A drive to West Grove

MANILA, Philippines - It was a Saturday — Oct. 30, to be exact. It was a test drive day, the car a Mercedes-Benz C200 Elegance. Anyone who knows me knows that I never say no to a test drive. Moreso, when the test drive is to destinations I pick.

First stop, Quezon City. 

I got up early for the drive because I had a lot of picking up to do. It was a day I had set aside for an “outing” with two friends of mine.

The drive started from Pasig where I live.

The ride on the MB C200 was really smooth. And, unlike any other car I have driven in this category, I really liked the way the Benz handled — heavy and sure of itself, with a powerful engine, which made driving it really easy and loads of fun.

The entrance of Ayala Westgrove is a wonderful sight to behold.

In the press kit that came with the test drive it said, “The C-Class is our best-selling production series and therefore of great importance for Mercedes-Benz,” according to Dr. Joachim Schmidt, executive vice president sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We are therefore especially pleased that the vehicle is so popular with our customers.”

I was convinced as soon as I took the wheel that indeed, the C Class is really a great car to drive in the city of Manila and beyond.

It was great that it was a long weekend so the traffic in the Metro was not that bad. Most of the folks had gone out of town and the buses didn’t have lots of passengers.

I loaded six CDs into the player (even if the Benz had a dock for my iPod). I love playing CDs.

As I drove I really liked how comfortable the driver’s seat was. It was easy to fix into perfect position for a small person like me — and how it allowed me good room to stretch my legs, no matter how short they are.

The music played on and I sang along. It was great. Smooth ride, cup holders in perfect place and a dashboard that brings back the cars of old. I love that classic look in cars — the digital look sort of throws me off. That’s why I really love the Benz.

“This car looks great,” said my friend F. “Really sporty, yet coolly elegant.”

“It’s a test drive,” I reply. “And I’m having loads of fun.”

Next stop, airport.

We got to the airport in under 20 minutes.

Time to test trunk space.

Little roundabouts give Westgrove that classy feel.

“Grabe, ang daming space,” said my friend J. “Maliit lang ang mga dala ko.”

Just one suitcase and a carry on — that’s all she had.

J sat in the back seat and really loved the space she had all to herself since our next stop was Ayala Westgrove in Silang, Cavite.

As I drove towards Sta. Rosa, Laguna, where we would exit to make it to Westgrove, we discussed what the news was about Ayala Westgrove. I shared with them that I was told by Jose Juan Z. Jugo, senior division manager, head of land and houses, Ayala Land Premier, that Ayala Westgrove was doing very well this year.

“We are going to meet our year-end targets, and the targets are pretty steep,” said Jugo. “It seems that our projections are going to fan out as we expected. We are preparing to launch new phases, we hope. by the end of the year.”

As I drove and the traffic on SLEX held us at bay, I continued to give my friends a little more news about Ayala Westgrove. 

I let them in on how Ayala Land Premier had built that Church of St. Benedict, which is located just outside the entrance to Westgrove.

Residents have a blast in the Club, which has a cool swimming pool.

“It was built for the Westgrove community and for the community outside Westgrove,” Jugo added. “Westgrove was reaching a point where the community had grown too big for residents to have Mass in the basketball court.”

For J it was an interesting conversation as I updated her on the other Ayala development in Sta. Rosa, Laguna — Nuvali.

Nuvali is a booming economic region in the quieter south; it is also a development of Ayala Land Premier.  The 1,840-hectare Nuvali is destined to become the country’s first true eco-community — a city of the future that thrives on sustainable economic, social and environmental development. At least that is what Ayala believes. 

“Our community is growing as more and more people are building in Westgrove,” added Jugo.  “It still is the fastest-populating high-end residential community in the country. We have over 200 families who live there now. Only after 12 years of sales, which is a very good number.”

“When did the development start?” F asks.

Well, I said that I was told it started over 10 years ago. At the time, the people who bought there were older, in their 60s and 70s.

“But then we put in the schools and then Nuvali came in, younger families started moving there,” quipped Jugo. “It is not very rare now to see thirtysomething couples moving to Westgrove. Especially since we have La Salle and St. Scholastica.” 

I got drive: The Mercedes-Benz C200 Elegance is my new BFC (best friend car) for now.

Of course, we all know just how polluted Metro Manila is and how many more people have opted to move north and south of Manila — for a more peaceful life and a healthier one, too.

I told my two friends that Westgrove is part of the Ayala Land Premier projects, which means that the people who can live there are more from the upper echelons of society. 

“What is happening is that younger people today probably have more money than younger people 20 years ago. Maybe that is why we see younger couples able to afford our projects in Westgrove.” 

After over an hour we got to the Sta. Rosa exit. The traffic at the skyway in Sucat was really bad.

There is more good news, I tell my two friends. Jugo told me that they will soon build a gate to Westgrove in Mamplasan. That will make getting home even faster, I was told. 

We got to Westgrove and drove around to look at the houses that are there and to see for ourselves just how peaceful the community is.

“We have restrictions on house costs — a house has to be at least P8M,” added Jugo. “There are regulations to keep the property values intact. But if you go there is no house that goes below P25M to P30M. The biggest lots we have in Westgrove are probably 800 to 900 square meters.  The average is probably 500 to 600 square meters.”

Westgrove is really a residential area that is peaceful and quiet. It is no wonder Ayala Land Premier wants to keep it that way.

Truly, an escape from all the noise that is Metro Manila.