WineNZ Summer 18-19 (1)

motoring | maserati
A pair of toys – both work well with iPhones.
The traffic is forgotten when you’re on the water.
Dennis Valdes and 12-year-old daughter Athena.
There is a saying that as
boys get bigger, their toys
also grow larger - and
more expensive. I proved
the theory correct when
I tested two toys for big
boys recently - a Maserati Levante with a
3.5 litre engine and a Hammerhead rigid
inflatable boat (RIB) with a 250 hp Evinrude
outboard, both loaners from friends.
The Maserati is the smaller of the two, but
under that hood lurks a powerful V6 with
a throaty Italian gurgle that is sure to put a
smile on anyone's dial. I drove the car from
Makati City, the Central Business District of
Metro Manila in The Philippines, to Nasugbu
in Batangas province for a weekend at the
beach. Leaving Makati on a Friday night
takes all the pleasure out of driving. For a
good hour, I couldn't get past 30 km/h on the
main highway leading out of town.
Once on the main expressway to Cavite,
however, the Levante was amazing. The
acceleration allowed me to squirt past a
Filipino jeepney like it was standing still.
Oh wait, it actually was, as it was taking on
passengers.
Driving in Cavite, you never know what
is going to pop up in front of you. Aside
88 WineNZ Magazine | Summer 2018-19