Passport To Punishment: Mercedes-Benz Car Driving Experience

Photos yesteryear Ulysses Ang

We auto journalists are a spoiled bunch. We’ve been through countless rail exercises both inward the Philippines as well as abroad which are supposedly meant to exam the car’s abilities. The occupation is, most of the time, they’re meh. They’re designed to continue the cars prophylactic to a greater extent than than anything else. So after a while, these things acquire boring. And tedious. And repetitious. So it’s non hard to imagine what happens when yous have yet some other driving experience upshot invitation. Granted it’s from Mercedes-Benz, the thought of babying multi-million peso cars through a snoozer of a course of report isn’t just something to expect forrad to. Plus, the campaign to Subic as well as the toll of toll as well as fuel agency it won’t come upward cheap. But hither nosotros are at the sprawling Subic International Airport, having dragged ourselves from bed just iii hours ago. Are nosotros laid to slumber again, but this fourth dimension behind the wheel?

With a wide, Chershire Cat-like smiling glued to his face, our teacher for the hateful solar daytime Peter Hackett took the oculus stage. He started talking close how driving has fundamentally changed today thank yous to diverse novel features as well as applied scientific discipline non constitute on cars 10 to 20 years ago. He points out that our really laid about auto is very, really dissimilar from the cars nosotros campaign today. Point good taken. The auto I had dorsum inward college (my laid about one) had 145 horsepower from its 2.0-liter engine. Today, the auto I campaign has 150 even hence from a 2.0-liter motor. H5N1 5 horsepower increase over a decade isn’t the giant bound Mr. Hackett had suggested, but it’s beyond just raw power. My electrical flow auto may induce got similar powerfulness to the 1 I laid about drove, but retrieve close the applied scientific discipline approximately it: vi airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability control, all-wheel drive—all of these tech when my laid about car’s primary as well as solely security characteristic was four-wheel disc brakes. Indeed, the auto has gone a long way. But induce got nosotros followed amongst the times? Have drivers evolved along amongst the novel technology?

This is maybe the most of import betoken Mr. Hackett raised inward his morale-boosting speech. We’ve all been taught to drive. We’ve been taught how to steer, to role the gas, the brake as well as for some of us, the mysterious 3rd pedal nosotros telephone phone the ‘clutch’. But in that location hasn’t been whatever refresher course of report after that. With ABS, ESP as well as other fancy acronyms becoming mainstream, induce got nosotros adapted? He hence raised an iPhone as well as pointed out something poignant: this maybe the most advanced smart telephone out there, but if didn’t fifty-fifty know where the powerfulness clitoris was; hence what’s the use? He’s got a point. And ultimately, that’s the argue why we’re at the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience.

In a nutshell, the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience puts the drivers into hard as well as inward the existent world, life-threatening situations. The destination hither is to impart the know-how on danger avoidance as well as to learn drivers how to properly as well as correctly reply to these situations. And equally much equally it’s an chance to flog diverse Mercedes-Benz cars (with their blessing) on the race track, what’s to a greater extent than of import is to larn how the diverse security systems work. After all, Mercedes-Benz may induce got ABS as well as ESP, but hence do other makes as well as models. Mercedes-Benz did it laid about as well as even hence does it best, but whatever construct as well as model yous induce got hold out it, chances are, things volition tend to operate the same way.

Making our way to the runway of the Subic International Airport, Mr. Hackett in 1 trial once to a greater extent than gathered the entire group.

“Today, there’s no speed limit. Push equally hard equally yous want. As long equally yous know your ability, your auto volition continue yous safe. Your Mercedes-Benz volition continue yous pointed inward the direction yous desire it to,” as well as amongst that, the auto flogging began.

At our disposal were diverse dissimilar Mercedes-Benz models from the entire make from the New Generation C-Class, E-Class as well as ultra-luxurious S-Class. Even the SLK roadster, the dissimilar SUVs as well as the yet to hold out launched C-Class Coupe made an appearance.

And though everyone tended to gravitate towards anything amongst 2 doors, the teacher did state that everyone volition acquire to elbow grease every unmarried Mercedes-Benz car. They wanted us to campaign as well as campaign until nosotros acquire tired of driving. They wanted us to know every unmarried foursquare centimeter of Mercedes-Benz. They desire us to empathise how each auto behaves differently as well as how each on-board electronic organization behaves the way it does. And after countless times of slaloming, lane-changing, emergency braking as well as cornering, nosotros did acquire tired.

There were plenty of incidences where something looked pretty “interesting”—where tires screeched as well as bring upward wheels drifted. But each fourth dimension yous enquire the driver afterward, he’ll state that he was firmly inward control; that the auto felt really stable. Such is the powerfulness of Mercedes-Benz as well as such is the confidence of Mr. Hackett. From a spectator’s betoken of view, it’s mighty unsafe to witness, but it’s mighty fun to hold out inward from behind the wheel.

And rounding things off is a exceptional iii kilometer transcend speed run of the Subic International Airport inward the just launched CLS 63 AMG. This P 12.8-million auto may induce got 4 doors, but it goes similar no other auto I’ve experienced before. Though I was sitting inward the dorsum seat, yous tin sure enough experience the g-forces beingness generated equally you’re pushed into the seats yesteryear the mighty twin-turbo V8 engine. The 525 horsepower monster just barreled downwardly amongst an engine banknote that’s scary plenty to suck inward small-scale animals. With Mr. Hackett behind the wheel, he permit acquire at to the lowest degree iii times, showing off the CLS 63 AMG’s high speed stability. Our run topped out at 290 km/h. He reckons he could do to a greater extent than (he did 305 km/h the hateful solar daytime before), but the conditions started to turn.

As nosotros all packed upward as well as left the Subic International Airport, I believe this is the laid about fourth dimension I thoroughly enjoyed a so-called rail exercise. It’s the laid about fourth dimension I’ve been through this variety of upshot that made me experience hold out as well as appreciative of the dissimilar features a modern Mercedes-Benz automobile has. Mercedes-Benz prides itself amongst the tagline of “The Best or nothing”. With the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience, the construct as well as its cars hold out upward to that standard. It made the campaign habitation experience similar a bore; my heed telling me I can’t hold off for some other rail upshot side yesteryear side year.