The Honda Accord 3.0 V6 finally got the laurel it long deserved when it stood on top as the Philippines’ first Car of the Year.  The 240 horsepower executive cruiser was a surprising winner, even catching Honda’s Assistant Vice-President for Marketing, Arnel Doria off-guard.  Mr. Doria was among the hundreds of car manufacturer executives and special guests who attended the lavish awards night dinner held at the Rockwell Tent in Makati City.

According to Car Awards Group (CAGI) member and Manila Bulletin mainstay Aris Ilagan, the Accord certainly deserved the top honor since it cohesively combined luxury and sportiness, providing an entertaining drive whatever the distance.  The comprehensive standard equipment coupled with a highly advanced engine and transmission no doubt added points in favor of the Japanese executive sedan.  The affordable price tag sealed the deal when compared to higher priced European alternatives.

Unlike other award-giving bodies, the Honda Accord wasn’t awarded based on popular vote.  In fact, CAGI has always emphasized the objectivity of the Car of the Year – Philippines.  Using American automotive magazines as basis, CAGI has set-up unbiased criteria, awarding points in three major categories: instrumented, quantitative and price factors.  The tallying of the votes/points was done independently by the Makati-based accounting firm, SGV and Co.

During the ‘test fests’ held at the Eagleridge Golf and Country Club in Cavite, each vehicle was subjected to instrumented acceleration, braking and quietness tests.  0-100 km/h and 100-0 km/h in both time and distance were measured using a GTech gyro meter while the cabin’s noise was measured with a decibel meter provided by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines.  CAGI members were unanimous that these figures held importance in everyday situations given the demands of Philippine roads and drivers.  Meanwhile, factors such as ergonomics (driving position, control locations), comfort (seats, ride, audio system, air conditioner), space, luggage capacity, were rated by all the testers from the twenty-plus CAGI member publications.

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