Hanging on for dear life was the farthest thing from my mind when I signed up for Ford’s Subic trip featuring the Escape V6. Yet here I was gripping a rubber hose attached to an inflatable “Fly Fish” being dragged into the ocean by an accelerating 620 bhp speedboat. It was only a matter of time before I’d be flung off. I had pulled on a life vest as tight as it would go, so instead of my entire life flashing before my eyes, in a near-death-lite, just the past few hours flickered by.
The day began innocently enough, a Starbucks-powered pre-breakfast at Ford Balintawak. Loaded with sugar and caffeine, I climbed behind the wheel of a V6 Escape. The V6’s 206 bhp and 276 Nm of torque made quick work of the 60 km trek through the widened North Expressway. After another breakfast at Max’s Pampanga, we hit the two-lane national highway, heading north. Keeping convoy formation was effortless, thanks to the excellent visibility and abundant push from the engine. Various vehicles were dispatched from windscreen to rear view mirror with a prod of the gas pedal. There’s a moderate amount of thrust available from just below 2000 rpm, and the truly satisfying stuff is delivered from 3000 rpm to redline.
We soon arrived at the Legenda Suites Subic. The hotel provided clean beds, crisp service and most important, arctic-blast aircons. We could have settled for imitating chilled milk in the supermarket, but we had to leave the canned cooling for the natural one from the sea.
Our convoy of V6 Escapes thrived on the open road, quickly eating up the kilometers. The 3.0 engine felt relaxed even at 120 km/h. Passing power was plentiful, with adequate thrust just a pump of the right foot away.
The ride was pretty quick. The comfort and performance of the Ford Escape V6 meant that the participants got to Subic’s Legenda Suites looking fresh and ready to tackle the day’s activities.
That’s where the Fly Fish came in . Given a choice of peaceful parasailing, normal jet-skiing and the terror of Fly Fishing, I naturally picked terror first. Enjoy the wonder of watercraft, the poster said. It didn’t mention anything about aching arms, and legs twisted around as the Fly Fish bounces on the waves. All in great fun, though. If you could look around the inflatable’s mass rising to vertical as the boat speeded up, the view of the sparkling blue waters and the sea spray were quite refreshing.
Aside from the sea rides, Subic Bay now has a diverse range of family activities. We sampled just one other attraction, the Zoobic adventure, owned and managed by Resident’s Inn Tagaytay. Highlight of Zoobic is the mini tiger safari. It’s the safari that’s mini, consisting of just one lap of the habitat. The tigers are huge beasts, the largest weighing about 200 kg. We entered the double-fenced enclosure with my brain playing images of a T. Rex ripping off the roof. Nothing quite that dramatic, unfortunately. The tigers were just as averse to the blazing hot as we were, and most were just cooling off in the shade or their very own pool. After two laps in the chicken-wire covered jeepney, you get to go behind the cages for a closer look at the striped cats. Indeed, the tigers were within petting distance but only one of us was crazy enough to touch its back. The bared bloody teeth and heavy paws were enough to keep us well back against the wall . That’s when they were docile and silent. A roar would have sent us running back to the jeep.
After visiting the tigers, you’ll find that the Zoobic main camp has several dozen more interesting creatures. The large snakes, now living in a converted ammunitions bunker, are always a hit with the ladies. The mammals, including a grumpy bear and the infamous civet cat, are enclosed in a forest-area petting zoo.
No outing is complete without tons of good food, and Zoobic itself provided lots of grilled fare. We filled up on crispy-pata-emulating tail of tuna, shrimp and even braised snails. The Escapes also needed filling up. Although a one-way drive to Subic ate up just one fourth of the 62-liter tank, we loaded up just for good measure.
With overtaking instructions radioed from the lead car, we made good time heading back. But there was no, er, escaping the bottled up traffic that began a few kilometers from Balintawak. Still, in the worst traffic and half-paved roads, the Escape was nimble and compliant. We climbed from the comfortable driver’s chair none the worse for wear. The weekend had its share of thrills, bookended perfectly by the pleasure of driving the most powerful compact SUV.
By Jason Ang | Photos by Ulysses Ang
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