Hyundai Grand Starex - 2018 minor change

The Hyundai Grand Starex has been around on the roads for ten years now and despite the rise of SUVs, this van still endures the test of time, although it's starting to feel outdated for a minivan that is popular not just in South Korea but in Third World countries even in the Philippines where it can be seen as decent alternative to expensive minivans like the Toyota Alphard. In response, the ten-year-old minivan has been reshaped with a fresh new look that will keep South Korea's enduring minivan freshen up for more.

2018 Hyundai Grand Starex

2018 Hyundai Grand Starex

The biggest change on this decade-old van is the face and by the looks of it, it looks more like a miniature version of its big brother, the Transit-sized Solati, judging from its headlamps and the new grille design that is beyond basic and apart from the front, the rear lamps have been refreshed. Apart from cosmetic changes, the Grand Starex is now available with the luxuriously new Urban variant and what separates the Urban to the normal Grand Starex is this...the interior.

2018 Hyundai Grand Starex interior

2018 Hyundai Grand Starex interior

2018 Hyundai Grand Starex interior

In the normal Grand Starex, you still have the plain-looking dashboard and a choice of 11 and 12 seats (with the swiveling part on it, thank goodness for that), but on the 9-seater Urban variant, not only you are welcomed with the brown interior color and wooden trim but also the new dashboard and the new steering wheel. It kind of now reminiscent of the Mercedes V-Class and while this van's posh enough to take the whole gang for an outing of a lifetime, the fourth-row seats can be folded to make room for stuff in the back, which sounds odd because the fourth-row seats kind of chewing away the boot space to almost nothing.

Even for men starting their own school service or use it as a taxi to send mallgoers home, they may find that the 11 or 12 seater layout a liability because of some parts that are too squishy even for a Balikbayan box-sized individual to get in. That sounds too shoddy to be used for that purpose but never mind. While the interior's not good to be used for school service or taxi purposes, its use as a family getaway vehicle is still the hallmark of the Grand Starex assurance.

The 2.5L CRDi engine is now Euro 6 compliant and can be mated with either a 5-speed MT or a 6-speed AT. In the top-spec version, it produces 175PS of power and 46kg-m of torque while promising a combined fuel economy of 9.4km/L. Opt one with a four-wheel drive layout and the Grand Starex will be capable of going any road conditions even on the wet condition, which sounds nice if you're brave enough to drive through the straights on a heavy rainfall.

As for safety, the new Grand Starex features a rear park assist, a quick-release alarm system, slope prevention device, and tire pressure monitoring system.

The base Grand Starex starts at 23,650,000 Won while the Urban starts at 27,000,000 Won, which doesn't sound like much but it is cheap for a minivan that is ten years old. It maybe old but with some slight changes around here, the Grand Starex continues to survive in a brave new world dominated by SUVs and because this is a common sight on South Korean roads, this van has been used for many purposes whereas Third World countries like the Philippines were strictly limited to family getaway purposes. Still, there's no argue that with such continuity, looks like the Grand Starex will hang in there for another lifetime or so until Hyundai calls it quits.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company

Let's Do The News! (December 29, 2017)

- The Commission of Human Rights will initiate a probe on the mistaken identity shootout in Mandaluyong that killed two people.

- President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law that declared December 8 a nationwide special non-working holiday. The new law declares December 8 as a special nonworking holiday in observance of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, "the Principal Patroness of the Philippines." Also, the President signed a new law prohibiting gift checks with expiry date.

- Palace officials denied reports that Facebook helped boosted "authoritatian" powers, such as President Rodrigo Duterte, to seats of global leadership. Social media giant Facebook is currently in hot waters in the United States after media reports reveal that the social networking site sent out teams to train politicians around the globe to use the platform as a campaign tool.

- Yesterday, an Islamic State suicide bomber struck a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, killing at least 41 people. The Philippine government condemns the recent attack on the Afghan capital.

- Arctic air will keep the Midwest, East and South shivering into the start of 2018, with temperatures approaching record-cold levels at times.

- The Alabama state certified Democrat Doug Jones' victory over Republican Roy Moore in this month's special Senate election. Moore adamantly resisting the results and on Wednesday, he had set off a new swirl of controversy by filing an election complaint alleging voter fraud may have occurred, calling for a delay in the certification of the results that declared Jones officially the winner and asking for "a new special election."

- Suzuki will display 12 customized cars at next month's Tokyo Auto Salon, including customized versions of recent models like the Swift Sport, the Spacia, and the XBEE.

- Geely will acquire 8.2% stake in AB Volvo, which is reportedly priced at around US$3.3 billion. The deal would make ZGH the largest shareholder at the Swedish truckmaker and the second biggest by voting rights.

- Level 5's Layton franchise spawned a TV anime series coming this Spring and it will star Kana Hanazawa as Katrielle Layton.

- Your first look at the movie adaptation of the Tokimeki Restaurant which will hit theaters this February 2018.


TTFN!!!

Forza Motorsport 7: Pur Sang Legend

Forza Motorsport 7 offered us the series' most oldest vehicle and us millennials felt very disappointed because as cars get more modern, the racing games gone backwards because they feature older cars rather than new because let's be honest, they've been poisoned against us by baby boomers. Anyway, poison aside, let's get to know the oldest car in the Forza franchise and this one is a legend worth noticing.



This is the legend in question, it's called the Bugatti Type 35 and it's part of the Doritos Car Pack. Forza fans who are demanding Turn 10 to put a Chiron in the game aren't very pleased by this move because this is not the Bugatti they've wanted for but for historians, it's quite an honor to get to know about the Pur Sang legend itself because no racing car in history has ever accumulated more wins than the legendary Bugatti Type 35.

The Bugatti Type 35 is one of the most successful racing machines orchestrated by founder and engineer Ettore Bugatti. From its maiden voyage at the 1926 Grand Prix, the Type 35 racked up an overall record of 1000 wins. It won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix, which is one of the biggest races in the world alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Heures du Mans in 1950.

The Type 35 C is powered by a Roots supercharger, as opposed to Ettore Bugatti's condemnation for force induction, and with a single Zenith carburettor, it produced almost 128HP of power. This machine has won the French Grand Prix at Saint-Gaudens in 1928 and at Pau in 1930. About 50 units were produced.



Being one of the machines forged in the grassroots of the grand prix, it's no wonder why the Type 35 is worthy of being a legend of its own right because of its impressive record no other racing machine in history could achieve such a feat and how could a car like this that achieved such herculean task remains a mystery for us. To be honest, I don't either but it's great to understand about the legendary racing machine that racked up a thousand wins and driving one gives me the impression of what is like to be with the legend. To do that, let's go to the Bugatti Circuit section of Le Mans to see if this car lives up to the legend.



At start, driving the legendary Type 35 might not be as simple as it looks because while the power output is not very intimidating to shred your fingers off, the steering is somewhere between a rock and a hard place and you need some predictable patterns to pull one off. Rock and hard place aside, despite its faults, the Type 35 is relatively superior to anyone who wishes to drive with the legend itself and if the more they drive it, the more they will enjoy it, making it plenty of reasons why this Tpe 35 became part of every petrolheads' bucket list.

Talking about here, let's imagine I have last two minutes driving this car here in Le Mans. This is where I'm to this challenge and all I have to do is finish it in less than two minutes because nothing's more fun than finishing the job in less than two minutes.



So, how did I do? Well, I did it in 1:58.285, and I got a second to leave.



So, thoughts on the Type 35? Sure, it maybe harsh to drive but all that rumble and all that racing pedigree is why they made it to every petrolheads' bucket list because this was the legend that accumulated the most wins of any racing car in history and that's why it's special to us all. So, what are you waiting for? Now is the ideal time to try out this Pur Sang legend by yourself in Forza Motorsport 7.

Remembering 2017: Top 10 sports topics

2017 has been quite a great year in the world of sports. Whether if its behind the wheel, in the ring, or in the octagon, every moment in the world of sports has been a story for the spectators and in this year in review, time to jot down the best ten moments in the world of sports.

1) Cleveland vs. Golden State Part III - For the first time in NBA history, there has been a three-peat between two of the best basketball teams in history; the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. There is no such team rivalry in history that they will face against each other again and again for the third time until now and while both teams won their championship titles in the past, the third time they face each other in this year's NBA Finals had been the most intense rivalry ever crafted in the history of NBA. In the first three games, the Warriors almost dominated every quarter against the Cavaliers, but when Game 4 came, the luck has changed in favor of the Cavaliers. In Game 5, Warriors finished the match against the Cavaliers at the final score of 129-120.

2) Lewis Hamilton is F1 2017 World Champion - The F1 2017 season...how to sum this up...Well, it's a disaster for McLaren because the Honda engines don't work and they decided to have the Honda engines to Toro Rosso while going for Renault engines for 2018, Max Verstappen became the youngest to win the race, some drama in Monaco because of Vettel and Hamilton, Felipe Massa bids farewell to Formula 1 with a biggest sendoff race in his home nation, Brazil, everything sums it up but on the plus side, Lewis Hamilton is now the four-time F1 World Champion. Enough said.

3) Astros win World Series - The Houston Astros won their first-ever World Series title after defeating the LA Dodgers at the tie-breaking Game 7 at the score of 5-1.

4) #TakeAKneel - Players, coaches, and owners across the NFL condemned US President Donald Trump's call to fire the players who kneel during the national anthem.

5) Brgy. Ginebra vs. Meralco - The battle between Barangay Ginebra and the Meralco Bolts in the 2017 PBA Governor's Cup finals lasted for about seven games and because each team scored three wins, this final game held at the Philippine Arena became the ultimate decider to see which team will claim the title once and for all. In the finale jam-packed full of crowds in the world's largest indoor arena, this battle became one of the greatest moments in PBA history as Brgy. Ginebra trumped Meralco at the score of 101-96, more than enough to clench their first-ever back-to-back title.

6) San Miguel Beermen wins the PBA Perpetual Trophy - The fifth game of the PBA All-Filipino Conference finals is a do-or-die match between two of the most formidable teams in history; the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra. After five games, the San Miguel Beermen made history after defeating the Barangay Ginebra at the score of 91-85. The team's MVP, Arwind Santos, scored 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, despite performing less than what Brgy. Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar did.

7) Patriots win SB51 - The 51st Super Bowl match held at nrg stadium on Houston, Texas, became one of the most thrilling Super Bowl matches in history as the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots size each other up in the biggest American football event in history. No Super Bowl match has ever triggered an overtime until now. In the first overtime in Super Bowl history, the Patriots required one touchdown to win the Super Bowl...and they did. At the final score of 34-28 post-overtime, the Patriots done the biggest comeback in the season.

8) Six Nations 2017 - Despite defeat and the end of their long winning streak, the winner of the 2017 RBS 6 Nations Championship is the England Rugby and they are the first team to win back-to-back Grand Slams since the FIR Italia joined 17 years ago.

9) Mayweather vs. McGregor - A boxer against an MMA fighter, quite an unlikely match to see this coming but it happened as the undefeated boxing superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr., engaged on a so-called dream match against a UFC mixed martial arts titan Conor McGregor in a controversial match in Las Vegas. This is the first time the MMA fighter entered the boxing scene as McGregor had high hopes that his strength will bring Mayweather down to his knees but he didn't as the tenth round blow put an end to McGregor's, forcing the MMA giant to forfeit. By winning this match, Floyd Mayweather Jr,'s undefeated record is now up to 50 straight wins, surpassing the record set by the legendary Rocky Marciano for most wins without a loss or draw.

10) Battle of Brisbane - This is the first time the world champion, Manny Pacquiao, started a fight not in a North American venue but somewhere in the Asia-Pacific, specifically at an outdoor stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where he faced off against a rising homegrown star and Olympian Jeff "The Hornet" Horn. In an unexpected turn of events, despite Pacquiao dominated the scoreboards, the winner of the unanimous decision goes to Australia's Jeff Horn. Following Jeff Horn's controversial win, looks like the whole public went on an outcry saying that Horn "robbed" the match from Pacquiao while some call it the boxing equivalent of last year's US Presidential Elections...minus the hacking part.

That's it for sports, join me next time for more on this year in review.

Man behind Mazda's rotary engine passed away

A brief moment of silence, ladies and gentlemen, for the passing of another one of automotive legends. Car enthusiasts may not know about him but he was responsible for introducing the rotary engine to Mazda but more than that, he is the man who kept Mazda afloat in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Kenichi Yamamoto passed away at the age of 95, according to reports a few days ago. Yamamoto worked at Toyo Kogyo, one of the companies that survived in the wake of the Second World War, to support his family following the tragic bombing of Hiroshima that destroyed his home and lost a part of his family. Since then, he worked hard until he became in charge to produce a new engine for a three-wheeled truck that will sold under the Mazda brand in 1960.

Yamamoto got involved with a collaboration with Germany's NSU to produce a rotary engine that persuaded Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry that they are a proper carmaker rather than being a domestic vehicle producer. Following the success of the rotary engine, Yamamoto climbed through the ranks until he became the president of the whole car company from 1985 to 1992.

It's a sad day for rotary engine enthusiasts, even though 2017 is meant to be the year of the rotary engine, but despite his passing, his legacy will not go in vain as well as the rotary engine that sparked life to the Hiroshima-based car company and pretty soon, the rotary engine will be revived in unexpected ways.

URL: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1114475_father-of-mazdas-rotary-engine-has-passed-away

Let's Do The News! (December 28, 2017)

- A safety officer became the 38th casualty of last weekend's NCCC Mall fire in Davao City, who sacrificed his life rescuing call center agents.

- Some fireworks like sparklers, "fountains", and other pyrotechnics are still allowed at households to ring in the new year as the Philippine Fireworks Association clarifying misconceptions in the interpretation of the provisions of Executive Order 28 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte to regulate the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics.

- About 23,755 families are spending the New Year at evacuation centers after losing their homes to widespread flooding and landslides spawned by Tropical Storm Vinta.

- Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan slammed Syrian President Bashar Assad as "terrorist." Speaking at a joint news conference with Tunisian leader Beji Caid Essebsi, Erdogan called Assad a "terrorist who engaged in state terrorism" and should not be part of Syria's post-conflict future.

- Israel's transport minister is pushing ahead with a plan to dig a railway tunnel under Jerusalem's Old City, passing near sites holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims - and ending at the Western Wall with a station named after US President Donald Trump.

- Circus acrobats performed for Pope Francis during his weekly audience, in what has become a regular feature of the Vatican holiday season.

- With the M-Sport Rally Team dominated the 2017 World Rally Championship, Ford has announced its return for the 2018 season. With factory involvement, the team will be known once again as M-Sport Ford World Rally Team.

- In an event of a failed Emirates deal, Airbus might cease production of the A380 superjumbo jet.

- Amid protests from fans of the hit TV anime, Kemono Friends, the series producer confirms that animation studio Yaoyorozu will not return for a new series.

- The people behind Love Live! School Idol Project warned the public that bad fan behavior could lead to cancelled events following a December 22 event at Akihabara UDX where attendees complained that a raucous group were waving large light-up sticks, jumping, and screaming.

TTFN!!!

Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X vs. Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

With Opel and Vauxhall now under French hands, looks like the change is slowly coming to their lineup and in a few years' time, most of the future models are now pinned with Groupe PSA platforms as demonstrated by the 2008-based Crossland X crossover, which replaced the Meriva MPV, and now this; Opel and Vauxhall's leader of the crossover pack known as the Grandland X.

2018 Opel Grandland X

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X

It's fair to say that by calling the Grandland X the leader of the crossover pack, this newest entry is part of the biggest change in Opel and Vauxhall's history under Groupe PSA's grasp and like we observed on its smaller Crossland X, which is based on the Peugeot 2008, this new Grandland X uses the latest Peugeot 3008 SUV as its basis and the weird thing is that because it's French underneath, it's coincidentally made in France, which is okay because this is the Euro way to do.

2018 Opel Grandland X interior

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X interior

Starting on the design, the Grandland X looks very fluidic and very dynamic from top to bottom and while some call it sexy, others call it clever and this crossover takes it as a supreme compliment because every angle is a story to tell for the owners who experienced it first hand. On the interior, meanwhile, it's surprisingly spacious, comfortable, and very roomy indeed for your everyday activities, even trips to the grocery shopping. While everything seems nice to look at or toy at because of the seats, the dashboard, the sat-nav with smartphone connectivity, and everything you can expect in an ideal crossover, a fair warning to picky passengers is that the crossover can seat up to five people. Yep, five people and better pray that there shouldn't be another baby coming out because if that happened, the second-row seats are becoming a baby territory and you have nowhere else to seat to except in the middle. So, five seats is a bad mark for a family car but for joyriding use with your mates, it's not half bad.

Under the hood, the Grandland X is powered by a choice of three available engines with the most powerful being the 2.0L diesel engine producing 177PS of power and 400Nm of torque. The lesser engines can be mated with either a 6-speed AT or MT but the 2.0L diesel variant is mated exclusively with an 8-speed AT and as a result, it does 0-100kph in 9.1 seconds and onwards to 214kph. Your Japanese crossover can't do that, you know, so the Grandland X wins but doesn't celebrate just yet because, for a couple of years, the Grandland X may become a useless roadside little because Europe's gone nuts over banning cars with internal combustion engines for the next decades or so.

Performance aside, since it runs on Peugeot 3008 genes, the Grandland X behaves pretty much like it was based on, meaning it's typical French on the dynamics. It can be downright wonky or can be downright dull but it's surprisingly decent for a midsize crossover of that magnitude and I think they're really onto something here.

The Grandland X starts at 23,700 Euros (22,310 GBP) and that makes it one of the most competitively priced midsize crossovers on the market today while some call it a worthy alternative to those Japanese midsize crossovers, others call it a fair share because while the crossover is now French to the core, it's hard to accept the Grandland X for how it's made and also, the seats are the big issue here. Clearly, for a wildcard, perhaps here's an ideal alternative to the Grandland X for those picky passengers...sort of...

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace interior

Crossover aficionados will be familiar to them as the Volkswagen Tiguan but it looks rather different from the Tiguan we are familiar with because this is the long-wheelbase seven-seater version dubbed the Allspace. As Volkswagen's answer to the most demanding families wanting more seats for their loved ones, even kids, the Allspace stretches the normal Tiguan by 110mm in wheelbase and 226mm in length.

The added length and wheelbase make the Allspace capable of putting third-row seats in the back so picky passengers can seat here in case the second-row seats become a territory for child seats. However, while the addition of third-row seats sounds nice, there's a problem; it's kinda squishy to get in and out off and that sounds like a bad mark for heavyweight apes like me. Another problem here is the pricing as the Allspace starts at 29,975 Euros, which is more expensive than the Grandland X but still, I rather want to spend it on this crossover that has some extra seat for me at the back in case babies took over the second-row seats, no matter how squishy the seats are.

The Tiguan Allspace is powered by a choice of 1.4 TSi and 2.0L TDi engines, both producing 150PS of power output, and mated with either a 6-speed MT or an 8-speed DSG. It's hard to say that both engines produce the same amount of power but for food for thought, the front-wheel drive 2.0L TDi variant with the 6-speed MT is the fuel efficiency of the Allspace range with combined fuel consumption of 5L/100km, which sounds like it wants to go for more trips but the wisest of the wise shouldn't count on such numbers because how fuel efficient the Allspace is is up to them. Besides, despite being longer, it behaves much like the normal Tiguan is. Not very exciting but very decent indeed for a crossover.

So, which would you rather pick? The Grandland X for its value for money but only seats up to five people or the Allspace that has extra seats for picky passengers like me but costs more?

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall/Volkswagen