Leave the bike, take the wheel: 2024 BMW Philippine Loop South Leg

First leg of the BMW Philippine Loop: Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao

This feels weird.

Adventures like taking on the Philippine Loop - a long journey on the road and on the sea that goes around the archipelago - are something I'd normally do by motorcycle. After all, I'm the one managing MotoPinas.com.

But this time, instead of handlebars, I've got a steering wheel. And a very nice one at that: there's a blue BMW logo on the horn pad.

This should be fun and definitely far more relaxed.

Setting off

The Pan-Philippine Highway is a network of roads, highways, and expressways that connects the highway system of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This highway system, also known as the Maharlika Highway, spans about 3,380 kilometers from Ilocos Norte to Sorsogon, Samar, and Leyte; then from Surigao Del Norte, Davao Del Sur, South Cotabato, and finally to Zamboanga Del Sur.

The Philippine Loop, as the name implies, is an adventure travel of discovering the beautiful places that our country has to offer, along with its rich and diverse culinary offerings and culture, throughout the Pan-Philippine Highway and the roads that lead back to your home.

For BMW, it's a great opportunity to test its vehicles, showcasing their reliability, comfort, and fuel efficiency throughout the entire Philippine highway system. What better way to drive around the country than driving a BMW?

For the Philippine Loop Adventure, we took three gorgeous BMWs with us: the X5, the X3, and the 318i Touring to the Philippines’ toughest roads. Starting from the BMW HQ in Greenhills, San Juan, we drove straight to SLEX and then to Batangas. It was all smooth sailing there until we reached the tip of Quezon going to Camarines Norte. This, as part of the Maharlika Highway, must be the worst in Luzon, with lots of potholes and sharp edges.

Years of neglect led to the total deterioration of the Maharlika Highway in these areas, and the overloaded trucks that ply these parts worsened the situation. Despite the poorly maintained roads, the BMWs we were on were able to tackle the roughest kinds of terrain and even the worst roads that our country has to offer. Being the one behind the wheel of the X5, it felt that we were just ‘floating’ whenever we encountered those potholes. In other words, the X5’s suspension just eats every pothole, big or small, that it encounters.

After crossing the San Bernardino Strait (Port of Matnog to Dap-dap) to Samar, the roads again turned even worse than those in Quezon and Camarines Norte provinces. Can you imagine, driving for more than 200 kilometers on uneven and pothole-riddled roads for 2 days? But no worries. Again, we were driving BMWs and the X5’s suspension system was just chewing those potholes, big and small, while we were in relative comfort and luxury.

_{Agas-Agas bridge: the tallest bridge in the Philippines.}

When we reached Tacloban City in Leyte, it was all smooth sailing – or rather smooth driving – from there to Davao City, General Santos City, and Dapitan City.

_{Dr. Jose Rizal landing site in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte}

Fuel-efficient and reliable

Generally, luxury vehicles are gas-guzzlers – they usually come with big and powerful engines and a large body to give their occupants a spacious and comfortable interior. Well, the X5 that I have driven, didn’t require any refueling from San Juan City up to Tacloban City. That’s 830 kilometers of driving through good and bad roads along Maharlika Highway. The X5 didn’t need to fill up yet as there’s still about a quarter of its 85-liter fuel tank remaining, if not for the availability of Petron’s Turbo Diesel which is only available in big cities like Tacloban.

If I estimate it correctly, the X5 was doing about 13 to 15 kilometers per liter with its 6-cylinder, 3.0L TwinPower Turbo diesel engine with a mild hybrid system. 

I’m also happy to report that all 3 BMWs – the X5, X3, and the 318i Touring – did not experience any mechanical or electrical breakdown along this 3,125-kilometer Visayas-Mindanao leg of our Philippine Loop. However, we encountered a flat tire on the X3 and the 318i Touring.

_{Grilled tuna belly in General Santos City.}

Seafood all you can

Visiting the country’s beautiful destinations won’t be complete without tasting the local delicacies they offer. During this two-week Philippine Loop, our group indulged in a feast of seafood, munching on different versions of kinilaw in the Visayas, shrimp, crabs, squid, lapu-lapu and grilled tuna in Mindanao, and of course, the legendary Bacolod Inasal chicken.

We all gained a few pounds during these two weeks of drive and dine.

_{Boracay Island. No driving today so I can reward myself with an ice-cold bottle of SMB.}

Dream come true

I’ve always dreamt of doing the Philippine Loop onboard my motorcycle, and while it may be fun on two wheels, it does get tiring being exposed to the weather be it the cold rain or the scorching sun. 

Driving a car -and a fast and engaging BMW at that- offers a different opportunity to do the Philippine Loop. It won't be as in-the-seat-of-your-pants-exhilarating as a Motorrad, but I can definitely get used to driving just as much as I enjoy riding.

Next time, we're taking the Luzon North Loop Leg. Let's see what that adventure brings.