How is the ground clearance and power to go up steep muddy roads? My wife's family lives in the "mountain" so getting there can be challenging, especially in wet weather.
On my first trip to the Philippines I rented a vehicle. Prices were comparable to US rental car prices. My three week stay was between $700-$800 if I remember correctly. The truck I had broke down and they replaced it with a piece of crap car. They said they would have the truck fixed in two days and I would get it back. A week and a half later they finally had it fixed and I got it back. For my second trip back we purchased a used Mitsubishi Strata. It is manual shift 4x2 but works just fine even in the mountains. It is fairly comfortable and stylish enough for me, fits 5 inside and as many as you can pile in the back. For a while while we are in the US, our neighbor in PH is also my wife's cousin who is a mechanic. We would pay him a few hundred peso to drive it for us once or twice a month. Worked great for a while, then he got busy. Truck sat for a while and soon needed a new battery. Not a big deal. I just didn't want the truck sitting to long and have stuff starting to freeze up. Eventually he became unbusy and they would take small trips. Bacong to Dauin, Bacong to Forest Camp-Valentia, etc. Nice little outing for everyone, they get to see places they have lived around forever but never had the means to actually see. Now my wife's sister is getting married to a guy who is a driver for the owner of a local engineering firm in Dumaguete. They now use the truck off an on to go to his hometown of Tanjay. Saves me paying the cousin, but puts a few more KM on the truck. Bought the truck used, had to buy a new set of tires, a new battery, a cover for the truck, and the air conditioner always had trouble keeping up. My soon to be brother in law had the air fixed so now everything is good. We cover the truck even though we have a fairly large carport-essentially a garage with no door- more to keep the chickens off it than anything. We paid 650k peso for the truck, I think it is a 2013 and had 35k km on it when we bought it in 2017. Bottom line, it is much better to own than rent if you have the people you can trust to help take care of it and won't abuse it. I have heard horror stories of families taking advantage of things and ruining them because it isn't theirs, but my experience has been the exact opposite. They are very grateful and they take care of things we have there. Even when we are there, the one sister will wash the truck every time we go somewhere to help keep it clean. In fact we now own the Mitsubishi, a Multicab, and a Chariot there that they take care of. They use the Chariot and Multicab as needed, to get water or collect firewood for example. They ask every time when they want to use the truck though, although I don't recall a time we ever told them they couldn't use it. I think I am lucky and couldn't really ask for a better family to be in-laws with.
Ground clearance is more than enough in my opinion. I own the 4 x 4 version, that means 2,5 liter engine and 190 horsepower. I never had any problems to go whereever I wanted to go. Of course you need good tyres as well. Power alone is not enough if you move around in extremely heavy conditions. I am happy with my Navarra. More than that. No issues at all. Just came back after 2 years im Europe, pushed the button, and the car runs like always. Garage of Nissan in Dumaguete is quiet ok. They have all the computers for analyses and there are several huge Nissan dealers in Cebu. Hence delivery of spare parts shouldn't be a problem. I never needed any, but I have a good feeling. Having a good garage available in town was a ko criteria for me. I don't say Toyota is bad, but the respective model compared to my Navarra would be much more expensive. Same applies for Ford. Isuzu got a nice model. 3 Liter engine. I guess it's called D-Max. Mitsubishi Strada isn't bad at all, but neither Mitsubishi nor Ford or Isuzu got trustful garages in Dumaguete. Due to the above I decided to buy a Navarra 4 x 4, and I didn't regret for one single second.
I know nothing about this and defer to THE expert! I have heard of the re-sleeving part (same as re-lining?) but also assume that a bigger piston could do the trick. Any thoughts?
This is how a lot of people think, in fact it doesn't matter how much metal you have around you in a accident in a modern car. Todays cars have safety components like air bags and retractable seat belts. The cars have crash zones and areas that are meant to crumble. They are tested by a company called AMCAP for this before sold and this is why you should buy a car that has a 5 star AMCAP rating. I small Hyundai will be just as safe in a crash than a Raptor and in some cases better. Cars with full chassis can cause you more harm in a big accident due to the stiffness. Prime example in this video
Here is what the IIHS says with regard to size and it indicates that size does matter. https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight#:~:text=A bigger, heavier vehicle provides,energy from crashes by crumpling. I had not thought of this. A lighter vehicle will always be at a disadvantage in a collision with a heavier vehicle. But in the past, SUVs and pickups posed an added danger to people in cars because their bumpers and other energy-absorbing structures were higher than those of the smaller vehicles. That meant the taller, larger vehicles would effectively climb up the hood of small cars in crashes, increasing the risk of injury and death for the people in the car. Their site has a way to look at crash worthiness of the vehicles and the Hyundai Sentra looks safer than the Ford Ranger on paper. I suspect their collisions are like for like not, big against small, hence the better rating.
Something to consider when driving in the Philippines is; high speed crashes are less common there especially in Negros, as I said before it takes approx. 4hrs to drive 100miles, most people killed on the roads there tend to be motorcyclists not wearing Helmets, Tricycles are often involved in low speed crashes, pulling into and stopping at the roadside, not using indicators and the brake light not working and the reverse happens when they get back moving by not checking their mirrors and again not giving indication. Cars in the Philippines tend not to have as many Airbags as they do in first world countries, my own Honda now 4yrs old and the top spec for the model only has the two at the front and this is a 7 seater. perhaps it is almost a disadvantage to have them? are they likely to go off in a low speed crash where they were not required? is it expensive to get the 120 of them renewed, OK a slight exaggeration? likely they are an easy fix but a great money spinner in the car repair industry, good for the likes of Ozzyguy and keeps him in the style he has become accustomed to? It never ceases to amaze me the amount of Cupid Stunt Foreigners that drive motorbikes around Valencia area NOT wearing helmets even with children on them and they also not wearing a Helmet, if they are caught by the police there it is only a P50 fine, although we have one, my 5yr Son has never been on this Motorbike on a Public road, I Do Not allow this. More than 50% of the locals who drive Motorbikes do not have a driving License but even if they did they have never been to a driving School, in the area I am talking of it is not uncommon to see drivers as young as 10 to 12yrs of age, some of the older ones of 15yrs can be seen flying around corners.
Size always matters, well that's what the girls say.......... Actually safety systems are not a good money spinner for the trade, in most cases once all the safety systems are deployed the cost to repair the car (correctly) is too much hence a total loss and the repair shop miss out on a job. I'm surprised your car hasn't got more air bags. My original comment was buy a car with the correct safety rating and as far as speed goes ever traveled along the national highway to Cebu. Working in that industry all my life and knowing how some cars are built I would never put my family in one of those multi cab death traps or a older car.
Good points however the more metal the better thus bomb proof vehicles, yes bit of an exaggeration. Latest more metal larger vehicles should have all the added safety components you mentioned. Huge front bumper would definitely be an added bonus. My very old huge volvo's bumper (1984) you could sit on, lots of drivers were very hesitate coming anywhere near that car. Driving in the Philippines is nearly always a case of avoiding all the unknown coming hazards, too many to list here. You know who you are....
I would never put my family in one of those multi cab death traps or a older car.[/QUOTE] Absolutely, an accident waiting to happen!
