The week of March 17- 23 was a big part of our hectic March.
We did the media drives for the new BYD Shark 6 DMO at Clark and Alviera in Pampanga and Mangatarem, Pangasinan, the Mercedes Benz EQE 250+ and EQB 450+ full electric vehicles in Dasmarinas, Cavite, the MG G50 Plus in Tagaytay City and the Mini Countryman 5-door Hatch full EV at Clark and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The week was capped by our coverage of the 2025 Season of Toyota Gazoo Racing opening race at Clark. We did a tiring but exciting five out of town.
Together with our media colleagues, we put the BYD Shark 6 DMO to the test on the highway and on the moderate off-road track in Alviera. The latter is being developed for a new village in Pampanga, thus, road construction and surface levelling are underway. The track was mostly dirt with thin dust flying as we drove the Shark in Outback-like roads with a mud pit along the way. We spent the night at Widus Hotel at Clark.
Then we drove for about two hours to the town of Mangatarem in Pangasinan. Here, we passed through the twisty Daang Kalikasan a good part of was concrete. As the succeeding road passes were under construction with deep downhills, small rocks, and ravines along the roadside, we used the truck’s Hill Descent Control until we reached the river between Mangatarem and Aguilar towns. Overland Kings set up tents, tables, chairs, and toilet tents and dressed up two Shark units with roof tents and awnings to give the place a great outdoor community.
The Shark 6 DMO passed the two-day test with flying colors.
On March 19, Mercedes Benz invited us to a test drive of two of their full electric models, the EQB 450+ SUV and the EQE sedan, from the MB headquarters along EDSA in Greenhills, San Juan, to the Forrestra in Dasmarinas City, Cavite. It was the first time for most of us to test drive an MB EV. The EQB has sufficient power and energy efficiency. During a briefing, MB general manager Maricar Parco said that the EQB was first introduced in the local market in 2023 and has since sold over 200 units.
I have yet to test-drive a Q sedan. Q stands for MB’s electric vehicle series, and because of its environment-friendly features, the company refers to it as “sustainable luxury. We had a productive time shooting the two Qs in the sprawling countryside-like roads of Forrestra.
Saic Motors Philippines, meantime, put the new MG G50 Plus SUV cum minivan to the test with the media on March 20 from EDSA to Tagaytay City. The vehicle has two variants, an 8-seater and a 7-seater, both are powered by a 1.5L turbo gasoline engine. I was a passenger in the 7-seater variant and enjoyed the space and comfort of the second-row captain’s seat. The G50 Plus has a very competitive price of P1,188,000 for the 8-seater and P1,298,000 for the 7-seater.
Saic president Felix Jiang said the company performed very well in 2024, selling more than 9,000 MG units and making it to number 9 among the members of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Philippines, Inc. Saic vice president for marketing Karl Magsuci said they are targeting a top 5 ranking in the coming years.
The G50 Plus is an ideal vehicle for families. It is spacious and fuel-efficient, and we had no problem going up the steep roads of Tagaytay.
Then we drove a Mini Countryman 5-door Hatch full EV to Clark on the weekend to cover the opening races of the Toyota Gazoo Racing 2025 season.
We started with a full charge with a 400 km driving range at the Mini offices at BGC in Taguig. Despite the traffic on NLEX, we managed to have 310 km remaining when we reached Clark on Saturday morning. Surprisingly, we still had a 140 km range when we got back to Quezon City Sunday afternoon. We drove to Sta Elena Golf in Sta Rosa, Laguna, Monday morning, and as of this writing, we will be able to drive back to BGC with enough charge later in the day. Driving an EV can be enjoyable and exciting. You try to manage the energy by driving more efficiently and using the car’s momentum in downhill situations. This allows the car to regenerate power and give you extra mileage in your journey.
