Motoring Today Column

May 17, 2023

Hear the word slay a lot from the young ones but not to mean kill in a violent way as my generation uses the verb.

Hearing the word following S-Presso, as in S-Presso slays , got me to asking: What? That tiny SUV-looking vehicle can kill?

Had to look up the word in the dictionary. To be honest, at our age we have to look up the meaning of most words to ensure correct usage, even spelling.

Apparently there's an accepted informal meaning to word slay: 'To be extremely impressive, stylish, or successful.'

Now we get what the young ones around us mean when they say, 'The Suzuki S-Presso slays.'

In all three senses points, the Suzuki S-Presso certainly slays.

To the surprise of many but not Suzuki Philippines, the S-Presso has been quite a success in the local automotive market.

Our Sunshine Television team members report seeing them everywhere in crowded urban centers across the nation, provincial roads, even in the boondocks.

The S-Presso certainly is stylish in an SUV kind of way. It looks like a proper SUV from afar until one sees it up close and realize it's too small to be called one.

The success of the S-Presso in the local market is quite impressive considering that it is rather spartan, offered only with manual transmission mated to a one-liter gasoline engine, and just the basics in comfort and convenience, as well as safety features.

The price may have a lot to do with S-Presso slaying in the local market.

All the while since its launch, people have been asking for an S-Presso with an automatic transmission. And Suzuki could have certainly sold more, if an automatic variant was already made available.

That assumption could now be proven.

Suzuki has just rolled out an automatic variant of the S-Presso.

The new S-Presso AGS comes with what Suzuki calls Auto Gear Shift tech nology, described as a state-of-the-art system that enables a manual transmission to do automated gear changes or shifting without the driver needing to step on the clutch pedal and using the shift lever.

Suzuki claims that AGS provides lower fuel consumption than a standard automatic transmission system.

The Suzuki S-Presso AGSnow comes with new 1.0L K10C engine equipped with Engine Auto Stop Start System (EASS) that automatically stops the engine when the vehicle is in idle to prevent unnecessary fuel consumption.

Spartan can no longer be used to describe the S-Presso which is equipped with a new generation display audio that is equipped with a Smartphone linkage and information display, audio controls on the steering wheel, and overhead microphone for better voice reception during a hands-free conversation.

The new S-Presso also features active and passive safety features that include, among other things, Electronic Stability Program and Hill-Hold Control.

Suzuki is pricing the new S-Presso quite competitively: P660,000 for AGS variant and P620,000 for the one with Manual Transmission.

Says Norihide Takei, Director and General Manager for Suzuki Automobile , "The New S-PRESSO AGS will address the demand of our customers who have been waiting for the automatic version for quite some time now. We fully understand why the S-PRESSO has become a status symbol and a bold statement of one's lifestyle, especially the young generation who wants to make a mark and fulfill their commitments in life."

Exam Review

The Land Transportation Office is now reviewing the tests given to applicants for drivers and conductors licenses.

LTO chief Jay Art Tugade has reportedly formed a committee to analyze the exam questions being given applicants for various kinds of licenses, including new non-professional license, new conductor's license, changing classification from non-professional to professional, and adding driver's license code.

The committee was instructed "to condense the content without sacrificing the purpose which aims to license competent drivers with emphasis on knowledge, skills and attitude."

In the press statement, Tugade explained the reason for the called-for review: " The instruction I gave to our committee was to compress the exam. This exam reportedly takes about an hour. The agency is now studying how to shorten the exam. I believe that by reducing the exam duration, our applicants will not seek out fixers and will opt to take the exam themselves."

We're not quite sure about why it takes examinees an hour to take the exams, as there are only 25 items in the on-line exams and at LTO satellite license centers .

Perhaps there are different processes involved at LTO district and branch offices .

Aside from shortening the examination duration, the committee was reported to be working to customize exam questions to the type of licenses sought by applicants.

This is perhaps the better reason for reviewing the test questions so they can be more relevant to applicants for non-professional or professional licenses, the license code classifications (two-wheelers, four-wheelers, automatic or manual, gross weights of vehicles), and conductors.

We've been hearing complaints from those renewing their motor vehicle licenses about test questions irrelevant to the type of licenses they are applying for.

Do they really have to know the legal dimensions or names of boxes attached to motorcycles or the types of authorized helmets?

Happy Motoring!!!

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