WineNZ Summer 18-19 (1)
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motoring | maserati<br />
A pair of toys – both work well with iPhones.<br />
The traffic is forgotten when you’re on the water.<br />
Dennis Valdes and 12-year-old daughter Athena.<br />
There is a saying that as<br />
boys get bigger, their toys<br />
also grow larger - and<br />
more expensive. I proved<br />
the theory correct when<br />
I tested two toys for big<br />
boys recently - a Maserati Levante with a<br />
3.5 litre engine and a Hammerhead rigid<br />
inflatable boat (RIB) with a 250 hp Evinrude<br />
outboard, both loaners from friends.<br />
The Maserati is the smaller of the two, but<br />
under that hood lurks a powerful V6 with<br />
a throaty Italian gurgle that is sure to put a<br />
smile on anyone's dial. I drove the car from<br />
Makati City, the Central Business District of<br />
Metro Manila in The Philippines, to Nasugbu<br />
in Batangas province for a weekend at the<br />
beach. Leaving Makati on a Friday night<br />
takes all the pleasure out of driving. For a<br />
good hour, I couldn't get past 30 km/h on the<br />
main highway leading out of town.<br />
Once on the main expressway to Cavite,<br />
however, the Levante was amazing. The<br />
acceleration allowed me to squirt past a<br />
Filipino jeepney like it was standing still.<br />
Oh wait, it actually was, as it was taking on<br />
passengers.<br />
Driving in Cavite, you never know what<br />
is going to pop up in front of you. Aside<br />
88 <strong>WineNZ</strong> Magazine | <strong>Summer</strong> 20<strong>18</strong>-<strong>19</strong>