Best car or SUV for Philippines

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, RBM said:

Had 2 swifts, automatics, never regretted it, great little city cars.

Older swifts had autos... newer ones have CVTs.

Most small cars are going the same way as they're cheaper to manufacture (the current Wigo is a 4 speed auto but the one that will soon replace it uses a CVT instead).

There are exceptions, Suzuki have some models with AMT as do Fiat and VW have some with DSG transmissions.

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by GeoffH

[Dave Hounddriver]

37 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

Older swifts had autos... newer ones have CVTs.

So I had to Google.  What is the difference.  Here is the CVT for Dummies in 2 minutes video.

 

 

[hk blues]

3 hours ago, RBM said:

Had 2 swifts, automatics, never regretted it, great little city cars.

Yep, it's probably top of our list 

[softail]

8 hours ago, GeoffH said:

 

The Vios taxis have trouble getting in and out of our subdivision because of the speed bumps, they grind going over where as the Wigo has no trouble FYI.

Yea, ground clearance isn’t there strong point, we do scrap on speed bumps occasionally 

[Gator]

On 3/27/2023 at 11:52 AM, softail said:

I bought a Toyota Vios from my wife’s nephew. He was a fanatic about maintenance as he has a business repairing and maintaining cars. It is a really popular car with the locals and we just love it. Is a great car on maintained roads around town and road trips.

“Maintained roads”?  When talking about the Philippines shouldn’t that be in the oxymoron thread? 🤣

[GeoffH]

4 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

So I had to Google.  What is the difference. 

Something else to be aware of; most modern scooters have CVT transmissions.

Current small motorbikes bikes that don't have a CVT either have a manual gear lever and clutch (like a Honda XR150L) or a gear lever and a centrifigul clutch (like a Honda XRM125).

[hk blues]

2 hours ago, softail said:

Yea, ground clearance isn’t there strong point, we do scrap on speed bumps occasionally 

Our sub-division has mega speed bumps, not so much their height but their length - they are about 2 metres long for some reason.  I have heard the occasional thud as a vehicle (actually change that to taxi) has approached it too fast and suffered the consequences.  Due to their length they can be a hazard when wet for the motorcycles as they are so smooth and slippery when wet.  

[gbmmbg]

On 3/27/2023 at 11:52 AM, softail said:

I bought a Toyota Vios from my wife’s nephew. He was a fanatic about maintenance as he has a business repairing and maintaining cars. It is a really popular car with the locals and we just love it. Is a great car on maintained roads around town and road trips.

We have a 2008 Vios and I love it. with the 1.5L instead of the 1.3L that all the taxis have in them its not too bad. 20 more H/P. However the scraping sounds it makes when you drive over anything drives my wife nuts. Thats why I bought her a 4X4 that she never drives, but that is a whole other story.

[Gator]

3 hours ago, hk blues said:

Our sub-division has mega speed bumps, not so much their height but their length - they are about 2 metres long for some reason.  I have heard the occasional thud as a vehicle (actually change that to taxi) has approached it too fast and suffered the consequences.  Due to their length they can be a hazard when wet for the motorcycles as they are so smooth and slippery when wet.  

I believe they’re called “speed tables”.  When properly installed (and depending on their design / length) they’re supposed to allow vehicles to transit them at a higher speed (40 to 70kph). Most of the ones I’ve seen here have too steep of an approach angle to allow even a 40kph transit speed. And most also have very wide glossy yellow or white stripes painted on them, so yeah, very slippery when wet - even for pedestrians. 

[Mike J]

10 hours ago, Gator said:

I believe they’re called “speed tables”.  When properly installed (and depending on their design / length) they’re supposed to allow vehicles to transit them at a higher speed (40 to 70kph). Most of the ones I’ve seen here have too steep of an approach angle to allow even a 40kph transit speed. And most also have very wide glossy yellow or white stripes painted on them, so yeah, very slippery when wet - even for pedestrians. 

Here in the province they use recap tire tread from trucks.   They tend to shift around during the day and can be dangerous when hit at an angle.  Especially dangerous for scooters having the smaller tires, even worse when wet.