Largely wonderful weather this last week! As the holiday season draws near, it’s been clear skies with cool, refreshing breezes that can help us lay off the air-conditioning (and, consequently, bring our sky-high electric bills down). Despite the chilliness rolling in, it’s been a hot week for one Asian carmaker – and for once, it isn’t from China! Hyundai Philippines launched two new models last week and is mulling over bringing even more. The South Korean company is among your five favorite st

Missed our best stories from last week? Don’t worry – Sundays are for the AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup! We picked the five stories from February 13 to 17, 2023 that you all liked the most. Return of the Tamaraw Like many of you, we were surprised to hear about the return of the Toyota Tamaraw following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s trip to Japan earlier this month. Toyota Motor Philippines said it will invest ₱4.4 billion for the new Tamaraw’s production. And it may be based on a conc

The 2024 SUPER GT season will welcome a new entry from Honda in the form of its new GT500 Honda Civic Type R-GT Concept race car. This race-ready hatchback will replace the existing Honda NST-GT Type S as the brand’s offering in Japan's premier sports car racing category. The Type R racecar was unveiled at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon with Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe present to give out the announcement. It also won the Tokyo International Custom Car Contest 2023 Concept Car Ca

Ever since the Honda Mobilio and BR-V twins, the MPV market has had MPVs traipsing around as SUVs for buyers of all different kinds, and the Mitsubishi Xpander and Xpander Cross are no different. Both seat seven and use 1.5-liter engines mated to a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox. Both obviously sit on the same platform and use the same panels, underpinnings, and trims. The 2023 Mitsubishi Xpander and the 2023 Mitsubishi Xpander Cross both enjoy new facelifts, but the question rema

The first time the Nissan Grand Livina entered the Philippine market in 2008, it was a three-row hatchback based on the Nissan Tiida platform. It was ahead of its time in many ways, as it offered car-like handling and seating for seven. Typical of what crossovers provide today. As head of the marketing team of Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc (NMPI) at that time, I was tasked to find ways to slot such a strange vehicle concept into the MPV-crazy consciousness of Filipino car buyers. The 2008 Nissan

After four years since its launch, the Mitsubishi Xpander has gained rapid popularity in the Philippine automotive market. This small MPV entry from Mitsubishi Motors is updated for a fresher version this 2022. The Xpander 2022 has a new exterior update, better than last year's version. There are changes in its interior appearance, and the powertrain system has been improved, according to Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi Xpander 2022 is available in four variants. Its lowest price in the market costs