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Departing from Honda Cars Makati, the convoy headed north. Taking the driver’s seat, it’s easy to feel the CR-V 4x4’s new-found soft ride. Not having to carry eight adults and two midgets, the five-seater 4x4 actually behaves like a luxo-barge. It takes any road rut or cut with composure, much better than its competition. Reaching the North Expressway, I let the CR-V rip it, hitting 140 km/h before backing down in fear of a chasing traffic cop. Despite being “unbroken in” yet, I didn’t fear than the i-VTEC would let me down. History precedes it: out of 15 million units made, there were no warranty claims for any of Honda’s trademark engine. Swapping positions with my partner, Lester Dizon of The Philippine Star, I finally got to fiddle with the CR-V’s radio. I swear, despite my higher than average mechanical aptitude, it took a while to find the FM station preset button. Finally deciphering the Pioneer’s illogical controls, I found the disco-ish, chameleon changing to be equally cheesy and downright stupid. Still, I have to admit, changing the face displace to match the CR-V’s orange instrumentation is a nice touch. Once we reached Tarlac, the scenery blurred and I dozed off. The powerful air conditioning and excellent leather seats with arm-rests are surely to blame. When I woke up, we were about to climb up Baguio. Because of the non-stop rain, we climbed not through the steeply graded, two-lane Kennon Road; but via (blank) instead. The engine and transmission were up to the task, but with the thinning atmosphere coupled with the i-VTEC’s revvy nature, a slight loss in pulling power was felt. It was nearly six in the evening when we reached the city proper, and to my amazement, Baguio has become quite a bustling town. It was like a small piece of Manila: commercialized and crowded, heck, it’s got its own Starbucks already. The traffic wasn’t helping either when all of us just wanted to call it a day. I didn’t do much that night as I just wanted to prepare myself for the day ahead. I slept just as comfortably in Camp John Hay Manor as I did in our Pearl White CR-V. |
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