First Drive: 2012 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4×4 and Chevrolet Sonic

I got a call from Chevrolet North Edsa the other day and they invited me to attend their product orientation of their new product daw last Wednesday, i declined because i got so many things to do mostly with insurance claims. Wednesday night, they ca

lled me up again and asked me if i wanted to join their test drive event for their new product and i immediately said YES! I really love driving new cars and i missed the days back when i was still a senior sales executive for PGA Cars. I used to be part of those extreme driving clinics of BMW, Audi and Porsche. They bring in the Germans here to teach us how to maximize the monster engines of the brands! Sigh! So the invitation made my eyes opened wide and got me excited! Because i am going

to test drive the all new Chevrolet Trailblazer and the Chevrolet Sonic!

2012 Chevrolet Trailblazer fresh from the port!
Love that Chevy!

The Chevy Trailblazer is the SUV version of the Chevy Colorado, they share the same platform in almost all aspects except for the mags and its extra cabin of course. The trailblazer boasts of many of its premium features like its excellent riding comfort despite the height of the vehicle. Its front suspension has an independent short long arms and its rear is supported by a 5 link with coil spring suspensions. There is one part in the test drive where we have to pass a series of fabricated rough road, my wife who is due to gave birth next month rode with me survived the rough terrain twice because she also test drove it. See the video here.

Another astounding feature of the Trailblazer is its engine. According to TCCI, they’ll be coming out with 2 engine variants, 2.5 liter 4×2 MT and 2.8 liter 4×4 AT. In detail, the 2500cc engine has a 148hp and a 350NM torque, direct injection with FIX geometry Turbo. The high end version of 2800cc engine has a 177hp and a 470NM torque, direct injection with VGT or Variable Geometry Turbo. The SUV responds well, i was really hitting the gas pedal hard and doing the sharp turns. It easily can reach 100 kph in a short distance. Another plus is that the engine is quiet despite the fact that it is a diesel. Having a responsive and quiet engine helps a lot in long distance driving, it keeps you awake and lively because you can listen to your favorite music without the noise bothering you!

I don’t wanna tackle the external looks, it doesn’t need a genius to figure that out that the SUV is extremely handsome and sexy near or far! Definitely a head turner!

Space, i can’t talk about the spaciousness of the SUV because i wasn’t able to try to sit at the 2nd and 3rd row, but i think its big enough if you’ll see it from outside view but i can’t confirm. Maybe, if TCCI read about this they can lend it to me on a long weekend so that i can try going to Tagaytay or Baguio with my growing family and see if it is worth the investment for a 7 seater SUV for a family of 4 with 2 yayas and a wife set to give birth next month. 😛 The SRP for are 1.368M and 1.718M respectively.

I’ll provide a suggested Insurance Premium per Model Make of the Trailblazer as your guideline in purchasing a comprehensive car insurance. Prices may vary depending on your insurance agent or Chevrolet dealership.

1. Chevrolet Trailblazer 2.5 liter 4×2 MT 1,368M, the suggested insurance premium for this is P28,395 without Acts of Nature and 36, 924 with Acts of Nature. (includes 500,000 BIPD)

2. Chevrolet Trailblazer 4×4 AT 1,718M, the suggested insurance premium for this is P34,941 without Acts of Nature and P45,653 with Acts of Nature. (includes 500,000 BIPD)

The Chevrolet Sonic. Internationally, Chevrolet Sonics persona is fun, exciting, joy, amazing ! They even have crazy stunt commercials in the US, i’ll include some here. In Manila, Sonic will be having 4 variants in sedan and hatch with 2 model options for each. 1.4 liter MT and a 1.4 liter AT.
Photo from Joseph Borromeo
2012 Chevrolet Sonic

The Sonic is the new Aveo in steroids and it has whole new different character! I am 100% sure that the Sonic will be the new face of body kits showdown in the upcoming years! With its stunning quad bezel head lamps and exterior lines, body kits aficionado will definitely love to dress up this beautiful lady.

The Sonic boasts of its many safety features like the Dual Airbags that comes in standard for all variants, the car also locks on its own upon shifting from P to D. It also has an automatic flip side mirror which you can only find in high end variants of other brands. It has ABS and back up sensors and a lot more than its competitor for sure. The hatchback that i rode has a bucket seats, hope it comes in standard as well.

Sonic’s Instrument Panel
Sexy Eyes, Quad Bezel Lamps
Multi-functional Steering Wheel

Space. Sonic has a decent space, i am 5’9 and i sit comfortably in the driver seat and i went to try the rear seats with my sit setting in the front. i sat comfortably well also at the rear with some extra leg room.

Roomy Rear Leg Room of the Sonic.

The SRP of the Sonics are 778,000 for the Manual Transmission and 828,000 for the Automatic Transmission.

I’ll provide a suggested Insurance Premium per Model Make of the Sonic as your guideline in purchasing a comprehensive car insurance. Prices may vary depending on your insurance agent or Chevrolet dealership.

1. Chevrolet Sonic MT 778,000 the suggested insurance premium for this is P22,091 without Acts of Nature and 26,942 with Acts of Nature. (includes 500,000 BIPD)

2. Chevrolet Sonic AT 828,000, the suggested insurance premium for this is P23,338 without Acts of Nature and

P28,500 with Acts of Nature. (includes 500,000 BIPD)

Here are some of the US commercials of the Chevy Sonic.Sonic Bungee and Sonic Skydives

For more information on the Trailblazer and Sonic, please email me. I might hook you up for a test drive!

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