I wasn’t expecting a Christmas sled this fancy but Santa has his way of changing things for the better. I was eagerly waiting for the Maxus T60 4×2 pick-up for this year’s Christmas sled–the perfect one for the boxes of donations we expect to help deliver. Last year it was a Kia Dropside 4×4 Dual Cab truck we used to move all the toys and clothes to two charities we helped with.
That being said, Santa’s sled this year ran on horsepower, not reindeer power–that’s 168 hp and 250 Nm of torque. Couple that with a 7-speed DCT. And you’d think you’d get a really quick sled. In fact, it won’t break your neck accelerating, but it won’t disappoint either. The 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder propels the car quickly enough, and because it is an SUV, the larger proportions make for a lot of cabin space which also makes room for a lot of cargo which means more boxes for donations on the way to the Josefhime Foundation in Antipolo and Caritas in Manila.
You might think my earlier description means that this MPV can’t go. Far from that. This car is no sloth and will get up to speed when needed. But it does it with finesse and decency. There is another version of the D60 that has a 7-seat configuration but the one we tested only has 5 seats. Does this increase the cargo space in the rear? Not at all, with the rear seats folded on the 7-seater variant, the space is almost the same. This I found out after examining the 7-seater version in the showroom.
Coming to that showroom visit, I passed by Maxus in Alabang on the way back from the Intramuros office of Caritas. The car is on promo–with a P104,000 cash discount. No, the discount does not only come when you buy in cash. Purchasing through installment (which is what 90 percent of car buyers do) still gets a huge discount and is applied to the SRP. The really knowledgeable people at Maxus Alabang answered all my questions very well, even the hard technical ones about the advantages of the DCT system.
There are other available promotions using BPI Auto Loans which vary from variations of down payments (to which the P104K discount is applied and one can get as low as P14K down payment) but I’d rather go for a 30 percent down then apply the discount then and low monthly payments payable for up to 60 months. As of this writing I have a standing application, which I requested to be processed at the start of 2023. Five stars for Maxus Alabang. They never made me feel like a peso sign, no pressure selling, no “you might regret not buying now” techniques. And all this amidst the hard-sell Christmas season.
The D60 interior it tops, both within the Maxus lineup. In comparison to the Korean and Japanese offerings, it is at par with most, though features wise it may even be said it is better in content–cupholders for example, but loses out with things like USB sockets upfront.
There is an uncanny elegance for the D60, in comparison for example to the G10. Probably because it is less compact and has a lot fewer chromed bits around. Someone called it sedate but I call it quiet luxury. The large 9-inch tablet-like infotainment system feels weird at times (I was pushing the icons for the aircon when it had little flip switches to control it) and the radio interface takes some getting used to. (It does vary between the various Maxus models I’ve tested.) This does not take away the functionality, which when one dials it in properly, is flawless and easy.
Keep that gigantic flat tablet-like interface clean and free of fingerprints though, it looks messy. (My 84-year-old grandmother said looked like her iPad… “can you take this out?” she asked so she can clean it.) The seats are firm and the seat material robust. I am unsure what the actual material is but it is easy to vacuum and clean. I do have some peeves about the floor mats but I am unsure if these are standard fare when you buy the car.
Note to reader though: if you get a D60 now, at Maxus Alabang, they will gladly throw in tints and original floormats into the deal apart from the usual 5 years, 100,000 kilometer warranty on the vehicle.
With rear seats folded down (these weren’t fully flat though) 4 balikbayan sized boxes fit with a lot so space, so in order to fit in one more passenger, I kept the right rear passenger seat up and folded the bench side to still get in the 4 boxes of clothes, toys, and art materials and goodies). I can’t find the numbers to describe the cargo room but, with the 3 balikbayan boxes in the cargo bay and one on the folded bench, I’d say that is 500 liters plus another 300 liters. So it could be over 1000 liters of space with all seats down.
Oh, but getting the rear hatch open was initially a mind bender. Until you find that little hand icon with one finger pointing to the bottom of the wiper switch. It is the trunk release button. I guess for Maxus D60 owners this is actually a security advantage. I did require me to get down the car to assist the guard at SM Mall of Asia and at the Marriott Parking area on how to open the trunk lid. No real problem though.
On the drive from Intramuros to Antipolo, with 3 balilbayan boxes remaining, was a test of the Maxus D60 on the uphills of Masinag. It wasn’t a particularly fast ride up as the transmission knew where to stay in the climbs. Let me be clear here, it wasn’t a lack of power, it was just the way the transmission was perhaps handling the load and the twisties and uphills. I did feel the transmission at one point wasn’t as responsive as I wanted it to be. There is a tendency to shift up and down, but I remembered it had a manual mode, and that helped put me in control of how I felt the D60 should run up the hills. It was actually quite satisfying in this mode.
So I kept it M/T mode all the way until the destination. Going back home I decided to take the Laguna Loop up Tanay to visit my Uncle Jowi (at my dad’s request) and take the back roads of Pililia, see the windmills and back home. Here at a continuous and constant speed, without the load the the transmission performs flawless. There seems to be a built-in hill descent control that manages the descent down the hills of Rizal into Paete in Laguna.
It is a monocoque. With its one-piece chassis, does excellently soaking up the cracks and gapes at the Antipolo section of Sumulong Highway and the dips, bumps and potholes at the Masinag side. I did regret at one point taking this route because of the unending roadworks abandoned because of the Christmas break, but it was still a nice, scenic drive free of most traffic–until you turn left to Pagsanjan, past the historic arch and into Sta Cruz, Laguna where I spend nearly an hour crossing the intersection that splits into the capital city of the province.
No matter though, the climate control and the excellent audio was enough to entertain. Waza was funny too with the voice set on “Terminator” mode. Kudos to the fully-independent front and rear suspension and proper road tires that quiet down most of the road noise. I did notice wind nose at speed, but it is expected of the boxy exterior.
As for the exterior, I can just say it is beautifully unique.
The rear taillight cluster is, as an example, a wonderful sculpture, with elegant folds and bends as well as the beautiful crystal finish inside the tail lights and middle finisher that not only reflects and refracts more light at night, is also not blinding to the driver in the rear of the car. It is however dazzling and quite a sight to notice.
It is unfair to say it is a ripoff of some Korean or Japanese car, at a time when all cars look the same. It has a very unique and individual sense of itself–a refined and elegant SUV that is also rugged and very dependable. Running the Maxus D60 was about P1,500 for the round trip translating to an economical 12 kilometers per liter combined, highway, city, and hilly driving. Not bad for a Christmas sled with horsepower instead of reindeer power. — with Raymond B. Tribdino
A huge thank you to the Maxus Team of the Ayala Group led by its president Felipe Estrella, the PR team chief Timmy Naval-de Leon, and our public relations lead Stacey Ann P. Vazquez for this unexpected but much desired, Christmas sled lend.
