I was with the "Sagada Team" which drove through the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Benguet, Zambales and Bataan – covering a total of 1,120 kms in three days.
The Sagada Team, led by Myrna Gonzales and Nora Liquido of IPC, was composed of Ron de los Reyes (television host and producer for Auto Review and Cruising columnist); Vernon Sarne (motoring editor of Manila Times); Pamela Mercado and Gilbert de los Reyes (Auto Review). Jun Namit, Don Velasquez and Dopoy Maranan formed IPC’s technical support crew for the three Isuzu D-Max 4x4 pickups (two manual transmission and one automatic).
Surprisingly, the most impressive feature of the D-Max 4x4 after 420 kilometers of Day One, was an almost insignificant and forgettable gadget – the back seatbelt. This gadget took its function so seriously, it snapped to lock you into place whenever the pickup negotiated the uneven mountain roads. With roads like that winding around the Cordillera mountains, my left shoulder felt sore after a day with the strong seatbelt reflex.
Another thing that will stay on your mind is: If you’re not the driver, pull rank to get on the front seat. Although no pickup can claim to give a sedan-ride-comfort on a road like that, the front seat is less backbreaking. Put a baby pillow between your lower back and the backrest and it’s almost comfortable enough to lull you to sleep.
The front seat also offers a comfort zone. The wide map pocket by the door has a circular hole which can hold a bottle of mineral water perfectly. If you know the way by heart and need no maps, the map pocket can neatly hold some "trail food," even a sandwich. And the leg room is good enough to stretch and even share with a small backpack and your mountain shoes. If you’re travelling through some rainy portions where you have to alight, keep your wet jacket tucked below the seat, next to the door.
But if you can’t pull rank, sitting at the back has its benefits – as I discovered through 400-plus kilometers. If you’re alone, you can put your legs up and sleep, your back to the door and the seatbelt holding you firmly. The deep seat pockets give easy access to food, drinks and reading materials.
An endurance drive like that also developed trust. We trusted the D-Max to negotiate rocky portions of a fresh landslide with its 245/70 R16 tires and 225mm ground clearance keeping us "above-ground." Jun Namit, 30, the IPC test driver assigned to our unit, had no hesitation in putting the D-Max through any kind of trail. Jun has been a test driver for many years that he can tell you about any part of any model – or about the unique features along the roads.
With his long test driving experience, I believed him when he said he knows how durable the D-Max is. Its rigid chassis – as its engineers claim – "has unparalleled chassis strength armored with big frames and substantial cross members for stability even with heavy loads."
We also trusted the D-Max’s one-touch shift-on-the-fly feature – which could be conveniently manipulated through buttons marked 2H, 4H and 4L, with neutral position.
We just had faith that its large type multireflector headlamps complemented by the bumper-integrated fog lamps – could be seen by oncoming vehicles in the dense fog 7,000 ft. above sea level, while we cruised along a narrow two-lane highway after the border of Benguet and Mountain Province. (I’m sure it helped that I was saying the rosary throughout the mountain fog.)
When the trail looked too steep, we were confident that the 3.0-liter engine will work with the pickup’s other systems to pull us – with our tons of cargo, canned drinks and boxes of mineral water, included.
It was on the winding roads where I was a little uncomfortable with the speed that such an engine could offer, although we appreciated that when we had to overtake the overloaded trucks and jeepneys.
In the final leg of the trip, at the long highways of Zambales, we were sure we could still make the 8 p.m. culminating activity at The Fort in Makati – with the 3.0-liter direct injection diesel intercooler turbo engine and the skilled drivers of Isuzu taking the wheels of the three D-Max pickups.
In a strange way, we, motoring journalists, are not like most travelers. We go on trips to enjoy the vehicle. The destination is for nutrition and rest. The Cordillera trip, though, was special. We respected the D-Max for taking us to a closer view of God’s creation.
The "spiritual mountain trip" began when we exited San Jose town in Nueva Ecija and cruised along gently sloping winding roads leading to the Dalton Pass in Sta. Fe, Nueva Viscaya. We again entered the scenic mountain panorama when we left Bayombong to drive on to cross the Ifugao province through the town of Lagawe and then Banaue. From there, Sagada (7,000 ft. above sea level), passing Bontoc, is about two hours away.
In the morning, we drove to Mt. Data Hotel (7,200 ft), through 40 kilometers of extreme off-roads. Although we had a tight schedule to keep, we could not help stopping many times to appreciate the panorama and to take pictures.
Mt. Data is 100 kms from Baguio. The view took us higher as we passed the 7,400 ft. viewdeck with a sign that reminds passers-by that this is the highest point in the RP road system.
We arrived in Baguio City with our odometer reading 575 kms. To make the 1,000-km run, we had to pass the long way to Manila, through Pangasinan, Zambales and Bataan provinces, this time driving along the coast.
You should try that trail sometime – preferably during summer. If it’s the rainy season, you can’t always be comfortable when the fog covers you, and you have to wait at the roadside for the DPWH people to clear fresh landslides. But if you trust that your vehicle, driver and the road have a "special relationship," any time of the year is a good time to cross the Cordilleras.
