We’re old enough to remember the time when Michael V. became famous for his hit song, Maganda Ang Piliin (Ayoko Ng Panget), a counter to the prevailing hit at that time, Andrew E’s Humanap Ka ng Panget. Those songs came out in the early ‘90s, and we’d like to state for the record that we were in high school at the time. Anyway.
The Facebook page of Mercedes-Benz Greenhills posted a photo of Michael V. and his wife beside a brand-new C-Class, which is confirmed to be a graphite gray color. Could this paint choice be a homage to the Filipino comedy camp classic Temptation Island? In this movie, the socialite played by Jennifer Cortez summons her driver and says, “ilabas ang Mercedes-Benz na charcoal gray.” Yeah, probably not.
Michael V. bought a C180 Avantgarde variant, apparently the only C-Class variant in the local lineup, worth P3,890,000. It’s actually a mild hybrid, with a starter generator that can give slight boosts of power. The 1.5-liter turbopetrol generates 125hp (170hp with that electric boost) and 250Nm of torque.
The hybrid motor means Michael V.’s car is technically exempt from number coding. But that assumes that the MMDA fully understands what hybrids are by now, and recognizes the C180’s coding-exempt status. Better use your spare car on coding days, Bitoy.
It’s a fully loaded unit, packed with all the modern features expected in a Mercedes. Inside the cabin it has an 11.9-inch floating central display, ambient lighting with 64 (!) colors, power seats with memory functions, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality.
Safety-wise, the C180 gets Active Brake Assist, autonomous parking, blind spot warning, and even drowsiness detection. And in a nice premium touch, the Benz logo is projected onto the ground when the door opens, reminding plebeians to make way in case they didn’t recognize the pointed star logo in front.
We’re sure there are many pleasurable motoring moments in store for the veteran comedian behind the wheel of his new Mercedes. True to his breakout hit song, he really did choose beauty (and luxury) this time.
