Great Wall Motor’s Hover 4x4:
SUV wonder from China
Imagine a mid-size five-seater SUV that has the following features: Euro 3 compliant 2.8-Liter CRDI turbo diesel engine, 4x4 drive train, ABS+EBD or Anti-lock Brake System with Electronic Brake Force Distribution, 17-inch alloy magwheels and tires, all-leather seats, power sun roof, power driver’s seat and you’d think that we’re referring to some European SUVs.
If you don’t look at the decals and take this sports use for a spin, you’d really think that you’re driving a regular SUV with some luxury features.
This is what I felt when I had for almost a week the Hover 4x4, an SUV from Great Wall Motors, Inc. of China. The Hover is one of six vehicle models Statemotor Corporation is distributing in the Philippines.
The Hover 4x4 also has dual front airbags, power door locks on both front doors, power windows, a pair of rear fog lamps and roof rack-ready railings. It’s also evident that the Hover has young passengers in mind as it has child seat hook device and child safety belt on the rear seat.
When the vehicle was delivered to me, it so happened that I was going to transfer some furniture so one of the first things I checked was the cargo space and the flexibility of the seating configuration. It was quite a wonder that the rear seats could fold flat and increased cargo space from 622 liters to 1,422 liters. Translated, the space was more than enough to accommodate the two-seater sofa and its big pillows and some other smaller items. I was also amazed to discover that under the rear seats, the designers have also wisely tucked in the car tools on one side and the car jack on the other thus preventing clutter noise in the vehicle.
The Hover came just in time because we were going to do some errands also in Ternate, Cavite, some 80 kilometers from Quezon City. The vehicle is initially available in five-speed manual transmission and I don’t mind driving a manual especially on the highway when there’s less gear shifting. The Hover’s powerful engine responded very well on our overtaking maneuvers on the South Luzon Expressway even eliciting some curious looks from drivers and passengers of other vehicles. Now, on the way back, we lost our direction to the road leading to Trece Martires City which is our landmark to go back to Carmona Road on the way to SLEx. It was dark and there was traffic in one of the towns we passed by. We found a nice asphalted road that seemed to go uphill for several minutes. When we asked, the gas station staff said we were on the Silang Road that leads to Tagaytay City. I decided to move on since it was better to go all the way to Tagaytay and take the Sta. Rosa Road later instead of tracing our way back to Trece Martires. Besides, it was also a good way to check on the Hover’s performance on the curves and on uphill climbs. The Hover just like most SUVs I’ve test driven before simply did its job of smoothly tackling the challenge. The car’s crystal headlights also proved to be ideal on driving on unlit roads giving us clear view of the road ahead.
We logged over 500 kilometers on our short out of town and several drives within Metro Manila but the car’s fuel gauge was still on its half-mark indicating that we did something like 13.5 kms. per liter of diesel on the average. Its full tank of 74 liters has the potential to reach Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte and return to Manila with some fuel left to spare.
Engaging the 4x4 mode is very easy and we just turned on a switch to 4x4 high and the car was game for the slippery terrain at a soft, sandy road construction site.
Now, this SUV wonder from China, according to John Mabulay, Statemotor’s marketing manager, is initially priced at P1,180,000. Its 4x2version would sell at P980,000.
Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. (GW) is China’s first privately-owned automaker listed in the Hong Kong stock market. Statemotor president Allen Roxas said "Statemotor Corp. has been tapped by GW to bring high-quality and cost-effective products to the Philippine market, namely, the Florid compact passenger car, Peri sub-compact passenger car, Wingle 4x2 & 4x4 pickup, Cowry MPV, Coolbear compact passenger car and Hover 4x2 & 4x4 SUV."
Based in Hebei Baoding, China, GW is dedicated to making its mark on the international market as a globalized brand of vehicles by conveying the brand connotation of "fashion, high-tech and elegance" and presenting "sophisticated and elegantly made products with excellent price and performance."
Since its establishment in 1976, GW has been developing pickups, SUVs, passenger cars and MPVs in the high-end, mid- and economy ranges. The company adopts European technology in all its products and uses major parts and components from Bosch of Germany, which speaks a lot about the quality and proven track record of its vehicles.
Statemotor’s showrooms are in Alabang and North EDSA in Quezon City. Hover and the other GW brands will be displayed at the Manila International Motor Show next month.
A company which has been at the forefront of selling motorcycles, cars, mobile phones and other products, the Guanzon Group of Companies celebrates its 65th year anniversary on March13 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City. Our good friend Norman Tandoc, formerly from one of the leading motorcycle brands and now head for operations and marketing of mobile phone division, said "2010 will mark a new beginning for Guanzon Group as we celebrate our 65 fruitful years in the business. Expansions will continue as we develop new concepts and ideas leading to a new era of business opportunities."
Cyril Aguadera, head for marketing of motorcycle division, said the celebration will launch the G-Card loyalty program and the much awaited Guanzon Festival this year. "This is one way of showing our appreciation to our loyal clients," Aguadera said.
The Guanzon Festival will have 3-day fun-filled events that will be held at the365 Plaza Complex in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte on April 23-25, 2010. This will be followed by a similar events on May 28-30 at Riverbanks Center Marikina City, September 16-18 at Clark City Pampanga and November 18-20 in Dagupan City. Guests will be treated to a car and motorcycle show, mobile phone exhibit, motorcade, free test ride and free service check up.
The multi-city festival will be held in partnership with Honda Philippines Inc., Suzuki Philippines Inc., Yamaha Motor Philippines, Corp., Kawasaki Motors (Phils.) Corporation, Motozentrum Philippines Inc., Samsung Electronics Philippines, Nokia (Philippines) Inc., Sony Ericsson, E-Touch, LG Philippines, Honda Cars Ilocandia Group, and Nissan Cars Ilocandia Group.
We would like to congratulate our good friend and colleague Ray Butch Gamboa and his staff at Sunshine Television Ventures for the big success of the STV Corporate Rally Challenge held over the weekend at Subic Bay in Zambales.
A big majority of the automotive industry, 13 in all, came in full force fielding five teams each making the event, the biggest in terms of the number of cars, at the starting grid, a total of 65, not to mention the driver-navigator tandems of 130 rally enthusiasts from business, sports and media groups.
Aimed at reviving the Sampaguita Rally, the Philippine version of Europe’s Tulip Rally, the Corporate Rally Challenge started at the Ortigas Home Depot in Pasig City at seven in the morning last Saturday for the transport stage to Subic where the special stages were held. The participants engaged in "on time-all the time" competition making sure that they followed the specified speeds ranging from 20 kph to 70 kph on various roads at Subic.
One of the more exciting stages is the "perfect time" challenge wherein all 65 teams have to drive one at a time on a 1.7- kilometer section of the Subic-Pocholo Ramirez International Raceway within 1 minute 20 seconds flat. We still don’t have the official results but my navigator, Angel Rivero of 99.5 RT, and I have the feeling that we could be one of those who tackled the distance close if not exact to the specified time.
We drove for more than 12 hours but it was worth taking the challenge. The results of the hotly contested event will be known Thursday this week during the Awards Night at Valle Verde in Pasig.
I also wish to thank Columbian Auto Car Corporation for inviting the Auto Review/Malaya-99.5 RT team to drive the new 2010 Kia Sorento, one of the five Kia vehicles used in the rally. Columbian president Felix Mabilog, and his family and management team were on hand to give us moral support. He said, "Win or lose, we wish to thank you for driving our cars in the rally." I told him we enjoyed not just the event but the Kia vehicles as well.