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YOU will
be a bit surprised maybe, but the truth is, I have
driven the Previa in Japan.
What
Previa, you may ask? And why in Japan?
It’s the
Previa with an engine displacement of 2,362 cc, a
maximum engine output of 170 hp at 6,000 rpm and a
maximum torque of 224 Nm at 4,000 rpm.
Yes, if
we have it here, they also have it in Japan.
I had
driven it in
Japan
during the recent Tokyo Motor Show, a biennial event
since 1956 that showcases, among others, new car
inventions and future directions of the world automotive
industry.
Specifically, I drove the Previa in the Fuji Speedway,
where the Japanese leg of the last Formula One race was
held in October.
No, of
course, I didn’t race the Previa at the Fuji Speedway,
which is a magnificent architectural marvel. Didn’t
even try to push it to its limits as my being awestruck
at the beauty of the Fuji circuit might produce an
untoward incident. It was enough that Toyota’s Danny
“Sir John” Isla, who brought the 19 of us Filipino
journalists to the Tokyo Motor Show, was broadly smiling
after seeing me complete my test-drive hassle-free.
Satisfaction etched all over his face.
I simply
drove the Previa with safety in mind as my chief guiding
light, and a keen sense of how the gentle machine would
respond to my sometimes brusque prodding.
Needless
to say, it made the grade, passed the acid test with
flying colors.
This
Previa I drove in
Japan—more
accurately, I drove it in Nagoya City not far from
Toyota City—has a more memorable feature: It was a
hybrid.
And in
case you’ve forgotten, a hybrid vehicle, first
introduced in the world market by Toyota through its
breakthrough Prius in 1997, is one that runs through a
combination of motor, battery and a fossil
fueled-engine. The fossil fuel is, of course, gasoline.
But
unlike the nonhybrid, the hybrid consumes the least of
fossil fuel. In short, a hybrid Previa eats only a
liter of fossil fuel (gasoline), or even less, for 100
kilometers! And that’s because the gasoline-dependent
engine is not much used singly during a trip as both the
battery and motor combine with the engine to keep the
vehicle running.
Now,
before I proceed, let me get this straight.
The
Previa has a different name in Japan: Estima.
But
aside from being identical twins, they have basically
the same features: Power windows and, more incredibly,
power doors. Even the trunk’s door is power-driven,
too.
You
practically sit still in the Previa and ride like a king
during every trip! Everything is almost push-button.
The
Previa and the Estima are both keyless. You start both
by pressing, not by inserting a key on a hole, a
button. You also switch off the engine by pressing the
same button. Every time you do both, you need to step
on the brakes.
They
move about just as similarly and they virtually fly like
jumbo jets when in cruise mode.
I have
yet to see a seven-seat Philippine ride so comfortable
and oh-so- smooth-running than the Previa.
Even
Mayor Al Fernandez of
Dagupan City,
a car buff since his high-school days (he drove Packards,
Buicks and Studebakers in his James Dean days), is so
smitten by the Previa that he wouldn’t trade it for even
a Maserati.
“No,
never,” he says. “It’s my second home, really, as I
could sleep like a baby whenever I am aboard.”
When he
was big boss of the Bureau of Immigration and
Deportation (BID), Mayor Al used his Previa as often as
possible that it would soon look like a closet: his
wardrobe hung all over.
“I was
on call 24 hours a day by the Palace and I could barely
go home to rest and, much more, to change clothes,” he
says. “My Previa provided me comfort every step of the
way during my almost four years of service at the BID.”
The
Previa’s quite huge, long and large. But it drives and
moves like a limo, and responds like a thoroughbred
trained for a Kentucky derby.
It’s
best for country driving, but even in the big city, the
Previa fits to a T. For one, it’s amazingly
fuel-efficient. For another, its maneuverability is a
lady driver’s dream.
If Mayor
Al says the Previa should be a perfect Christmas present
for the family—which he has said a lot of times
already—you sure bet it is. |
