thus headed out for our main destination—the Manor Hotel in Camp John Hay, Baguio—this time via Lexus CT200h.

Our route of choice was Marcos Highway, and the CT200h was a perfect blend of sporty performance alongside typical Lexus refinement, in a hatchback luxury sedan. The CT200h effortlessly conquered the sloping curves up the mountain highway, and in fact provided excellent handling through the zigzags and noteworthy stability amidst our spirited drive. Being a model with one of Lexus’ firmer suspensions (skewed to provide a sportier appeal to a hybrid), it certainly worked to our advantage as we climbed up and down the twisty, scenic roads. Bearing a 1.8L 4-cylinder engine, two modes were available for driving: Eco and Sport. Nevertheless, the Sport mode on this hybrid would still register greener figures than a typical car—quite perfect for Baguio, as the city has begun to deal with worsening highland pollution issues since its rapid increase in tourists the last few years, and its steady commercialization.

After spending a pleasurable, chilly night at the now Christmas-Wonderland-themed Manor Hotel, we headed out (with our peanut brittle and ube jams, of course) for the less-beaten country roads that led us down to La Union. For many of us, it was our first time to visit Thunderbird Resort there—an cozy, isolated, Mediterranean-inspired resort in the middle of nowhere. Surrounding the chalk-white Santorini-style structure was a short strip of beach, a nice pool, a nearby casino (that you would need to drive to get to) and fantastic views of a rocky coastline bordering the fairly calm ocean. It was a venue for relaxation and true escape.

Following our enjoyable dinner and a massage that lulled us to sleep, we rose the next morning with renewed energy to tackle our 5-hour drive back to Manila. This time, we had chanced upon the Toyota Prius C, which again was a comfortable and extremely gas-frugal ride on our way back. Our team had managed to swing by the impressively commodious Toyota La Union dealership, en route back to SCTEX. As a matter of fact, it caught most of us by surprise to see a truly organized, albeit humongous Toyota dealership all the way up there! It appeared to be very well-managed, and apparently provides a good supply of Toyota vehicles and servicing all the way up north.

The Prius C is the subcompact version of the popular Prius hybrid, and its 1.5L 4-cylinder engine provides the same top-notch fuel frugality and clean, green benefits of a hybrid-car minus more than half-a-million pesos off the price of the Prius sedan. With only Manny and I in the vehicle, our pasalubongs (which at this point, had included fresh breads, our Baguio stash, and bundles of bangus in an icebox care of Toyota La Union) and luggage, to our surprise, all still fit very comfortably in the car. And through our many hours on the highway, we were constantly entertained by the graphical display of the car’s inner workings and ongoing energy transfer via the LCD monitor on the dashboard. This feature apparently never fails to entertain passengers, every single time.

Having said all that, the recent Toyota-Lexus Media Ride-and-Drive was a wonderful hands-on experience of the brands’ versatile lineup of vehicles, and further affirmation that there is so much to discover in exploring the country on wheels!