C O V E R     S T O R Y

P1.3 million pesos may sound like a lot of money, but it certainly won't buy as many dollars as it used to.  As a consequence, it won't buy you as much car as it used to either.  Where you could once shoot for a 3-pointed star, nowadays, P1.3 million will buy you a filled-to-the-brim, full-spec Japanese midsize sedan: Camry, Cefiro, Accord or Galant.  For those who still remember the days of P500,000 Galants and P750,000 Cefiros, they can't seem to accept that any of these cars should cost a million bucks, let alone P1.3 million. 

What's the alternative then?  Welcome to the soft roader market.  Compact soft roaders are a more flexible, more exciting alternative to the midsize sedan.  They are shorter in length, allowing them to dodge through traffic and squeeze into smaller parking spaces.  They're tall, allowing generous headroom, a good view of traffic, and high ground clearance.  The reconfigurable cargo spaces allow all sorts of sports gear.  We take the top of the line model from Ford, Honda, and Toyota to find out which one is the best alternative to the midsize sedan. 

Acceleration and Braking  

Our three contenders have a similar block of metal slung low under their hoods: aluminum-alloy 2-liter inline-4 engines with double overhead cams and 16 valves.  Toyota adds its VVTi variable-valve timing to improve low-end response and high-end breathing, and comes up with 148 bhp and 192 Nm of torque to Ford's 130 bhp / 183 Nm.  Honda ups the ante further by adding variable lift to the variable-valve timing.  The iVTEC is the most powerful on paper with 150 bhp and 194 Nm. 

On the road, the Toyota is the best off the line, providing generous pulling power when starting from standstill, or from low revs.    Where the RAV4 engine begins to growl and grumble at 5000 rpm, Honda's iVTEC is just beginning to sing.  Not that you have to wind up the CR-V just to get quick acceleration.  Its excellent midrange and high-end response, from 2500 rpm up, means that slicing through traffic on the South Expressway is a breeze.  With eight adults on board, the CR-V's acceleration is brisk, even at 100 km/h, when we ask it to go even faster.   The engine is silky smooth and quiet all the way to redline. 

The Toyota gearbox is the most refined, with nearly imperceptible gear shifts.  The Honda's comes in a close second.  It’s quick to downshift and is willing to hold gear all the way to redline, but there’s just a split-second of delay during upshifts. 

The Escape, for its part, feels relaxed when cruising along the highway, but huffs and puffs when it comes to overtaking.  There is sufficient torque somewhere in that engine block, but it needs some coaxing to bring it out.   With the heavier Ford, 4000-5000 rpm is the sweet spot for overtaking, and we frequently had to floor the throttle to induce a downshift.  At higher engine speeds, the Escape surges forward with gusto, but thanks to the on-off nature of the propulsion, passing maneuvers have to be given some thought, unlike in the other two.  Since the manual version of the Escape provides quick in-gear acceleration, we have to conclude that the auto gearbox is the culprit here.   

When it comes to stopping, the Escape plays its cards to win, despite its holding the poorer hand, rear drums versus the Japanese's 4-wheel discs.  The Ford's pedal is on the soft side but the brakes are grippy. The RAV has overboosted brakes, clamping eye-poppingly at first, but after that initial grab, overall stopping power feels weak. The ABS is easy to provoke in the wet even during moderating braking at 40 km/h.  The CR-V is the reverse: it suffers from a spongy brake pedal at first, but bites reassuringly if you press it hard. As with the other two cars, ABS and EBD are standard.

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