Story & Photos by Patrick P. Tulfo
JINBA ITTAI, which simply means “the horse and the rider as one,” is Mazda’s credo nowadays. Even with the simplified English translation of the phrase, someone who doesn’t speak Japanese would be hard-pressed to understand its meaning, unless one is a car junkie like this writer.
At the first Jinba Ittai Academy, held inside the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig from November 23 to 26, Berjaya Auto Philippines, the official distributor of Mazda vehicles in the country, gave the public, as well as members of the motoring media, a better understanding of what jinba ittai is all about by allowing them to experience it both as passengers and drivers.
Before that, however, participants listened to a short lecture on jinba ittai and the way that Mazda weaves Japanese philosophy into all of its vehicle designs. The presentation proved to be quite enlightening and enhanced our appreciation of the vehicles that the company made available for our use during the four-day event.
Those who braved the traffic to attend the academy were rewarded with a short stint in Mazda’s three latest offerings in the crossover segment: the seven-seater CX-9, the all-new CX-5, and the refreshed, subcompact CX-3, as well as their best-sellers—the Mazda2, and sedan and sportwagon variants of the Mazda3 and Mazda6.
The short driving circuit we used that morning was designed by one of the country’s respected rally drivers, Vip Isada, together with his instructors, who are graduates of his racing school. They made sure that all participants understood and explored the capabilities of each Mazda vehicle.
Berjaya Auto President and CEO Steven Tan explained, “Jinba ittai is Mazda’s guiding principle in its quest to achieve heightened driving enjoyment together with a premium passenger riding experience.” He added, “Mazda brings the driver and his car together, through this fundamental engineering philosophy so the experience behind the wheel can be fun while, at the same time, less tiring for all riding passengers. This unique feeling is what we want our customers to discover during their time here at the Jinba Ittai Academy.”
Those promises were indeed delivered by the vehicles we drove and rode in. Notably, the addition of G-Vectoring Control made them not only safer, but better. The nausea that most passengers experience when riding SUVs that are subjected to sudden maneuvers was almost nonexistent. Our instructor even boasted that the new G-Vectoring Control system works so well that your cup of hot coffee in the cup holder is less likely to spill. Drivers now have less to worry about, as the system will automatically decrease the engine output when it detects that the prevailing road conditions are less than ideal.
But what really makes Mazda’s products unique is how they connect with the driver. A short stint behind the wheel is enough for one to grasp how Mazda’s SkyActiv technology and Kodo design language works in harmony to deliver the jinba ittai driving experience to the vehicles’ occupants. It’s no wonder that Mazda’s latest offerings have received local and international awards.
All Mazda vehicles, such as the ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘6’, the sporty MX-5, as well as the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9 are equipped with the G-Vectoring Control System as standard. Only the BT-50, its lone entry in the pickup segment, has yet to be upgraded with this wonderful feature.
Mazda Philippines has dealerships in Greenhills, Pasig, Quezon Avenue, North Edsa, Makati, Alabang, Otis, Cavite, Santa Rosa in Laguna, Pulilan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Dagupan, Cabanatuan, Tarlac, Negros, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
Image credits: Patrick P. Tulfo