Dongfeng is relatively new in the Philippines but they already have a pretty extensive lineup of ICE, hybrid and Electric Vehicles
We got to drive some of those of vehicles on a 2-day media drive to Anvaya Cove, Bataan
I first got to drive the Dongfeng Forthing Friday, an all-electric Crossover with a range of 640km. It has about 200hp and 340Nm of torque but it feels like it has more as the torque comes as soon as you ask for it. It sells for 2.5 million pesos. The price may seem steep but There’s also not a lot of EVs that offer a range of 640km so for those who value range, this has little competition.
Then we did a quick car change and I found myself driving the Forthing u-turn, a 6-seater MPV that sells for 1.35m. It’s not the quickest nor is it the sportiest but it’s not supposed to be. I experienced the car from the driver’s seat but this is a car that’s probably best appreciated from the 2nd row as it comes with quite a lot of amenities including leather-wrapped, power-adjustable captain seats with seat heating and seat ventilation, a panoramic sunroof, foldable tables etc.
On the way back to Manila, I got to drive the curiously named Aeolous Huge. It’s by far the most premium feeling of the 3, it’s also the quickest with 241hp and 540Nm of torque. Its 1.9m peso price tag may seem steep considering the competition. But Dongfeng is currently offering a pretty tempting buy-one-take-one package that should help sweeten the deal. Get one Dongfeng Aeulous Huge for 1.9m and get a Dongfeng Nanobox EX-1 for free.
Aside from the three vehicles, our convoy also included the Dongfeng Rich 7, a diesel pick-up based on the Nissan Navara platform, the Dongfeng Nammi, a subcompact EV, the Dongfeng Aeolous Mage, a sporty crossover that sells for 1.248m. That’s a lot of names to remember and it’s a very crowded market but if they can position their products well, they just might be able to achieve their target of selling 2500 cars this year.
