Remembering a road trip with the Innova

So after much fanfare, Toyota has unveiled a new Innova, the most popular people carrier today. Well, new in so much as a new grill, and a bunch of other small tidbits, were added onto the Innova. While I regretfully failed to join the festivities on the magnificent island of Boracay, I can now only imagine being there with practically all of the motoring media and some of the business beat showing up.

Whatever, Toyota knows how to throw a great party and everyone present reported about having fun at the island. And the word “fun” struck me. Driving is all about having fun, enjoying yourself, be it alone or in the company of friends. Which is better: to drive alone or to drive with friends? I guess you can’t really say, as these things depend on your mood, the type of car you drive, and the road ahead. What’s important, I guess, is that you’re always moving forward.

One of the most memorable drives of my life was coincidentally with Toyota’s Roadtrek, a summer extravaganza road trip organized by Toyota Motors Philippines for members of the media. The Roadtrek stops at various tourist spots and destinations, all quasi-exotic, awe-inspiring and breathtaking, and places the average punter would not have known about as we all seem preoccupied with traveling abroad, or to overcrowded tourist spots like Boracay, Baguio, CamSur and Bohol.

Anyway, back to the drive, after driving around Dumaguete, we were scheduled to take a short Roro crossing to the island of Cebu, landing at Santander, then driving to Mactan/Cebu City where our next stop was scheduled to be at before flying back home the next day. The coastal highway connecting Santander to Cebu was just marvelous, breathtaking and quite, literally, one of the best ever roads I have ever seen and ever driven on: smoothly surfaced paved roads, good, proper banking, modestly wide, with the sea on one side, and the mountain face on the other. Most of all, It was quite empty, with only a handful of cars sharing space on the road.

If I remember correctly, our vehicle of choice for Team Top Gear was an Innova with an automatic transmission. On board were editor in chief Vernon Sarne, Jaykee Evangelista and Dinzo Tabamo, with yours truly behind the wheel. Vernon supplied fantastic music, which is always important in any road trip, Jaykee acted as navigator, and Dinzo was constantly talking, keeping us energetic as miles upon miles of beautiful switchbacks, curves, sweepers and crests were lapped up by the Innova. It was a crucial time back then as Vernon was still quite new with his team at Top Gear, and Jaykee was also a newbie working in the motoring beat, while Dinzo and I were wondering how things at Top Gear would shape up under new leadership. We all bonded, gelled together that time and the Innova ride helped us all understand and respect each other better.

The Innova itself, to this day, is a pretty modestly built car: hybrid ladder-on-frame construction with a few body parts acting as stressed members of the overall structure. The 2.5-liter D4-D engine is equipped with a turbocharger but no intercooler, and you have a choice of a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, in either 6-seat (for the top-model V-variant) or 7-seat configuration.

With the same powertrain for the Innova, we found ourselves traveling faster and faster to keep up with the police escort, hell-bent on making a new record for traveling between Santander and Cebu City. As the Innova soaked it all up, it was matching the pace of the faster 3.0 Fortuners on the straights. The diesel is the wiser pick over the thirsty gasoline engine Innova, of course.

And to this day, I love to drive the Innova for what it represents: fast, efficient and fuss-free transportation for all. The Innova is truly a nation mover: it has helped and continues to provide transportation for people from all walks of life. Low-profile businessmen prefer the Innova precisely because it is pretty efficient at what it does, and despite the supposedly bouncy suspension, is pretty comfortable once loaded up.

I’ve driven numerous sports cars and exotics in traffic and it can be very tense, wondering whether an underbone rider will crash into your side view mirror, scrape your front bumper or fall into your door and get stuck. In the Innova, with the company of good friends, it is all good.

I hope when Toyota updates the Innova again, they release it with a 5-speed automatic, a VGT turbo or the 3.0-liter diesel engine, perhaps all of the above.

That should make the Innova even more fun to drive.

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