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On the day of the Challenge, as early as five a.m., ‘early-birds’ were already waiting in front of Isuzu Alabang . Everyone was raring to go. Nature cooperated well: it was cool, thanks to a slight shower that happened a few hours earlier, and vehicular traffic wasn’t bad. All of these would work in favor for the Challenge participants. After a hearty breakfast, participants prepped their respective vehicles. After topping off with Caltex diesel fuel, dozens of Isuzu Fuegos, Crosswinds, XUVs and Troopers were all lining up to inflate tires to 40 to 44 psi (figures which are at least 6 psi higher than the recommended tire pressure); folding the side view mirrors and other drag-creating devices; removing excess weight such as toolkits, VCD systems and even extra underwear! Some of us drove the personal vehicles of the folks from Isuzu. Though we didn’t have the luxury of meeting our Crosswind XTO’s owner, once we stepped inside, we immediately knew that this belonged to a person who enjoys paradoxes. For such a fuel miser 2.5-liter turbo diesel, our vehicle came with every conceivable weight-gaining, drag-inducing accessory available to man: side step bars, bull bars, hood scoops, wood trim, Necrox LCD monitor—even white-out tail lamps were thrown in for good measure. So much for trying to make it lightweight, we thought. Moreover, of all the possible permutations available in the decimal system, we just had to end up with the luckiest number of all: vehicle number 13. Not to worry though, always present in true-blue Filipino fashion was Jesus Christ who was present in at least three places: the instrument panel, the center console and dangling from the rearview mirror. Of course, we thought that with His presence, we would be assured of safe travel and assured victory. After last minute scrutinizing and checking, we flagged off. The acceleration-challenged Crosswind XTO pushed through the course slowly, but surely. Though we wanted to test the creature comforts of the vehicle, we couldn’t, as we wanted to conserve as much fuel as possible. All the way, we had to fight with the artificial intelligence called ‘automatic transmission’. The four-speed box seemed to have taken a liking to third gear, when all we wanted was a cruise in fourth. We had to trundle along, even though our gearbox had a mind of its own. We looked for ways to cut our drag. Our solution came in an unlikely form: staying behind all sorts of tall trucks and buses, so that we could slip-stream behind them ala Indianapolis 500. At the end of the day, we ended up testing the XTO’s double wishbone / semi-elliptic leaf spring suspension—not in the usual AUV sort of way. In order not to reduce our speed, we tried to straight-line every kind of curve and bump. In the end, we even had test the Crosswind’s three-wheel adhesion as we went too fast in a corner that was too tight—tire smoke and screech were all accounted for. Reaching the designated finish line at Caltex Nasugbu, Batangas, we had our fuel mileage measured and recorded. After driving nearly three hours without airconditioning, and trying to run at 1,500 rpm, we managed to consume 4.5 liters of diesel. That translated itself to 19.44 kilometers per liter—a good and commendable fuel-sipping figure—or so we thought. |
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