Ecorun veterans Ron and Ronald de los Reyes of Team Auto Review bested nine other media teams by posting an amazing 30.29 kilometers per liter, driving a 1.3-liter all-new Toyota Vios fitted with the new Ecopia EP200 tires. Off the bat, the participants were briefed that the Ecopia Ecorun would not be one of your run-of-the-mill ecoruns, because in between the start and finish lines were Amazing Race-style challenges at different waypoints that each team had to accomplish.
Coming in second was the team composed of Wee Gamboa (Motoring Today), Matt Mallari (Motoring Today), and Marlon Dacumos (TopGear) who were able to do 20.18 kilometers per liter. Third place went to Team MP Turbo, composed of Mike Potenciano, Lindy Pellicer, and Henri Buenconsejo who registered 19.41 kilometers per liter. After missing our exit and getting lost along the way, my teammates Eggay Quesada (Autocar Magazine), Fort Manahan (Manila Times), and I did a measley 13.64 kilometers per liter, which is actually not bad considering the gross tonnage of our car plus the fact that we weren’t really travelling on econo-mode.
In attendance during the awarding ceremony were Bridgestone local distributor Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation (PAEC) President and CEO Mark Tagle, AVP-Sales Benjamin Young, marketing manager Karl Bobis, and Bridgestone Tire Center Chino Roces manager Steven Tagle.
The Ecopia is Bridgestone’s most eco-friendly tire to date, and it combines both efficiency and safety, that allows it to travel longer distances with the same amount of energy than conventional tires.
Designed for the small to mid-size car, the EP200 features a horizontal ground contact shape that decreases irregular wear and enhances driving stability. Its Nano Pro Tech technology lowers the tire’s rolling resistance, which leads to significant fuel savings, as well as a reduction in CO2 emissions. Because of minimized energy loss during tire rotation, the manufacturer claims that the EP200 can travel an extra 3.15 kilometers compared to the conventional tire of a competing brand.
The EP200, along with the two other variants, the EP150 and the EP850, are now locally available.
First published in Gadgets Magazine, October 2013
Words by Mika Fernandez-David