A phenomenal event organized by Land Rover and Jaguar Philippines gave car enthusiasts and potential customers a glimpse of good things coming up. One side was dubbed “Above and Beyond” while the other was known as the “Art of Performance”. The scorching-hot morning started with a brief introduction of the proceedings and a lesson on safety. Pushing the car to its limit is fun after all, but it’s no fun if you leave in an ambulance. An actual demonstration drive from the instructors showed us how the course went and what to look out for when it’s our turn at the wheel.
The obstacle course for the Above and Beyond side of the event featured the Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Sport, and the new Range Rover Velar. It begins with a mogul section where suspension articulation and power transfer were featured. The most exhilarating part came afterwards as you go up a steep 45-degree slope on a ramp that’s about two stories high. From the crest, you let go of all pedals and let the car’s intelligent system take you on a gentle ride back down.
A dip inside a deep pool demonstrated the power of the Land Rovers as well as its cabin waterproofing. Not a drop was found inside the floor mats! From there, the attentive marshals guide you to a steep embankment, loading the car on just two wheels. I have a feeling that they added this to clear up any water in the underpinnings.
Jaguar, on the other side of the Tour, featured several fast cars such as the Jaguar XE and their new crossover, the F-Pace. While the Land Rover side was a pedestrian affair in terms of speed, the Art of Performance Tour was a high-revving adrenaline rush . It began with an acceleration and braking test, on a slippery course on a soap-saturated tarp. After a quick turn, I was asked to bury the throttle as hard as I could, before standing on the brakes. The Jags, as expected, performed admirably. The slalom tested the handling and my team’s ability to hold on to the handles and cameras at the same time. As a grand finale, the instructor lets you smoke the Continental tires to your heart’s content, on a figure-8 pattern.
The whole driving experience with this two powerful brands ended all too soon. But it didn’t disappoint one bit. My team and I had a blast and we would like to extend our appreciation and gratitude to Jaguar and Land Rover Philippines, along with the organizers, instructors, and marshals. We arrived and left in our own car, not ones with sirens and our day couldn’t have ended any better.
