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EVER
thought how it would feel to just drive away to do
something, like join a circus and have all the fun?
Doing that was my childhood dream; and so was everyone
else’s. Never thought it would happen, but in some form
it did, with an actual Carnival.
This
past holiday season, Kia Motors was kind enough to lend
me a test unit. It was actually two events—one wherein
they sent me and my family to Subic for an overnight
affair, and the second was when I was loaned another
Carnival for my Christmas family affair in the
valley of Nueva Vizcaya.
The
first event sent us to Lighthouse Hotel near the Subic
Bay Freeport where we were treated like a king and
prince. It was such great time for me and my boy Robert
John Ira (yes, my mom had to put my name in with my
son!!!) that I would not be able to replicate the
experience for quite a while. All this was thanks to Kia.
Going on
Christmas, since it was a family affair, I had my son
and his two cousins in the Carnival with their
respective yayas. That made seven in a car that carries
eight. Add to that the baggage that three six-year-olds
take along and you can imagine how packed the Carnival
was.
Surprise, surprise, the Carnival had room for all and
some more. The kids were enjoying the ride, which was
just like being in a playpen, and the yayas had enough
room to maneuver to take care of their wards.
Now, if
you have not been to Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, our
provincial hometown, then it would be nice to tell you
that it is a much more exhilarating mountain travel than
going to
Baguio.
For one,
you have to cross three mountain ranges, the Caraballo,
the Sierra Madre and the Cordillera. These are the three
biggest mountain ranges in Luzon, and it is mostly an
up-and-down drive beside the great Magat River until you
reach the historical Dalton Pass, the very spot where
Filipino and American troops foiled the entry of
Japanese troops into Northern Luzon where they would
have made a stronger stand in World War II, probably
altering Philippine history.
But
that’s beside the point. I was talking about how the
Carnival was performing carrying all the load that I
mentioned above. It was a fun drive with a comfort level
that very few crossover SUVs can match, and yet allowed
me to move my extremities after an eight-hour drive.
 Running
the mountain trail was a breeze with the Electronic
Stability Program of the Carnival. The system is a
technological cooperation of all parts of the car that
are involved in the suspension, stability, roll and yaw,
vibration and jerkiness. The system ensures that
adjustments are made so that the ride remains
comfortable at all times despite the changing terrain of
Philippine roads.
Then
there is the interior which is such a blast the kids
enjoyed every moment inside, actually refusing to get
down during stops and just wanting to enjoy the comfort
of the lush seats, cool atmosphere control and
spaciousness. As for me, the controls and instruments
panels are so strategically located that it was so easy
to just get everything going. It even had this iPod
connector (which I guess almost every car has nowadays,
but still delighted me, anyway) that allowed me to
listen to my playlist during the travel.
The
exterior’s basic comment came from my father, who
happens to be a car fanatic, having about a barn full of
cars in the days when we were better off and he was much
younger. He says the body design has the sophistication
of the higher-end cars like the BMW and Mercedes-Benz
(his two favorite brands), and the lines are drawn up
quite to a level of luxury one would not expect from an
Asian car, much less a Korean brand at that. For my
father to say something like that about a car that is
not European (he does not really appreciate Japanese
brands) is, for me, quite a compliment.
The
Carnival is powered under the hood by a 3.0-liter CRDi
diesel engine whose power is amazing considering it is a
diesel engine. It packs 160 ps with 35.0 Nm of torque
from a direct-injection turbo intercooler (waste-gate
turbocharger) that has a 16-valve double overhead
camshaft engine, common-rail system and a Delphi
1,600-bar high fuel injection system. This powerplant is
controlled by a five-speed automatic transmission.
All in
all, the Carnival was a terrific country drive that
impressed even those in my family who are so uppity when
it comes to their cars. I probably intend to get one for
myself for this New Year, except that my cash flow just
got a glut some fifteen kilometers away. But then again,
why not run back and unstick that glut just so I can
live life like a carnival? |
