Going Hyper in the North

Probably the best use for a soft-roader is the long, long road trip, where cupholders, generous cargo space, ample power, and comfortable suspensions can be far more appreciated than in the bump-and-park confines of the city. Planning our four day venture into the "Boracay of the North", our initial plan was to steal the keys to Nissan’s glorious 350Z sports car, but seeing as how it might not have enough space for all our beach toys, we settled for their far-more-practical 250X X-Trail instead.

Not much has been changed with the 2006 model except for a right-front fender mirror (probably useful one of these days) and the inclusion of very nice-looking (not to mention very expensive) "Hyper Roof Rails". The latter is a pair of halogen lamps up on the roof integrated into the roof rails and providing enough candlepower to turn a darkened farm road into a veritable street party. They are also very useful for retaliating against uncooperative, oncoming motorists that like to shine their brights into your eyes for fun.

Step 1: Flash a warning high beam to oncoming motorist. Step 2: Flash another warning flash if said motorist won’t go into his low-beams. Step 3: Flash your high-beams, reach under the dash, and flick the switch for those roof rail hyper bombs. Step 4: Produce an evil laugh as motorist finally sees the light of his ways, pun intended. Of course, such a practice can get tiresome after the first dozen cases of blind justice, and when we asked the good people of Nissan why they had to put the switch in an inconvenient location instead of somewhere nearer — like maybe as a substitute for the horn button — Nissan’s Marketing Communications Head Raymond Tribdino said it was a deliberate decision. Otherwise, X-Trail owners might go into a Hyper war even at your local tiangge parking lot. Hmph.

But anyway, with 180 horsepower issuing forth from the 2.5-liter motor and harnessed by a creamy-smooth 4-speed automatic (shame the motor sounds a little ragged, though) we had absolutely no trouble reaching the first leg of our road trip in good time, finishing the Manila-Pangasinan leg in a mere three hours and 30 minutes, powered by Petron Xtra Unleaded and our trusty iPod jacked into the X-Trail’s Voltes V-inspired dashboard. No, really. One thing we really did appreciate about the somewhat goofy layout was the twin bottle coolers, seemingly gratuitous in Metro Manila but quite invaluable on the hot, open road.

And since our trip was really a location photoshoot for Action & Fitness Magazine’s travel section, we brought along a Petron-BPI Mastercard as well to see how far one could travel on plastic in the North. Every seasoned road warrior knows that cash is a must in credit-weary provinces, even though it’s quite inconvenient to be traveling with a big wad of cash in our wallet just for the fuel. Our aim was to find out how little we’d need to bring in this day and age. Thus, we found ourselves keeping a weary eye on the fuel gauge and conducting our fuel stops in major cities — Baguio, San Fernando, and Laoag.

After half a day in La Union and the next morning toodling along behind Senator Pia Cayetano’s "Bike for Hope" La-Union to Vigan ride, we went back up to normal speed for the next 160 kilometers to Pagudpud. Along the way, we made a quick side trip to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, complete with run-down bunkers and a fully-functional light at its tower — don’t forget to tip the caretaker if you ever visit.

About 10 kilometers before the beach, we spotted the Bangui Bay Wind Farm to our left. A landmark project of Ilocos, these 60-meter high "Vestas" wind turbines generate about a third of the province’s total power requirements, giant blades rotated steadily by the winds from the South China Sea. One can, in fact, get up close and personal with them by turning off the National Highway into a barrio in Bangui that leads right up to the shoreline and these turbines. Just stay on the dirt road. Otherwise, you might have a problem getting stuck in the sand whether your SUV has all-wheel drive or not.

Several years ago, on our first trip to Pagudpud, we noted a scarcity of resorts and cottages in the area — this can be quite a problem during peak season. Now, Saud Beach (the best frontage in this town) has a collection of cottages and mid- to high-end resorts, as well as DOT-accredited homestays for penny-pinching travelers. For us, we stayed one night at Polaris, which gave us an airconditioned room with a private bathroom for less than P1k. A communication snafu also led us to "Jun & Carol’s Beach Cottages" at the other end of Saud, offering the same kind of room for about the same rate. As for the beach itself, it’s not the fine powder that "Bora" fans are familiar with, but it’s a golden brown kind with the consistency of a clean, white sand beach. Pollution and lumot is virtually non-existent, but so is the nightlife in this far-away province.

When it’s finally time to return to Manila, I make some quick calculations. A worst case scenario puts the total driving time at 13 hours. However, if we make just one stop in Vigan for lunch, and by timing our driving to not coincide with rush hour in major cities like San Fernando and Tarlac, we could actually make the trip in 10. iPod once again plugged into the X-Trail’s stereo, we put ‘er in gear and head home. The suspension was tight and the steering was sharp enough to let us overtake dozens of slow-moving vehicles with confidence. We tackled the hilly terrain of Ilocos with ease, all-wheel drive balancing the car in several wet and hairy sections.

We reached Vigan in two and a half hours and, after a quick lunch and sight-see, hit the road once more for La Union, then Urdaneta, then Tarlac, and finally, home. Nearing Urdaneta, we decided to use the detour that bypasses that city and takes you across several towns and farmlands. Gosh, these Hyper Roof Rails are really nice… especially when there are absolutely no street lights in the middle of nowhere. By the time we hit Luisita, Tarlac, I know we’re right on schedule. Cruising along the North Luzon Expressway at low triple digit speeds, the motor just purrs along while our tired backsides sink a little deeper into the seats. Reaching Manila in ten and a half hours, my iPod finally runs out of juice, but not before our state of mind shifts back into urban warfare mode, where you’ll need more than roof-mounted lamps to counter the one hundred and one buses that terrorize EDSA.