Big van mega test: Epic rides meant for group sharing

TWIN EPIC RIDES 15-seater Toyota Hiace (2006model) and 18-seater Nissan Urvan VX

(First of two parts)

ISUZU’S vehicle of choice for outreach efforts is a humongous van that drives like a truck.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Spiderman’s uncle once told the metamorphosing superhero.

Roughly translated in motoring parlance, that could also mean, “with great space comes great responsibility…to fill that space with warm bodies.”

That, in essence, are what vans—the people-haulers—are for. Whether one does it to make a living or to make loved ones’ dream road trip become real, vans possess that “superpower” to create joie de vivre for 10 or more people simultaneously, That’s epic on a group scale.

Over the past months, Inquirer Motoring embarked on trips using vans, with each trip different in destination and purpose from the one before it. And yes, we can say with certainty that vans significantly up the fun factor when it comes to those long road trips. No other vehicle category can carry more people and cargo on the same number of wheels.

Mountain-running vans

Two months ago, this author and a codriver brought a 15-seater commuter Toyota Hiace (2006 model) and an 18-seater Nissan Urvan VX (2014 model) on a “sky-high” ride up to Baguio, Sagada, and Banaue in Benguet, Mt. Province and Ifugao up north. We tagged along a total of 23 passengers—most of them first-time visitors to the “roof” of Luzon. This was as epic as epic rides could be—30 hours of driving nearly 1,000 kilometers in three days—amid the grandeur of 7,000-foot peaks.

The 2014 Nissan Urvan VX

The 18-seater Nissan Urvan VX, the upscale Urvan Estate’s middle-of-the-road kin, can pack in more passengers and luggage than any ordinary van, thanks to a clever jeepney-type rear seating configuration. Despite the number of warm bodies that could be packed in, the Urvan VX’s air-conditioning lives up to its cold, cold reputation, the kind that makes daily city commuters skip other van types in line just so they could catch the cold comforts of an Urvan UV Express shuttle.

Our Urvan VX’s seats were easy to clean, perfect for passengers dripping wet, muddied, or sweaty from engaging in various activities in Sagada and Banaue, such as trekking and spelunking.

CAGI’S Best Van of the Year 2013-2014: Foton View Traveller (above). A 5’3” tall passenger stood fully upright inside.

Typical of flat-nosed vans, the Urvan’s engine is located under the front seats, thrusting the driver and front passengers more to the leading edge of the vehicle for that in-your-face view of the road ahead.

To ease the apprehensions of those not quite used to sitting on top of a vehicle’s powerplant while seemingly having nothing to protect them from oncoming vehicles, Nissan has given assurances that Urvan VX is built with front crushable zones that absorb impact upon frontal collision, thereby protecting the cabin and leg space.

Speaking of leg space, the driver and front passenger spaces are tight in the Urvan, not leaving much room for even small items like snacks, handbags, water bottles and the like. These all had to be placed in front at the windshield (and up to a certain safe level). There’s no cup, bottle, or coin holders for the driver and front passengers.

The 2.7-liter diesel engine provided adequate climbing power for 11 persons (including driver), even with the airconditioning turned on at the steepest climbs along Mt. Province, Benguet and Ifugao. For this trip, we recorded a fuel mileage of 7.63 km per liter for city driving (and that was an extremely congested Saturday midmorning traffic that included up to four hours of idling time), and a combined city and highway run of 9.07 kilometers per liter (at an average speed of 50 to 60 kph).

The 18-seater Urvan VX is priced at P1.138 million.

The 2006 Toyota Hiace

Before any violent reactions to the “age” of the van that we used, let it be made clear that the unit the good peeps at Toyota lent us was well maintained. And as far as engine performance and ride comfort went, it’s up there on the level with its newest counterparts.

This 2.5-liter van powered with the D-4D engine, for its part, carried 12 passengers. Despite the load, the driving in winding mountain passes proved effortless and confident.

In its design, the Hiace took into consideration the physique of petite Asian ladies. Properly adjusted, the height and position of the pedals of the accelerator, brakes and clutch were just right for this driver who’s barely just over 5 feet tall. The length of the reach of the arms for the steering wheel and control dials for the entertainment system are just right. The position of the gear shifter is mounted near the radio controls, which provides easier reach for shorter arms, and offers more space usable space between driver and front passenger.

This driver did encounter a slight problem with a slippery front seat, which caused a bit of a concern on the zigzags in the mountain provinces, as this driver kept sliding on her seat, causing her to continuously adjust her sitting position.

Like the Urvan, the Hiace’s engine sits beneath the driver and front passenger seats. And like the Urvan, we never felt the heat from the engine at any time during the trip.

Noticeable, however, is the quite tight legroom offered by the Hiace. For long trips, it could become quite uncomfortable for 15 people to stretch out in it. (Check out the Toyota luxury vans described in this article, for the contrast in space.)

Even with just 12 people on board, there’s not much space left for luggage.

THE I-VAN has a swing door.

However, don’t be deceived that this is “just” a 2.5-liter engine. The acceleration of this van is impressive, especially when overtaking on uphills when it “begs” that you abandon the first gear and upshift to second gear.

The current-model Hiace Commuter 2.5-liter manual transmission is priced at P1.238 million.

A spatial perspective: 2010 Toyota luxury van

In 2010, this author and a codriver drove the Grandia GL and Super Grandia 525 km from Manila to Donsol, Sorsogon Province, for an Inquirer Motoring project called “D4D: Diesel for Donsol.” We brought along Inquirer employees and their family on a 17-hour journey to meet with whale sharks and marvel at the multitude of fireflies along the mangroves of Donsol Bay.

The GL Grandia, driven by this writer, had a fuel mileage of up to 9.868 kpl. The Super Grandia driven by codriver Aries Espinosa showed 9.77 kpl.

The manual transmission GL Grandia 2.5-liter van driven by this author was loaded with luggage and eight passengers. Testament to the comfortable ride of the van was the fact that the passengers were sound asleep even on the twisty portions of the trip. The road visibility, acceleration, overtaking, braking, headroom and legroom were exceptional.

The passengers loved the ingress and egress, citing that “the sliding door was easy to navigate, requiring minimum effort to pass through. The luggage space, legroom, headroom and butt spaces are excellent.”

The current Super Grandia 2.5 automatic transmission (fabric) is priced at P1.84 million. The current model GL Grandia 2.5 A/T is priced at P1.64 million.

(To be continued)